International Long Range Shooting

World long range shooting began in the 1850s with the production of the Minie and Enfield rifles, which were used effectively at ranges out to '800 paces' against Russian artillery in the Crimean War.

The British National Rifle Association was formed in 1859 and the first team shooting match was held at Wimbledon, England, in 1861. The National Rifle Association (NRA) of America was formed in 1871 and subsequently procured a site for their home range at Creed's farm on Long Island, New York City. The 'Creedmoor Range' was opened in 1873 and it was here that the first international long range teams match was fired in the USA on 26 September 1874.

A crowd of over 5,000 watched the American team defeat the Irish by three points after 15 shots at each of 800 and 900, and 20 shots at 1000 yards. The American team won because the Irishman JK Millner fired the first shot at 900 yards on the wrong target. The head of the Irish Rifle Association, Major Leech presented the winning team with a beautiful silver cup. A return match was held in 1875 at the Dollymount Range in Ireland, with the USA again victorious by a margin of 39 points.

The American team then traveled to Wimbledon to enter the Elcho Shield match for long range shooting. The USA were not, however, allowed to enter since the match conditions at the time only allowed teams from Great Britain.

The two matches in the USA and Ireland, and the visit of the Americans to England, caused the 1875 Board of Directors of the NRA of America to reflect on putting international competition onto a 'regular' footing. The records of this meeting document that, 'The prize will be a handsome trophy presented by the citizens of the United States'. The match conditions were to be 30 shots at each of 800, 900 and 1000 yards, between teams of 8 firers.'

The Palma Match

An international match was fired on 13/14 September 1876 between teams from Australia, Canada, Ireland, Scotland and the USA, on the Creedmoor Range. It was a great international contest to commemorate the 100th anniversary of United States independence. Teams consisted of eight shooters, firing 15 shots each at 800, 900 and 1000 yards, on each day. The American team used breech loading rifles while the other teams used muzzle loaders. JK Millner of the Irish team shot 15 consecutive bull's eyes at 1,000 yards with his Rigby muzzle loader. His score of 75/75 had never been accomplished before and was achieved without the benefit of sighting shots. The final places were America 1st, Ireland 2nd, Scotland 3rd, Australia 4th, Canada 5th.

The Centennial Trophy was presented to the American Team at Gilmore's Garden on the 15th September in the presence of 15,000 people while more lined Madison Avenue. Today the Palma Match is shot at distances of 800, 900 and 1000 yards on imperial ranges such as Belmont, Australia, and 700, 800 and 900 metres on metric ranges such as Connaught, Canada. Teams of 16 men and women, in four squads of four, fire two sighters and 15 shots at each distance, repeated over two days. Each squad is controlled by a coach who applies corrections for wind to the aperture sights of .308 calibre target rifles. Full bore team shooting is endurance sport and the Palma Match is a unique, shoulder to shoulder, international competition of marksmanship skills.