NATIONAL RESERVE

Evening Star, Issue 24003, 30 September 1941, Page 2

NATIONAL RESERVE

RIFLE EXCHANGE PENDING TYPE NEW TO DOMINION MILITARY FORCES Members of tho 3rd Halts lion, National Military Reserve, will, in the near future, exchange their short magazine Lee-Enfield rifles for a typo which has nob previously been in use in the New Zealand! military forces. A rifle of a distinctive type, tho PI 4, has been issued to National Reserve units on tho orders of Army Headquarters, and will ho clistributed to men of the 3rd Battalion shortly (says the ‘ StarSun ’). , Tho change-over will mean a slight readjustment in the men’s training, as tho Pl 4 lias features which are not incorporated in the ordinary service rifle, which they have used for the past two years.

GIVES GREATER ACCURACY. The Pit is distinguishable from the service rifle mainly by its greater length —it is approximately two inches longer in the barrel, making for greater accuracy in shooting. It is made by the Enfield Royal Arms factory, and is patterned after a sniper’s rifle. It is understood that it was this fact which influenced the authorities in issuing the Pl 4 to National Reserve units. The National Reserve is composed chiefly of returned soldiers who. it is expected, will be able to adapt themselves to the changed typo of‘ rifle more readily than other recruits. : Authorities speak highly of the accuracy of tho Pl 4, which is described as a marksman’s weapon. It is equipped with an aperture sight, a feature, which is now incorporated in all modern British rifles. This, with the longer barrel, makes for greater accuracy. The Pl 4 barrel was greatly in'demand among members of defence rifle clubs before the war. ; . MAUSER BOLT ACTION. The rifle is about half a pound heavier than the S M L-E, due tb its greater length and the fact that it has a thicker grip and stock. It is of .303 bore, but its magazine holds live cartridges compared with 10 in the service rifle, and its bolt action is of the Mauser type. The delicacy of its mechanism was another factor which prompted the military authorities to entrust the Pl 4 to riflemen of tho Great War, who, through their experience of the aperture sight in the Lewis gun, are considered most likely to get the best results from it. 4th BATTALION ALSO. It is understood that the 4th Battalion—that is the Otago area battalion —will also be issued with these rifles iu the near future and that the rifles at present held by the National Reserve will bo diverted to the Home Guard. However, nothing official confirming these statements could be obtained this