The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1910-08-01
|R|FLEM[A At CAMP PERRYA
New State National Guard Will Make Good
Showing at Ohio Meet

That the rifle team OF the Oklahoma
National Guard, which left last week
tor Camp Perry, Ohio. to take part
Ia the national shoot there, will give
good account OF itself In competi-
ton With the crack teams from the
Eastern states, Is the prediction made
By observers who have been watching
the work OF the Oklahoma rlflemen on
the state range near Chandler.
Ii is the existence Of that range
authorized by the 1909 legislature,
which has made Oklahomas rifle
team what ii IL and made il possible
Tor the newest state To compete with
organizations which have practiced
rifle shooting for years and yea 5
past. For ever two months the mem
tArs 81 the Oklahoma team have
spent their time on the range practic-
Ing daily and many times day, find
ing out the reason for every miss and
making il help them TO hit the bulls
eye next time. AS result OF their
faithful work the Offices OF the team
confidently believe that It viii return
from the competition with high hon
oTs.
Within Four Years.
Previous to four years ago, Okla
homa had never heard OF such a thing
as a rifle team. The first time one
was ever selected was in 1906. Then
it went to Seagirt, y. j., and finish
ed thirty-eighth among fouity-one
teams.
The members of the team consider
ed that they did well to beat even
three other teams as they had no
practice whatever, except what was
obtained on the Seagirt range after
their arrival there, and we're for the
most part wholly unfanilla with long
distance shooting and the melhoas oi
the modern rifle range. Only the
fact that several members OF the team
were natural shots, who could make
good scores in spite OF those dlsad-
vantages, put them in the running at
ALL
The next year they did consider
ably better, although the team had
still hal no chance for real rifle prac-
tice at home. In 1908 an effo.t was
made TO give the Oklahoma marks
men some practical training on tbe
government rifle range at Fort Sill.
AS a result they made very credit
able showing at the national shoot
finishing fourth in the regimentai
trophy mach and fourteenth in the
national team match, eighth among
the states Sergeant George Stewart
OF the Oklahoma team also won indl-
vidual honols, taking third place in
the Wimbledon cup match against the
most famous Ilflemen OF the United
States. ta
Use Of a Section.
A new era for rifle practice in the
Oklahoma National Guard opened
when the 1909 Legislature authorized
the use of section of school land
near Chandler as a rifle range and
made an appropriation for Its equip
ment On account OF the lack OF
funds, no team was sent to Camp
Perry last year, but In November a
competitive shoot was held with the
rifle team of the Third Missouri regt
ment of Kansas CITY, which has had
a crack rifle team and a we'll equip
ped rifle range at Swopepark for
OF years. The match was
won by the Oklahomans, with mar
gin OF IS points.
This year the rifle practice com
menced on May 2, when eighty OF the
best riflemen from the various organ
izations OF the regiment assembled On
the range at Chandler under command
OF Col. Roy Hoffman. commander OF
the First regiment and captain OF
the rifle team. Flom that list elm
nations were gradually made until the
fifteen men having the best scores for
the entire time were selected to com