New CMP service rifle rules.

[Rosco the Iroc]

Wow just in time my eyes are are getting too old to look through a .030.

http://thecmp.org/2016-cmp-rifle-and...-rule-changes/

SERVICE RIFLE AND PISTOL RULE CHANGES

Here are summaries of the most important 2016 rule changes in the CMP COMPETITION RULES FOR SERVICE RIFLE AND PISTOL:

Optical Sights For Service Rifles. For several years, the CMP has recognized that optical sights are the wave of the future for Service Rifle shooting. Military recruits today do all of their training with optical sighted rifles. Service Rifle rules have traditionally tried to keep abreast of military rifle and training developments so opening Service Rifle shooting to optical sights became an inevitable change. The 2016 rules will, for the first time, permit M16/AR15-type rifles to have optical sights with a maximum magnification of 4.5X. Legal scopes can be fixed power or variable, but the maximum power of variable scopes may not exceed 4.5X. Scopes will have to be manufactured with a maximum 4.5X magnification and have an objective lens no larger than 34 mm. There will not be a separate class for scope-sighted rifles. Instead, competitors will have a choice of using either a scope-sighted rifle that weighs no more than 11.5 pounds or a metallic sighted rifle that will continue to have no weight limit.

More Options For M16/AR15-Type Rifles. Since accurized Service Rifles first came into popular use in the 1950s and 1960s, those rifles, whether M1s, M14s or M16s and their commercial equivalents, have been rigidly defined. Legal M16-type service rifles had to retain the external profile of an M16A2 or M16A4 rifle and could only have modifications that were explicitly permitted in the rules. All this will change in 2016. The 2016 service rifle rules will state that M16/AR15-type Rifles must be “an M16 U. S. Service Rifle or a similar AR15 type commercial rifle that is derived from the M16 service rifle design” and there will be far fewer specific restrictions. 2016 restrictions will simply require M16/AR15-type rifles that:

Are chambered for the 5.56 x 45 mm (.223) NATO cartridge.
Are designed or modified for semi-automatic fire only.
Have either a gas-impingement system or a piston-operated gas system.
Have a barrel that is no longer than 20 inches, with or without a flash suppressor (16” barrels are permitted).
Use one upper receiver and barrel for the entire match.
Have a trigger pull of at least 4.5 pounds.
Use standard service magazines or commercial equivalents that do not contain added weights.
Have a fixed or collapsible butt-stock that may vary in length and even be adjusted between firing stages. Butt-plates or cheek-pieces may not, however, be adjustable.
Have a standard A1 or A2 pistol grip.

This will open the way for competitors to use a wider variety of M16/AR-16-type rifles. The imposition of a weight limit for scope-sighted rifles reflects a long-simmering concern over how heavy Service Rifles became when there was no weight limit. 15, 18 or even 20-pound rifles are far removed from the original service rifle weights. Opening Service Rifle shooting to optical-sighted rifles offered an opportunity to at least establish a reasonable weight limit for these rifles before they come into widespread use in Service Rifle competitions.

M14 Service Rifle Rules. For competitors who prefer to use M14 or M1A rifles, those rules are somewhat simplified, but remain essentially the same. The optical sight option is not available for these rifles.

No Extra Time Or Refires For Service Rifle Malfunctions. In a move intended to speed up competitions and encourage competitors to take full responsibility for having rifles and ammunition that function flawlessly, extra time in slow-fire series or refires in rapid-fire series will no longer be permitted when malfunctions occur. A primary objective of this change is to eliminate most of the “alibi relays” that add so much time to matches.

Rules for Scoring Irregular Rifle Shots. New rules for how to score early, late and missing shots as well as excessive or insufficient hits were added to the CMP Rules. These rules, however, are generally in synch with NRA highpower rifle rules. The one variation is that in the case of insufficient hits where there is credible evidence that all ten rounds were fired at the correct target and “the Pit Officer can confirm that there were ten impacts in the berm (pit puller testimony), “the target puller and Pit Officer must find a double among the visible shots…” In the case of excessive hits, the high ten will be scored if there are 11 hits. If there are 12 or more hits, the competitor must be scored the low ten or be given the option of refiring the series.

