July 29, 1911.] 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
193 
Rifle Shooting. 
It used to be the boast of every Englishman that in 
time of danger he could turn out at a moment’s notice 
to defend his home because he was well versed in the 
arts of "war. That was in the days of the ax and spear, 
when a stout right arm was the chief requisite of the 
soldier. Now, war is a very complicated business, and 
the soldier can only be made efficient by long and care¬ 
ful training. Our old monarchs and lawgivers were wise 
in their generation, for they did all they could to en¬ 
courage manly sports, especially those which had a dis¬ 
tinct bearing- on the art of war. Thanks to their foster¬ 
ing care, English bowmen became famous on many a 
European battlefield, and when the sport showed signs 
of decay, legislation to enforce its practice was enacted. 
Thus Henry VIII., in 1541, passed an act “For the 
Maintaining Artillery and the Debarring of Unlawful 
Games.” 
There are now so many sports and pastimes that shoot¬ 
ing with the rifle—which long ago took the place of the 
bow—is practiced only by the comparatively few. Shoot¬ 
ing is not exactly a spectacular sport, and he who would 
shine at it must practice continually and keep himself 
thoroughly fit, for it requires a steady nerve and a quick 
eye to win the King’s prize. 
Lord Roberts is indefatigable in promoting interest in 
the use of the rifle and calling attention to its value as a 
national sport. Only the other day General French was 
asking how it was that shooting was not one of our most 
popular pastimes. A correspondent to one of the news¬ 
papers pointed out one reason why it has not more fol¬ 
lowers: Its expense. This is true enough, for rifle 
shooting is not really an inexpensive sport. In the first 
place, the number of good ranges is few, so that long 
distances must often be traveled by those who would use 
them, and secondly few ranges are open to private 
marksmen. A rifle and cartridges cost money, and our 
government does little or nothing to encourage pro¬ 
ficiency in what is one of the most useful of pastimes; 
in fact, there are grandmotherly politicians who consider 
skill with the rifle absolutely sinful. The act mentioned 
above made provision for the erection of butts for 
archery in every town and village, and a master or 
father who prevented those dependent on him from 
shooting was fined, while the price of bows was fixed 
so that they should be within the reach of all. 
Within recent years the use of the miniature rifle has 
given a fillip to shooting, but it cannot too often be 
pointed out that this is merely a substitute for the real 
thing. The small rifle is a convenient introduction to 
the use of the service weapon, and it enables a man to 
keep his eye in, overcomes the range difficulty, and 
allows shooting to go on uninterruptedly all the year 
round. Lord Roberts is an enthusiastic supporter of the 
miniature rifle, and considers that it is invaluable in 
many ways, especially in arousing an interest in 
military shooting and bringing the use of the rifle 
within reach of all. 
What position rifle shooting in the British Isles would 
hold had there been no National Rifle Association and 
no Wimbledon or Bisley is hard to imagine. The good 
the Association has done by its encouragement of the 
use of the rifle is incalculable, and now the summer 
meeting at Bisley has become one of the great annual 
sporting events that are looked forward to all over the 
Empire. Shooting at the different ranges on the Hamp¬ 
shire heath may be seen at one time or another members 
of all the diverse nationalities that form the British 
Empire.—County Gentleman. 
Allison Park. 
A little philosophy and a heap of thinking makes 
a loss a valuable thing to a shooting club,” says the 
secretary of Allison Park Rifle Club, in his report, which 
follows, as compared with the scores made by the same 
men against Westview last week. At the practice shoot, 
nelo on the 2ld, Freed kept up his record shooting by 
hanging up three new ones for the club to study. He 
took the 25-shot, 50-shot and day’s average, the’ latter 
Being 88.8. Much is hereafter expected of Burns, a new 
man; at any rate, his first shoot warrants the turning of 
the binoculars on him. Doc Clarke and E. A. put up 
good scores away toward their general average. 
n ri F i reed . 84 90 92 87 ^ SSLfP 
Dr Clarke . 85 83 83 84 83-418 84.6 
£ A Clark . 83 86 87 81 83—420 84 0 
- Burns . 85 72 78 86 86—407 81.4 
Secretary. 
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The Philadelphia Rifle Association. 
tW HI A ADEI;PH - IA ’ J u,y 22.—The weekly competitions i 
r=n™ A ? S0C, u tlOn were shot t°*day on the Arlingtc 
p= g ’Ti Sdo l vne avenue and Cedar lane, near Llanerc 
tW k • C0 °-’ w ? ather brought out a fair attendanc 
tailR,;na g S1X s -i 1 j >ot f rs P resent - An intermittent fi s : 
hn n;n EN Wlld shots to the schuetzen competitor 
seven^scores oMkf or^etter" WHh ^ piSt0 '’ ° btainip 
WnHa h mson 1 2H C 2i0, J 209 G '209. Chnerring 222 ’ 21 °’ 2 ° 9 ’ 201 
Honor target 3 shots: Williamson 57; H. A. Dill 6 
Military match: Brockmeyer 42, 38 37 
90, P 89, 0, 88 m 86 Ch ’ 50yds ’ = H ’ A ’ DilI « 94 - 92 > 91 > 90 > 9 <>. 9 
Faulk Pistol and Revolver Club. 
of W t he T r ? a :’ d 2 ;— The , regular weekly shoot 
OI tile baulk Club was held to-day and the following 
10, ? n e Wr r n m - ade i 25 skots at 50yds ” Standard (or land 
■Wm. barrel) pistols and targets, possible 250: 
? r ,P A Atk!nson -■ • • 22 6 O A Faulk. 200 
B M p au,k . 222 John II. Faulk. 197 
B M Brae. 222 David Faulk . 175 
B. M. Brae, Sec’y. 
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