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ThaSnkus pNpoRrtiAng for fYorea15rs0 Without your 150th Anniversary, we might not be celebrating our 30th. Innovation. Performance.



PART III: Service and Readiness P -W G E 1924-1939 IN JUNE , ’s Arms and the Man o cially be- came e American Ri eman. e scope of the mag- Former President Charles Gaither had begun a sim- azine’s coverage expanded, too, thanks in part to ilar program in Baltimore, Md., a er his appointment as com- four men who joined the publication’s sta that year: mander of police. On his rst inspection tour, Gen. Gaither was dismayed at the quality of the sidearms carried by his men. Julian S. Hatcher; Charles Askins, Sr.; Townsend Whelen; and ey were required to purchase their own handguns, but there . . Lister—all now considered legends for their contribu- were also no standards. Many had purchased second-hand tions to the organization, particularly the magazine. revolvers of ancient vintage, inadequate power and poor accuracy. By , the policy of sending civilian teams to Camp Perry Gaither quickly changed all this, requiring every man on the at government expense had been reinstated, and the force to buy a new handgun of standardized chambering and National Matches attracted more shooters than ever. at to learn to use it. He set up a target range on city land and or- year the American team won the Dewar Cup for the sixth dered every man on the force to spend several hours each week consecutive year and broke the world record. e Dewar in practice. By , Baltimore had one of the best-trained Match wasn’t the only international competition the Amer- police departments in the United States. icans dominated. e Olympic ri e team, which was ’s police training program was directly responsible nanced entirely by public subscription through , easily for elevating the standards of the American police forces. In took home the gold for the Olympic team free ri e match. , a er conducting a poll of all cities with at least , Also in , agreed to help nance a team inhabitants, had found only three de nite police marks- to compete in the Pan-American matches in manship training programs in the entire country. In , Lima, Peru. e . . team swept the ri e match- established its police marksmanship quali cation es, smashing all records by or more points and course at the Small Arms Firing School, and though it winning the Argentine Cup in a commanding vic- attracted some immediate interest, it wasn’t until tory over Cuba, Argentina and Peru. that police departments all over the country be- gan to see marksmanship as a necessary part of A POLICE NEED police training. at year, more than , Expanding the police program, Secre- policeman from all over the United States tary Gen. Milton A. Reckord announced an quali ed in the course, and several police entirely new incentive to familiarize police departments sent o cers to Camp Perry o cers with their rearms. He initiated two to train as instructors. From that time on, pistol tournaments, open only to members of police marksmen were always among the lead- law enforcement agencies. ese tournaments ing contenders in the annual pistol matches. operated under a postal system that permitted Also in , established a Police Division, the o cers to shoot on their home ranges. In directed by Eugene F. Marshall, who joined the addition to medals and quali cation decora- sta from Colt’s Patent Firearms Mfg. Co. tions, o ered cash prizes to the winning Mitchell supervised the tournaments and traveled teams and leading individuals in the two tour- extensively to attend police conventions and meet- naments. Los Angeles, which had been among ings of civic groups. He also edited police tourna- the rst cities to develop a police marksman- ment news for e American Ri eman and con- ship training program, adopted the tributed a regular police column. -based program immediately and was the rst city to o er increased Police o cer Joseph Pozzic was the model for pay to policemen who quali ed as the Sobel Trophy, the trophy awarded for a ve- experts with the handgun. member team competition in the Police School.

