The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-08-24

points in ten shots, to start witE.
 Varieties of Shooting Contests.
 A shooting program which has proved successful in inducing about 10 per cent of one club to shoot every week for nine years might be adopted with advantage The basis of this is a week ly handicap sweepstakes in which the entry fees, 10 cents per competitor, are divided in the ratio of one prize for about every five competitors Assum- ing, for example, that there are tven- ty entries in any week the entry fee would provide first, second, third and fourth prizes, value $1, 50 cents, 30 cents and 20 cents. Club vouchers for these amounts are given to the respec- tive winners, and at the end of each year the amount due to each member on his accumulated vouchers is used to purchase a more or less substantial prize to serve as a memento of his prowess. The weekly handicap, the round robin tourna nent and the club champion matches are other sugges- tions for a varied shooting program which will foster interest among the club members.
 i. Capital sport for holidays or when a good number of members are present is team shoot at breakable clay disks two. inches in diameter and eolored white at 100 yards. Several teams, say. of four men each are selected and drawn to shoot in pairs. The team breaking all it's opponents disks first wins, the losing team is knocked ont and the last team in wins the match. This is. not only exciting fun, but splendid practice, and affords interest for spectators. The latter is impor- tant, as an ordinary target match IS not attractive to a gallery. It is oth- efwfse when the progress of the match is made visible by the breaking of the targets.
 Prizes and 4Pot EIunters.p
 Comp petitions imply prizes and prizes cost money. A very few club funds will admit of devoting more than q very nominal sum to this purpose. FortunatelE large sums are unneces- sa1y, and an entry fee of 5 or 10 cents win generally provide a fund oft of " hieh a few inexpensive prizes, more as mementoes of the event than as rewards, can be awarded, and these should be sllfIeie1t If money and valuable prizes are shot for the crack 1ssrks--aen are apt to leSeaee91e into Wy hat they call s;Iaot hunters i1 Eng Is, t@ tt FLO iS7lOO-+A s4@9t unless taere Is rieh ss;eeake to De won. These are oIssee slonal5ie, not only as opposed to fhe nfinctples of amateur sport, but because such people deter others from eoznrsting. 1ut that dam ger ean l5e easily iobsiafed. Skill and democracy are file keynotes as r1Hes shooe.ng is organized today. Prizes are kept down to inexpensive tfinkets. In England the standard prize seems to be a silver spoon, worth pethaps a dollar. In cases where wealthy men have offered valuable prizes to encour age competition among clubs the rifle- men have said that they would much rather have improved ranges and fa- cilities for practice.
 Special matches. particularly shoul- der to shoulder matches with neigh boring clubs, are interesting and fur nish an indirect motive for practice, inasmuch as the honor of shooting for one's club is generally coveted. TeIe@ graphic and mail matches are a some what less interesting substitute for shoulder to shoulder matches.
 Match teams are usually selected and controlled by the club captain, who should be elected annually. Unselash enthusiasm and 3 suave temperament are more essential qualifications in a captain than great skill in shooting. Indeed, it is on many grounds prefer able that the captain himself should not shoot in matches, Tn selecting team he should give preference to con sistent shots rather than to those who are in the habit of alternating more brilliant performances with bad breaks, and when meeting weak op- ponents should take the opportunity of encouraging the more promising Of his Improving members by including them in his team.
 Hats Off to ths Ladies.
 Your club should be conducted for all classes and give everybody ample scope, according to his skill. The wom-I en and girls can give tone to the club by their presence, even though they are on the range but one night a week. They are splendid organizers, too, and the club that has their co-operation and interest is fortunate.
 Women and girls now participate in bowling everywhere, and rifle shoot ing calls for far less physical exer- ton and undoubtedly gives great CT scope for skill based on good nerves and good thinking. Women's work in sewing and similar feminine occupations makes theireyes truer than those of most men. With a little prae- tice they learn to shoot very well In the New York high schools maAy of the girls qualify as s.marksmen' Make your appeal remembering that won- en are proud of their achievements as women
 A good rifle club should be some- thing more than an organizat ton for the benefit of it's members alone. It can be made a very fine 1nfluencs in it's community, an encouragement to clean living and the abandonmeut of bad habits, the best possible train ing for both the body and mind, a cen ter for men and women, boys and giTla,