The Elk Mountain pilot., 1918-06-20
AHE1IL,1N RQNN2ZEeMH(I0XHJ uNv1Fa2V

ITH the entrance of American troops
~ into the frOnt-line trenches the rlne
{AA/ is coming into its own in the Eu-
ropean war. Hitherto, except with
wv the Canadians. 1t has not played the
part that might have been expected
J: : !: !:
u ~ a of it.
VM|kW Already the deadly accuracy OF
\NdRMAW American craftsmanship has taken
MN its toll of German victims for the
(IRSQ rifle Is the favorite weapon OF our
AK0V troops.
1K The reasons for this are several
The American Is q hunter by tradition. II Is In
hi. blood because his father and grandiatner De
fore him won the wilderness with the OLD muzAr'
iouder Dahiel Boone and Davy Crockett ana
Kit Carson are all old friends Of his. The wtio
West Is familiar territory. even though ne may
never have crossed the Mississippi For ne mas
resd the tales Of trappers and hunters and prae-
ttced them q small scale In the WOODS ou'-
side his village. .tJ-
The American is n marksman by training'
What boy has not spent long days In the woods
with gun In his hands? What youth, e1ceptlnk
only some born and reared In the largest cite''
has not come home at night In triumph win
bag OF cOttontails?
The third reason why Sammy sticks to MS r'"e
in the trenches Is that 1t Is the best military urn
In the world. --+
For these three reasons then-because the rifle
IL his weapon by tradition and by training. ana
because the he carries is the best manutac'
tured-our infantrymnn backs the rifle against the
hand grenade and the bayonet. He can use any
of the three, but for choice give him clean 6OV-
yard shot at moving spot Of gray outiiheu
against the dun Flanders background OF scar
torn hill. r'for
II has been acknowledged for years that the
American regular army. Smsll though was prior
to 1917 Is the finest body Of marksmen In any
army. Our teams competing at Camp Perry ana
at Risley against the best shots Of Europe ana
the western hemisphere. proved coneiusiveiy tnae
the superiority still rests with US.
VyulAn 0x~ yAnf hR
army the most perfect military rifles ever pro-
duccd. These are the Springfield model Of 1908
and the 1917 model, both Of which are beyono
question better guns than those used by any other
army In the world The cartridges for these
weapons are the best now in use. Orders have
been placed for 2.920OOO rifles. The production
now averages $4,000 a week. sufficient to equip
three divisions. One billion cartridges have been
ordered for practice in the training camps. Our
manufacture of rifle cartridges excels in amount
that of any other country One firm alone turned
out 125,OOO.OO0 during one month.
The policy Of the government has been to ap-
proprete about $13 year for the rifle practice
of each soldier in the army. Target ranges have
been built in all parts of the country. These
were available not only for the use of the army
and the National Guard but also for rifle associ-
aticns. -..r r--I
Germany has not been able to do this. With
a standing army great as the one maintained
by the kaiser in peace times, such an nppropria-
ton would have interfered with other plans. IL
$13 year had been spent on ammunition for the
rifle practice of each man in the German standing
army and reserve, the Teutons would be far bet
ter shots than they are today. But this gain
would be at the expense of the funds necessary
for the supply Of munitions the general stah was
accommodating against the day of need Prior to
the war the German soldier fired rny about II
ball cartridges year on the range.
The rifle ranges in Europe are few and Inferior
Land is far too valuable to permit. of much be-
ing used for such purpose. Scarcely any of these
rauges are suitable for practice at a distance OF
over 400 yards. An appropriation OF Sl3 to the
man for ammunition would not have made Eu-
ropean soldiers anything like us expert as ours
The lack Of opportunity to shoot under the heid
conditions. which are the foundation OF a gooo
rifemans work in actual battle stress would
necessarily have debarred this.
The American Is n hunter. He used to be a
rfeman from necessity since his safety and his
food depended his skill. He is now one from
choice. There few of our yungsters who do
not own have access to n % rifle and but few
who do not get an occasional chance to
shotgun The hunting Instinct is still strong In
u.s. 1t is estimated that about 100000 sports
men in this country hunt every year with rife
or IA shotgun
Even In tickly settled districts game. is stn
plentiful enough to offer enticng sport The H.
cense fee is smaA amounting usually to only 81
Ammunition is cheaper here than elsewhere. The
finest and least costly machne-made guns are
produced in Uais country. Most important, we
have no established aristocracy which controls the
shooting preserves. to the exclusion OF the gen.
aFal public.