RIFLE SHOOTING

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22594, 27 December 1938, Page 15

RIFLE SHOOTING

PROVINCIAL MEETING HELD

RESULTS OF CANTERBURY CHAMPIONSHIPS

W. N. MASEFIELD WINNER OF BELT

The seventeenth annual championship meeting of the Canterbury Rifle Association was held on the Redcliffs rifle range yesterday. Boisterous weather, with heavy rain in the morning, kept several intending competitors away, but in spite of this the entries were large, necessitating the use of 18 targets. More than 90 marksmen competed, representing clubs in Canterbury, South Canterbury, West Coast, North Canterbury, Otago, and Marlborough. The championship belt was won by W. N. Masefield (Blenheim), who was captain of the New Zealand team which visited Australia last February. This was Masefield’s initial success at the Canterbury meeting. R. Leslie, jun. (Dunedin), who won the title in 1937, was among the competitors. The following are the results:— CANTERBURY MATCH (300 yards). Two Optional Sighters and 10 Shots. Captain W. N. Masefield (Blenheim), 48, £3 .. .. ■■ 1 W. Hamilton (Christchurch) 48. £2 .. 2 G. Crimp (Christchurch), 47, £1 10s 3 W. Barrett (Sydenham), 47, £1 .. 4 Prizes of 10s; D. Keir (Christchurch) 47, H. Cromie (Ashburton) 46, P. Black (Timaru) 46, D. Murray (Christchurch) 46, H. Mason (Christchurch) 46, F. R. Cross (Timaru) 46, W. Heney (Rangiora) 46, T. Smith (Culverden) 46. G. Lusk (Ashburton) 46. W. T. Taylor (Timaru) 45. D. Doak (Ashburton) 45, R. Poulsen (Sydenham) 45, C. Thom (Sydenham) 45, L. McNatty (Ashburton) 45. Tyro prizes of 10s each: J. Carr (Ashburton) 44, J. Hart (Staveley) 44. J. Earl (Culverden) 44, H. Davey (Legion of Frontiersmen) 43, R. Leslie, sen. (Dunedin) 43. G. Adams (Kiwi, Dunedin) 43, E. Hart (Staveley) 43. G. Smith (Brunner) 42. SERVICE MATCH (300 Yards). Five rounds rapid fire, and seven rounds snap shooting. G. Crimp (Christchurch), 52. £1 10s .. 1 T. Smith (Culverden), 48, 15s .. ..2 A. L. Kingsbury (Christchurch). 47

12s 6d .. .. .. ..3 M. Holland (Ashburton), 47, 12s 6d ..4 Prizes of 7s 6d: R. Hart (Staveley) 46, F. Hiscock (Christchurch) 46, F. Hodge (Sydenham) 46. Prizes of ss; F. Bryden (Kaiapoi) 44. C. J. Gamble (Dunedin) 43, J. Carr (Ashburton) 43. Captain W. N. Masefield (Blenheim) 42, J. R. Keoghan (Westport) 42, J. Walters (Culverden) 38, W. Tritt (Sydenham) 38, J. Connell (Ashburton) 38. W. Hamilton (Christchurch) 38, P. O. Larney 38.

SERVICE TEAMS’ MATCH Christchurch No. 2, 131 .. .. 1 Christchurch No. 1, 130 .. ..2 Sydenham No. 1, 124 .. ..3 Culverden, 121 .. .. ..4 Sydenham No. 2, 111 .. ..5 Dunedin, 109 .. .. ..6 Royal N.Z. Air Force. 108 .. ..7 Staveley, 98 .. .. .. 8 SOUTH CANTERBURY MATCH (500 Yards). Two optional slglitets a\Yl shots.

J. R. Keoghan (Westport), 48, £3 t. 1 J. Bryden (Kaiapoi), 47, £2 .. ..2 D. Murray (Christchurch), 46, £1 10s 3 R. McKeich (Dunedin), 46. £1 .. 4 Prizes of J.os each: W. Oakley (Christchurch) 46. A. Williamson (Cheviot) 46, A. L. Kingsbury (Christchurch) 46, H. Harries (Christchurch) 46, R. Neill (Christchurch) 46. K. Dunbar (Culverden) 46, S. O. Hay (Sydenham) 45, F. Bryden (Kala-

poi) 45, R. Leslie, jun. (Dunedin) 45, J. Bishop (Ashburton) 45, R. Bowman (Rangiora) 45, F. Hiscock (Christchurch) 45, D. Harries (Christchurch) 44. Counted out: W. J. Heney (Rangiora), F. Porter (Ashburton), W. N. Masefield (Blenheim). Tyro prizes of 10s each: C. Thom (Sydenham) 44, J. Hart (Staveley) 44, R. Burnett (Cheviot) 43, G. Smith (Brunner) 43, J. Connell (Ashburton) 43, G. Lusk. (Ashburton) 43, T. G. Garth (Greymouth) 42, Miss K. Bland (Staveley) 42. Counted out: J. Carr (Ashburton). PENINSULA MATCH (600 Yards). Two optional sighters and 10 shots. A. L. Kingsbury (Christchurch), 47, C. Thom (Sydenham), 46, £2 .. ..2 W. Barrett (Sydenham), 46, £1 10s- .. 3 Captain W. N. Masefield (Blenheim), 46. £1 .. .. .. ..4 Prizes of 10s each: E. Spurr (Christchurch) 45, W. C. Brehaut (Timaru) 44,

