Iron County register., 1897-09-09

the Captain replies quietly, ''Never
mind the guard and the men. who
have rolled from their blankets and
come TO attention, return to them.
This is only one of the many little mill
itary attentions shown the command
ing officer.
As the troop ''canteens" are passed,
the men set down their beer glasses,
stand erect, their heels click together.
and they salute until the salute is ac-
knowledged by Capt. Hunter. The
Captain has watchful eye on every
thing as he passes through the camp,
and he offers suggestions to both men
and officers as he passes along the
company streets. The shallow stream
which flows through the horseshoe
valley is crossed on narrow bridge,
and few yards beyond is the 1000
yard firing post. Near it is a square
of raised earth, surmounted by logs so
that the trooper may have dry place
to fire from when the earth is muddy.
As you advance up the incline OF the
mountain you pass the 800, 600, 500,
800 and 200 yard fire points, all indi-
Gated by signs like the keep off the
grass signs in the public parks. On
line with the 500-yard and 200-yard
firing posts will be noticed two 40-foot
poles, from which harg pendants of a
bright scarlet color. They are of light
texture. and tell the trooper the direc-
tion of the wind, and also indicate its
velocity, so that he may calculate cor
rectly in firing from long distances.
np1 ~ nj Of hn
yard point. None of the soldiers are
blazing away in a free-for-all, but ev-
erything is proceeding with as much
order as full-dress drill. There are
six targets to be seen behind the pits
on the side of the mountain, or .sbutt, :"
as the troopers say. There are three
troops at the range, and each one has
two targets assigned to it. A tent flag
is erected at the firing post for each
troop, and under it are the clerks and
scorers. A man steps up and is given
five or ten rounds of ammupition. He
takes position in readiness for firing.
A First Lieutenant watches him close
ly, corrects his position and criticises
the position in which he holds his gun.
After each shot he is asked to explain
how he judged the effect of the wind
and on what part of the target he
ssdrew the bead" From this informa-
tion the experienced officer is able to
offer suggestions and correct the troop
er's aim.
The firing at the 100-yard point
looks easy to the civilian, and he is
almost sure he could throw rock and
L al i. Il
ed a carbine by the Captain, assumes
a proper position, then aims and fires.
he learns how badly he was mistaken.
The bullet either scatters leaves far
up the ssbutt," or kicks up the dust
80 feet this side of the target. Then
the unkind way in which the carbine
acts tends to assist in the disillusion.
He has been warned to hold the gun
hard against the shoulder, but discov-
ers that it kicks like one of the mules
in the wagon train, and after he takes
half-dozen shots with it, his shoulder
is aching badly and every bone in his
body seems to have been shaken loose.
After a half-dozen shots he learns how
to prepare for that "kick," but the
kicks force is still undiminished.
Up on the side of the mountain
stands the six targets at which the
troopers are firing. Over the range
the timber has been cleared away and
the grass moved, but behind the tar
gets woods cover the mountain side.
The targets are far from the plaything
affairs which they look like at a dis
tance. just in front of them is d long.
deep trench, in which the soldiers can
walk erect while the bullets whiz
through the targets over their heads.
| The present type is the ''Laidley re-
volYer target and it has not been in
use in the army until this year. In
consequence, the troopers do not ex-
pect to make as high averages at
shooting as they did in former years.
The targets are stretched on large
| frames and these frames swing on an
axis between two upright posts. Two
targets are attached to each frame.
When the target is fixed for shoot
ing, half of it is exposed above the
trench for the trooper to fire at. AT
ter the shot the frame is swung around
and the other target exposed, while a
record is being made of the shot and
the hole being covered by a paste. >
The old s'bull's-eye" style of target has
beeD abandoned entirely, and now al
the targets bear the silhouettes of men
in different positions. For close firing
| the silhouette is of man lying prone
upon the grounds, his arms in the po'
sition of firing a gun. The other sill
houettos for different firing distances
are men in in kneeling and erect po'
sitions, and for revolver practice they
are of a man mounted on a horse
4 The new targets are such that the
trooper is always firing at an enemy Ii
the position of firing at him. The
troopers are all carefully graded and
an accurate record made of each sho
; fired. If his bullet pierees the black
silhoatte it counts five. If it passe;
through the white space close to ths
outlines of the figure, 4; to the righ
or left of this, 3: and above it, 2.
the aim is too low the troopers shot Ii
, recorded as a ''miss." They complain
| loudly of this, as in the oId-stylt
..bull's-eyen target the low shots count
, ed as we'll as the high ones, the bulls
eye being in the center of the targe
and not at the lower edge, as is the
present silhouette. The troopers arr
J divided into classes, according to th'
records they have made, the highes
. being .ssharpshooters" and in regulal
, order, smarksmen, ssfirst-class men.
..second-class men, and ''third-clas:
/ men, Other terms used in grading