This weekend I stumbled upon a medal with the Pennsylvania Railroad logo and a rifle dated 1926.
Turns out PRR sponsored many sporting events and gave out other similar medals for the more typical office-type sports like softball and bowling etc.
It originally had a ribbon attached. I don’t know what the criteria was for awarding them. Some of the awards for other sports seem to be gold so its possible they were Gold/Silver/Bronze awards or that could have varied by sport. It was made by Dieges & Clust Jewelers in Philadelphia.
According to the some old newspapers, the matches were playoff format. Each department had a competition and sent representatives to a final championship which was held in Baltimore, at least in 1927.
I thought it was a neat piece of history, sure beats a company softball game.
Took the Garand out for one last match for the year. It was a crisp December day in the low 40s and overcast. I had taken my rifle apart after the last match as I had shot one round of corrosive ammo and my OCD wouldn’t let it slide. Of course, I didn’t have time to take it out to check my 0 and let it set into the wood. I managed to dial it in with the 5 sighter rounds, which was better than I expected as I had peened the barrel which can change POI.
After the sighters, prone went well. However, I really fell apart in off-hand. My head wasn’t in it and I let myself get mad. Good news is I have four months to practice for the next season.
It was crisp and overcast for Sunday’s Garand Match. The visibility was good, not too bright or dark.
I shot on the 11 am relay. I’m not sure what I was doing in slow prone, I didn’t take my time to get into position and I ended up shifting a couple times mid string which was a little frustrating. I made up some in rapid prone and off hand, is off hand.
A couple of my friends came to the match this month, one of them a new shooter. Unfortunately the new shooter had some equipment trouble and his extractor went flying. Once the RO was able to get his rifle clear from the line we were able to get him a loaner rifle to finish out the match.
Just one more match this season then its time for another long winter.
I took a trip across the river to York Riflemen, one of my favorite places to shoot, for their fall Garand Match.
It was raining when I pulled in but by the time we headed to the pits the ran stopped and by the off hand string of the first relay it was in the mid 60’s with the sun was shining. There were only enough shooters for two relays so we “scored in the pits”. I had never done this before. This initially gave me some anxiety but, after some advice from my fellow shooters, it turned out to be not so hard. Run the target down, score paste, and run it up like normal. Then Grab your clipboard and write down the shooters score, with any luck before your shooter takes their next shot.
After a round in the pits it was my turn to shoot. The weather had significantly improved by the time I was all strapped in for slow prone. I am happy to report that I beat my personal best entirely due to off hand. I had been in a bit of a slump with the Garand the past few matches, especially on off hand. I had an “ah ha” moment while dry firing this week. I was not leaning back nor to the right (away from the line) as much as I had been Note in first picture there is way too much space between my side and my support arm.
In this match, with the position I had practiced, I was able to get my support arm tighter against my side. This gave me a more stable position. While I still have some other things to work on I think this was good breakthrough.
This old picture that has been floating around the internet for some time gives a good visual of what I’m talking about. Why he is barefoot I don’t know, GTB recommends you wear a sturdy pair of boots when shooting.
It was a great match and I am glad I made it out. I’ll be back for thier spring Garand Match in April and plan to stay for their spring NRA match.
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![IMG_0456[1]](http://garandthumb.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/IMG_04561.jpg)
