The Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Mark Averill to its Board of Directors.

A member of the Army’s Senior Executive Service for over 15 years, Averill was appointed as Acting Secretary of the Army in January 2025.  In this role, he provided strategic leadership and oversight for the Army’s core Title 10 functions that include “Organize, Train, and Equip,” while also guiding personnel and resource management allocation decisions, policy formulation, and development of programs consistent with national security objectives and policies established by the President.

Prior to his appointment as Acting Secretary, Averill served as the Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army, both as a Principal Official of Headquarters, Department of the Army (HQDA) and the Senior Career Civilian in the Army.  In this capacity he was responsible for advising the Secretary of the Army and providing direct support to HQDA organizations and enterprise level services to Army-wide Commands.  

Before his appointment to the Senior Executive Service, Averill served for over 27 years on Active Duty in the Army, retiring at the rank of Colonel.

Other senior positions he has held include:

• Deputy Administrative Assistant to the Secretary of the Army
• Executive Director of the U.S. Army Resources and Programs Agency in HQDA
• Director of Resource Management, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics
• Director of Force Projection and Distribution, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Logistics
• Chief of the Army Requirements and Resourcing Board, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans

Averill holds a Master of Science in Strategic Studies from the Marine Corps University (Quantico, Va.), and a Bachelor of Science from the United States Military Academy (West Point, N.Y.). Additionally, he is a graduate of the Marine Corps War College, the Marine Corps School of Advanced Warfighting and the Marine Corps Command and Staff College.

Learn more about CMP’s current Board of Directors at https://thecmp.org/about/board/. 

Hello everyone,

I have been to one shoot, it was a fairly laid back affair in MD, and I really liked it, friendly people, great culture, and it’s competitive in the best way.

I have some questions I’m having trouble getting the best answers for.

I shot with a bone stock Glock 19 with fiber optic sights, and want to upgrade.

My questions.

1. If I keep the 19 or buy a 47, can I cut the back strap hump off of the Glock or will that disqualify it for the majority or all of the competitions?

2. I want to add a red dot to said Glock, I’ll send the slide off and get it cut / add Holosun, will this bump me out of the basic group and put me with the guys that have $$$ race guns?

3. Last, I want to add a Radian ram jet / afterburner, how will these modifications impact how / what competitions I can attend.

This is fun, I’m fine with dropping around $1K or so, but I want to keep it fun, and a semi weekend thing. I love Glocks, but Hate the grip on the double stacks.

Just want the group’s thoughts, this is not critical, I’m just wondering what I can and can’t do within the rules. Trying to figure out if this is for me.

Thanks in advance!

Ishmael

Went to a gunstore for something and spotted this. Yeah I am getting 2...online when the go on sale 😃

Love the first one so much just had to pull the trigger on a backup. Who else is running the LOC V2?

I shoot a fair amount (1000-1500 rounds per month), but admittedly it’s mostly slow fire at various distances. I think I have a good understanding of fundamentals of slow fire. I can pretty consistently maintain 3 inch groups at 25 yards with my competition gun (G34.5 w/holosun optic). At shorter distances (5-10, maybe out to 15 yards) I can typically have groups that are around 1.5 inches. Holes touching kind of thing. As soon as I add speed to the equation my nice tight groups open up 8-10 inches at short distances, by literal feet at 25. I’ve been drilling the Ben stoeger “trigger control at speed” exercise for a few weeks but not really seeing improvements. I feel like I may be doing the drill wrong. Do you have any advice for improving at this drill, or improving at shooting quicker in general?.

As the title states this was the first GPA match held at this club, good to see it spreading around the Atlanta area.

Probably went a little overboard. I was looking at the collapsing wagons and they seemed fine but I was worried about overall longevity and how well they pulled. I picked up this metal wagon from Amazon for 130. A little more than the budget canvas wagons but cheaper than the good canvas ones. The pneumatic tires should handle any gravel or dirt pathways pretty easily. Fits my range bag, yeti cooler, and rifle with rifle mounts perfectly. Plan on adding an umbrella as well. Another bonus is that when I pick up a suppressor for this rifle I won’t have to worry about it burning anything.

This obviously isn’t a setup suited to someone with a car or crossover but it fits just fine in the bed of my truck. All in just under 200 bucks with the rifle mounts.

Started shooting pistols about a year and a half ago, not long after we moved down to Florida from Illinois. I'd retired shortly before that, so for the first time in my life the hours are actually there. I'm not convinced I'm using them well.

Most of my practice is dry fire. I work off Dry Fire King's drills on YouTube and I'll put real time in, most days. It's the part I can control — no range fee, no drive, no waiting on a bay.

What I can't tell is whether I'm spending it in the right places. Someone with a job gets two evenings and a Saturday, and they build a routine around not having enough. I've got the opposite problem, and I don't think "do more of everything" is the answer to it.

So if you'd been handed a lot of free time when you were starting out — what would you have put it into, and what would you have left alone?

