The Washington herald., 1914-09-06

rife shooting Is 30 rapidly In
creastng that there can be httl'
Question but that within a yer!
short time II viii have taken leading
Mace among the favorite sports o.
America. There are a good many rea
sons for this remarkable growth. Al
a sport, rife shooting possesses severn
unique advantages, in addition to thu
eeneral benefits to those practicing II
which 1t shares with other forms o.
recreation. 1t is q sport for evening
al well as the daytime, for winter az
weu as summer. It's inexpenAiyenesl
has helped make It attractive to people
both in city and in country. In this
as IN many other respects, small bore
rife shooting is exceedingly demo
cratic.
The present interest In this tasctnat
ing sport, which develops sktn and
character, encircles ths globe. How
ever far one may travel one Is sure 10
encounter frequently the rife club
dea. The interest is not merely local
or national, but international The
small bore ca caHberO rife Is used, as
best adaptsd to short range target
shooting purposes.
sheotina Around the World.
Across tho water--meaning both the
Atlantic and the PRcffc-thts kind OF
rife shooting has attained Temarka-
bic and constantly increasing popular
ity In the different civilized countries
having as loyal a following IN the
Orient as In Europe. The Japanese have
taken It I'D with the seriousness that
might be expected from that nation.
In the British isles there are now at
least 5000 rife clubs-sporting organ
izationA, not military-the membership
figures reaching half a million Swift
zeriand has 5000 shooting clubs, with
a total membership of 214Ooo. Other
continental countries, like Germany,
France and Austria, have also shared
largely In the results Of this worldwide
sporting movement, and throughout
Europe In summer or winter, day or
night, the crack Of the % caliberS is
heard at the ranges Beyond the equa-
tor conditions are the same. South
Africa and Australia are equally inter
ested in the sport, and the distance
between their rife ranges is short
Go down 10 that wonderful country,
Argentina, and you will find there that
rife shooting is esteemed in the front
rank among the national sports.
Here in our own country 1t is finding
favor all the way from coast to coast
-Four thousand lads in the high schools
of New York city are now shooting
enthusiastically under equally enthusi-
tstic instruction. The Young Mems
Christian Association in many places
has made rife shooting a part of the
training which it gives to boys in the
formative period of their lives. This
has not been a difficult step, especially
as a first class range can be installed
for $50 and after the small initial ex-
pense has been provided can be made
to do considerably more than pay its
own way. Especially in the smaller
towns the idea has developed and
borne fruit.
In country communities 1t is usually
very easy to secure, at hardly any cost,
a suitable location for an outdoor
range, and where, as is the case in
most Of such places, the opportunities
Of recreation are limited the young peo-
pie in more than one instance have
taken up the game almost as a matter
Of social self protection. We hear a
good deal nowadays about social en-
cheering" The social engineer-the
man who helps a community to regen-
crate itself-has learned that he can
make valuable use in this direction by
organizing a rife club. But, of course,
the real reason of the popularity of
rife shooting lies in its inherent at
Effectiveness as a sport, pure and sim
pie.
How a Discovery Was Made.
II is much easier to organize such a
club than is generally supposed to be
the case This is illustrated by the
following incident: Something like a
year ago, on a Saturday afternoon,
company of young men were lounging
at their club. The town afforded
scant opportunity in the way Of recrea-
tionaI amusement. There really SEEM
ed to be little else to do but to idle
and play cards. One Of the young men
at the card table finally tired Of list
less game and said, Come oh, fellows;
let's do some shooting" The shoot was
pulled OF in an open field behind a
barn, with a target tackled to a fence
which ran along the foot Of hill, and
the half dozen competitors took turns
using the only two rifles available
These young men made a discovery.
They discovered the fun of rife shoot
ing, its possibilities as an amusement,
q recreation. a sport. That Saturdays
extemporfzed contest was the begin
ming Of rife club which now numbers
400 members.
Eventually every town in the country
win have its rife club-in many towns,
indeed, there will be several clubs, rep
resenting the different fraternal organ
iZations ana similar bodies. For rife
shooting makes an appeal to virile, red
blooded men. and such are its peculiar
characteristics that no other sport can
be substituted for it.
Where the Dub" Is Never q Dub"