RIFLE SHOOTING

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXI, Issue 6962, 30 October 1909, Page 12

RIFLE SHOOTING

RETURN OF NEW ZEALAND TEAM NOTES AND COMMENTS. [Conducted by-H.0.8.] Colonel Hughes, who commanded tho New Zealand Kifle 'team in Australia, says the Dominion has nothing to learn across the Tasman Sea. As a matter of fact, ho considers we are ahead of New South Wales in many respects. Although there, were 750 competitors in the King's aggregate, only seventy-six targets were available—one more than at Trentham. They have the advantage in Australia, however, of being able to use every target simultaneously for each range. This is a big pull on us. At Trentham only twenty-five targets can bo used simultaneously at the long ranges, while fifty can be used at the one time for the shorter distances. If tho Trentham ranges were altered to permit of tho seventy-five targets being used at the same time for each distance a very great improvement would be effected. Colonel Collins, however, cannot do everything at once; and one often wonders how he has been able to do as much as he has. No time limit is imposed in tho Empire Match, and this in Colonel Hughes' opinion is altogether tho "limit." The competitor and his coach go down together, and the sighting shots aro got off. Then tho competitor can go to sleep on tho mound until the coach in- . forms him that tho conditions aro simi- j l»r to those prevailing when the sightcr j was fired, and the competitor then gets : off his business shot; and this continues throughout. It is not a case of judging each shot, but of waiting for the condi- i lions to e&ir.o a'long to suit tho shots. ; The New Zealanders being so used to a \ time limit, were completely at sea with i these methods.

The team was treated very consider-

Tho ' Australian team, starting tlio second day with an advaintasß of 65 points, gained'l9 points at 800 ya«l», and another six points at fiOO yards, putting them 90 points ahead, with 10 shots each to go. This lead was 1 added to at, tlio long range by an additional 40 poinds, and Australia consequently won by 130 points. The highest individual score was made by G. Howitt, who, with his last shot at 1000 yards, by scoring a bull's-

Won. by tlio New Zealand Rifle Team at tine Jubilee Meeting of the National Bifle Association of New South Wales.

ately by the ■ Australians. Immediately on arrival the secretary introduced the team to the Commercial Travellers' Club, and made them honorary members during their stay, while Colonel Hughes and Captain Harper were provided with roams at the club. During the progress of the Commonwealth Match Australians gave the Dominion team all tho assistance they could, and went as far as lending them a big telescope at the long ranees The winning of the doixkra Highlander trophy by New Zealand.was ■v-erv popular, and the team received congratulations. from all the Commonwealth States.

Visitors to Randwiok rifle range on lOotobOT 18th had a practical demonstration'that brought home to their under- ■ standing tho truth of the oft-heard £sn ß that ™ tual ™wfeje it takes aton of lead 'to kill a man (says tho Sydney "Daily Telegraph"). In the bardon "Highlanders' Match-the massive silver trophy for was presented for competi'tik-n amongst the foroaj .01 Australia and New Zealand in. oration "of their association with tho Highlanders in South Africa—the targete wero the ordinary khaki -running "nan as Msod in e?rvie© matches of tho N R.A., but were held stationary tor a few seconds upon each occasion of live oxpoaures. The teams, five of tbran, making 40 men all told, were served with 40 rounds of ammunition per man, ano wore then drawn up in line with thins paces-interval, about 1200 yards from the tarnete. towards which they advanced.

1 The first exposure of the targets was at just over WOO yarde, and subsequent exposurte were made at about 100 yards intervals; the men halting upon the appearance of tho targets and firing as many shots as possible in the time, continuing the advance when the targets dtea,ppe3ro:l. From th-> quantity of ammunition returned at the conclusion of tho matoh the average number of lYHinds fired would bo from 10 to 12 per man. The winning team, ~Ke\r Zealand, got five hits from 88 shots fir-4, but. some of ,the otln-r teams expended more ammunition with loss- effoct, and probably an average of 12 shots per man woold be a fairly correct estimate.

