RICOCHETS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 761, 9 March 1910, Page 8

RICOCHETS.

"Squads.!—twenty-six to fifty — lie down '." roared the chief officer yesterday. .The'colonel,'of course, meant that the squads should wait until they were wanted." Almost the. first ripple of laughter heard on the range to date was then.heard; and one man (under, his breath) asked: "Is thy servant a dog that he should,do this thing?" : . Yesterday being something of an.offday, many of 'the shooting men were less solemn and more talkative. One man spoke about the little - yellow strings of jelly (cordite) that drive the'bullet into the -target—or the. man; or the- bank. He'said that in' a. teetotal camp it was remarkable that there were no "cordite inebriates" for the explosive had remarkable properties. He further mentioned 'that ■ at Netley Military Hospital' many soldiers who had got the "cordite habit" were treated -and the, symptoms of the mania-were intense nervousness,'hysteria, and .delirium. Pursuing the conversation about cordite' the reporter learned that soldiers on-service'frequently draw the.bullets • from .303' cartridges returning the- loose bullet as a" "cork." Matches might be scarce, so shreds of cordite are lit from a mate's pipe and so a whole army corps may smoke from-a single pipe.

Many shots were: yesterday approached in'regard.to.the.use of tobacco in its relation'' to.. shooting... A number of the finest ; : marksmen in New Zealand shun the pipe as an enemy of nerve and eyesight.'. .One.' marksman' who. has. smoked for 50 .years, holds.that the use of tobacco is,steadying to some, and unnerv-. ing to others. "Whatis.one.man's meat," h« concluded,'."is another', man's-poison. I've 'been, poisoning myself .since I was U '"years■ old."'" , ["' ' '■;' I '■• -..'■•: -- . • , -- '-.'." What particub:.' shade of • eye has Nature served out to the successful rifle shot? The typicaL/'shooting" eye is grey —there is no doubt about this—and it varies from this colour to light blue or oven green. The brown-eyed man is generally not in the. first flight of "shots," although of course there are exceptions. Rifleman George- Hawthorn, now of Weber, but, for long of Wellington, holds that the black ;arid .white target must. go. Himself- a crack target shot,-he-is of opinion that, such • shooting', should be only, preparatory to]'service■' shojting. Asked why good results were infrequently obtained in the "service conditions" matches, ho said: ."It is quite obvious that a man can't shoot well in these matches, if he has no practice. The men.do absolutely no-shooting'except, at black and white targets all the year, and they, come,, to Trentham -as a novice at the game. If 'service, conditions' prevailed on all ranges rail the year round, I am convinced that the results at, Trentham would be .more remarkable."

"The .best.'shot .is the man who can pick up ,'an'.' invisible target, shoot at it, and hit it," said a man with a Hythe record.- .Then he spoke, of the disheartening effect of the "pot-hunting" .system, ■on the'recruit. He thought, the competitors at Trenttiam should be graded. It was unfair to" class a tyro with a champion. 'The champion finds, ammunition, that should be given to a recruit. The man who should fire off plenty of ammunition was Hie learner, and not the man who could make- a "possible." It seemed ridiculous..to instruct, recruits, in aiming drill, and- pressing the trigger if they .never had a chance to shoot. Their ammunition was'stolen by "cracks." Target shooting was a necessary, preparation, but it was not the essential. ] A crack, rifle'shot holds that whatever Australians "may say, Trentham range is as fair as "any other. .He said he. had been' on. Randwick' and other Australian ranges where it was more difficult' to put up good scores. The art of rifle-shooting was "in understanding' .- conditions.;. and meeting'them. ' '?.■',.'• The "running man" does not run. He walks slowly, and is miich larger than any man seen on Lambton Quay. It was shown by a. practical person yesterday that a real man under rifle fire "puts up the sprint of his life," that he crouches low, and is in the habit of'firing back. As an "active, service" item the "run- 1 ning . man" is distinctly laughable.

One of the "active service conditions" Boers impose upon themselves in practising with-the. rifle is quaint.; A party will stand, on a: high hill and'.roll boulders down the side. The riflemen fire nt the travelling stones.. Naturally, the ''marking" is deficient, but it is good sport, and the "pot" to be won generally consists only of a few shillings or a roll of tobacco. ■••■.-. The teams competition, for the Logan Campbell Shield will be tired to-morrow. The competition is open to teams of twenty men a-side, from any regiment or battalion." .Last ysar, J the first occasion on which the shield was competed , for, it was carried off', by the.Wanganui' In: fantry .Battalion! .

A curious-looking. : wooden implement was found on the 1000 yds. range yesterday morning. The "find" was a forked stick, resembling a schoolboy's catapult the prong being.sharpened to a point. There: are two theories put as to its use. One' is that it is used as- a rest for the rifle-barrel when the owner of the rifle is. not firing, whilst the other—a more unpleasant suggestion—is that it .is secured in the hand with the,point in the ground 1 and. used as.'a-; rest for the rifle-barrel during firing.

Probably the hardestworked- men .in the camp these hot days are' the cooksand their. numerous assistants. A walk through tho cook-house yesterday showed everything to be in perfect' order, the spotless utensils and boards being a credit to the busy army of toilers. And it. is no easy matter to please several hundred riflemen, whose only immediate interests are their score" cards and tho "inner man." Complaints have, of course, been heard, but, considering the conditions under which camp cooking must bo carried out, there is little to be desired. One necessity in connection with the'cookery is a baker's, oven, which would result in the casting,aside of some of the more primitive means used at present, a.nd also save, something appreciable in labour. With such an oven' it would be possible, to cook everything necessary for 400 or 500 men without any difficulty. .

canteen taring had a marked effect on tlio camp. To do anything like justice to himself a rifleman must necessarily take liquor but sparingly, but the canfeen is much missed from its accustomed place.

Some idea, of the scale on which the catering is'done can be gleaned from the following daily ro.turns of some of the staple foods prepared at the cook-house: —100 loaves of bread, 5001b. of-meat, 301b. of butter, 2 sacks of potatoes, 140 cabbages, 20 gallons of porridge, 16 plum puddings, besides sago, rice, custard, etc., and 4 cases tomatoes. ' A sample breakfast menu is:—Porridge, fish, lambs' fry and bacon, scrambled eggs and bacon, grills, rump steak, chops, ' and fried sausages. The midday meal runs something as under, with the necessary variations:—Roast, beef, roast mutton, boiled mutton and onion sauce, corned beef and carrots, cabbage, potatoes, apricot pie, plum pudding, and rhubarb pie. Practically the same bill of fare, with the addition of tomatoes and salad, make up the last meal..,