MAX SOVIAK NATIONAL RIMFIRE SPORTER RIFLE MATCH

Civilian Marksmanship Program▸National Matches▸MAX SOVIAK NATIONAL RIMFIRE SPORTER RIFLE MATCH

In 2023, the CMP National Rimfire Sporter Rifle Match honored HM3 Corpsman Maxton W. Soviak, CMP Competitor, Friend & Hero. Corpsman Maxton William Soviak was KIA on August 26, 2021, by a suicide bomber at the Abbey Gate of the Kabul airport in Afghanistan. The 2023 Rimfire t-shirt featured an image of Max along with the slogan “Live Life to the MAX”. Maxton was a member of the Erie County Conservation Club and attended many CMP events growing up. The Soviak family attended and fired in the Rimfire Match this year.

Savage Arms has donated a Savage Mark II-FVT Rifle to be raffled off during the National Matches. CMP will sell tickets (1 for $5, 6 for $20). The drawing will take place during the CMP Games Awards Ceremony on July 30. All proceeds from the raffle will be donated to the the Corpsman Maxton W Soviak Memorial Foundation.

The Rimfire Match offers shooters a recreation-oriented competition where they use smallbore sporter rifles (plinking and small game rifles) commonly owned by almost all gun enthusiasts. This is a unique match where all that’s needed to compete is a rifle and ammo. Participants must fire with standard sporter-type rimfire rifles that weigh no more than 7 ½ pounds.

Rifles may be manually operated or semi-automatic; competitors with manually operated actions are given extra time in rapid-fire to compensate for the difference. There will be the standard “O Class” for open-sighted rifles, “T-Class” for telescope sighted rifles and “TU Class” for tactical unlimited rifles. Firing is done at 50 and 25 yards on a target with a 1.78″ ten-ring and an 18″ outer one-ring. The target is simple enough for a beginner to hit, yet challenging enough that only one competitor in the history of the match has ever fired a perfect 600×600 score.

As stated, the overall weight of any Rimfire Sporter rifle, including sights, may not exceed 7.5 lbs. Slings may be removed for weighing, but T-Class and TU-Class rifles must be weighed with sights attached. Rifles with removable clips must be weighed with one clip. External or internal weights may be added to the barrel or stock as long as the overall weight of the rifle, with sights, does not exceed 7.5 lbs. External weights may be added to the barrel only and must be concentric in shape.

The Rimfire Sporter course of fire is challenging. New competitors are able to successfully complete it while the more experienced find it uniquely challenging. Participants begin at 50 yards with a sighting or practice series and then shoot 10 shots for record slow-fire in the prone position, followed by two, five-shot rapid-fire series. This is followed by 10 shots slow fire and two, five-shot rapid-fire series in the sitting or kneeling position. Targets are then placed at the 25-yard line where competitors conclude with 10 shots slow fire and two, five-shot rapid-fire series in the standing position.

Competitors must supply their own good quality, safe ammunition for this match. Competitors will need a total of 60 rounds to fire the Rimfire Sporter Match plus any sighters or range alibis.

CMP Rimfire Sporter Clinic with live fire will have classroom instruction as well as on the range training. This class will be taught by CMP Instructors.

If you have questions regarding the Rimfire Sporter Match, please contact Vera Snyder at vsnyder@thecmp.org or call (419) 635-2141, ext. 782.

MAX SOVIAK NATIONAL RIMFIRE SPORTER RIFLE MATCH

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