AT BISLEY

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 80, 1 October 1924, Page 9

AT BISLEY

A COMPETITOR'S IMPRESSIONS,

1 T^ e. fl conA ltlons. of sho°ting at tie BisPL c ChamPionsliip are a good deal different from those in New Zealand accordmg to Mr. R. Caughley, who returned to New Zealand by the Manuka yesterday Mr Caughley, of the Karon Club and Mr B. H. Nicoll, of Petone, were the only New Zealanders competing tins year. c ° The short Lee-Enfield with the single shng and mark 7 ammunition, as compared with the long •Lee-Enfield and double shng in use in the Dominion, was greatly to tho disadvantage of the Now Zealanders at first, but by the time the first stage of the King's Prize was reached, they were both shooting well, and qualified for the second stage. Mr Nicholl making 98 and Mr. Caughley 97* They both missed the final stage by two points, _but_ got in to the grand aggregate prize-list, which is a more comprehensive test, as it includes a competitor's shooting over every range. Private Burke, of tho Canadian team, who won the King's Prize, was tho youngest of th 0.974 competitors at BisIcy. Up till the beginning of the first stage of the King's Prize ho had not dono well, and was not included in the Canadian team for the Kolaporo Cup. He topped the list in the first stage, and though ho dropped back in the second, he made a brilliant shoot at 1000 yards, scoring 73 out of 75, and won first place by two points.

OUT OP DATE CONDITIONS.

Captain Robinson, who won the King's Prize last year, failed to qualify at the first stage, and was among the competitors in the Consolation Match. In this connection Mr. Caughley indicated that the New Zealand system of including eight or nine matches in the qualifying rounds was much better than that adopted at Bisley, where the first stage was seven shots at 300, 500, and 600 yards, and the scoring was so. high that men might get in with 94, as they did, while a hundred with 93 were out. The second stage was 10 shots at 300 and 600 yards, and the highest hundred then went on to fire 15 shots at 900 and 600 yards. Under this system a good long range shot, unless he got into the final stage, had very little chance.

Although South Africa won the Kolaport Cup, the sensation of the meeting was the score of Shoarim, of the Sydney Rifle Club, when Australia won the Empire Match. This score, which was the highest ever made, was also in Mr. Caughley's opinion, the- highest ever likely to 1)0 made, as it reached 292 out of a possible 300—ten shots at 300, 500, 600 800, 900. and 1000 yards.

Mr. Nicholl also competed in the Miniature Bide Championship, and finished eleventh, but lie lost second place-and £10 by putting a. bull on the wrong target with his last shot. Apropos of this' incident, Mr. Caughley remarked on the fact that, 'at Bisley three men shoot at the same target, which meant spending a long time on the mound. A squad of three men, firing fifteen shots each, would occupy about 50 minutes. This system was used, not because there was a shortago of targets, but because it was believed to bo quicker, although ho did not agree with this. A& far ns Bisley as a whole iviiß concerned, it was wonderfully weu w'sauuedt