California State
.30 Caliber Rifle & Pistol Championships

Rifle, Pistol Shoot Opens At Matthews

Capt. W. W. McMillan, last year's world pistol champion, will be among some 150 outstanding Marine shooters who will compete today in the California State Rifle and Pistol championship matches at Camp Matthews rifle range.

Marksmanship Training Unit and Weapons Training Battalion have entered 40 Marine shooters in the matches.

Such well-known California shooters as J. W. Hurst of the Los Angeles Police Department, William E. Guiette of the San Diego Police Department and Elmer Hilden of the Border Patrol will be entered.

Hurst last Sunday captured the national police championship from Hilden while Guiette holds the international record for slow fire with pistol.

The California matches have been authorized by the National Rifle Association as a preliminary to the Pan American eliminations to be held at Fort Benning, Ga. during June and August. In addition to .22, .38 and .45 caliber pistols, .30 caliber rifles will be used in the matches.

Rifle marksmen will vie for the Harness, Wisler and Governor's match trophies, in addition to other awards. Rifle matches will be divided into two sections, with one firing the Model 70 match rifle and other using the M-1 service rifle.

San Diego Union, Friday, April 24, 1959

150 Corps. Shooters To Participate
In Calif. Rifle, Pistol Championship

Approximately 150 Marine shooters from West Coast posts and stations will compete in the week-long California State Rifle and Pistol Matches at Camp Matthews, which begin tomorrow.

"Mr. World Pistol," Capt. W. W. McMillan of MTU, will be shooting for his third year as California State Pistol champion.

Last Sunday, Capt. McMillan fired a 2644x2700 in the Los Angeles Police Dept. matches, just one point under his record in last year's state matches. He was followed by ASSgt. D. D. Thorne of WTBn. in the matches, by four points.

The California matches, ending May 4, have been authorized by the National Rifle Association as a preliminary to the Pan American Eliminations to be held in Fort Benning, Ga. MTU and WTBn. have entered 40 Marine shooters in the California State matches.

Thirty caliber rifles will be used, in addition to .22, .38 and .45 caliber pistols in the matches.

Shooters in the .30 caliber championships will vie for the Harness , Wisler, and Governor's Match trophies, among other awards. All matches in this stage will be divided into two sections, the "A" section using the M-70 match rifle and the "B" section the M-1 rifle.

Pistol championship matches will be fired for three days with the 2700 aggregate being fired May 2 and 3.

The small bore matches will take place tomorrow and Sunday with 15 matches scheduled. Perpetual and permanent trophies along with medals will be awarded to winners.

The International State Championships will be fired Wednesday, Thursday and next Friday. These matches will decide the International State winners who will go to the Pan American Eliminations in Fort Benning, Ga.

Lackland Air Force Base and the 6th Army of Fort Ord, Calif. will send teams of shooters to compete in the matches also.

MCRD Chevron, Friday, April 24, 1959

Taras Captures 2nd Rifle Crown

Gordon J. Taras of Pebble Beach yesterday captured the California State International smallbore rifle championship for the second straight time at Camp Matthews.

Taras tallied 1,110 points, nine more than last year. Marine acting S-Sgt. Emmett Duncan was second with 1,098 out of a possible 1,200 points.

Five shooters qualified for the Pan American Games eliminations at Fort Benning, Ga. Besides Taras and Duncan, they were acting G-Sgt. James E. Hill, Christian Peterson of Albany, Calif., and acting G-Sgt. V. D. Mitchell, who finished third through fifth, respectively.

The big-bore international free rifle, international slow fire and international rapid fire competitions will begin today, starting at 7:30 a.m.

Well known shooters in these competitions will be J. W. Hurst of the Los Angeles Police Department, Marine Captain W. W. McMillan former Olympic shooter, Offutt Pinion, William Guiette of San Diego and Marine acting S-Sgt. Emmett Duncan. 1958 United States International team members also will vie for top honors in the big-bore event.

San Diego Union, Thursday, April 30, 1959

.30 Cal. Shooters Will Battle Today

by ActCpl. Wayne Woodlief

Crack Marine Corps shooters are expected to haul away most of the silverware as the 30th annual California Matches move into the Corps' own game - .30 caliber M-1 championships - this weekend at Camp Matthews.

Sharpshooters from MTU and WTBn. will fire today, Saturday and Sunday in 600 and 1,000 yard championships, match distances the Corps swept in last year's National matches at Camp Perry, Ohio.

Marines were favored to dominate the meet's Pistol championships. Capt. William W. McMillan, MTU, 1958 World Pistol titlist, was to fire the International course yesterday, including a Wild West bit that called for five shots, at five different targets, in four seconds.

