CHRISTCHURCH RIFLE CLUB.

Press, Volume XLIV, Issue 6925, 3 December 1887, Page 6

CHRISTCHURCH RIFLE CLUB.

» A VISIT TO THE RANGE. [by otxr special reporter.] The city was a perfect Desert of Sahara so far as news was concerned yesterday, so that an invitation from the genial captain of the Christchurch Rifle Club to visit their range and inspect the improvements made for the approaching Rifle Association meeting, was a perfect godsend. The Canterbury Rifle Association have been fortunate enough to secure the use of the range of the Club for their opening meeting, commencing on Boxing Day, and the work of arranging for this has now been completed. The Association has only recently been resmcitated, and judging from the zeal and energy which is being displayed by its officers bids fair to rival its past history. Taking the trani to the hostelry of the captain a trap and a couple of genial companions awaited us, including the zealous secretary of the Club. Mr Bashford, who is a perfect enthusiast in rilie shooting, declined to move without his favorite weapons, so a RemingtonLee and Snider, with a fair amount of ammunition, formed part of the cargo of the trap. A pleasant drive throm/h the picturesque suburb of Opawa, with its cosy , villas nestling in trees and with bright colored flowers, making a pretty picture us to a gate leading to a gully running down to the road. " Here we are," said Mr Bashford, but no range appeared. " You will see it in a few minutes," Observed the captain. Dismounting from the trap'and climbing over the gate, we set forth up a gentle rising hill. The gully widened out as we proceeded until, on reaching the 600 yards range, the view presented was a very pretty one. On either hand, from a kind of plateau, the hills sloped) gradually upwards, on* side of the l way, as we walked slowly up hill, for the day was close, is filled up by a charming plantation full of birds. Still pushing forward, with the gradual ascent telling j somewhat on the stouter portion of our I contingent, we reached the targets. These arc placed at the far end of the gully under the slope of the hill, and comprise a trench 100 ft long, sft wide, cut out of the solid earth, with bank facings, the depth from the top of the bank to the lower level of the trench being nine feet. There are six targets on the revolving principle. Ihese, for the benefit of the uninitiated it may be explained, consist of two independent targets of canvas, stretched on a stout wooden frame. Upright posts corresponding to the number of targets are placed at intervals of sixteen feet, having an iron bolt at the top which projects and passes through a hole. drilled in the centre stay of the double target. By this means one target is always in the trench being repaired whilst the other is available for shooting purposes. As a means of saving time, this is an excellent arrangement, enabling almost four times the number of men to j shoot that would be possible with the now I old-fashioned iron targets. Besides this, the canvas targets are absolutely safe so far as the markers are concerned, as there is no spraying of lead. As one sits on the mound takingnotes.thclookdownthegully isexceedingly pretty. On the lefthand side are the green plantations of trees around Opawa, with the Cathedral spire and the houses of the city in the far distance, whilst away on the other hand are the flashing waters of the estuary. Altogether a very pleasant place is the rifle range on a Saturday afternoon to spend an hour or two. True to his instincts the Captain, after a stroll around to enable a note to be taken by the visitor, had a trial of the respective merits of the two rifles—the RemingtonLee and the Snider. At the 300 yds, where the firing began, the merits of the rifles were about equal, but at the 500 yds, despite the skill of the captain, he could hardly get a shot on. Out of nine shots the score was only six points, an outer and a magpie. When the elevation was at 500 yds, the shots went over 1 the target. Reducing it to 400 yds they went a little nearer, with the result mentioned. With the Snider much better practice was made, and Mr Bashford still holds to his old love as against the new rifle. As we sauntered slowly to the trap Mr Bashford explained to mc the use of what are known as spotting discs. They are composed of black and white cardboard, with a wire catch. On a shot being made by a marksman the target revolves into the trench, and the marker inserts a disc in the hole made by the bullet. On the target going up again for the man to shoot at he sees the exact spot of his last shot accurately marked. The lecture concluded, we drove off to town, having most fully enjoyed an hour's outing on the range. ___________________