SERVICE SHOOTING

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 56, 9 March 1929, Page 11

SERVICE SHOOTING

ARMY MEETING

OPENS ON TUESDAY

SOME INNOVATIONS

Scenes reminiscent of the war years will be enacted at Trentham Camp during f the coming week. Tho leading marksmen from every Territorial and Senior Cadet unit in tho Dominion will participate in the seventh-annual meeting of tho Now Zealand Army Bille Association. It is '. anticipated that when the meetings starts on . Tuesday moning there will be close-on 800 men in camp, over 600 .of them being competitors, and the remainder officials and markers.- The meeting will extend over four days, and busy days will they bo for all. ....... . :

Tho Army, Rifle Association; was founded in 1922, so that in years it is but an infant. Already, however, it has given signs that .it. is an exceedingly lusty child-, witha.past full of achievements and a . future full of possibilities.- . The-fir.st ;: 'pieeting of'the A.R.A. was.on modest lines, but such was the. success achieved .that, the authorities wore encouraged ;to .try . innovations which woul.d;;make.the.meeting.not only more attractive, to theicompetitors, but of^greater value from th? point of. view of ..military- training.. Since the first meeting, held: jn 1923, -many changes have been introduced into the programme, which-to-day is most compre-; hensive-, embracing...competitions in practically every fornrof military operation. Developments; at. Home hav e been watched very,closely by,the military authorities in New Zealand, and no effort has been spared .to make the Army-meeting up-to-date in every par- .' ticular. Not only does the nature- oi" the'programme tend to make "for greater efficiency"in the New Zealand Array, but it also offers a pleasant and healthy form of sport to the youth of: the country, ' ■/. • NOT A PICNIC. Although the sporting spirit is encouraged, and competitors are allowed as much freedom .aspossible,, it has to be remembered that the Army meeting is no picnic. Fa^f^bm it. It is no place for the weakling. Such' is the nature (Of the competitions that physical fitness plays a:'.-big. part, more so in some eases than a,straight eye and a steadyhand. Here is the definition of a military shot: A shot who possesses (a) accuracy, (b) capacity for snap-shoot-ing, (c) capacity for.. rapidity and volume, (d) capacity for ■'. fire with movement. There might well „ haveadded: (o) capacity to stand up to it for four strenuous days. The Army Association makes no secret of the object of its existence. It is this: "With the object of promoting interest in Weapon training for service purposes by nieans of individual and collective competitions, framed as far'as possible to induce practice in niethods which will lead to increased efficiency oil the battlefield." In short, it is a declaration that the purpose of the meeting is to prepare the'youths of the country for war, in the' hope, of course, that war will not ( come. All Shooting at the Army meeting, then, is done under Strictly service conditions, just as if competitors were actually engaged on the field of battle, and it is here that the strain comes in. Throughout the long day .there is very little in the way.of a let-up, and when "lights-out" sounds there- are very -few who are not ready for sleep. . ■• ■ ' BATTLE FEACTICE. In accordance with their progressive policy, the Army authorities are introducing one or two innovations for the coming meeting. ■ Chief of these will be the extension of the battle practice] competitions. Formerly these have taken place .on.a-miniature -battlefield, erected on the Silverstream side of the camp, but this year the battle practices will be held on a full:size range. \ The range has been carefully prepared, and it is as close a resemblance of a battlefield as it is possible to imagine. Teams taking part in the competition, consist of a fire unit commander (not above the rank of Lieutenant) and eight firers, in which there may be included N.C.O.'s. The competition will be carried out with .303 ammunition on. a full-size range, at distances between 200 and 500 yards. Tho idea of the practice is that each team is called upon to defend an outpost which is being attacked by the enemy, which is advancing in close formation.It is the duty of the commander to observe the movements of the ' enemy and to control the fire of the units under his command in such a way as to conserve the ammunition, which is in short supply. Several surprises are' introduced during the progress of the battle, but to give an idea of these now, would bo to rob the competition of much of its value. Sufficient to say that the commander must keep his wits about him throughout the competition. WITH THE MACHINE GUNS. In addition to tho battle practice, there will be competitions for machinegun teams, both by night and day. New features are being introduced this year in the Vickers, Lewis, and Hotchkiss sections. There will be stoppage competitions and direct-fire order competitions. Both these competitions will be conducted indoors. The method of carrying out the stoppage practice will be as follows: On each gun there will be set up ■ a stoppage which can be cleared by immediate action, tho crank ' handle being covered.' Commencing at the left gun, the competitor will remedy each stoppage, reload, lay, and firo each gun in succession.' The times taken by competitors will be noted and averaged. For every five seconds or part thereof under the average time one point will bo awarded, and for every five seconds or part thereof over the average time one point will be deducted. Tho instructor at each' gun will deduct points for incorrect immediate action, from a maximum of ten. In. the directfire order competition the competitor will represent a machine-gun sub-sectku commandeivand will be handed a Defence range-card based on a landscape target. He will bo required to give two fire orders—(a) for a "point" target, and (b) for a "linear" target. As usual, there will be night-firing competitions for machine-gun sections. These ovents provide one of the most spectacular features of the meeting. In addition to the special matches outlined above, there will be tho annual competition for tho Army Championship and tho King's Medal. The Army Championship this year will consist of the following nino practices: First stage: 300 yards (slow), 600 yards (slow); fire with movement, 600 to 500 yards (rapid); fire"with movoment, 500 to 300 yards (snap-shooting); 300 yards (rapid). Second stage: 600 yards (slow); 600 yards to 100 yards (fire with movement); 300 yards (rapid); 300 yards (snap-shooting in the open). Tho cadets will again bo well catered for with a numbor of matches, including iho cadet championship, which will bo fired in two stages, consisting of eight practices. This year the cadeta will use .303 ammunition.