NATIONAL RIFLE MATCHES 
A Great Opportunity for All Americans to 
Witness the Work of the World's Best Marksmen 
By SENECA 
T HE opportunity of a life-time” are 
the words which best describe 
the shoot-fest which will take place at 
Camp Perry, Ohio, between September 
1st and 27th, under the auspices of 
the National Rifle Association, and 
under the direction of Lt. Col. Morton 
C. Mumma, Executive Officer. 
Added to the School of Instruction, 
the National Rifle Association .22 cal¬ 
ibre, .30 calibre, free rifle, shotgun and 
pistol matches, and the National Indi¬ 
vidual and Team Matches, will be the 
international Free Rifle Matches, to de¬ 
cide the right of Americans to hold the 
title of “World’s Team and Individual 
Champions,” which they retained after 
a hard fought battle at Milan, Italy, 
last year, after having won it from 
the Swiss for the first time in seven¬ 
teen years, at Lyons, France, the yeai 
before. 
The Swiss will come to America this 
year with the benefit of the two years’ 
experience in competition with the 
Americans. The Americans will go 
into the match with better equipment 
and better ammunition than they have 
ever had before, and with no false no¬ 
tion regarding the very real ability of 
their closest rivals. The American 
victory last year was by the narrow 
margin of twelve points, and while 
there are none who lack confidence 
that the “Stars and Stripes” will come 
out on top, neither are there any but 
who admit that it will only be after a 
match which will be contested shot for 
shot, and point for point. 
Civilians will again be given the 
privilege of entering the School of In¬ 
struction from September 3 to 8, with¬ 
out any cost to themselves other than 
for subsistence. The government will 
supply instructors, match grade rifles, 
ammunition, and quarters. Immediate¬ 
ly following the school, the N.R.A. 
matches will take place. These will 
include the standard military rifle and 
pistol events, a very comprehensive 
program of .22 calibre matches and 
free rifle matches, and the time-hon¬ 
ored Wimbledon, Leech, and other sim¬ 
ilar events. It will probably be at 
about the time of the close of these 
matches that the International .22 
calibre match will be fired. This 
match, the Dewar, differs from the In¬ 
ternational Free Rifle Championship in 
that the .22 calibre riflemen shoot 
their scores, and the results are then 
cabled to the other competing teams 
in England, Canada and Australia. 
The International Free Rifle Matches 
are shoulder-to-shoulder competitions, 
one or two' targets being assigned to 
each competing team, and a splendid 
opportunity being given the gallery of 
spectators to watch the results and the 
standing of the teams, shot by shot. 
In addition to the Swiss team, which 
A MILE OF MARKSMEN 
will attract the most attention, there 
will in all probabiliy be teams from 
France, Italy, Great Britain, Sweden, 
and possibly from the other nations 
represented in the International Shoot¬ 
ing Union, Belgium, Norway, Den¬ 
mark, Roumania, Monaco, Czecho¬ 
slovakia, etc. 
While it has not definitely been an¬ 
nounced, it is probable that the historic 
Palma Match will also be made a part 
of the International match program. 
This match represents the long range 
rifle team championship of the world, 
and if added to the program, will 
probably result in a battle royal be¬ 
tween Canada, England, and' the 
United States. 
Culminating the program will be the 
National Individual and National 
Team Matches. It is anticipated that 
approximately sixty teams, represent¬ 
ing practically every state in the 
Union, as well as the various branches 
of the service, and each corps area 
Civilian Military Training Camp or¬ 
ganization, as well as representative 
teams from the Corps Area Reserve 
Officers Training Camps, will compete, 
while about twelve hundred individuals 
will fire in the National Individual 
Match. In this match, every civilian 
competitor qualifying as marksman, 
sharpshooter, or expert rifleman, is 
awarded the official War Department 
decoration. During this National 
Match period, the program of shotgun 
training and matches will also reach 
its climax in the Camp Perry regis¬ 
tered shotgun tournament. 
The International Rifle Matches will 
not be awarded to the United States 
again for some years. The last time 
that they were here was in 1913. 
Never before has such an opportunity 
been presented American sportsmen 
to witness the best that the world has 
produced in the way of marksmen. A 
man who has once “been to Perry al¬ 
ways goes back if there is any way for 
him to get there, and this year, of all 
years, is the time to go. 
Advance details in regard to the 
matches, together with the program a 
little later on, may be obtained by 
writing to the Secretary of the Na¬ 
tional Rifle Association, 1108 Wood¬ 
ward Building, Washington, D. C. 
Page 378 
