OUR MEN AT BISLEY.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1209, 18 August 1911, Page 3

OUR MEN AT BISLEY.

AN UNDEMOCRATIC RANGE. & NEW ZEATANDER'S IMPRESSIONS. (Special Correspondent.) Writing'from Bislcy camp just prior to the opening day of the championship meeting, our special correspondent says:— "Since my last letter practice lias been progressing steadily, the scores varying considerably according to the fonn of the shooter, and tho vagaries of the rifle, the 'weather, or the ammunition, for they have all given trouble. Very few of tho territorial pattern rifles served out on arrival gave satisfaction. Few would keep a satisfactory elevation, and it was mcst annoying after a perfect 'let-off' to find a low magpie. or outer. This may bo tho fault of the rifle or of the ammunition-- ■ which I cannot, say. Tho fact remains that the trouble does not exist to the samemxtont with the Jlark I* rifles which in 6omo cases have replaced them. Wet weather during the end of June and the beginning of July made work on tho ranges very uncomfortable. Still it was useless 'funking', it. The varied experience is •useful, the weather durin" this week— bafore the great contestf-has, however, gone to tho opposite extreme, and the papers talk of heat, waves. Personal experience of the heat on the sandy plains of Bisley makes me think that they are not far wrong. The heat seems harder to; bear than in New Zealand. Perhaps it is the mugginess that makes it oppressive. The light, too, is not so clear. The targets seem further away, and sighting, is harder.. To make matters worse tho 'Century Butt' and the 'Stickledown' —tho short and long ranges—face the setting sun,'so one can imagine the effect when the sun is off the target and in one' 9 eyes •during the afternoon shoot. Practising the Team. "By way of a trams' practice a match was fired between teams captained _ .by Captain King and Rifleman 1 G. Halliday, the latter's team being successful. The matoh occupied all day. at ranges 200 to MOO yards, foven shots at 200, 500, 800, and JIOO yards, 5 shots at 1000, and 10 shots at 600 yards. The scores were as follow:— Hailiday's team: Halliday. 183; Cox, JIS2; Wakeley, 172; Roots. 171: Loveday, • 170': Cuthbertson. 157; Hay, .153; Needham, .153; total, 1341. King's team: Marshall, 185; James, 182; Prank, 180; Clung, 172; Marenzi, 170; King, 165; Henderson, 111; Parker, 141: total, 13.16. 1 "A teams' match was also 'fired against the North London Rifle Club, one of the strongest organisations in the United Kingdom, as a glance at the names of tho competitors will show. Ommundsen, tho Scottish crack, was beaten for. top place on his side by the English representative, Fulton, junr. • New Zealand was represented by two:..teams, captained as be-, both of which beat North London. Halliday only failed in his last, shot to again place his team in the lead. The scores were as follow:— •' New Zealand, No. I.—King (captain), 34 —31—32 —100; Loveday, ' 3S-32-30-94; Henderson, 30—33—30—93; Franks, 30—33 -32-95; Marenzi, 2D-33-31-96; Cox, 29 -33-35-97; James, 31-34-29—97; Need- ' ham, 32-33-30-95; total, 767.

New Zealand, No. 2.—Haliiday (captain), ET—3o—3l—ol; Roots, 32—32—33-97 ;Ching, 33-32-35-100; Marshall, 29-^3-1—32—95; Onthbertson, 31—31—32—94; Hay, 30 —3-1 — 33—96; Parker, 31—32 —at—97; Wnkcley, 32 -33-31-96; total, 766. North London.—Ommundsen, 31—33—31 —98; Fulton, 31-34-35-100; Burr, 31-33 —3-1—98; Anderson, 30—35—32—97; Newton, 32-33-31-96; Parnell, 32-34—27-!)3; Skilton, 30-31-30-91; Mann, 30—31 — 27—91; total, 764. "A close and exciting match and. one which reflected great credit on the New Zealanders, as the Home team was aljnost equal to an English eight.' At the / ranges, too, the team, has been shaping fairly well, one averaging 129 per man over £00, 900, and 1000 yds., or 43 per man per range, \fhich, considering the fact that, the '.Coaching'oli'-'that particular day was only fitful and no,t~ continuous, ' was very satisfactory indeed. Captain King was top, with 140; Franks, 138; Henderson, 137; Haliiday, 134. ' Ross v. Service Rifle. The Canadians arrived last week, ■ and got to work ,at once with their Ross rifles. ' These are considered by many experts to be superior weapons to the I questioned'Sergeant-Major Wailingford on this point! He says it is undoubtedly a better target weapon, principally owing to its heavier barrel, but that it is not so good as n service weapon- This,, from the principal .experimental officer.of the Hyde School of Musketry, shoiild go a'long way towards deciding the veswl question at Bisley as to - whether 'the Canadian weapon gives tliem an advantage. "They also uso a lubricant for. the bullet, consisting, of graphite and mineral oil. This lias been found by them and by several New Zealanders who have tried it, to successfully deal with the nickelling trouble. It may, however, under certain circumstances, affect the elevation of'the shots. Wallingford's plan is to burnish tho'barrel between the shoots, with a mixturo of Motty paste and graphite, and give an absolutely smooth surface, on which the bullet has little chajnco of leaving a ' deposit. , Bisley Criticised. "With reference to . the management of Bisley, I am beginning to understand,why the meeting doesn't pay. In tho first place it is undemocratic,'and run almost entirely in the interests of the leisured classes. _ The ordinary territorial •.oramy* is the last person considered, consequently he doesn't ..arrive in the shoals he is supposed to. There is. no fign of economy, except in the cutting down of the prize lists. Everything is> on an expensive scale. The streets'are carefully trimmed and rolled, and watercarts perambulate them daily. Competitors practising must pay for two marken; per target at the long range, in addition to a man on the telephone. Hundreds ,of watches, field . glasses, etc.. are purchased each year by the executive for the uso of range officers; hundreds of huge umbrellas and telescopes are supplied to register-keepers; mounted orderlies prance about looking for something to do, a complaint which afflicts many of Bisley s employees. And all this in a military camp. But more anon. BisJey has hardly started. This is only'tho sfirst day, and couches may yet be supplied to range offioers. "Tho stronghold the trade has is also a factor in driving competitors from Bisloy. Many of the cracks shoot for makers of rifles, with perfect'match weapons, the consequence being that those visiting to compete with tliem require tho sa'mo at a cost of, say, ..£lO, to enable them to Jioid their own. Entrance fees may cost another .£l2, to say nothing of board, etc., so that tho ordinary territorial private, or riflo club man, is faced with a very tidy expenditure before he fires his lirst competing shot at Bimlov. My remedy would bo to bar nnUcli-barrek and rifles, -as we do in Now Zealand, and, nice tho New Zealand meeting, Bisley wonld go forward by leaps and bounds. But the present executive will have to go, arnd now ideas introduced."