Pistol Rules Are Unchanged. Except for permitting service pistols to have a Picatinny rail below the barrel, the Service Pistol and 22 Rimfire Pistol rules adopted in 2015 are unchanged. Competitor and match sponsor responses to those rule changes were overwhelmingly positive so further changes have not been necessary.

[Hawk]

Go .038 or even a .042. More light to the eye is good, as long as you don't loose focus of the front sight.

I'm in the planning stages of selecting a scope. I just so happen to have a backup AR for this purpose. I suspect there will be a learning curve especially for offhand, rapid fire strings, and sling use with a scope.

[Remington788]

Go .038 or even a .042. More light to the eye is good, as long as you don't loose focus of the front sight.

I'm in the planning stages of selecting a scope. I just so happen to have a backup AR for this purpose. I suspect there will be a learning curve especially for offhand, rapid fire strings, and sling use with a scope.

What do you mean by .038 and .042?

I agree with you about the learning curve. I find it a lot easier to get back on target with a good peep sight than a big scope. I shoot NRA High Power (similar to CMP) and I use standard A2 sights. I've also done the same courses of fire with a variable 3-9x scope. A high magnification scope shows you just how shaky your hands get, especially offhand. It takes a lot to get used to.

[41 Redhawk]

What do you mean by .038 and .042?

I agree with you about the learning curve. I find it a lot easier to get back on target with a good peep sight than a big scope. I shoot NRA High Power (similar to CMP) and I use standard A2 sights. I've also done the same courses of fire with a variable 3-9x scope. A high magnification scope shows you just how shaky your hands get, especially offhand. It takes a lot to get used to.

He is referring to the aperture size for the original posters "peep" sight. The OP was complaining about having trouble using a .030 aperture.

[bluetrane2028]

This is pretty cool. I could just get a 4.5x scope and have fun with my existing rifle. Neat.

[Remington788]

He is referring to the aperture size for the original posters "peep" sight. The OP was complaining about having trouble using a .030 aperture.

Ahhh, I should have realized that.
I think it depends on the rifle or front sight too. On my AR, I generally use the larger of the two peeps. I have a Williams peep on a Win94 and there, I prefer the smaller of the two options (you can unscrew the aperture and use the threaded ring as a bigger aperture).

[Rosco the Iroc]

Go .038 or even a .042. More light to the eye is good, as long as you don't loose focus of the front sight.

I'm in the planning stages of selecting a scope. I just so happen to have a backup AR for this purpose. I suspect there will be a learning curve especially for offhand, rapid fire strings, and sling use with a scope.

I had it drilled out to .042

[libertydog]

The match directors at New Holland have allowed a scoped class for several years and I know both the guys running the program have been actually testing optics equipped service rifles, built to conform to the new rules, this fall and both of them have done very well with them. Then again John and John are both really accomplished shooters.

[abner13]

More and more , the individual infantry troop is using a rifle or carbine equipped with optics. Often these optics are chosen 'off the shelf' at the company or squad level.

[Hawk]

Not much chatter on the web as to what scopes people are looking to use for CMP, not even any talk about the scopes the guys have been using for the past few years in NRA HP optics class. So, I've been winging it and looking at a hand full of 4X scopes for the AR platform. I'm not pulling the trigger on one until I can glean some solid info from the web on what works and what doesn't work. Even so, I've been researching what I think will do the job short of spending $1k+. I'm leaning towards the mid range Vortex Viper PST 1-4x24, but I'm wondering what is the best reticle for CMP type shooting. I'm also concerned about the fixed 100 yard parallax on these types of scopes. 11.5 lb maximum rifle weight may be a issue too when selecting a scope. The Vortex runs 16.2 OZ. without the mount. It's going to be close!