The CMP Smallbore Rifle Competition is a trendy discipline under the umbrella of the CMP’s vast array of matches and competition styles. Smallbore Rifle has slowly been going through the process of being refined and expanded to offer shooters more opportunities to compete at various levels. This task has been accomplished with both athletes and old school instructors from around the country who have come together to foster a very refined competition and even made accommodations for those who cannot travel to area matches frequently. It was just announced that new rules have been posted for the 2022 Competition season making this the 4th edition of the rulebook in its history.

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Photo Credit: CMP

New Rules for the 2022 CMP Smallbore Rifle Competition

There are quite a few rule changes that will affect most competitors, however, rules regarding shooters’ clothing and accessories remain unchanged at the moment.  F-Class events will still be conducted simultaneously with Smallbore Prone events during national matches and F-Class events that are conducted during this time will still be governed by the ASSA (American Smallbore Shooting Association.) Those rules can be found here.

The biggest change to the 2022 rulebook is that the 3×20 course of fire will now be the standard 3-position event and this will replace the former 3×40 3-position event as the new standard.

All smallbore position EIC matches where competitors can earn credit points for the new Distinguished Smallbore Position Badge must be 3×20, not 3×40, events. The program for the CMP Camp Perry Open in May and the National Matches Smallbore Rifle Three-Position Championship in July will feature 3×20 courses of fire. If a match sponsor wants to sanction a Smallbore Rifle Match with a 3×40 event, this can still be done, but the CMP encourages match sponsors to schedule 3×20 events. Given the uncertainty regarding ISSF finals rules, this edition of the CMP Smallbore Rifle Rules will still include the 45-shot progressive elimination final that the ISSF previously used (Rule SB10.4) and a 24-shot prone final that was previously used by the ISSF.

Time Limit Changes for 3×20 (Electronic Targets Only)

In addition, some technical changes regarding the use of electronic target scoring were also made with the 3×20 event starting with a 15-minute preparation and sighting time where shooters will be allowed unlimited sighting shots in keeling followed by a 90-minute record fire time. During the record fire time, competitors still have to fire 20 shots kneeling, 20 shots prone, and 20 shots standing. This 90-minute period is reduced from the previous 105-minute time limit which was posted earlier this year and this could turn out to be a controversial decision for some. If paper targets are being used, the previous time limits of 30, 20, and 40-minute per stage for fighters and 20-record shots have not been changed.

Photo Credit: CMP

Tie Breaker Rules

Finally, tie-breaking rules have been changed. Competitors who have an equal score in the 3-position competition will be broken according to the highest standing score, followed by the highest kneeling score. Inner tens will no longer be used unless the two competitors have tied in all three positions (highly unlikely). However, if they have somehow managed to tie in all three positions, the inner tens can still be used to determine the higher-ranking standing score.

If you are a current or potential competitor for the 2022 CMP Smallbore Rifle season and have questions, you can contact should directly contact the CMP Smallbore Rifle staff at 419-635-2141 ext. 730 or email them at smallbore@thecmp.org. A copy of the 2022 CMP Smallbore Rifle Competition rulebook is available for free using the following link.

https://thecmp.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/2022SmallboreRifleRulebook.pdf