PART III: Service and Readiness THE WINCHESTER JUNIOR RIFLE CORPS Presidents, with a restriction of two one-year terms. e Exec- A short time before Gen. Reckord became Secretary, the utive Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer provided conti- Executive Committee had unanimously voted to accept nuity to the administration. responsibility for managing the Winchester Junior Ri e Corps e National Matches of were also smaller than in pre- ( ). is organization of school-age shooters had been cre- vious years, as the War Dept. had eliminated funds for the ated in by the Winchester Repeating Arms Co., primarily Matches from its budget. But many prominent gures who be- as a promotional program. From the beginning, it overlapped lieved in ’s program quickly pooled their resources, while ’s youth program, a er which it was loosely patterned, the commandant of the Marine Corps assigned Marines as but it possessed a few unique features that made it appealing support personnel. A number of other prestigious organiza- to young people. e Junior Marksmanship program tions avidly supported ’s work, including the Reserve Of- required participants to shoot on a formal range. Members cer’s Association, the National Guard Association and the of the , however, could qualify anywhere, provided the American Legion, which established local ri e clubs through- shooter could obtain adult witnesses to authenticate his or her out the country. e widespread support for ’s objectives targets. Moreover, the featured a series of quali cation resulted in renewed federal funding for the National courses through which individual participants moved by stages Matches and free ammunition to clubs a liated with . as their skill increased. Medals and other prizes recognized each stage of pro ciency as the shooter moved toward expert status. “THE WORLD’S OLDEST e Winchester Junior Ri e Corps was a huge success. By AND LARGEST FIREARM AUTHORITY” the time took it over, it had quali ed , boys and Starting Jan. , , all members received e Amer- girls who had been organized in , clubs and supervised ican Ri eman, whereas it had previously been mailed only by more than volunteer instructors. to Life members and the secretaries of a liated clubs. is Although there were di erences between the and new policy broadened the magazine’s appeal to advertis- ’s junior marksmanship programs, both were organized ers, and for the rst time provided a direct liaison between on a postal basis, with targets scored at a central o ce. the o ces of the Association and all the members. By that combined the two programs into one that included the best time, the journal was being published monthly instead features of each. of semi-monthly. It had been overhauled and expanded, becoming self-supporting, boasting a circulation of , REORGANIZATION IN and a substantial list of paying advertisers. During the September meeting at Sea Girt, the Board of Directors rewrote the by- Smallbore competition gained more preva- laws to establish a more orderly method lence at a er the organization took of succession to the presidency, with the over the Winchester Junior Ri e Corps President selected from the slate of Vice and established a Junior Division in 1925. Illustration: Harry Lloyd Jaecks

PART III: Service and Readiness In 1923, Arms & the Man became e American Ri eman; Capt. Charles Askins (le ), was one of the chief maga- zine contributors, helping to process more than 5,000 “Dope Bag” letters in 1928. e expert sta of the “Dope Bag”— with products designed for the target Charles Askins, Sr., Julian Hatcher shooter, the operation became more and Townsend Whelen—quickly be- complex. By , a full-time director came the last word on technical shooting questions. In of the retail outlet was employed. In that year alone, the Ser- alone, the “Dope Bag” sta processed more than , let- vice Company sold more than million targets. ters on hunting equipment, ballistics reloading and the selec- At its height in early , the Service Company of- tion of arms and equipment for special tasks. fered all forms of target-shooting equipment, including quality In , in an e ort to reach an audience beyond mem- ri es and ammunition, special sights, slings and shooting jackets. bers, launched a Publicity Bureau. rough a newsletter A er ve years of operation, however, the company᾿s operations to newspapers and magazines, the bureau put the spotlight were drastically curtailed by the growth of other suppliers. on recreational shooting for the rst time. Many of its news items featured the Junior Marksmanship Program, which MATCH SUPPORT had a broad appeal to newspaper editors. e Junior Ri e In it was still uncertain whether the National Matches Club program then had more than , individual mem- would be held, for the War Department again had knocked bers in separate clubs scattered all over America. funds for them from its budget. General Reckord worked with Congressman John C. Speaks of Ohio to introduce an amend- THE NRA SERVICE COMPANY ment to Section of the National Defense Act, making it man- With its expanding activities, had outgrown its current datory that an annual appropriation for the National Matches quarters. In November , moved to the Barr Build- be included in the War Department’s budget. is rst attempt ing on . . K Street o Farragut Square, in what was then failed, but Speaks then introduced an amendment to the Army one of the newest o ce buildings in Washington, . . e Appropriations Bill, which provided , to support the suite of o ces occupied , square-feet of the Matches and the military members of the American inter- eighth oor, while additional space in the basement housed national free-ri e team. is bill passed on March , . the Service Company. Shortly therea er, Congressman Speaks reintroduced his In , created the Service Company as a earlier amendment to the National Defense Act. is time means to supply targets, target ri es, shooting accessories the e ort proved successful, and President Calvin Coolidge and match ammunition to members at moderate prices. signed the bill into law on May , . Until then, only a few manufacturers produced quality mate- e amendment mandated that the Secretary of War would rial suitable for target shooting, and the equipment was not regulate “an annual competition known as the National Matches, readily available. As more manufacturers entered the market for the purpose of competing for a national trophy, medals and