By PHILIP SCHREIER, Senior Curator, National Firearms Museum
Images from NRA Archives

  The home of the National Rifle and Pistol Matches, Camp Perry, Ohio, celebrates 100 years of service to American marksmen. It is a historic event in American shooting, and a special exhibit there celebrates a century of excellence in competition.

  At 9:10 a.m. on the morning of August 19, 1907, Corporal L.B. Jarrett of the Ohio National Guard quietly stepped up to the firing line, worked the smooth action of his Krag-Jorgensen rifle and loaded one .30-40 Gov’t round into the breech. He took careful aim, checking the wind markers, so as not to embarrass himself in front of the hundreds of spectators and invited guests, and fired the first shot opening the National Matches at their new home, Camp Perry, Ohio.
  Thus began a 100-year relationship between the Ohio National Guard, The National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice and the venerable National Rifle Association of America.
  A few years after the bloody and violent American Civil War (1861-1865) former Union Army officers sought a means to better prepare their soldiers for future conflicts by making them expert marksmen. Following the example the similarly named British organization, the National Rifle Association of America was founded in 1871 to promote marksmanship within the regular army, state militia units and the general population.

Ammon Broughton Critchfield

  Competition shooting captured the imagination of thousands of sportsmen and spectators, making it one of the most popular sports of the late 19th century. International match results were carried on the front pages of dozens of papers and magazines of the era, adding interest and popularity to the sport. The national ranges at Creedmoor, N.Y., and Sea Girt, N.J., were soon overwhelmed with participants and were quickly outgrown, forcing the Association to look for a new home for the National Matches.
  Fortunately, in 1905, NRA Director Ammon Broughton Critchfield had recently returned from a fishing trip on the southwest shore of Lake Erie and had scouted an area he thought would be a great location for a new rifle and pistol range. Critchfield had recently been appointed adjutant general of the Ohio National Guard and was looking for a place in Ohio to relocate the Ohio National Guard range that was then in Newark. He secured $25,000 from the state legislature, and the state purchased property west of Port Clinton, Ohio, and had it named in honor of the War of 1812 hero of Lake Erie, Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry.
  In a move that caused the resignation of then-NRA president and Sea Girt aficionado Gen. Bird W. Spencer, board members Critchfield and Gen. James A. Drain convinced the NRA Executive Committee that the facilities at Camp Perry would provide a long-term home for the National Matches. The War Department and the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice concurred and officially scheduled the 1907 matches at the new home of the Ohio State Rifle Ass’n. Who could have known then that 100 years later the National Matches and Camp Perry would still be going as strong as ever?
  This month, on July 13, Ohio National Guard Col. James H. Chisman, commander of Camp Perry, and Mike Krei, director of NRA Competitive Shooting, will host NRA President John Sigler, NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre and other VIPs and shooting sports luminaries for the celebration of Camp Perry’s 100th year of service to the shooters of America.
  Each year nearly 5,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, sportsmen and women compete in the matches held at Camp Perry. Supported by legions of NRA staff and a volunteer corps second to none, the National Matches are the highlight and envy of the competitive shooting world. Not even the Olympics can come close to the size and spectacle of this annual event.

  President Theodore Roosevelt suggested the formation of a National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice, and congress established it in 1903 as an adjunct of the Department of the Army. Roosevelt considered this so important to our national security that he himself became a Life member of the NRA in 1907 and championed its success.
  Firearm manufacturers soon took notice and began to produce arms specifically for events at the National Matches. Colt had a Camp Perry single-shot pistol and National Match M1911s, and Smith & Wesson and Winchester both produced pistols and rifles, respectively, that conformed to the rules and guidelines of the matches. Even the NRA sold reworked and fine-tuned National Match quality government arms to its members for use in competition. Many of these rare and historic arms will be on exhibit during the matches. Also, current manufacturers such as Springfield Armory produce National Match firearms and sponsor events and trophies.
  In cooperation with Col. Chisman and Deborah Wilson, manager of the Camp Perry Lodge, the National Firearms Museum and NRA Competitions will mount a centennial exhibit at Camp Perry from July to August in commemoration of the 100th Anniversary of Camp Perry. The six-case exhibit, made possible by Tracie Hill and members of The American Thompson Ass’n, will display dozens of rifles, pistols and memorabilia related to the 100 years of Camp Perry.
  Throughout the post, nearly a dozen 5-ft.x7-ft. posters will highlight many of the significant chapters in Camp Perry history and the National Matches. Each registered competitor will be given a scavenger hunt quiz sheet designed to send the participant to various areas of the post to see and understand a little about the history of Camp Perry and to record answers to questions found on the posters. The “hunt” will culminate at the Camp Perry Lodge, where the exhibit will be open to the public for the duration of the matches.
  Each participant who completes the quiz will receive a special 100th anniversary memento, guaranteed to become a treasured souvenir of participation at the historic event.
For a century, the NRA National Matches have been held at Camp Perry, Ohio. While much has changed at the Ohio National Guard facility set up by Ammon B. Critchfield, much has remained the same.