The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1921-03-07
MEDALS AWARDED
YOUNG SHOOTERS
Boys and Girls Who Have Become
Proficient in Shooting Have
Been Well Rewarded.
(By Peter p. Carney

| 10y PeLST r. NaTnGyJ
| William S. Hart, young Americas
| favorite movie actor, recently ad-
dressed a gathering of 500 boys at the
Los Angeles, Cal, Y. NJ. c. A., at which
time he presented medals to a num-
Der of boys, which they won in Win
chester Junior Rifle corps competition.
In the course of his remarks Hart
said:
"Any boy who follows the rules OF
the Winchester Junior Rife corps will
never be hurt by gun and the par
ents of Winchester boys ought to be
proud of this wonderful training, which
will make their boys keen and quick"
Every day some place in this broad
land some one is presenting medals
to winners Of w. j. r. c. competitions.
| Bill Hart is only one of thousands
of men who are interested in the or
ganization and give some of their time
to make it successful. Vice president
Coolidge, General Leonard Wood,
Charles H. Sabin, Fred II. Phillips of
the National Rifle association and l..
4 @. Petit, the Milwaukee banker, are
a few of the men who have endorsed
the organization which now has a
membership of more than $4,000 boys
In the forming of units and the Sc
curing of members for the organization
matches are conducted under the di-
rection of competent supervisors and
as a boy or girl shows proficiency in
| shooting m dals may be won. Six
hundred and eighty-f1ve won marks
mans medals in 1917, the first year Of
the W. ]. r. c.; 1854 won them in
1913, 7,01S in 1919, and 12,011 in 1920.
Thirty five shooters won sharpshoot-
ers' medals in 1917, Ala in 1918, 999 in
1919 and 2,127 in 1920. Possible bars
were won by AGO in 1919 and 2,163 in
1920. Expert medals, the ones they
all want to win, were taken by 30 in
1919 and 131 in 1920. All told, 29,929
medals have been awarded.
There will be a change in the shoot
ing for trophies this year. The pro-
marksman's medal will be awarded
for IS points each on 10 targets; the
Imarkman's medal for 81 points each
on 10 targets, the sharpshooter's medal
for "a points each on 10 targets; the
expert medal for 25 points each on 10
targets and the expert bars for rs
points each on 90 targets. There will
also be a medal awarded to instructors
who score "a points each on 10 targets.
BOyS ana girls IN 1UU0 clues won
medals in 1918. One thousand, eight
hundred and seventy cities were
reached in 1918, and 2,450 cities in
1920. There is a w. ]. r. c. medal in
nearly every town in the United
Estates. Matches We're conducted in
4S states and in eight countries in
1920, as well as in 1875 summer camps,
1876 schools and 38 churches. The or
ganization is growing at the rate of
$4,000 members yearly and we will live
to see the day when America will
again be a nation of shooters" due
Ito the progressive work of this Won
derful association. Rife ranges are
being installed in schools all over this
land also in Y. NJ. c. AS and boys
clubs.
In the state of California, Adjutant
General Boree has invited the boys
and girls to use the rife ranges in the
state armories. Rifle shooting is one
of the things on the bill of fare in the
California schools. It is only a ques-
ton Of time when other states will
follow the lead of California.