The National Rifle Association of America was founded in Nov. 1871. The following year a bill was passed in the New York Legislature contributing $25, 000 to the support of the Association, and the sum of $13,000 for trophies; the City of New York donated $5000 and the Association itself raised $5,000. Land was purchased at Creedmoor, L. 1., and a range built. The first meeting was held in the Spring- of 1873, 18 local teams contested four matches at 200 and 400 yards, on iron targets with square bull's eyes. All four matches were won by the 22d Regiment', N. G. N. Y. team. In the Fall of that year the first interna tional match was shot at this range between teams representing Ireland and Amer ica, and was won for the American team by a member of that team making a bull's eye on his last shot. In June of the following year the Association sent a team to Ireland to shoot a return match, which also resulted in a victory for the Americans. In 1876 the Association held a great international tournament at Creedmoor at which the teams from Ireland, Scotland, Australia and Canada com peted with an American team for the Centennial "Palma" trophy', emblematic of the world's championship The result of these international contests was that a great craze for rifle shoot ing swept over the country. Rifle associations and clubs were formed through out the land, ranges were built and inany States adopted courses of instruction in rifle shooting, a branch of a soldier's duties which had always been sadly neg lected. The different States began also to take an interest in the annual meetings of the Association and to send teams to compete for the valuable bronze trophy, the "Soldier of Marathon," a gift of the State of New York to the Association in 1875. New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and California were among the 'first to enter the lists. Three years later the "Hilton" trophy, valued at $3,000, the gift of Henry Hilton of -New York, was put up for competition. This trophy :is the most coveted of America's prizes and stands for the team championship of :the United States.
In 1880 the Army began to send teams front the different militarv divisions, DOW departments, to compete for this trophy, and were three times successful. The presence of these army teams \V aS a great incentive for the volunteers to try and excel, and there was universal regret expressed among the citizen soldiery when, after 1885, the army teams were withdrawn front these contests.
The pinacle of success was reached by the Association in the rear 1878, when the number of prizes amounted to 317, with an aggregate value of S13,000. This success and popularity lasted for about five years longer, when the meetings be gan to wane. From the inception of the Association, the arms and ammunition manufacturers, the leading newspapers, business houses and many individuals had been donating rich prizes yearly. To this fact more than anything else was due the success of the meetings.
New sports now began to amuse the fickle public and gradually the supporters of rifle shooting withdrew their patronage. With the decrease of the number of prizes, the attendance of riflemen from other States grew less and less, until it.
. r became rare to see more than a couple of nearby States represented. Finally' the finances of the Association reached such a low ebb that the repairs necessary to keep the range in shape for the National Guard practice could not be made and, the State authorities stepped in and took possession of the range.
The last meeting held on the Creedmoor rang,e was in 1891. The following year the officers of the Association arranged with the New Jersey State Rifle .1 I..ssociation to incorporate in the programme of its annual meeting, the three ; matches, the trophies for which were to be shot for annually. These three matches, the "Hilton Trophy," "Soldier of Marathon," and "'Wimbledon Cup," have since been shot for at Sea Girt. The liberal and wide-awake policy of the New Jersey State Rifle Association for the last few years broug,dit about a great revival of the sport of rifle shooting. so much so that it was recently decided to organize a new Rifle Association to control it, and arrange for international con tests.
Later it was found that it was practicable to get together a quorum of the life members of the National Rifle Association to perfect a re-organization. When this had been done the new board of directors adopted the by-laws and elected the officers of the new Association and then resigned, leaving the management of the re-organized Association in the hands of the new people. The new National Rifle Association of America started out in life with four trophies, no debts and plenty of new life and enthusiasm.
The Association will own no ranges; it will not be a commercial enterprise ; its aim will be the advancement of the art of rifle shooting throughout the nation. It will formulate rules and regulations governing competitions ; determine the proper targets to be used; decide how matches shall be conducted, etc. Its grand est object will be to promote and encourage the use of the national arm, and to make the public as well as the National Guardsmen, familiar with the rifle that they would be called on to use in case of war, besides demonstrating its merits or demerits, and how it can be improved.
Target practice constitutes a branch of military instruction peculiarly fitted for the National Guard, and in which they will always excel. The "position" and 'aiming drill" which constitute the foundation of the system, can be acquired in their armories, and even at their homes, while the high state of intelligence ex sting among them enables them to soon apply upon the range the instruction they lave received. While every inducement should he made to attract and develop good individual shots, so as to constitute a good regimental "team." and for this purpose individual emulation should be encouraged in every way, yet Regimental commanders must bear in mind that the true object to be attained is to secure be general efficiency of the rank and file as riflemen. More credit should attach o an organization making high average shooting than to one having a champion earn, and all influences possible should be exercised in that direction. Nor will his course interfere with the selection of a good team. Nothing has been more :]early demonstrated at Creedmoor than that shooting is a matter of education, .nd it will be found that a thorough course of instruction will not only make the egiment efficient as a whole, but invariably develop a number of "crack" shots rom among those who supposed themselves to be without the qualifications re uisite for a "Marksman," and the more "Marksmen" the better the chances for strong "team." Candle practice is specially to be recommended for the National Guard. It Ives almost the same results as armory target practice, and, as it may be per armed simultaneously by an entire company, the saving of time is a great desid ratum. Calculating on a basis" of one shot a minute, five shots by 30 men at a single target require two hours and a half, while at candles they could all be fired in to minutes. In this practice, a gas pipe with small jets is preferable to candles. Some regiments place a miniature tin target in front of the lights aimed at, hav ing the bull's-eye cut out, the flame appearing just behind its center, so that a "bull's-eye" extinguishes it. When candles are used, it is an advantage to insert them in a tube with a spiral spring, so as to always keep the flame in one position, as in a carriage lamp. Some regiments have a bench like a carpenter's horse to place the candles on, so as to admit of their being moved to different parts of the room to suit the light. In this practice the primer used on the regular cartridge does not contain sufficient fulminate to extinguish the flame at a distance of three feet with certainty. In order to meet this defect, special primers can and should be always obtained containing an extra quantity of fulminate. Better effects are also found to result from enlarging the aperture into the cartridge. The shells made by the Union Metallic Cartridge Company are unsuited to this practice. The cone-shaped anvil used in them blows out, when used without powder, at the second discharge, spoiling the shell, and thus making the practice expensive. Neither the Remington shell nor that made by the United States Cartridge Com pany is liable to this objection, and in both, the opening for the fulminate can be enlarged. As a piece of the cap is frequently forced through the barrel by the explosion of the primer, care must be taken in this practice never to aim in any direction where injury could be caused by it. The tnain drill of the National Guard (in the cities at least) must take place at their armories, and practice at the range be but occasional, "not to learn, but to test what has been learned." Officers should, therefore, devote all the available time to the sighting, position, and aiming drill, which form the foundation for the whole system. As these are apt to prove monotonous, candle practice should be frequently indulged in, this portion of the drill being always interesting to the men. It is, therefore, recom mended that the men should be practiced in firing at candles at the conclusion of each aiming drill. With men of the intelligence of those composing the National Guard, the improvement that will be found to result from a little careful prac tice of this description will be found surprising; and a Company that at the be ginning could not extinguish more than two or three candles at a volley, in two or three months will put out nine out of to; and it is frequently observed that those who have had the least previous practice as sportsmen will prove the best shots. This (candle) practice will also prove valuable as a substitute for ball practice in jiidging the efficiency of the men in those cases where the latter cannot he had ; and none should be practiced in target firing who have not averaged ex tinguishing five out of io candles at a previous drill.