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Creedmoor and the International Matchesby David Minshall |
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The
NRA in America
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The Rifle Championship of the WorldThe Irish team arrived in New York Harbour on 16 September 1874. On 26 September, the great match took place before an estimated audience of five thousand people. The riflemen were each to fire 15 shots at 800, 900 and 1000 yards. No sighting shots or artificial rests were permitted. The targets were as per those used at Wimbledon in 1873; the three feet square 'bull's eye' was in the middle of the 'centre', measuring six feet square, with a three feet wide by six feet high 'outer' at each end of the target, the whole measuring six feet high by twelve feet wide. Scoring was 'bull's eye' 4, 'centre' 3 and 'outer' 2. The Americans made a strong start at 800 yards, taking the lead on 326 points against the Irish team on 317. As the ranges increased in distance, so the Irish began to claw back points. At 900 yards the Americans scored 310 whilst the Irish finished on 312. The Americans lead was gradually eroded further at 1,000 yards, where the Irish finished on 302 points for a total of 931. The Americans were still shooting. By the time it came to the last shot to be fired, the Irish were leading by one point. John Bodine was the last man to shoot. He approached the firing point with a bloody hand wrapped in a handkerchief having shortly before his last shot cut himself whilst opening a bottle. The pressure must have been tremendous, with thousands of spectators straining to see the shot on which American victory depended. Bodine pulled the trigger, then there was the four second wait for the bullet to travel the thousand yards to the target. "Clap!" That welcome sound as the lead bullet flattened on the iron target, indicated a hit. Then came the marker indicating a bull's eye! The American's had won and Bodine was carried off in triumph. The final scores were America 934 and Ireland 931. The American team win gave the art of long-range shooting a considerable boost in the country, and assured its future as a sport within the US. At least for a decade. In
1875 a return match was held between Ireland and America on Irish soil
to the same conditions as the 1874 match. The match took place on 29
June at Dollymount, near Dublin, and, according to the Illustrated London
News before an audience of between forty and fifty thousand people!
The Americans again won, scoring 967 against Irelands 929.
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©2004 DB Minshall | ||
