A national rifle team is a traveling competitive marksmanship team from a country. Several countries field a national rifle team, such as Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. Competitions are often a week long and have international participants.[1]

The National Rifle Team match was also the name of a competition held in the United States beginning in 1902 and often had international participation.

Canadian National Rifle Team

Oronhyatekha was on the team in 1871, and Rufus Carter was on the team in 1897.[2] They participated in international competitions. The Canadian National Rifle Team became a coed team.[3] The team competed internationally, such as in Mexico City in 1979 and at the National Shooting Centre in Bisley, England in 2003.[1][3] The team used the C12A1 rifle with iron sights in 2003.[1]

Great Britain

At one time, Sir Henry St John Halford was the captain of the British National Rifle Team.[4]

Norway

Kristian Rommen was previously the captain of the Norwegian National Rifle Team

Trinidad and Tobago

Wilbur Downs was once a member of the National Rifle Team of Trinidad and Tobago.

United States

The newly formed American National Rifle Team practiced at the Creedmoor Rifle Range, New York in 1875 with Colonel H. A. Gildersleeve as the captain.[5] This was one of the first teams from the United States to participate abroad in international competitions, which took place in Great Britain in the summer of 1875.[6]

Some members of the team participated in the Olympic Games, such as Daniel Durben, who also served as the team's coach from 1997 to 2000.[7] David Johnson also served on the team for several years in the 1980s, and later as a coach preparing the team for the Olympics.[8] David T. Cloft was also on the team while serving in the United States Army.

The National Rifle Team match began in 1902 and consisted of teams of 10 shooting at distances between 200 and 1,000 yards.[9] The New York team won for the third time in the competition held at Sea Girt, New Jersey in 1905.[10] The National Rifle Team match in 1909 was open to all branches of the military and the organized state militias and was held at Camp Perry, Ohio.[11] The United States Navy won the National Rifle Team match that year.[12] The United States Marine Corps won the National Rifle Team match in 1919 and the United States Infantry won it in 1920.[13] The United States Marine Corps won it again in 1921 in a competition with 87 teams and in 1923 with 80 teams and 800 participants, both events at Camp Perry.[13][14] The United States Marine Corps won the competition for the 8th time in 1925.[15] The United States Infantry won it in 1929 with 108 teams participating.[16] The United States Marine Corps won the competition in 1930 and 1931.[17]

The later events included military and civilian teams and the best marksmen in the country.[13][14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Morrow, Shayne. "A straight shooter (and then some): Local 17-year-old heading to England to compete with the Canada's national rifle team", Alberni Valley Times, Alberni, British Columbia, volume 54, number 97, May 21, 2003, page 1. (subscription required)
  2. ↑ "U of T Medicine Celebrates Its Trailblazers", "Dr. Oronhyatekha (Class of 1867)", Temerty Faculty of Medicine website, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario. Retrieved September 27, 2021.
  3. 1 2 Kelly, Ann. "Owen Sound native wins shooting medals", The Sun Times, Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada, April 7, 1979, page 9. (subscription required)
  4. ↑ "European News", Daily Evening Express, Los Angeles, California, volume XI, April 5, 1876, page 3. (subscription required)
  5. ↑ "The International Rifle Match", The New York Herald, New York, New York, whole number 14,138, May 8, 1875, page 5. (subscription required)
  6. ↑ "The American Team Abroad", The New York Herald, New York, New York, whole number 14, 243, August 21, 1875, page 6. (subscription required)
  7. ↑ "Former Olympic Shooting Team member hired as USA Shooting coach", Rapid City Journal, Rapid City, South Dakota, issue 45709, February 21, 2019, page C4. (subscription required)
  8. ↑ "Johnson aims for Olympic gold", Daily Press, Newport News, Virginia, 95th year, number 4, Neighbors section, January 4, 1990, page 14. (subscription required)
  9. ↑ "Marines Victorious in Sesqui-Centennial Match", Holyoke Daily Transcript, Holyoke, Massachusetts, number 13,883, September 20, 1926, page 3. (subscription required)
  10. ↑ "Third Time Winner", The Chattanooga Daily Times, Chattanooga, Tennessee, volume XXXVI, number 262, September 2, 1905, page 2. (subscription required)
  11. ↑ "Idaho Guard Going to Camp Perry", The Idaho Daily Statesmen, Boise, Idaho, forty-fifth year, May 27, 1909. (subscription required)
  12. ↑ "US Infantry still Leads", The Boston Globe, Boston, Massachusetts, volume LXXVIII, number 54, August 23, 1910, page 11. (subscription required)
  13. 1 2 3 "Marine Gunmen Win Rifle Match", The Muncie Morning Star, Muncie, Indiana, volume 45, number 149, September 24, 1921, page 8. (subscription required)
  14. 1 2 "Bay State Wins Class A Honors", The Boston Globe, Boston, Massachusetts, September 28, 1923, volume CIV, number 90, page 25. (subscription required)
  15. ↑ "National Rifle Team Match Is Won By Marines", The Marshal Messenger, Marshall, Texas, 49th year, number 100, September 25, 1925, page 1. (subscription required)
  16. ↑ "State Guardsmen Take 74th Place at Rifle Matches", Every Evening, Wilmington, Delaware, volume LXII, number 222, September 17, 1929, page 4. (subscription required)
  17. ↑ "D.C. Marksmen Take Top Honors", The Sunday Star, Washington, DC, number 1,382–number 31,911, September 13, 1931, Part 1, page A-6. (subscription required)
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