The Wilmington morning star., 1940-03-24
Ponder Smoke
By
Edmund McLaurin

Though 80 per cent Of all their
shooting will continue to be done
from the prone position. steadiest
of all shooting positions and the one
from which nearly all smallbore
tournaments are fired, members OF
the Wilmington Rifle and Pistol
club have taken up four'positlon
shooting, this with the idea OF
training themselves for the 80 CAL
matches scheduled for Fort Bragg
during the early summer, probably
the latter part of June since Cap
tain H. NJ. Rooney. state supervisor
of civilian craftsmanship, is ar
ranging to hold the state try-outs
earlier than usual. In addition to
shooting from the various positions.
competitors in t h e 80 caliber
matches are required to fire two
strings rapid fire, ten shots prone
and ten shots sitting, dropping in
to position on the firing line from
a natural, standing position the mo
ment the targets appear above the
target pits 200 yards away. This
r -pid fire phase is probably the
most fascinating highlight of large
caliber shooting and requires con
siderable practice if n is to qua
rantee a creditable score when the
final tabulations are posted on the
range bulletin board. No matter
how skillful you are, you a never
override the practi-' Of rapid.fire
shooting. 1t is an art that requires
session after session of serious at
tention to detail. and, ever then
you may have the hard luck to spill
a clip Of cartridges during the
actual firing of that all.important
n atch. However, present indications
are that the entire local delegation
to the state matches this year will
fire the difficult 80 caliber course.
Chief Of Police ]. C. Ruark Great.
ed something Of a sensation last
Saturday when he brought along an
id 1873 U. S. Springfield 1910
rifle on his weekly visit to the Sun
set Park range. This particular rifle
is the model which our Uncle Sam
once supplied the nations W a r
forces of previous decades. Cham
bered for the hea~y 4O5 grain lead
bullet, with a striking energy of L..
21O. foot pounds at 100 yards, the
old U. S. Springfield, model 1873.
ealiber 47-70, is still a formidable
weapon, and believe me, when that
405 grain bullet smacks into any,
thing solid it mushrooms and does
terrific damage. The rifle itself is
6, long that if the local rifle club
should ever stage a performance of
that widely-acclaimed story. Beau
Geste", all the good chief would
need to assume the character Of an
Arab would be a striped, hooded
robe and a horsei
With tie promise Of warmer
we~ther ahead, many Of the local
marksmen are purchasing n e W
equipment in preparation for the in.
crease activity that is characters.
tic Of the summer months. Nathan
S. Haskell, Sr., executive officer of
the Wilmington civilian unit, is
sporting a new, heavy-barrel type,
target rifle Of IT, % caliber class,
and David Chadwick has high hopes
for success with his new As caliber
automatic istol. And speaking Of
guns rem nds me that H. E. Boyd,
ST., president of the club, has one
of the finest 80 caliber Springfield
rifles in the country. Presented to
the local club official by his friend,
Capt. H. M. Rooney, of Linville, as
a token Of his esteem for Mr.. Boyd
as a gentleman and a marksman.
the gun Loldr the added distinction
of having won first place in t h e
wimbledon Cup 1000 -.ards match
at CAM Perry, which speaks well
Of its shooting qualities. To all three
OF the proud owners, this column
extends congratulations and best
wishes for continued sucoa.e,