The sun., 1907-08-19
OHIO'S new RIFLE RANGE
ANNJtL MATCHES THERE ron
THE VENT TWO WEEkS.
4 SI'icndld Plant on tine shores NJ Lake Erie
for Tests Of Workmanship amt with
Latest Equipments Points or SINH
IaritN 60 sea Girt--s'Overs 900 Acres.


CAMP PErnr. OHIO. Aug Is-.For two weeks.
: beginning tomorrow. the Ohio state vsnge
will be the roundup for The rife, carblne and
! revolver shots Of the United States. Onlctslly
! speaking lie nth annual matches Of the
National Board for the Promotion or ltthe
Practice. the twenty-ffth annual matches OF
the National Rife Association. the fourth
annual matches of the Ohio State Rife Asso-
citation and the annual competition OF the
Ohio National Guard will be shot from to-
morrow 70 September 1. The eliminating
match Of the two weeks will be the big national
match in which forty-sevcn State and service
teams will shoot for the national trophy.
The bronze shield presented by Congress
! for competition between teams OF twelve
! from the infantry. cavalry. navy. Marines
! West Point and Annapolis and each State and
! Territory has been won three years In sue
cessIon by the New York State team and once
by the army infantry. IL will he shot in two
stages Of n day each. and on the following day
| the national individual match will finish the
big meeting.
Ohio has built a mag gnihcent range on the
shores OF Lake Erie and within easy reach OF
| the best summer resorts. Fifty targets at tho
short range. ffty at the midrsnges and fifty
at the long ranges have been erected and four
| full strength skirmtsh teams can run at the
same time on silhouettes mounted on the mid
| range butts. camping site and camp edui-
| page for 900 men and n clubhouse also have
been provided for the big entry list and the
| corps Of range officers and markers.
The rinemen who have met In competition
on the Sea Girt range will find some striking
points Of similarity when they arrive on this
range. The entire stretch Of 900 acres. half
restricted to tho actual range and half to the
camp site. In green and level and faces the lake.
II lacks the smooth lawn OF the famous Sea
Girt range. for last year farm houses. farms.
peach orchards and furrowed fields were
here. But IL requires little ina gipation to
picture a second and larger Sea Girt In a
years Gmc. Then the entire range will
have Ns"A smoothed out. concrete walks
laid and fine group Of buildings and regi-
mental clubhouses erected.
At this time the range looks crude and
raw in csrtain details. and rains make the
dirt roads in the camp heavy with mud. But
the green stretch from firing point TO target
and the actual capabilities now existent for
running "A big match and for satisfactory
shooting will appeal strongly to the practical
rtfeman. heavy season OF rain has held
back the small details that make a finished
range like Sea Girt or Crcedmoor.
So far as the actual flnng is concerned,
that are lacking on the big Eastern ranges.
The IN q notable, q direct outgrowth Of un-
in the national matches Of the past. is the In
staiation of a buzzer at each firing point
a shot is fired there is no delay. as tho scorer
presses button on the spring desk and the
marker in the pit pulls his target. The marker
target to catch each shot;
The buzzer has solved the problem Of saw
ing time at the big ranges d,n and fb q %lping out
phonio communication with each group Of
ten targets Another advance has been
made In the installation Of the Aiken targets.
which are more easily manipulated than the
cumbersome army targets used on most
ranges They rarely are disabled. never put
mt nf "A llImnlnR
the wheel and at the long ranges require
but one man. For marking shots the Sea
all ranges and double targets are used. 4
common firing point for 2Oo. 800 and 500 yards
IL another distinct gain in time and com
As at Sea Girt the short range butt is on the
right, but unlike Sea Girt no portion of the
firing line is protected from rear wind by
clubhouse, to the detriment of teams in
the open At Sea Girt it was necessary TO
skirmish field. and different teams had dif-
fercnt conditions to face Here the butt
is 400 feet long. carrying fifty targets with
sodded and green. In echelon to the left and
rear is a 800 yard butt Of five targets. pro,
vided solely for qualification purposes. and
a 500 yard butt of five targets.
The end range or 6oo yards butts are fur
ther to the rear and left and occupy the mid
and here the sOO yard slow FIRE, the skirmish
and possibly the 200 yard rapid fire stages
viii be shot The 600 yard butts are 75O
centres. and except for eight targets on the
right the butts are unsodded, dark colored
This small stretch was completed last year
for classification firing Rihemen have been
would be like. for this year the figures area
foot above the butts and outlined against the
sky. The teams that have skirmished here
are strong in their praise Of the new scheme.
Between the 200 yard halt and the butts
the field is swampy. but for the actual run
ming from sOO TO aOo yards the field is all right
Al figures
even in dull light. and their elevation has
not affected the chances of hits on the prone
While the War Department has furnished
the regulation iron frame silhouettes for the
has devised skirmish target which all the
rifemen who have inspected II hope 20 see
used IN the coming matches, , me figures
shot holes and better life to the figures.
mounted on the regular mid range targets
and fasented 10 the bottom OF the frame by
BY this contriVance the markers are not
subjected TO glsncng shots IN the open pits.
frame and defects downward. The time
taken for the skirmish would also he reduced
into the pit AT the end of each run. marked
and pasted M while "a second set In M in the
air ready for another run.
with Is feet between target centres. and there
il clean strip OF dirt under each target,
Dirt is easy 10 get At both the mid and long
ranges on trial or low shots which will appeal
to most rihemen.
The range is not completely tagged at
present, but tho streamers In are well
placed. The range has three wind clocks.
one in the centre and one on either hank,
and they work well in following the wind.
Rarely Ia the light bad. as the range faces
north. and fogs from the lake are practically
unknown. Even in dun light the targets
show well. especially in the skirmishing
While the range strongly resembles Sea
Girt in its salient features, II approNimates
Creedmoor both in light and wind conditions
When he wind ia from the south west II filters
through q stretch Of woods on the west and
In tricky and variable. The mirage runs
strongly as rule. and in n fishtail wind and
n mirake Creedmoor conditions are dupl-
Gated. An interesting fact In this connection
Is that the Navy and Marine Corps teams.
the first to arrive here. found their Greed
moor elevations normal on this range, when
the wind sets In from the northeast from to
. O'Clock II is steady. like the side winds at
Sea Girt. and the scores ruin high
The butts IN the rear are cpen. point that
will commend itself strongly to the range
officers and markers. who can thus enjoy the
lake breezes. They are Of splendid reen-
0rod 40 ft.,n md fa,, eaa