The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-11-28
TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
Information Bureau
FREDERIC ,. HASKIN. Director.
Washington, ID. O.
INTEREST IN RIFLE SHOOTING
GROWS

opening OF the winter program VI
gallery rifle matches reveals that
more people than ever are Interested
in craftsmanship. 1t is estimated
that about 100000 rifles are in use
in this country, and more than 20O,
900 persons are enrolled with the Ma
tional Rifle association.
Rifle shooting has been promoted
by the association ever since 1871 as
preparedness measure, and now the
war department is working thru a
board. in cooperation with the asso-
citation, to stimulate interest in tar
get practice. National matches fired
on one large range and gallery and
outdoor small bore matches fired on
each year. Cups, medals, and other
trophies are awarded.
But. according to the rifle board,
the government is not advocating rifle
shooting enti ely in the interests of
national defense. Whether a man ever
shoulders a gun in the army or militia.
the exercise and personal development
of target shooting are worthwhile, and
the board wants to see rifle shooting
even more of a popular sport than it
has grown to be.
Because rifle shooting does not at
tract large public audiences knowledge
of the sport is confined chiefly to
marksmen. Unlike football. it has
few fans who merely sit on the side
lines and yell. An audience at a
match is made up mainly of marks
men with a sprinkling of casually in
terested friends When one of the on
lockers be omes a IAN he gets a gun.
This is a healthy condition. 1t is
an ideal of sport to have large per-
centage of the people interested en-
gaging in the activity. leaving a small
percentage of chronic onlookers. Rifle
shooting is one of the few sports that
approXimates this ideal.
In fact. rifle shooting is an unusual
sport in a number of ways. according
70 he 4 say-kv, ,-ffI ri
In the first place. because of its re-
lation to national defense it is backed
by the government, unique distinc-
ton for a popular sport. 1t requires
more concentration than the eXa citing
game of chess. and it calls for general
physical fitness rather than the spe-
cialized muscular development de-
manded by most sports.
Many Girls Interested.
The tools of rifle shooting are i'm
plements of destruction. yet it is a
sport in which almost no casualties
occur. AS one marksman puts it,
Compared to football, rifle shooting
is ladies' game" And, as a matter
of fact, it is becoming that. Any
number of schools have. girls rifle
teams, and the girls are proving to be
good shots. Last year a Washington
high schooI girls team won the Astor
cup match which carries the high
school championship for the country.
SCIOOlS anu many COlltSeS
have come to regard shooting a
standard sport for which the school
letter is to be regularly awarded. The
Naval Academy, the University of
Pennsylvania, Yale and Princeton are
among the colleges at which rifle
shooting is rated with other sports.
Police departments in some cities
have formed riff tAams, and eX-sol-
diers and sportsmen an over the coun-
try are organized in more than 1000
climbs of he National fla a
Rifle shooting is known as a poor
mans game-an entire afternoons
practice would cost about IS cents
and because of this a large humber of
working men are enrolled in the clubs.
1t also appeals to scientists and tech
nical workers who are attracted by
the problems of craftsmanship.
One big advantage of shooting as a
popular sport is that anyone can
shoot. according to an official of the
rifle board. A husky athlete may not
be so good marksman as man of
slight, wiry build. A person wearing
eyeglasses may be a first class shot.
True eyesight rather than unusually
keen sight is needed
Shooting makes for physical fit
ness" says this official. There are
no strenuous contortions attached to
it. but the kneeling, rising, and stoop-
ing constitute a kind of exercise that
most people need. Indirectly, too, the
marksman is apt to be benefited ply
sically. The beginner soon learns that
he can shoot straighter when he feels
well than when he is run down.
Enough sleep, some exercise, nourish-
ing food makes for steadiness. The
rifleman rarely goes in for rigorous
training, but he finds his shooting rec
ord an incentive to ordinary fitness.
Teaches Coordination.
perhaps the chief benefit of rifle
shooting, tho, is that it teaches CO.
ordination of mind and muscle and
self analysis. You learn more from a.
miss than from a hit. If you fail to
why you missed the shot, and SO the
valuable habit of analyzing mistakes
is inculcated."
The Importance of accurate mus
expert, is obvious. Nerves are a
prevalent source of unfitness in this
country today. The rifle expert says
that a person who is excessively ner-
vous either learns to control his
nerves and muscles by practicing at
target or he never learns to shoot.
The nervous, thoughtless person who
bangs away gets nowhere until he de-
velops self control.
The average individual can acquire
this control. The rifle expert says:
skill at rifle shooting is not a gift.
and it is not born in the average
American. 1t is sheer Bunk that the
American can shoot intuitively. Given
better muscular coordination by ma
ture one man may develop shooting
ability quicker than another of course,
but most of the men at the top of the
game are men who have got there by
work.
The expert offers another point to
show the value of rifle experience. He
points out that because of the danger
of carelessly handled firearms the dis
cipline of the range is strict.\ The
amateur soon has it drilled into him
that he must observe the rules for
handling a gun and staying at his
post Consciously or unconsciously
the man who shoots learns to disci-
pline himself and others 1t is be-
cause this caution becomes second ma