SERVICE CONDITIONS FOR RIFLE PRACTICE.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXIV, Issue 13937, 20 December 1905, Page 5

SERVICE CONDITIONS FOR RIFLE PRACTICE.

Walter Wiuans, the well-knowa, sportsman and author of books on revolver shooting, expresses himself as follows in an interview published in the “ English World ” : . The system of shooting at Bisley in the target competitions is all wrong. It is absolutely contrary to; the conditions of warfare, and the Bisley champion is almost more useless at the front than the man who has never before handled a rifle. The shooting at a big stationary target at long range is the worst possible training. In the first place, the men fire with a bfcck right upon a white object. It is just the reverse in warfare. A, soldier never has ■ to fire at a white object. It is always ... black or dark. The Boers in South . Africa always shoot with white ivorysights, and no doubt part of their good shooting in the late war was due to that’ fact.

Then the Bisley man fires under the ; most artificial conditions. He lies down on his stomach and rests his bibow on the ground. Any baby could do that. ii Little flags wave at him to tell him the direction of the wind. H© can take as I<mg as he likes over each shot. All that hopelessly unfits him for the real thing., Some time ago a prize was’;, offered for quick shooting. I never saw anything like the flurry of one maji who went in for it. He lost his nerve completely, and, diving into his pocket with; a trembling hand, tried to load his rifle with his pencil, ' penknife, cigarette-, ; holder and anything he could catch hold of. I never laughed so much in my life. Of course, anybody used to quick shooting would have stuck cartridges between the fingers of his left- hand, another between his teeth, and others ; between the buttons of his waistcoat, ■; so that ho could have fired at least six shots in about twice as many seconds. . Then, again, what is the use of a sta-' tionary target at a fixed range ? Do you ever get a stationary target in time of war? It is almost invariably a moving object that the soldier is called upon to hit at an unknown range—a line of horsemen riding over a hill or galloping down a valley, a head suddenly bobbing up behind a rook, a number of men in open order scuttling over a plain. The Bisley marksmen would , never get a look-in under such conditions. I have long advocated some kind of movable target at Bisley, and I have offeredprizes for quick firing at moving objects, but few people will compete for them. I am told that in the German army a little while ago they adopted the practice of floating toy balloons down a stream, and getting the men to shoot at them as they passed. That, seems to me a very good plan; another would be to roll footballs down a plope, and to post your men on some rising ground within, easy range. ' , - , , 'Of course, the , difficulty is, as regards Bisley, that the National Rifle Association has to make its competitions pay, and as timers are scarcely any men who would compete for a prize given for this kind of firing, and. so few who .. would score if they did, the stationary target at long'range is a necessity, f quite see this difficulty, and you cannot expect the National Rifle Association to' invite failure by unpopular competitions. But the fact remains that the 33’sley style of shooting is absolutely useless as a training for warfare. , If .i. wo are going to , establish local rifle ranges, according to Loid Roberts’s admirable scheme for training the youth of the nation, it is absolutely essential ' that lads should he taught to fire at' moving objects, unless all the money is to be practically thrown away. It is extraordinary to me that military men should be so attached to old traditions and bound up with red-tape. Some time ago a number of sporting men and myself competed for the running deer at Bisley. The rule was that we were to fir© in volleys. Scarcely one of us failed " to hit the object, but to our astonishment an officer came up and began to bully us. “I have never heard such bad volley firing in my life,” he said. “It was positively ridiculous.” He was quite shocked at our straggling fire, and I am sure that ho would have been : much better pleased if wo had all missed our object, but had fired together one big bang. I am convinced that every citizen of the st ate should ■be required to pass a v: shooting tost.: This is done in Switzer, land, and if a man fails to, pass thfi necessary standard he has to pay a fine. I have an idea which I believe would be an improvement on that system. I would not fine the man who fails, but reward the man who shows his skill. With any who passed a, good standard of . shooting; T would knock s penny or more off his income and* there should be an annual examination for this purpose. That would appeal to his pocket, and the State would not lose by such a plan, for a good shot is worth more to a nation than the penny in the , pound on his income. Don’t you think ; that there is in that idea?.