National Match Rules 1936

[Cosine26]

I recenly posted some rules for defining the "service rifle" for the pre WarII Natiionals. I had indicated that the headless cocking piece had been eliminated. I did not have article handy. Here it is from the June 1936 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN. My previous post related to rifles that had been D&T fro scopes or Lyman 48 sights.
Note that item c. of the National Board regulations eliminates the headless cocking piece


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[raymeketa]

Cosine

Thanks for the link. It's always interesting to read the stuff you dig up in the old AR magazines.

Ray

[ClaudeH]

Very timely topic with Halloween coming up soon: The Headless Cocking Piece! Ahhhh!

[Bob S]

I have original rule books from 1935 and 1938. No mention of headless cocking piece in either one of them.

Resp'y,
Bob S.

[Cosine26]

A couple of related articles from early AMERICAN RIFLEMAN magazines

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This is from the March 1930 AR

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Tuis is from the August 1940 AR

FWIW

[Cosine26]

Here are excerps from the AMERICAN RIFLEMAN magazine for July 1931 outlining the rules for the 1931 Natioinal Matches

The following info was excerpted from the 1931 WD rules.


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Hi Bob,
The rule books that I have are issued by the NRA. Here is my understanding. Prior to WWII the NRA and the Army conducted the National Matches jointly on funding authorized and appropriated by Congress almost every year. There were two types of matches conducted during the Nationals, the NRA matches and the “service rifle “matches. The NRA rule books defined the regulations for the NRA marches and also included complementary information on the Army matches. Because the match season started early, the NRA rule books were issued prior to the meeting of the NBPRP and may not include the latest NBPRP information. Note that the NBPRP rules for 1931 were not issued until the July AR and the 1936 rules (from the previous post) were not issued until after the meeting of May 8 1936. Each year the NBPRP rules were published in the AR and copies were provided for those entering the “service rife” competitions. The army mantras have always been “What is not permitted is prohibited”. Having worked for and with the Navy for many years I found that the Navy mantra was always “What is not prohibited, is permitted.” – a far more liberal policy. That is why I believe that neither the 1935 nor the 1936 NRA rule book would cover the Headless Cocking Piece. The 1940 rules specify the knurled headed (standard) cocking piece but authorizes the reversed safety. Please note that the NBPRP for 1940 were not issued until August 1940 and it was indicated that these rules would be made available at Camp Perry. After 1940 the M1903 rules became moot, for the next service rifle matches were after WWII and the service rifle was the M1.
FWIW
VR
Cosine 26