Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1911-01-07

In this particular department of mill
tary endeavor.
In the national guard where the men
cannot be ordered upon the range,
with expediency, the work must be
made attractive. The commanding
officer should lay his plans for range
work early in the year and make
requisition in season for his supplies
He should organize the work among
the noncommissioned officers, espec-
tally those who have had experience
and met with success upon the range.
He should as far as possible make
the range attractive by providing
personal comforts and reducing fati-
que duty and delays to the minimum,
and persistently urge appropriations
for this class of work commensurate
with it's importance. He may organ.
ize platoon or squad competition and
encourage inter-company shoots to
sustain interest. Spectators should
be encouraged to attend and observe
practice and contests on the range,
under proper regulations, SO that
when a man succeeds he may enjoy
the appreciation so pleasing to even
the modest. He should call attention
to the decorations for the uniform
and for civilian dress which are au'
thorized to be worn and when they
have been earned, see that the men
get them.
Presentation Of these decorations
ought to be made with as much o.
tentation as possible, as they are
badges of honor and are secured by
great effort.
Have a good military magazine,
which specializes in range work and
equipment, on the table in the armory
at all times. Let the library contain
the reports of the National Rifle AS
sociation of America and the other
organizations, which contains vast
amount of interesting data of winning
teams, cash prizes, Trophies, inter
spersed with p, :tures of famous
shots and successful teams. Strive
to create shooting spirit and a
range lust will follow.
1t should be made apparent that
no private need hope for promotion
until he has at least qualified as a
marksman; and the whole organiza-
ton should understand that the fourth
class man is minus quantity; that
he reduces the company figures Of
merit and that he operates on the re.
port as worse than nothing.
Aiming and sighting drills have
their usefulness and should not be
neglected, and when this class of in
struction is given by an experienced
and tactful officer or non.commission.
ed officer and is not unduly prolonged,
it may be made attractive. The SCI
ence of shooting to be developed
later on the range may be introduced
with this instruction and the practi-
cal application of the principles being
taught explained, and range lore OF
past seasons may be tactfully used to
arrest attention and sustain interest.
At drill, inculcate the habit of TAX
ing deliberate aim at some particular
object and holding steadily to the
line of sight, and to facilitate this
habit the armory should be supplied
with small black discs, or figures,
placed on the walls to ever be in
front of the line. Do not commit the
error of placing these too high. Call
attention to the rule to aim at the
feet of a line of men or the bottom
line of an objective. Admonish the
men to aim low and call their atten-
ton to the familiar and uncontradic-
ted assertion that for every man kill
ed in action, his weight in ammuni'
ton is fired. Emphasize the terrify-
ing effect of the spiteful ricochet on
the enemy and the double chance for
hit on low aim.
Having begun the work on the
range, personal supervision by the
officers of the company should &C
company the work, and to the end that
the instruction may be correct and
helpful, every company officer ought
to be thoroughly grounded in the
principles of rife shooting and be
himself a sharpshooter or expert.
Any officer, sans physical defect, who
has intelligence enough to hold COM
mission, is capable of qualifying as
a sharp shooter, and however thor
oughly versed in the science OF
shooting, he cannot be proficient
coach without having applied the
science upon the range, at least to
the extent of such qualification. And
unless he can demonstrate
that he can do the thing he is en-
deavoring to teach, his instruction Is
taken lightly and followed indiffer-
emily. We don't gather grapes OF
thorns nor figs of thistles, neither
will the dilletante upon the range
draw inspiration or profit from the ad-
wise of the instructor who cannot hit
the target and call his shots.
Now great care should be taken
with the poor shot. Like the other
poor, we have him with us always.
But there is cause for his weakness
and the discovery of the cause and
The correction of the errors should be
he instructors perservering study.
He must be encouraged rather than
neglected and taught to study and
work out his own salvation by OBJ
,ervation, and when success finally
comes, the man who was Homeless
md could not hit "a flock Of bal
oons," and has become "fiend" and
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