R. E. TAYLOR: Steadiness Is The Hallmark Of This Fine Rifleman

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30892, 27 October 1965, Page 15

R. E. TAYLOR: Steadiness Is The Hallmark Of This Fine Rifleman

’T’HE principle characters1 tic of R. E. Taylor, who has been among the top bracket of New Zealand .303 shots for 30 years and a leading small-bore shot for even longer, has been steadiness.

Indeed, in the opinion of his most consistent rivals, he is never defeated until the last round of the match has been fired. It is this characteristic, more than any other, which has kept him at the fore-front of New Zealand marksmen for so long.

He began competitive small-bore shooting in 1927 and has won both the Canterbury and New Zealand championships twice. He has been a member of the Canterbury team for many years and has represented New Zealand in postal shoots since 1949.

He took up the .303 in 1934 at Redcliffs and, although he has never won a Canterbury or New Zealand championship, he has been third in New Zealand. He

was only one point behind V. Curtis (Christchurch), the eventual winner, at the completion of the qualifying rounds for this year’s New Zealand championship.

Although Taylor has never been to Bisley for the British championships, he represented New Zealand against Australia last year and has been in the Commonwealth shoot for the last six years.

Taylor considers himself just as much a .303 shot as a small-bore shot, although

he has done more smallbore shooting. He hopes to enter this year’s New Zealand championships. As a member of the Christchurch Club, of which he is president, he has had plenty of opportunity to practice shooting over 900 yards at Tai Tapu.

Other leading .303 marksmen in Canterbury consider the development of the sport in Canterbury has been retarded by the lack of facilities for long-range practice, but Taylor disagrees with this opinion.

“Tai Tapu doesn’t give us all we want for practice, but it it all right,” he said in a recent interview. He agreed that the gully formation made reading the wind a little difficult.

Taylor thought It was a good idea for New Zealand to send a small-bore teem to the Jamaican Empire Games. He said he had heard nothing final about sending a team but he would be keen to compete if he was selected.