VOLUNTEER FIELD FIRING.

Press, Volume LIX, Issue 11283, 26 May 1902, Page 5

VOLUNTEER FIELD FIRING.

Through the efforts of Captain D. Buddo, M.H.R., a successful effort was made on Saturday to attain some practice for the North Canterbury Volunteers at field firing. The priae offered was six guineas to the ten men of any corps rooking the bestscore at unmeasured distances on ranges chosen by a staff officer on the sand dunes of the Kaiapoi beach,dthe distances not exceeding 600 or 700 yards. The conditions as to firing were that twenty rounds were to be allowed each man, to be fired at five halting stations, jin a time limit of 25 minutes. The work of placing head and shoulder targets of black . straw board, figging the firing points, and at the same t : me acting as referee, fell on Adjutant P. EL Johnson, of the No. .2 Canterbury Mounted Battalion, and he discharged his duties in an energetic manner. The officers present were—Surgeon-Major Parsons, Captains E. B. Millton, D- Buddo, C. d'Autergne, Lieuts. Home, Mcintosh, Winsloe Horrell, and Waterston. The scores w-ere as follows: — Cust Mounted Rifles (Captain E. B. Milltea commanding)—-Sergeant_l_jor Ruddenklau, Sergeants.Kingsbury, Horn, Jones, Corporals Feary, OTarrell, Catterniore, Troopers Thompson, Hartland, Steffens. TatiiT 22nm 30sec; hits 90; points 180, average 18.00. Six rounds short. North Canterbury Mounted Rifles (Lieut. Home commanding)—Lieut. Ser-jeant-Major Fanham, Sergeants Tyler, Stevenson, Henry, and Mcintosh, Corporals Young, HorrelT, W. Master, Stevenson,

and Bugler Cossgrove. Time, 19_dn>4_ sec; hits 89. .points 178, average 17.08. Kaiapoi Rifles (Lieut. Wcnsoe commanding)— Sergeants Simpson, Oram, Coiporals Pearce, Pickering, Horsfall, Privates jrackwood, W. Richards, F. Richards, J. Martin and R. Scott. Time, 17min 15secj hits 81, points 162, average 16.02. Rangiora Rifles {Lieut. Waterston: commanding)— Sergeants Humphries, Bell, Downing, August, Corporal Milne, Privates Folputt, Newman, Lane, Robertson, and Cook. Tune, 21min 31sec; hits 78, points 156, average 15.06. Amuri Mounted Rifles (Sergeant Lister' commanding)— Sergeant Young, 'Corporals St«wart, Willis, Farrier-Sergeant Hore, Ti-oopers Fit_seraid; Fowler, Williams, Grimley, Honevbone, and Hiatt. Time, 14 mm 30sec; hits 73, points 146, average 14.05.

The total actual shots fired were 1992, and the total hits 411, giving a percentage of 20.63. In a similar fie\d firing on Anniversary Day, 1887, 101 men firing, 940 rounds made a percentage of hits 27.23 with the Snider rifle. Tbe targets on Saturday showed the head of the figure 24 inches above the ground, but in the 1887 competition many of the hits were registered on full-size figure targets, but as a rule oh that occasion it was the smaller targets on which the greatest proportion of hits were secured. Saturday's practice, as a military shooting record, was very satisfactory.