R. Poulsen (Sydenham) 44, F. Porter (Ashburton) 44, F. J. Black (Timaru) 44, J. Earl (Culverden) 43, P. Fennessy (Kiwi) 43, W. Oakley (Christchurch) 43, J. Bryden (Kaiapoi) 43, W. T. Taylor (Timaru) 43, D. Baker (Christchurch) 43, J. R. Turner (Rangiora) 43, G. Crimp (Christchurch) 43. Counted out: K. Dunbar {Culverden). Tyro prizes of 10s: R. Weston (Christchurch) 42, V. R. Percy (Dunedin) 41, Miss K. Bland (Staveley) 40, E. Hart (Staveley) 40, E. Lorgelly (Cheviot) 40, A. Washbourne (Christchurch) 40, M. Codyre (Culverden) 39. A. Green (Kaiapoi) 39. Counted out: A. Adams, R. J. McKeich. THE NORTH CANTERBURY MATCH (GO Yards). Two optional sighters and 10 shots. H. Harries (Christchurch), 45, £3 .. 1 R. Leslie (Dunedin). 45, £2 .. ..2 W. Crimp (Kiwi). 45, £1 10s .. .. 3

T. H. Jones (Kiwi). 44, £1 .. ..4 Prizes of 10s: R. J. McKeich (Dunedin) 44, E. Hart (Staveley) 44, W. Oakley (Christchurch) 44, G. Crimp (Christchurch) 44, T. Thompson (Rangiora) 44, D. Baker (Christchurch) 44, E. Smith (Dunedin) 44. A. Barker (Sydenham) 43, F. Porter (Ashburton) 43, G. N. Perkins (Westport) 43, J. R. Keoghan (Westport) 43, N. Adams (Kiwi) 43, Kibblewhite (Kiwi) 43. Tyro prizes of 10s each: V. G. Percy (Dunedin) 42, A. Williamson (Cheviot) 42. A. Green (Kaiapoi) 41, E. Lorgelly (Cheviot) 40, R. Williamson (Cheviot) 40, G. Lusk (Ashburton) 40, C. Thom (Sydenham) 40, R. Poulsen (Sydenham) 40. CHAMPIONSHIP AGGREGRATE W. N. Masefield (Blenheim), 180, £3 .. 1 J. R. Keoghan (Westport), 176, £2 .. 2 F. Porter (Ashburton), 175, £1 .. 3 Prizes of 15s; F. Black (Timaru) 175, C. Thom (Sydenham) 175. Prizes of 10s: H. Harries (Christchurch) 175, G. Crimp (Christchurch) 174, W. Oakley (Christchurch) 174, W. Barrett (Sydenham) 173, W. Hamilton (Christchurch) 172, W. Heney (Rangiora) 171, D. Murray (Christchurch) 171, W, Taylor (Timaru) 171, J. Bryden (Kaiapoi) 170, K. Dunbar (Culverden) 170, G. Cromie (Ashburton) 169, W. Jones (Timaru) 169, R. Poulsen (Sydenham) 169, R. J. McKeich (Dunedin) 168, C. Johnson 168, C. J. Gamble 167. Counted out: F. Hodge, P. Fennessey, D. Keir.

TYRO AGGREGATE C. Thom (Sydenham), 175, £1

R. Poulsen (Sydenham), 169, 10s R. McKeich (Dunedin), 168, 10s

Prizes of ss: G. Lusk (Ashburton) 166, J. Earl (Culverden) 166, E. Hart 166, G. Adams 166, D. Baker 165, A. Williamson (Cheviot) 164, E. M. Spurr 163, J. Leslie, sen. (Dunedin) 163, J. Carr (Ashburton) 162.

CHAMPIONSHIP TEAMS’ MATCH. (The wininng team to hold the Canterbury Rifle Association’s championship shield for 12 months.) Christchurch No. 1 (G. Crimp, H. Jones, D. Koir, R. Neill,). 513 points, £4 .. .. .. 1 Christchurch No. 2. 513 points, £3 ..2 Timaru. 510 points, £2 .. ..3 Culverden. 501 points, £1 .. ..4 Special Prizes Fox Cup. G. Crimp (Christchurch): Goodhart Cup, A. Kingsbury (Christchurch); J. Craig trophy, J. R. Keoghan (Westport). Highest in teams' match. C. Thom (Sydenham): W. Barrett trophy, R. Poulsen (Sydenham): Heaton Rhodes Cup, W. N. Masefield (Blenheim).

USE OP THE SLING

PRINCIPLES OUTLINED

(By BULLSEYE.)