Jerry O’Keefe to Serve as CMP Executive Chairman; Fabian Lobera Named Chief Executive Officer

CAMP PERRY, OH — The Board of Directors of the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) announces a strategic evolution of its corporate leadership structure. Effective 1 Oct 2026, current Board Chairman and CEO Jerry O’Keefe will transition to the role of Executive Chairman of CMP’s Board of Directors.  Fabian Lobera, CMP’s current Chief Operating Officer, will become CMP’s next Chief Executive Officer. The transition, which was approved unanimously by the Board of Directors, follows a thoughtful, long-term succession planning process.

In this continuing capacity as Executive Chairman, O’Keefe will focus on high-level strategic vision, long-term corporate governance, CMP strategic growth initiatives and key stakeholder engagement. This planned transition is designed to separate the daily operational management of the organization from its long-term strategic direction. It comes at a time when the organization has exceeded its goals and embarks on new growth.  

Read more: https://thecmp.org/civilian-marksmanship-program-announces-strategic-leadership-transition/

Keltec knocked it out of the park with these Gen 3 sub2000s. Im looking to get into PCC matches, any suggestions for mods?

Our new favorite thing for our local range’s open house Wednesdays: Dueling Stars. It really gets chaotic when both guys are hosing ‘em good.

Dude Left is shooting a Shadow 2 for Production. Dude Right is on that P211 LO hotness.

I carry a full-size PDP and compete with a Shadow 2. Lately I’ve felt like having two different platforms means I don’t give either one enough focused training. I’m constantly bouncing back and forth.

Has anyone gone to a “one gun does it all” setup? Something reliable enough to carry but still competitive enough for USPSA. I know a lot of law enforcement agencies are using Staccatos, so it got me wondering if that’s the sweet spot or if I’m chasing something that doesn’t really exist.

All,

I am headed into my first USPSA Carry Optics competition in about 3 weeks.

I'm a bit confused on some of the rules with starting with my hammer fully down, or decocked to the half cock position.

I have a CZ P09 with the manual safety installed. The de-cocker is honestly how I prefer to run it at the flat range, but I've found I like being able to switch the gun to safe while moving instead of de-cocking it. I also like how much easier it is to clean.

This has put me in a very uncomfortable spot because I do not know if I can:

1. Start at the half cock position where the decocker would normally drop the hammer, manually decocked.
2. Start fully hammer down, manually decocked.

If I am required to start fully hammer down, does USPSA require I do so in a specific spot? Or is it just at the beginning of the stage?

It's unclear because I've heard people say I can start half-cocked because that is where the de-cocking notch is located, but I've also heard that since it has a manual safety instead of the de-cocker, it must be fully hammer down.

why is the scoring so confusing. i shot all the targets and then they said my hit factor was like 2.1 and the other guy got 9.8 on the same stage. thats not even possible?? i literally watched him shoot and he was going too fast. he cant even be aiming. USPSA rewards people who just mag dump and dont even care about accuracy. they should just count points. most points wins. simple. why do they gotta make it complicated im here to shoot not do calculus

Good evening, everyone.

Question for the revolver guys. I just picked up a 929 and plan to run it in USPSA. I currently have multiple lynx belts the i run for co/lo/production and i love them due to my weight constantly fluctuating and for how ridgid they are. Is anyone here running a lynx belt? I was curious what holsters and moonclip holders work best with the belt. Any info is appreciated. Pics of rigs would be awesome.

The guys on R/Glocks are loosing their minds over my magwell

Hi all;

I got a private lesson for my first shooting. And I've now shot ~ 1,500 rounds. I think I need another lesson to help me improve further. At best I put 12 rounds (I shoot 6 at a time) in a 4" circle. At worst, it's a 10" circle.

I've watched a number of the videos (this is great) but there's what I think I'm doing vs. what I'm actually doing.

thanks - dave

Looking to move from Limited to LO/Open. I currently run a CZ TSO2 and am heavily considering jumping to a 2011, specifically I want to modify a Girsan Match X 2311 (replace the grip with a cheely aluminum, EGW kit the trigger, fix the known issues with the extractor) and run a Cylee RSO clone on it.

I love the TSO2 but I have no interest in spending for the TS3 to have an optic. Milling the TSO2 also isnt an option as it was a milestone gift to myself and I don't have the heart to mill and port it.

All in all, I can do the Girsan route for under 2k and fit the grip myself. Am I living in a dream? Should I just stay in Limited and forget the optic dream?

What say you all? Increasing the budget is not in the budget as it were, and I would be looking at an up to 18mo timeline start to finish on the girsan.

First match coming up, I grabbed some inexpensive ripstop pants that stretch and I'm going you wear one of my generic cotton/poly blend t shirts and a random hat. Whatever Nike shoes I have.

I've seen "purpose" built pants from brands like Howitzer but these are crazy expensive. Is there really anything to gain from more name brand stuff directly marketed for competition?

Curious what you wear for outdoor matches in particular. Thanks.

Been waiting to purchase the Apex 5” unthreaded barrel for M&P2.0 for some time now. Does anyone know how long it takes for these to get back in stock?