THE FUNCTION OF A RIFLE CLUB.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXII, Issue 13573, 20 October 1904, Page 2

THE FUNCTION OF A RIFLE CLUB.

(By “ TRIGGER,” in the “ Canterbury Times.”) As the Christchurch Defence Rifle Club will begin its shooting season on Thursday, October 20, tho occasion is seasonable for some remarks on this branch of the Defence Force of this colony. Rifle clubs are most desirable institutions, but it is apparent to careful observers that they are stunted in development, and impoverished for want of that sap which.is so necessary to life, namely, membership. The reason is not hard to find. During the; last ten years rifle clubs have had a precarious existence; they have been supported and been recognised by Government, and they have been cast off and become nobody's, children. One military adviser has recommended their annihilation, as an active defence factor, while another commandant, taking a more generous view of the matter, and recognising their usefulness, has advised encouragement; so to-day the Defence Rifle Clubs are a practical adjunct of the Volunteer Force. They are inspected periodically by responsible officers, are granted 100 rounds of ammunition per man free, which must be tired at certain, target practices during the Volunteer Year, and they are accorded the privilege of being recognised as a unit of the Defence Forces of the colony. Were it necessary to call out the club-men, in the event of war complications, it i s presumed that they would be drafted into infantry corps, under officer's who have been expertly trained in military matters. The crux of this is now reached, namely, the function of a rifle club. Primarily, the object of such an organisation is for the fostering and encouragement of target shooting, which has become popular by reason of the healthy recreative facilities afforded in tho weekly competitive practices of members of clubs. A Britisher is nothing if not a sport, and those men who have taken to rifle shooting as a hobby not only find pleasure for themselves in this pursuit, but they voluntarily become a power in the defence of their country. But it is also apparent to observers that, unless a system is adhered to in regal'd to rifle clubs, their usefulness as a defence factor will suffer. At present members of rifle clubs may have been volunteers or they may not, though, if a club wishes to come under the tegis of the Defence Department, it must conform to certain conditions in regard to membership, which will debar young and eligible men who ought to become Volunteers and join a branch of that service, from participating in any advantages which, a club may derive from State recognition. But it will be found that many rifle clubmen have been active Volunteers who, from various causes, have left that service and, not wishing to give up their recreative hobby, namely, rifle shooting, have joined a club and continued to participate in that most important part of a Volunteer’s training. It is a fact, however, that only a few Volunteers, on retiring from the corps, become members of rule clubs, and it is just at this point that something is wrong. A rifle club should exist to provide shooting facilities for those who are unable to give the time required for volunteering, fbr those who live in a district where there is no volunteer corps, and for retired members of the Defence Force companies. If Christchurch is taken as an example it will bo found that there are hundreds of men who have served in the army of the citizen soldier who are now quite out of touch with military matters. A few, a very few, have joined the Christchurch Rifle Club, but the proportion is so email that it would almost require a. microscope to discern it. Now, this is altogether wrong ; and it is no fault of the club or its regulations. The annual subscription to this desirable institution is but ten shillings per annum-for active members, and this amount, is practically refunded in the free grant of ammunition. The club has one of the best rifle ranges in the colony, and it is most conveniently situated on the Cashmere estate, a few minutes’ walk from the -terminus of the Sydenham tramway. A few years ago, when the club was known as the Honorary Reserve Corps, it was composed of retired Volunteers, all skilled marksmen ; and mention need bo made of one name only to show the calibre of its members as rifle shots, and that is Sergeant wakeiin, who won the shooting championship of New Zealand at the Federal Meeting held at Oamaru in 1896. It really seems that some reserve corps scheme is wanted to provide for those who retire from active Volunteer work. There is room in all the large centres for such a desirable institution. At present the rifle clubs are not supported by ex-Vdlunteers in a proper manner, but this is due, probably, to the fact, that the Government has never grappled with the problem in an enlightened manner, and no one has been in charge of this unit of the Defence Fore? who understood the matter. There should be no difficulty in formulating a scheme by which rifle clubs could be fostered so that they would become a powerful auxiliary force.; but if men who do not possess the qualifications for such a position are to control the destinies of clubs in the future as has been the case hitherto, then the proper function of these desirable bodies can never be obtained, and a stale of confusion and uncertainty as to official existence will continue in the future as in the past. A deterring factor to membership under the conditions which now obtain in Government rifle clubs is that a man has to buy a rifle, costing some £3 to £4, besides having to pay ten or eleven shillings per hundred rounds of ammunition; added to this, a. club has to find its own rifle range, and pay for its upkeep, a fairly heavy item with most clubs. It is stated that rifle clubmen of New Zealand are suffering under a further disability in being unable to procure new rifles from the Government, stores,-* and as private-made weapons are not allowed, it follows that enthusiastic marksmen cannot replace, if they wish to, worn-out rifles, and intending members, even if they come from the Volunteer Force, after serving many years, cannot even procure a rifle. What a farcical position, due to incompetency in management somewhere. What we lack in this colony in certain quarters is the quality of being practical. Any number of men, crammed with book theory to their finger-tips, can be found ; but the fact is overlooked that New Zealand is not a country suitable for experimenting in theoretical ideals, at least in military matters. It is practical eommonsense that we want, and until the authorities recognise this and place the management of rifle clubs in practical hands, this desirable adjunct of the Defence Force will continue to drag on in a state of doubtful existence, to the disgust of the members and to the detriment of the colony’s defence power. It has been suggested, locally, that but few of the large number of retired Volunteers in Christchurch ever displayed any enthusiasm in rifle shooting, and that that is the reason why the Christchurch Defence Rifle Club has but twenty or thirty active members instead of some hundred or more. But this view is not altogether supported by fact, and rather is it the disabilities under which they have suffered in the past, and do now, which is the true reason for the shortage in the ranks of rifle clubs. Could the Government see its wav to provide rifles to Volunteers who retire after serving for a certain term, and also a supply of ammunition at a cheaper rate than at present pertains, there is little doubt that this colony’s defence rifle clubs would show a membership roll agsi'egating thousands instead of hundreds. For ourselves, under existing conditions, we want to see more general interest taken in the Christchurch Rifle Club, and that can be accomplished to a degree if ex-Voluntcers who are fond of rifle shooting will join that organisation.