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Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 15, 12 October 1907, Page 8

. FIELD ARTILLERY. A ten days' Field Artillery fcourto of Instruction , is. to bo . hold at tho Hutt Racecourse,' commencing on Tuesday, October 15. • About thirty officers and N.C.O.'s' from various parts of .the Dominion will attend. ' Tho object of the course ,is to train : officers and ■N.C.O.'s to become proficient instruc- ' tors in Field Artillery work. ' The c syllabus .of instruction is a .very, com- - prehensivo. ono, embracing numerous x subjects; froln guu-drill to;Artillory r tactics and: practice .'with : service ;am-. 0 munition. /Horo is. a. typical day's • work'• . 15-—. :- ■ /• G a.m. —Stables. -. ' ■ V-'-'- i . . 6.30. t0;'7.30 -a.m.—Gun-drill."' ;/ " tr.7.45. a.'m.—Breakfast.' ' a : '9to 10 Gun-drill. -■ '10 <jo 10.15 a.m.—lnterval for smoke. '10.15 to/11 .SO' a.m.' —Hiding . School ' No. ll section; gun laying arid 'judging _ No. : 2~sectiqnVj " '11.30 3 ' r, 12 noon-^-Diriner.', ' ; 1.30 to 3 p.m.—-No 1 section gun-lay-'T ;ing and •judging distance; No. 2. section'riding schpol.':," " ': '■ 1 ' 3.15 tb.4..30 p.m,-7-Semaphoro; ; signal-: i ling' .' ' . ; ; !• 4.30 p.m. —Stables. ■•••; j ' 7 p.m.—Lecture: Map,.reading-and field, sketching; review of day's work, j. .9.30. p.m. —First Post, . r ■; 10 p.m.—Second 'Post. ! . 10.15'p.m.—Lights' out. . . :: ; 'The;c6urse of lectures to be delivered •• ; 'at: the'camp'of instructibn is;as fol[v lows: —(1) Map " reading., -'and:, field ;; Iskefehirig;'. . (2) fire.' discipline and {• ranging'..',. Furthor ..in,;mili-. tary sketching; (3) . the manoeuvring of I a. field battery and different methods of , .occupying.positions, elementary/princi- | 'pies of. field artillery, further ,' instniction .in' military , sketching ; (4) i tho use'of : the director and field plotiter, laying out'liiios'of ; firo, sights and i laying j '(5) tactical exorcises. inoludiing appreciation of . the situation andwriti ing operation orders ;■ (6); short lecturo on Field Artillery, practice. In addition, officers will be required to contribute papers' on, ,tho ( general scheme of operations,' and : their essays , [will be critically.:: reviewed .by''the Director of Artillery, Captain Richardson, who will also summarise and comr ■ 'ment;on the day' ■ work. Miniature Rifle-Ranges. ■ > , ; j.The' .Government has ■ recently.: inti- • mated''itshwilhngness'-toYConsider tho 'quostioii. of miniatur.e;/xifle-Tariges'';.'for. ! iseho'ols! The standard :sizcs,'uscd; for' !•' mimature'rangos in England- are::—■. (1; For. shooting .up to and- inolud- . ling 25 yards a target six inches.squaro :ha"virig ton rings, tno contral; being ihalf 'ah inch in diameter'and increasing by : half-inches ...'tofive '•: inchest In this . target : the bnH's-eye is one inch, in 'diameter, and- inside the, bull's-eye there' is a half-inch carton. , . (2) For 50; yards a target 12 inches square,'having ten rings, the/central being, one inch in diameter and increasing Bjr one inch>up[to ten inches.- ' Tho following is. a. guide:\wliich can bo rcduced proportionately for any' disr ■ tance: — . " . . ■

■ At 200 yards.a third-class target:is four feet squarethe bull's-eye is 12 inches in .diameter ; inner, 24 inches in ;diameter; magpie,'-86 :inches; inj.diameter; outer, - remainder ;.of - target.' ' The 25 and SO yards targets described above, arerin^proportioii'.to.'this,' but ,the;bu]lfsr.eye,,is reduccd;-)and.'tho?rings : !-'are-i.more,.,nu'morous, tho object; being i'toV,assist judges in amving'^at-fiir-,de-cisions' in closely-contestod shootine.: - ; Say the range. is ' to" be\soft.,' 50ft.' "is one-twelfth" of 200 yards,- and the bull's-oyes,; inriers, - and-magpies should ,'tye 'Bjiei-twelfth of .the size .used for 200 is, one, , two, and - three • SjSjstt&ijespef^ however!, can be, arid .'frequently are, introduced;"'to assist' '..decisions, .as statod above. ' I For the gallery, any covered place, 1 30ft'.: 1 or more' long,' .out-..0f _which stray bullets cannot ' escape,;'; will do;'.any careful rifleman knows what is safe and what isn't. , 1 i The' approximate • cost of, minaturo rifle equipments in any of the colonial centres is as follows: — Rifles:—.22 calibre:— . " Single 1 shots, 17s 6d to 21s. ;£2 15s. , . ,smni)i';iition:. , ' "'";.2i'khbrt rim-fire,i'lOs 6d.per 1 1000. Stop-butts:'. ' . ••••"'■'" , ;. The iron costs 1 (sayV 15s; Bell for bull's-eyo, 2s.

Tho stop-hutt is the end of tho raingo which stops the' bullets. . ; ' The nature of stop-hutt to be used must depend . upon the financial re'sources of tho ranjse. A "very simple stop : butt with stationary target can be erected locally, at a cost which should not' exceed £1. ' The size of this stopbutt should be about 4ft. by 2ft. 6in. for, a range not-exceeding 25 yards. It is made of half-inch boards backed by ..eight-gauge steol,'plates. There should be a space of not'less than an inch be-tween-tho; wood and tho plates, in order, to prevent,the bullet splashings from doing any damage. ' lii the middle of this planking 'should ibe pinned a paper target, with an inch bull, to represent -at ■ 50ft.' a- third;class .'firing-' ~range,: at, 200 yards. ."'•.Targets .with smaller ;bulls can , bfe 'jji^mt.jlpngdr''.]Ji^ftnscs..:"^'%9. r holeß m3'clo"by the' bullets.'in "tlio wood 'can bo filled; with putty./- and tho planking must bo renewed when thoroughly destrayed iby, the shooting. . • . i_. The:space, between: the-planking and the steel plate 3 should 'he filled with sand, thus causing. -the. bullets .to turn arid save the buckling of the, plates behind.--' '■ ' ''V ''■ : "It is useless to'allow a man to shoot at longer ranges, or.! ,in .. advanced, practice, until he. has become a reliable shot at; the shorter distances. . Exorcise, with, blank, ammunition, miniature cartridges; or' merely, "snapping,"'."on the lines of,.'tho. rapid;;magazine and snap-shooting practices , of, thevrcgyla-; tion course; should bo fremiently practised, during, tho- year!"— Extract from British' Army: Order';