The Critchfield “6400” Course of Fire: A Storied Legacy in U.S. Smallbore

For decades, the Critchfield 6400 has stood as the ultimate test of precision, endurance, and marksmanship in U.S. smallbore prone shooting. First fired in 1966 at Camp Perry, this grueling format made national champions out of legends—and left only a select few with a place in smallbore history.

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Origins of the 6400 Format

In 1966, the NRA reinstated the Double Critchfield format—two consecutive 1600‑point aggregates (irons and any sight) —totaling 6,400 points over four days of competition. Named after Captain E.J.D. Critchfield, a British marksman influential in early 20th-century U.S.-British smallbore collaboration, the format became the gold standard for testing endurance and consistency in the prone discipline.

Critchfield was a contemporary of early U.S. shooters like Arthur Cook and Harry Reeves, and he played a key role in standardizing match formats across international competition. His name became synonymous with full-length aggregate shooting that separated champions from casual competitors.

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The Perfect Scores: Only Three in History

Only three shooters are known to have ever fired a perfect 6400 score in competition:

• Tom Whitaker – The first American to fire a perfect 6400, accomplished in 1975 at the Western Wildcats in Phoenix. This feat made him the original member of an incredibly exclusive club.

• Lones Wigger Jr. – Arguably America’s most decorated shooter, Wigger fired a perfect 6400 at Camp Perry in 1977 with a score of 6400‑588X. His achievement at the National Championships remains one of the greatest feats in U.S. smallbore history.

• Steve Angeli – Angeli is credited as the only person to complete a perfect 6400 using iron sights for all 640 record shots, a feat requiring not only endurance but extraordinary visual discipline and consistency.

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The Format Shift and Its Impact

In the 2000s, the NRA shifted away from the 6400 Critchfield format to a shorter 1200-point aggregate 4800-Agg to modernize scheduling and reduce shooter and statistician fatigue. While the intention may have been good, the impact was devastating.

The 6400 was more than just a score—it was a rite of passage. Removing it chipped away at the heart of traditional prone shooting. Participation plummeted. What was once a field of nearly 300 shooters shrank to just 33 in some recent summers. Many long-time shooters left the sport, disillusioned by the loss of tradition and the perceived erosion of competitive prestige.

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Why the 6400 Still Matters

The 6400 course of fire was never just about targets. It was about friendships, summer road trips, camp cooking, late-night cleaning rituals, and post-match storytelling. With modern electronic targets now in place at CMP’s Camp Perry ranges, the grind is less physical—but the spirit remains intact.

Former competitors should dust off their rifles and come back. The bucket-bull target is still the same. The wind still shifts off Lake Erie. The challenge is still real. It’s like going to deer camp with your friends—but in the summertime, and with maybe slightly better weather (if the Camp Perry side-ways rain behaves).

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