At the 2024 National Matches, Brian Appel, 35, of Holyoke, MA, found his second consecutive win in the National Springfield Rifle Match.
“I just like shooting the 1903. It's my favorite bolt gun on Earth, so I can't help it,” he said with a smile.
He led the match with a score of 297-10X – surpassing a national record that had stood since 2011, though nearly letting the historic moment get the best of him.
“I thought I lost it on the last shot. I was so nervous that I actually threw a 9 to 12 o'clock,” he recalled. “I was like, ‘Well, there goes the record.’ Then I looked it up after the match, and my jaw dropped.”
Appel has been a regular at the National Matches, facilitated each year by the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP), for the last decade. He’s familiar with what it takes to properly prepare for a successful trip and spends much of his free time planning out his every move.
Brian Appel fired a new record score in the National Springfield Match at the 2024 National Matches.
“I spent most of the first six months of the year, basically, loading ammo, prepping guns, zeroing rifles – trying to just do all the stuff to get out here,” he explained. “It's a lot more work than most people think it is, especially when you're handling your own ammo.”
During those months of preparation, Appel spent his weeknights maintaining equipment while competing on the weekends. He was also aligning other small elements like his clothing, food and accommodations for himself as well as for his father, who comes along for the trip each year.
“It's a lot of fun, but it's a lot of prep work,” Appel said. “And the better your prep work is, the better time you're going to have when you're here. If you do all your prep work, it goes a lot easier, a lot smoother, and becomes more of a routine, and you enjoy yourself.”
“It's all about having fun at the end of the day,” he went on. “It's no fun if you're trying to scrim about looking for something that's missing, you forgot it at home. If you're not having fun, you're not going to do well. At the end of the day, we're all here to have fun.”
Appel had so much fun on the range in 2024 that he additionally earned the Three-Gun Aggregate for his repeated successes in the Garand, Springfield and Vintage Military competitions.
Brian Williams claimed his fifth Four-Gun Aggregate title at this year’s National Matches.
Claiming the Four-Gun Aggregate for the fifth time since the competition was introduced in 2017 was Brian Williams, 50, of Granby, MA. Williams, CMP’s Highpower Manager, also claimed the overall win in the Modern Military Match on his way to the Aggregate title and added a bonus victory in the National M1 Carbine event with a score of 375-3X.
Charlotte Carroll was the High Junior in the John C. Garand Match, with a score of 273-1X.
Kerri Lewis, 48, of Middletown, RI, secured a new national record of her own by just one x-count, with a score of 294-10X, in the National John C. Garand Match.
A talented competitor, Lewis has garnered several high woman honors in competition, but her Garand Match win marks an objective she has long sought within her marksmanship career.
“One of my goals has been an overall win or at least top three,” she said. “Being top female, I'll take that as a huge feat because there's a lot of great female shooters. But, again, one of my goals has been setting my eyes and ranking higher against everyone.”
As her own personal rule, she steers clear of checking scores until they’re finalized at the awards ceremony that follows each National Matches phase.
“You don't want to tell someone you did well and then all of a sudden it’s something different or you get your hopes up,” she said with a smile.
On the day of the match, she felt she performed well but had no idea where she ranked amongst the other competitors. Though those around her were excitedly telling her she had not only won the match but set a new national record, she ignored it all until her name was finally called at the awards ceremony and she received her ceremonial plaque – officially, in her mind, marking the reality of her dream.
“I'm shocked. I'm still in shock,” she went on. “So, very happy.”
Kerri Lewis (right) set a new national record during her win in the National John C. Garand Match.
Again proving her skills, Lewis was also the high woman of the Springfield and Vintage Military competitions as well as within the Carbine Match.
“Just setting my head to it and having some experience under my belt is helpful,” she said. “Same process – work hard every year, and it finally paid off. It's very nice to have something pay off.”
With one goal down, she has her sights set on the next.
“I want to be proficient across the board,” she said. “It's nice for an overall win, but proficient across the course in three- and four-gun – I'd definitely love that.”
Other competitors firing noteworthy scores during the Games events included Cindy Bailey, 52, of North Ridgeville, OH, who earned high woman and a new national record in the Modern Military Match, with a score of 284-8X.
Connor Hudson claimed the High Junior title in the Springfield and Carbine matches.
Connor Hudson, 17, of Paris, TN, took home the high junior honor in both the Springfield and Carbine matches. Other leading juniors were Charlotte Carroll (Garand), Sam Snyder (Vintage Military) and Jenna Boykin (Modern Military).
Finding the top spot in the National Vintage Sniper Team Match was Schedler-Watson (John Watson, Donald Schedler) in the Manual group with a score of 390-14X, while Garand – X It (Brian Williams, SPC Dustin Carr) fired a new record score of 385-14X to overtake the Semi-Auto category.
Winning the inaugural National Vintage Sniper Vietnam Era class competition was Dangerous Danang Duo (COL Daniel Henk and Shawn Risdon).
For the first time, the 2024 National Vintage Sniper event included an additional Vietnam Era class, with Dangerous Danang Duo (Shawn Risdon, COL Daniel Henk) reaching a score of 396-19X for the win.
Also for the first time, the 2024 National Matches featured the McKee Memorial Match – sponsored by Fulton Armory. Winning the inaugural event was Clint Townsend, 41, of Senatobia, MS, with a score of 354-3X.
Find a complete list of results of the 2024 National Trophy Rifle and National Games Matches at https://ct.thecmp.org/24NMRifleResults. Photos of all events of the 2024 National Matches may be viewed and downloaded for free at https://cmp1.zenfolio.com/f456222492.
– Ashley Dugan, CMP Staff Writer
The Civilian Marksmanship Program is a federally chartered 501 (c) (3) non-profit corporation. It is dedicated to firearm safety and marksmanship training and to the promotion of marksmanship competition for citizens of the United States. For more information about the CMP and its programs, log onto www.TheCMP.org.
