El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-07-04
MARKSNANSHIP IS
CHIEF ESSENTIAL
Of GOOD SOLDIER
Uncle Sam Is Determined
that Men in Army Shall
Shoot Accurately.

~ RAINING Uncle Sans soldiers
how TO shoot accurately, or in
= other words TO become good
marl.smen with the rifle and pistol, is
one Of the chief essentials OF nllllld1S
training in the army nowadays
Rifle and revolver practice at lhe
Fort Bliss target range mas been IN pro-
Eress for some time me preliminary
firing. as IL is called, Is now over ana
the soldiers have begun shooting loI
Limited Number Of shots.
In the record rifle firms % snols
are fired, with two shots extra, IN Or
Ger to get proper distance, eleFallVA
and sight The firing Is divided as 1OL-
lows: Ten shots dI 800 yards $40"
fire. 10 shots AT 800 yards, $40" II e,
10 shots at 600 yards, win Two snot9
extra TO get proper sight ana distance,
firing on bag rest. 10 SnOIS AT wv
Yards rapid tire. III one minute kueeI-
iDe- from standing position; 10 snOIs at
500 yards, rapid Ilre' prone; u .ca ~ rs
down, In one minute and 10 secoAus'
10 shots at 500 yards prone, IN oHS
minute and 20 seconds, with chaIse u
Dositions except in the last one ana
given e,.,
The cIassificatiOus of firing are IlFe'
To obtain qualification OF secoLu CO. Sl--,?'
10 Doinrs must he made out OF a posi-
Me 800 First class requires III OuL
If a possible 800 These are mercy
qualifications and soldiers do not re
rafve extra nav. A markSmdn rece4sS
- extra month, and must make IL
Doints out Of a possible 5Uu, Wnlcn Is dll
average Of 81 percent Inc shaI pSnOOt--
er receives So per month extra anu ~ -
get 2SS poinLs out OF q posSlu-e ovv' y.
an average of 70 percent An expert
-if1er,an receives IS per month extra
and must get 25S points out OF a pos
sib1e 800. or an average Of 30 percent
Good Shooting Valuable Asset
Few DeopIe out Of the army res-Il1e
the necessity Of training soIIleLS - ~
shoot properly. the lhci eassL -
that they are IN war a 81 ali i'm
ing OF Ammunition alS Iaco11e
DoTtanL factors, and TO DecOllle
sf-ber an expert sharpshooIer OL
marksman requires lons u sl-i---s
rhe best physical condiuon- ,s1.- ar.
For instance, although the rlLLes d
Of the best mechanism ana are -
o71ghlv tested before leaving me 49,
riess no TWO shoot alike NOT a1ohe tI-11'
M many other things must be cohsld-
cred besides the gun, Wnlch Is as $3.50 80
T,a-fecrion as can be made The Ve-oc--
" Of the wind has a great oeaI W W
with shooting correctly
Wind Defects Bullet
It is nearly unbelievable, except 70
those who know. that bullet Ina5 mas
a velocity OF ZOO feet per second =
has the present rifles that me "-Eo
7-0r7ld carry il several inches TO the
vfndward when fired 800 yards NJ
alone this. For instance, q snoI ~ 81
e , rr
perfectly clean and cold, the pu-lel WI
elevate p inches above the Object 4lIleu
I'll 500 Yards: at $500 yards an eleVa-
ton of seven inches, and at go yaIu u
the bullet viii have lost enough FORCE
10 nit the object directly aimed at
The temperature Of the gun changes
firms. requiring different aim ana al
ferent judgment, as bullets VIII ranSe
I'd when the barrel IS warm until II
gets to a certain degree Of heat then
il viii fall Another thing which IS
very essential in firing, IS whether II
is a light or cloudy day.
Light Affects shooting.
On q clear day a soldier Will natnr-
ally shoot higher because he can see
more Of the target while on dark, or
cloudy day he viii shoot lower on &C
count Of not seeing so much Of the TAR
get However. the light days are not
always considered the best days for &C
curate shooting. This is attributed 70
the heat waves. Another thing when
must ne considered on a clear day win
the sun TO the right Of marksInan' Is
that the soldier Will naturally shoot 70
the left With the sun on the LETT SIDE
one will likewise shoot 10 the rl6hL
The practical amount Of changes on a
day with plenty Of sunlight Is one
fourth 10 oue-half point on hindranSe
and IS yards on elevations Every part