Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-09-05
BIG SCORES OVER
SEA GRIT RANGES
District Boys Make Fine Squirt
for Rifle Honors.
PASS SOME GOOD MARKSMEN
Drop to Fourteenth and Work Back
to Eighth Place.
NEW JERSEY NOW IN LEAD
Standing Of the Teams at the Third
Stage-Individual Scores
of Our Boys.
NEW JERSEY NOW IN LEAD


dropped to fourteenth place, and
then worked back with a quick
squirt to No. 8. Everybody is in
terested in the excellent shooting
that is being done, and the local
men stand we'll up in the individual
records. They are far in advance
of the rear guard of competitors.
1t is hardly probable that the ma
tional team match will be con-
cluded today.
Special Dispatch to The Star.
RIFLE RANGE, SEA GIRT, N. j., Sep
TENDER 5-Nearly everybody on the Sea
Girt range is at the firing line today. The
national team match is holding the atten-
ton Of ALL especially the members of the
District Of Columbia detachment of rifle
men. Firing in the 600 yards stage occu-
pied nearly all of yesterday afternoon, only
the first two men of each team completing
their scores at the 800 yards stage.
The District of Columbia team, which was
In sixth place at the end Of the 200 yards
stage, dropped to fourteenth pace when the
work at 600 yards was ended. However,
there remained four additional stages to be
shot. including a skirmish run, and the
standing Of the competitors Is apt to I'M
dergo material chanbe at each stage. The
fact that skrmish run is included in the
conditions renders 1t impossible to predict
with accuracy who will be the winner, as
that feature Is always an unknown quantity
and Is apt to land in first place team which
may be considerable distance down the
list at the other stages. At all events the
members of the District of Columbia team
are doing the best they can, and, 1t is point
ed out, they are far In advance of the rear
guard of competitors
Make Fine Squirt.
1t is not regarded as likely that the ma
tional team match can be completed today
At the conclusion of the firing at 500 yards
the District, by excellent work, had made
decided squirt forward, moving up from
fourteenth to eighth place and passing
Ohio, Connecticut, the cavalry team of the
army, Rhode Island and Connecticut The
standing Of the first eight teams at the
END OF the third stage was: New Jersey
l,5O6; New York, 1,604; Massachusetts, l, 49l
United States Infantry. 1,479; Marine Corps
1,41; Navy. 1,469; Wisconsin, 1,46s; Dis
trict of Columbia, 1,455
The individual totals Of the members Of
the District team at 300 yards follow:
Heidenreich 40; Robbins, 49, Holt. Al:
Summers. 20; Reichelderfer, As; Magruder
20; Young, A; Leizear. 80: M Anally, a.;
Groome. 40; Appleby, a.; Cookson, A. To-
tal 1872.
Scenes at the Firing Line.
The scene at the firing line during the
progress of the national team match is an
interesting one. Each team consists of
| twelve members, team captain, a team
| coach, team spotter and three alternates,
the total being 1888 men in uniform All
the other members of the state detach-
| ments are close observers of the work of
the competitors. and in addition, visitors
by the thousands are in attendance, espe-
cially during the afternoons. They arrive
in motor cars, horse-drawn vehicles, by
railroad trains and electric cars.
Every man in uniform not actually firing
| is provided with pencil and pad and is con-
| tinually busy figuring. AS each Individual
| competitor concludes the firing of a string
OF shots, rapid calculations are made by
| in the standing Of the teams at any time
is known the moment 1t occurs.
There being forty-one teams competing
| in the match. forty-one targets are in use
simultaneously. They extend almost the
| width Of the big range. The Individual
competitors place themselves at the firing
| point by twos and fire alternately. the odd
| number of each pair being on >the right
| and firing first.
Targets Assigned by Lot.
i ne tdTSclS are dSSlSHeQ Dy lOt, team
| captains drawing for the same at each
| range. No coaching or communication CT
any kind with men at the firing point, ex-
cept by the team captain, is permitted. and
then only for the purpose of preventing in
| fractions Of the conditions Of the match.
| The individual competitors actually firing
| may communicate with one another
In the match at least three yards In rear
of the firing point are permitted the team
| captain, the coach and the spotter, who
| may observe the firing of the members of
their team and check the value of each
| shot as called by the scorer. The captain,
| coach and spotter are not permitted to
| shield competitor from the wind. throw
a shade upon his sight or aid him in airy
| other way.
| Each team has it's own telescope and
| the spotter can TELL usually, the value Of
| a shot before the target Is marked. The
firing line is picturesque stretch. for in
| addition to the telescopes many OF the
teams have little wind gauges. that whirr
around, and other aids to craftsmanship.
| Changes in Few Years.
| DR.. w. G. Hudson. one Of the best known
| riflemen in the United States and a promi-
nent figure on the range here, while In
| reminiscent mood last evening, spoke Of the
| old days when the fortunes of the National
Rifle Association of America were at a very
low thb.
| one can scarcely believe that there could
have been a period in the history of the
| National Rifle Association like that of 1893,
| when conclusions in the Hilton Trophy
| match-at that time the principal interstate
event-used to be fought out in the twi-
| light between Georgia. New Jersey and the
District of Columbia" he said. ut was in
those days that had my first introduction
| to military rifle shooting. and am6ng the
| first recollections have of Sea Girt is
| the memory of buying tickets over at
little eflice beside the lake. The line at the
| ticket Office window was not much in evil
| der &C in those days. and the small gather
| Ing of riiemen who represented the ma
| TONS shooting talent was insufficient to tax
more than very small part Of the re-
sources of Sea Girt. Not that the indi-
| vidual shooters were whit lacking in en-
| thusiasm, but rifle shooting as a national
/ sport was. all but dead.
| What transformation we see today in
the present Sea Girt gathering! Over fNrty
teams, representing all sections ofQthe
United States. hundreds of enthusiastic
rifemen where there was one before, and
/ the resources of the great Sea Girt range
| even though enlarged several times since
| the old days. taxed away beyond their ca