Camp Perry 2016 travel advice

I know its a bit early but..... we are working out leave dates for 2016 at work.  I have made the choice to go to Perry for the first time in 2016.  Need some advice on travel.

I will be flying in, where should i fly into?  

Should i rent a car?  Or is their any kind of shuttles to Perry from the major airports?

Place to stays? I know people stay in the huts, but anyone recommend any hotels/motels of reasonable price?

I'm sure I can find a check list of things to bring from a search of the forum, so should be good on that.  



Oh... also I can't remember something about team matches.... was it the NRA or CMP team match where you have to burn a noob every year?

i've flown into Cleveland, Dayton, Detroit and Canton. If you can I recommend you try and make the Canton, OH. match the weekend before, it's a great match and well worth the extra money if you can swing it. With that said if you cannot make Canton I found flying into Detroit the easiest. If I remember right the cost to fly into/out of Detroit offset the rental car, that's why I did Detroit.
I have never heard of a shuttle, maybe try and meet up with somebody here and share a rental. I've always stayed on post but that's because I was in military provided barracks. Depending on your car situation I would recommend trying to stay on post. Your list of things to bring will depend on where you stay so settle that before deciding what to bring. seems like I always bought stuff at Walmart and left it there instead of paying baggage fees.
Only the CMP team match requires a new shooter.

Looks like national is slotted for Jul 11-17 I'm sure I can make it to the Canton match 9-10

I STRONGLY recommend going with an experienced shooter your first time. Camp Perry can be overwhelming and they don't do a good job of explaining where you need to be and when. It is a big help to have someone make sure you have the right guns and the right number of rounds. 

I really like staying on base, which means huts. That said, I'd rather stay with or near my mentor / guide the first time.

Only the CMP NTT (National Team Trophy) for service pistol requires a new shooter to qualify for awards. NRA Teams have no "new shooter" rule.

Canton is a great match, a terrific warm up and a good place to meet people who might help you the next week at Perry. It is less intense and not as spread out. If you're coming that far I'd take advantage of it if you can. Bristol, IN Regional is usually the weekend before Canton (not sure this year since Perry is so late) if you want to make it a real shooting vacation.

I've got a packing list and some Perry information on my Google pages site, but I just noticed it's out of date so I'll update it in the next few days
https://sites.google.com/site/sdturner/shooting

I strongly support the comment to team up with a Camp Perry veteran. I had opportunity to go this year for the first time and I can't imagine having to navigate all the things you need to do without folks to help make sure you are doing what you need to do, when you need to do it and where you need to do it. One thing I will also tell you is that it is an unbelievable experience. One I will participate in again in 2016.

+1 on buddying up with a Perry veteran.

+1,000 on shooting the Canton Regional the week before.

Hi Christopher,

Glad to hear you are making your first trip to Camp Perry! If you fly in you will want to rent a car. No shuttles that I know of and taxis would get expensive quick. For hotels, I recommend Island House Hotel in Port Clinton. It is an older, historic hotel but it has always been very clean when I've stayed there. Great staff and 2 restaurants in the hotel itself. Free (simple, nothing fancy) breakfast in the morning. Less than 10 minute drive from Camp Perry. It's reasonably priced and my first choice. If it is booked, I usually stay at the La Quinta Inn in Sandusky on Milan Rd. It is a 25- or 30-minute drive from Camp Perry. Free breakfast, always clean, easy, and convenient for me. Walmart and lots of other stores and restaurants nearby on Milan Rd. I haven't stayed at any other hotels in Port Clinton. From what I've heard from others, many of them are kind of run down even the chain hotels. Island House Hotel also offers discounts for National Matches shooters, ask about it if you call them.

Also, if you don't have a buddy to go with, please don't worry. I went to Camp Perry in 2009 by myself to attend Pistol SAFS and the Service Pistol Warm-Up Match. No problems. Just read the info on bullseyepistol.com and in the National Matches program which you can get from the CMP website closer to the matches. And any NRA programs if you're shooting those too. Good luck!

I second the Island House Hotel on Port Clinton. They were great, and you could throw a rock from the hotel in pretty much any direction and hit a local eatery. ( I plan everything base on how close good food is  )

Just called the Island House.... no availability during a couple days of the match week, mostly weddings and family reunions.

You might try some motels in Fremont, OH. I can highly recommend Whitey's Diner there for breakfast.