Bisbee daily review. [volume] (Bisbee, Ariz.) 1901-1971, 1915-09-21
SOLDIERS WILL MEET
CIVILIANS IN TRIAL
OF SKILL WITH GUNS
National Shooting Tournament
at Jacksonville ArouseS Un-
preCedented Interest Among
Marksmen Throughout U. S..

WASHINGTON, Sept 2O.-The Ma
uonal Shooting Tournament which
will begin on the Jacksonville, Florida,
state rifle range October 2, and last
for three weeks is assuming an, inter
national aspect Il is expected that
delegations of ridemen will attend the
tournament from Cuba and Canada.
These visitors win be unattached and
viii enter only the individual matches.
unless special international team
matches are arranged for them
Interest is constantly increasing
throughout the country I'm regard TO
these matches and two more states
which had announced their intention
to the War Department of not attend
ing have changed their mind They
are Pennsylvania and Maryland ItI
seems that Pennsylvania guardsmen
did so well i'm their state shoot at Mt.
Gretna that the Adjutant General on
the state was persuaded to organize
a team for the national matches. Ia
the final count only six states will
be absent from the tournament They
are Virginia, California, Washington,
South Dakota, Texas and Idaho. The
three far western states based their
decision to not send teams to the lack
Of funds available for the purpose.
State authorities almost without ex-
ception are arranging to send their
teams to Florida far enough in adj
vance of the matches to enable the
team to get its fourteen days of pre-
liminary practice authorized by the
War Department on the Florida range
and thus accustom them to the eccen-I
tricities of wind currents and other
tricks of weather conditions which
are found to apply to every rifle
range
Practically a new feature in the
1915 matches will be the number Of
civilian shooters that viii be repre-
scented. In past years civilians have
been more or less like lost sheep att
these big military tournaments but
since the government has taken up
the organization of civilian rifle clubs
through the National Rife Assocta-
ton of America, the number of civili-
an experts that are developing
throughout the country are counted
by the thousands and many OF these
men viii attend their FIRST national
shoot. In future national competi-
tons, the civilian will have to be
reckoued with. OWNS TO the lack of
Federal aid very few colleges and
schools where military training is
carries on win send teams TO the 1915
matches. It is hoped that in subse-
Quelt years some way viii be found
to assist the college teams as well as
state teams.
There will be few innovations Tor
the first time i'm Florida, one Of which
is what has been designated the Key
System" of squadding This viii ac-
complish absolute impsrtiality in the
marking of shots. After the markers
are sent into the pit, the key number
| Will be placed upon the black board
behind the firing line just before the
match begins. This number added TO
the number of the target on tine COM
petitor's squadding ticket will show
him the number OF the target at
/ which he is 10 shoot and i'm this man
ner, it will be impossible for the mark
ers in the pit to know who is shoot
/ ing on the target.
Another innovation viii be giving
each competitor a target to himself.
/ In past years, two competitors have
/ shot on one target This change
throws the marksnan sQuarely on his
/ resources. relieves him from delays
which a dilatory shooting partner
might cause, and 10 also prevents
coaching between competitors.
For a while it looked as though the
trouble on the borded might prevent
the War Department from sendins a
regiment of troops from there to Flo
rida to manage the range during the
competition. but the settling down OF
conditions in Texas assures the pres
ence OF the United States troops.