Although it has been used in all the other positions, it is generally recognised that the sling is of the greatest value for shooting prone, and the following remark refer solely to that position.

The first thing to note about the sling is that its use always lessens the accuracy of the rifle to some extent. The reason for this is that no rifleman can reproduce exactly the same “hold” each time, and these variations in “hold” must cause slight variations in the tension of the sling and in the direction hi its pull on the rifle. The sling naturally causes some twisting and bending of the rifle, and, even if this twisting and bending itself did no harrrt, the variations consequent on the varations in “hold” must do so. The effect on the rifle’s accuracy is, of course, produced chiefly through the resultant changes in the barrel vibrations. The S.M.L.E. is particularly sensitive in this respect, but no rifle is completely immune. In practically all methods of using the sling, the loop is passed round the back of the loft upper arm and the end or ends attached to the rifle in such a way as to pull the butt of the rifle back against the right shoulder. When taking aim, the body and the two elbows may be regarded as comparatively fixed points, but the shoulders have a considerable range of movement without disturbing any of these “fixed” points. The left shoulder is strained backwards by the muscles which attach it to the trunk, thereby pulling the sling and the rifle with it backwards against the right shoulder. The knowledge that the left elbow is "fixed” and that the left shoulder is not, explains why the effect of the sling is greater the higher the loop is placed on the upper arm. In the case of the right shoulder, the opposite muscular action occurs. The shoulder is pushed forward by muscular action sufficiently forcibly to counterbalance the backward push of the rifle engendered by the sling. When the rifle is discharged, these contracting shoulder muscles allow the rifle to move back an inch or so, and thereby act as a spring buffer which takes up the recoil. Anyone who has used a butt which Is seriously too long, thereby placing the shoulder too far back so as appreciably to limit the length of the recoil, knows that this is far more unpleasant than having the shoulder bumped by too short a butt. In the' effort to avoid canting stress on the rifle, many have tried passing the front end of the sling over the top of the rifle from left to right before attaching it either to the front or middle-band swivel. It is possible by trying various ways of doing this to get a position which for comfort and steadiness Is unequalled, but the torsonial strain on the barrel causes vibrations which are fatal to accuracy.

The fore and aft position on the rifle at which the rear end of the sling is attached is not so important. The farther back it is attached the more surely it keeps the butt well in on the shoulder, but this is not of vital importance, as the rifleman should be able to keep the butt in position without this aid. In any case, it should be attached somewhere to the left of the mid-line.

On the whole, probably the best arrangement is to make the attachment of both ends of the sling coincide (or more simply to use a single end fastened to the rifle with a loop for the upper arm).

In the American method, this single point of attachment is in front of the left hand, and the sling is taken to the right of the left wrist.

Three-Range Competition The Sydenham. Defence Rifle Club fired its fourth competition at Redcliffs on Saturday. Ideal weather prevailed, a light nort-east wind and a good light favouring the marksmen. As a result, the shooting reached a high standard and was the best seen at Redcliffs this season. The conditions were two optional sighters and seven shots at 300, 500, and 600 yards. The following were the results;— 300 yds 500 yds 600 yds Hep. Tl. H. Barker .. 34 34 34 scr 102 R. PoUlsen .. 35 34 33 scr 102 C. Thom .. 32 35 32 2 101 R. Hodge .. 31 33 32 5 101 W. Barrett .. 33 33 34 scr 100 J. McCarthy .. 35 33 32 scr 100 P. Hodge .. 34 34 31 scr 99 P. Riches .. 33 34 28 4 99 S. O. Hay .. 33 31 34 scr 98 A. Barker .. 31 34 33 scr 98

P. Morgan, 30. 32. 33, 3—98; R. Neill, 32, 34, 32, scr—9B; E. Paton, 30, 34, 32, 2—98; W. Tritt, 31. 33, 31, 2—97; W. Ford, 30. 33, 31, 2—96; A. Webb. 28, 31. 25, 5—89; C. Poulsen, 21, 28, 27, 6—82. Jottings

With a total of 102 off the rifle, H. Barker won the Sydenham Defence Club’s fourth competition at Redcllffs on Saturday. His score card read:—3oo yards: 54-5455555; 500 yards, 3-5545555; 600 yards, 5545555. R. Poulsen, with a similar total, took second place, losing on the count back. The score card of this marksman read:—3oo yards, 2-5555555; 500 yards. 445555455; 600 yards, 4-5554545. The Canterbury Rifle Association’s annual Jack Shield meeting will be held at Redcliffs on March 18, when teamS representative of clubs throughout Canterbury will be competing. Last year the event was won by the Christchurch Defence Club’s No. 1 team. Fixtures

December 31—Sydenham Defence Club’s fifth competition at Redcllffs. January 7—Christchurch Defence Club’s three-range competition, at Tai Tapu. March 2-B—National rifle meeting, at Trentham. March 18—Canterbury Rifle Association's Jack Shield competition, at Redcliffs. April 7-10—Otago rifle meeting at Dunedin.