LATE THE AMEEICAM SPORTSMAN. 
I • 
p 
THE RIFLE. 
Among the many trophies of their skill brought home 
by the American riflemen the cup taken at Dollymount 
by Capt. R. C. Coleman is conspicuous. The annexed 
cut will give an idea of the design, the material being 
solid silver, the whole mounted on an ebony base. 
The competition for this prize is somewhat curious, 
and did the Americans have the experience thev now 
have it is not unlikely that another of our Team would 
have been the holder of the cup. 
After the prize list of the Irish Rifle Association had 
been published, an offer was received from the proprie- 
tors of the “Illustrated Sporting and Dramatic New.s” 
of a cup valued at 100 guineas, to be known as the “Dra- 
matic News Cup,” to be competed for at 500 yards, any 
rifle, three shots to each competitor. The conditions 
further provided that it was “limited by the donors to 
ten American and an equal number of Irish Riflemen, 
the competitors making the highest scores in the ‘Aber- 
corn Cup’ competition to have precedence in right of 
entering; Irish Riflemen in this case include those qual- 
ified to shoot in the Irish Eight at ‘Wimbledon, and the 
men born in Ireland ” 
The programme having been already drawn up, and 
all the time allotted to the Saturday night of the meet- 
ing week, the News Cup was set down for Monday; but 
the shortness of the contest, and the difficulty of getting 
the riflemen out to the range on that day, induced the 
managers to have the match shot on Saturday after- 
noon, July 3, at the finish of the AVilkes Medal Match. 
To the majority of the American Team the 500 yards 
range was a novelt}’. It was the first time they had fired 
at that range on Irish soil, while several rifles, Cole- 
man's included, had not been used at short range. 
[continued on page 33-i.] 
