CMP Air Range Mural Artist Visits Camp Perry
September 16, 2026
As summer draws to a close, Camp Perry welcomes back a favorite visitor.
Those who have stepped foot inside the Gary Anderson CMP Competition Center, the Civilian Marksmanship Program’s (CMP) indoor air gun facility in Port Clinton Ohio, are familiar with the unmistakable mural that encompasses the south-facing wall of the range within. The mural captures notable moments in time from the historic Camp Perry ranges, home to the annual National Matches marksmanship tradition since 1907, through illustrations hand-painted years ago by celebrated American artist, Jerry Antolik.
Recently, Jerry and his wife Sherry brought their son Joe, Joe’s wife Heather and their two children, Chet (6) and Junie (3), to see Grandpa’s mural.
The family members were on their way back to Wyoming from a family reunion in Girard, Pa., where Jerry was raised. They had relatives from Virginia, Ohio, New Jersey and, of course Wyoming, where Jerry’s branch of the family resides.
With the theme of connecting generations, Jerry wanted his grandchildren to see the art that he and his immediate family had put so much time and effort into, with Jerry, Sherry and Joe all having had a hand in creating the artworks that we all enjoy at Camp Perry.
Such images carefully coated upon the 100-foot-wide air range wall include depictions of Marine Corps veteran and 12-time national pistol champion Brian Zins, former U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit air rifle athletes George Norton and Hank Gray and even two-time Olympic gold medalist, Director of Civilian Marksmanship (Emeritus) and facility namesake Gary Anderson, who still lives only a few miles away.
Sherry also helped with the painting and the lettering mural, and son Joe helped weld the “Garand Men” at their ranch in Lander, Wy. The 11-foot statues crafted entirely out of hundreds of authentic, decommissioned M1 Garand parts stand tall outside of CMP’s facilities in Ohio and Alabama, including Camp Perry.
During the family’s visit, Gary Anderson himself was able to come and reminisce with Jerry about the time and effort that went into this important mural. Jerry joked that he wanted to see if Gary was “still as cute” as when he painted him.
Gary got to see the Antolik grandchildren, and Chet and Junie get to try their hands firing the CMP’s air rifles at Huckleberry Targets, which light up and make different animal sounds when hit downrange.
This is what the range was built for, the continuation of the shooting sports for generations to come, and a perfect way to sum up what this mural and range means to the shooting sports community.
If you have the chance, stop by and see why we are so proud of our range and it’s mural.
Read the original story of the mural from 2009 here: http://www.odcmp.org/0909/default.asp?page=ANTOLIKMURAL