The international match winners are eligible for the Pan American Games final elimination in June and August at Ft. Benning, Ga.

Capt. McMillan and ActSSgt. Don D. Thorne of WTBn., hot on Capt. McMillan's trail in several matches this year, are the favorites in the State pistol matches today, Saturday and Sunday.

ActSSgt. Emmett Duncan, ActGySgt. James Hill, both of MTU, and ActSgt. Alan Dapp of WTBn. beat the State's top riflemen at the civilian's specialty - small bore firing - as the matches began last weekend.

Bulletin

Three MTU Marines qualified for the Pan-American Games final elimination with their sharpshooting Wednesday afternoon in the State International Small bore Championships at Camp Matthews.

ActSSgt. Emmett Duncan finished second, ActGySgt. James E. Hill third and ActGySgt. V. D. Mitchell fifth in the 120-shot, 50-meter event. All topped the 1180 qualifying score for the Pan-Am finals at Ft. Benning, Ga. in June and August. Duncan fired 1098, Hill 1093 and Mitchell 1083.

Gordon Taras, of Pebble Beach, won the championship with an 1100 total.

ActSSgt. Duncan won the Gary Simmons Trophy for four-position, 50-yard shooting and ActGySgt. Hill earned an International Free Rifle for his grand aggregate score of 3,928 with 223 hits in the 10x ring, best among the small bore meet's 77 competitors. Fifty-one of the shooters were civilians.

Dapp was second in the Grand Aggregate with 3,927 with 223 hits. Duncan was fourth with 3,917 and 193 X's.

MCRD Chevron, Friday, May 1, 1959

Marine, Policeman Capture Pistol Titles

A Marine Corps captain, a Los Angeles policeman and a crack shot from Pebble Beach swept the international course championship yesterday in the California rifle and pistol matches at Camp Matthews.

Capt. W. W. McMillan of the Marksmanship Training Unit of Camp Matthews and defending world pistol champion, won the rapid fire pistol title by firing 591 out of a possible 600 points, three under his own state record.

John Hurst of the Los Angeles Police Department took the slow fire pistol crown with 544 out of a possible 600 while Gordon Taras of Pebble Beach added the 300-yard big-bore rifle championship to the small-bore honors he won Wednesday.

Taras' 1,094 big-bore score, plus his 1,110 small-bore total also gave him the Governor's Match aggregate. His total of 2,204 was from a possible 2,400.

San Diego Union, Friday, May 1, 1959

Faulkner and McMillan in Shoot Wins

SAN DIEGO, May 3 - D. A. Faulkner and W. W. McMillan captured individual honors in the state big bore rifle and pistol championshipss, respectively, here today at Camp Matthews MCRD.

Faulkner won the big bore title with a score of 493-50V, while McMillan totaled 2,614 in the pistol competition.

Excerpt from the Los Angeles Times, May 4, 1959

MTU Shooters Capture Hotchkiss Pistol Trophy

Firing against strong military and civilian rivals, the MTU "Blue" team captured the coveted Hotchkiss Memorial Pistol Trophy, bringing it to the Marine Corps trophy cases for the first time since its existence.

The trophy is in memory of a Marine Warrant Officer who died while practicing with the 1955 Marine Corps Pistol team in Camp Lejeune.

First Sergeant R. O. Jones, ActSgt. Larry Hausman, ActSSgt. Edmond Sarver and ActSSgt. Frank Wright teamed with Capt. McMillan in the pistol competition to win the trophy with a 3424 total, just one point over the Air Force team. Earlier in the last day's shooting, Capt. McMillan seized the grand aggregate Governor's Match with 2614 of a possible 2700.

Shooters fought strong winds during the final days of the California Matches which caused the best of the marksmen to call on long-stored experience.

ActSgt. Alan Dapp copped the Harness Trophy, firing 99 and 10 Vs in the 1000 yard iron sight event. He took first in last year's 1000 yard scope match.

Winners of the M-1 service rifle competition wre 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing team shooters, ActMSgt. Karl Arnold with a 248 score, CWO Harold Larkin with a 243, ActGySgt. J. C. Phillips and ActGySgt. D. D. Faulkner, both posting a 240.

ActMSgt. Frank Freeman captured the 1000 yard big-bore championship in the .30 caliber matches to haul down the honored Wisler Trophy. ActMSgt. Freeman is a marksmanship instructor with MTU. He posted a perfect score in the match with 15 shots in the V ring. He was followed by ActMSgt. J. A. Davenport and ActGySgt. W. C. Rose.

Photo by ActSgt. B. J. Nereck Jr.
MCRD Chevron, Friday, May 8, 1959