Trip to Camp Perry for pistol.

I have a silly notion to go to Camp Perry for Pistol this year.  Before I sit down and let the feeling subside, I’d like to find out about how it really is, nowadays.  Things like getting there, where to stay, what to expect and all that… 

Getting there: I live in San Diego Kommiefornia, so it’s a “furr piece”.  I could fly but that limits the kind and amount of gear I can take.  Driving is a long haul.  3-4 days each way.  Driving means I could shoot Canton and Atturbury? Dunno.  Flying means I’d have to buy ammo locally…is there ammo on Commercial row?  Anybody driving from this neck of the woods LA, Vegas, Phoenix? Wanna share costs?

Where to stay and eat,  when I shot HighPower those 35 years ago, the norm was to stay in a hut, with the bugs and the swamp critters or if you were flush one of the “modules”.  Hotels were a bit of a distance and there weren’t many rooms available…. Food was the Mess Hall (now demolished).  Restaurants were in Port Clinton were OK… so what is it like now?  If I stay on post is there hot food available?

If I fly I’ll rent a car…

So how are the matches run?  I know there will be relays, and (I presume) that unless you’re shooting or doing required duties you can find a shade tree or go to town.  So how is it run? Start time, reporting time etc.  I know relay 1 starts at 7AM, Relay 2 at 900AM  and Relay 3 at 1215.  So are there any required duties before, after, or during my relay for which I need to be present on the range?  When I shot Highpower, we had pit duties so it was a long day…longer if we had delays… 

So let’s hear it.  What am I getting myself into?

Food onsite is now food trucks . 
Huts are now clean and air conditioned.
Ammo is iffy, preordering is probably available from some vendors.

Last year, plenty of 22 ammo was available, both cheap (Aguila) and match grade (through Champ Choice). Not sure on CF ammo. Honestly, if you're worried, I'm driving up from Columbus. Ship me your ammo, and I'll bring it to Perry.

Days are pretty short and concise. Two relays last year, and you always shot the same time for each day of the 2700. I would guess that this year they'll switch repays a bit so people shoot at different times. Nothing but shooting and scoring the shooter to your left is required of competitors. There're large tents behind the line to provide shade while you wait, and water is always available, along with portapotties. Plenty of trees by the firing line as well. The only thing that can slow things down is a ceasefire due to ships in Lake Erie beyond the range. That'll happen at least once. They had some target hardware issues last year, but hopefully have that sorted. They also had communication issues for weather delays last year, but got that fixed by the end of the week. I expect this year overall to be smoother.

I have also heard rumors that they may actually have two target lines, so possibly we won't have to move boxes to the short line.

My family comes up for the week, so I stay in Port Clinton, usually Airbnb or VRBO. Lots of options, plus there's a couple newer hotels. Food has gotten better, with higher end options now available, mostly on Catawba.

Hope this is helpful!

Dave

I fly in with, get a rental car and hotel. Hotel is about 20 mins away. Not bad. You can fly with pistols and enough ammo for the week. (Use two separate boxes.) Sometimes there is a slight hiccup when the person checking your bags sees 5 guns in a case, but usually calls over a supervisor and everything gets sorted out. Luckily, many people from my state drive, so I send guns/ammo ahead with people I trust.

The CMP has the schedule posted on their website and update it as needed. As it sits now, each relay fires the same time every day, for example relay one always starts first. As far as quality of how the CMP runs the Match, they have made improvements every year since they have started, it isn't perfect but they do actively seek out recommendations for improvements and act on them. Weather can change the schedule, last year for example an EIC was moved due to thunderstorms. 

Once you shoot on your relay you can leave and do other things. Lots of neat nature reserves and things (Marblehead Light House) along the lake close to Camp Perry. If you shoot first relay you could even push out exploration a bit further, Rock hall in Cleveland is about an hour away, Tony Packo's is about 45min the other direction in Toledo. 

As far as the other matches in the same time frame, I would recommend the Triple Crown series over Canton, Perry, and Atterbury. Red Feather historically has had bullseye specific stuff available for sale at the Cardinal match, last year they also had Atlanta Arms ammo for sale. As far as side trips, the greater Columbus area also has some neat museums and other things that are worth the visit. Columbus Art Museum and COSCI are good. There also is a museum close (hourish from Cardinal) that has an exhibit on Jerrie Mock (first women to fly solo around the world, started and ended in Columbus) The drive between Cardinal and Canton if planned out correctly can allow some good stops such as one of the  Fin Feather and Fur locations. Canton works hard to put on a good match and every member of the club that is there is happy to have people come for their match. The Triple Crown is also fun as it is a neat super agg thing and the lower class payouts are actually really good.

As far as my reason why not Atterbury, from my friends who shot there, the match is understaffed which can easily lead to frustrations. They also have had several issues with their target system (eg 50 yard line is not friendly to short people). Their attendance has also been low, which does not help EIC/DR prospects. 

Out of fair disclosure, Cardinal is one of my home ranges and I am an ORPA Trustee (they are the sponsor of the Triple Crown), just to make any bias clear. As Dave mentioned in regards to Ammo, their are several in the area that you could ship your ammo ahead. Regardless of what matches you may or may not shoot, looking foreword to having as many at these matches as possible.

Avoid the old hotels right on the boat harbor in Port Clinton - very noisy and over-priced. Further East and up to Catawba as Dave said - or, if they are full, there are a couple of reasonably priced hotels just south near Fremont. I ended up at the Days Inn there 2 years ago, OK. (3701 OH-53, Fremont, OH 43420). Grocery stores and fast food at Fremont too.

I drove over from Oregon 3 years ago - long, boring 3 day drive! Then used hotels for the Bristol/Cardinal/Canton tour - all OK. Then I tried fly/rent/hotels for Cardinal/Canton/Perry/Atterbury, problems with rental cars and hotels became irritating, but put that down to trying to regulate cost and poor planning on my part.

There was some Zero match 45 ammo available at Perry last year, as well as plenty of 22, as Dave mentioned.

Chiz is mostly correct re' Atterbury - it has been "underwhelming" the past 2 years. But they do seem to have fixed the target line somewhat now and there is a new NRA Pistol Director who seems to be active and enthusiastic - we'll see! If you are able to get one of the motel rooms on camp they are fine, but you will need transport - as mentioned in another thread.

BTW, re' flying. I use a "pelican" case (you've seen the old iteration on here before) and have put both guns and ammo in that case - quite OK. If you intend to take a lot of different guns then just guns and gear in one case and ammo + everything else in another makes more sense, but it is quite feasible to get everything you need inside two suitcases. There is a limit on the amount of ammo you can put in checked bags (10lbs? - been mentioned on another thread recently), so quite OK if you only do one event, but if you do the full tour, then ship ammo to Dave, or to Red Feather.

Don't forget a brass screen - all of the military guys and some others don't use nets and routinely ping their neighbour with hot brass!

I travel alot for my job and bring my pistols on long trips with me to practice or compete in local matches at my travel area. I use UPS to ship my reloaded ammo to a UPS store in my travel area and pick it up when I arrive. Way cheaper then buying commercial, especially 45, and pretty easy to do. Just have to call the UPS store before you travel to make sure they let you pick up packages without having a mailbox with them.

RoyDean wrote:
Don't forget a brass screen - all of the military guys and some others don't use nets and routinely ping their neighbour with hot brass!

Do NOT make my mistake and try to take a brass catcher through TSA, though. I nearly got pulled from my flight because I had a heavy solid piece of triangular steel. I think they thought I might try to club the flight attendant?? Luckily, cooler heads prevailed.

severnr wrote:I travel alot for my job and bring my pistols on long trips with me to practice or compete in local matches at my travel area.  I use UPS to ship my reloaded ammo to a UPS store in my travel area and pick it up when I arrive.   Way cheaper then buying commercial, especially 45, and pretty easy to do.   Just have to call the UPS store before you travel to make sure they let you pick up packages without having a mailbox with them.

If you are a member of USA Shooting, one of the membership perks that I picked up a while ago (I don't know if they still have it) is something akin to a corporate UPS membership. This means that you get an account with a negotiated discount for shipping anything via UPS. Note that you cannot ship ammunition nor firearms through a "UPS Store," nor any location other than a UPS Customer Center. Regardless, you can pack up ammo, print out the diamond labeling, pay for and print your shipping label at home, and then just drop it off at a UPS Customer Center.

Neat trick for the UPS Store. I'll have to look into that. I've shipped it to friends in the past.

If you do try Atterbury as well, note there is going to be a shortage of housing on base, so you'll want to secure a hotel in Columbus, Indianapolis or points in between sooner rather than later.  (Indy is about 45 minutes depending on where you stay.)  Atterbury is sizing up to be better than previous years, lots of changes; registration should open by the first of April.  

Hoosier hospitality is a real thing so I invite you to come shoot with us in Indiana, too, after warming up in Ohio....

Wobbley wrote:I have a silly notion to go to Camp Perry for Pistol this year.

There is nothing silly about wanting to shoot at Camp Perry. All the other matches are great but there is only one Camp Perry. Everyone on this list should do it at least once.

SteveT wrote:

Wobbley wrote:I have a silly notion to go to Camp Perry for Pistol this year.

There is nothing silly about wanting to shoot at Camp Perry. All the other matches are great but there is only one Camp Perry. Everyone on this list should do it at least once.

I have been wanting to go and finally can get enough vacation time to go and have some to have a separate week with the wife. I'm really looking forward to maybe meeting some of the people from the forum. I have been told there is nothing like your first perry. Can't wait. Im going to make the 7 hour trek from pa. Im double dipping and shooting the canton warmup match also.

I shot Canton and Perry last summer. Both venues were fantastic.

Perry Lodging: the barracks are really cheap, like $10 per night I think. The huts are very nice now compared to what they were 20 yrs ago. They are clean and have A/C.

Perry food: I ate at the food trucks each day. It was very convenient.

I did see some 45 match ammo for sale last year by Zero I think but it was pricey. Not sure that you can plan on that for this summer unless you order ahead of time and have them bring it for you.