Taking this as the average, thOTO would be 96 ehohs fired by v the South ! Australian team for three hite, and the same number fired by each of the re- : mninimr teams for two bite «>n each target. Thva, talcing the same average all j round one would be safe in saying that I nearly 500 rounds of amnvuniti'Tn werp ■ the result being It hits all tokl. But, even this is ehnrpshooting corepared with actual resnlts in battle. M-et of the mj'sv-p. it trpnsnired. were on the windwaTd sHe, the strength of the wrmd having over-estimated; and Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes, commsndsuvt of th--> Zealand team that w«n, eaid pubweqnently that he attributed the suocetß of his' men to their following out th? instructionfi given by him ' tn the shooting captain for the men to ' use the vnrions windages with a Rnffi- . cic-nt morpin of minimum and maximum. I , The elevation eeema to have been good, J

eye, beat Arthur Cutler by a single pouit. ' Subsequently Major J. J. Patne, on behalf of the Commooiwealth Council, congratulated the Australian team upon itswin, and the New Zealanders upon their win tho previous day of fchra Goixlon Highlanders' trophy. This, he Raid, would bo an additional inducement to Australian teams to go to New Zealand next March, when the trophy will bo again shot for. Major Pain* added that the .Umpire Match would be shot for under tho supervision of the Commonwealth Council next year at Bisley, when it was hoped teams representing various parts of the Empire would compete.

Lieutenant H. E. Mills proposed the health of the Now Zealand team, and Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes, in responding, said the .amge had beaten hio man. "Wo have b?cn shooting here a fortnight," ho said, "yet when we started in this match on Monday we met a wind wo had not had experience of before, and it beat Us. Again to-day we hod quite a different wind, but again one we never met before." Referring to the 'lTcmtham l meeting in Maroh next. Colonel Hughes said a question had arisen in regard to tho New Zealand rule compelling tho use of barrels aa issued by the Government. This would prevent the uses by Australians of match barrels, but after inquiry as to the degree of difference between these and the- ordinary Government barrels, he had oo.likd to Colonel Collins, the. executive officer in. New Zealand, on the subject. Colonel Collins preferred to wait until he (Co'ontf Hughes) returned, but he really believed he could promise that the. rule would be done away with. (Applause.) Ho concluded by calling for chairs for the Australian team.

Mr Ferguson, in acknowledgment, said the prowess of the visitors made them determined that they would not give a way a point, for tboy never knew wtli/?ai the Dc.miiri'OTi men would come with a ru£.h nnd wipe off the deficit. He paid a tribute to the excellence of the coaching, which helped in a large measure to the success of the Commonwealth team.

! ' Perfection" is Lieut. Duncan's (N.Z. Champion) , estimate of the crrong'anients for the Jubilee meeting. Whatever untoward circumstances may have prejudiced the chances of the New Zealand team in some of the events there is no denying, says Duncan, that in the Empire Match the New Zeal«.i)d=rs were completely oiitcl&frxsd, and that for the reason that tire conditions were charaeteri.stica.il y Australian. Tile mirage, wli'ch completely puzzled the visitors, embarraß»?d the Australia. Tis not at all. As showing: the reality of the ni-ckeliin? trouble, Duncan said that he found it necessary to discard his mateh rifle and mate use of an old emergency clnssCriiKr rifle he had with him. The evil offsets of the niekolling were much more pronounced in new barre'e thnji in old. The unfortunate thin? alx>ut the whole business was that the defect was not discovered until the team had put in six Mlid days' practice. Then it occurred to Dtraean to use his t-»strr. It wouldn't go into the barrel. A borrowed tester save the same rrsult. lie tried the breech end—still the same. Then, it was found that the whole of the rifles wore

for one who was in tho target trenches at. the time stales that a perfect nsttl of bullets came for tho most part just to the left, of each target. The rules governing tlra competitions state- that the trophy should be fired for in New Zealand at least once in every six [yoare. It is to b= fired for here in March next. Tho winning team consisted of Captain AY. S. Xing, Lieutenant Hawthorn, CoWur-Scrgeant Hadfiold, Sergeant James, Corporal Patrick, .T. W. Masofiekl, G. Halliday, and A. 11. Guy, Lieu-tenant-Colonel Hughes an command.

The following worre the scores made, in the Umpire Match, the figures in parentheses being tho score in the first Btago (ten -shots at 200, 500 and 600 yards): Australia.

similarly affected, and it was not until it was too- late that the men learned the homo men's expedient for overcoming tie difficulty.

Sew and S tago. 800 900 1000 I yds. yds. yds. Tl. ' G. HoH'itt, S.A. (141) 14 43 41 272 A. Cutler, N.S.W. 1 (145) 44 43 ■10 271 1L. E. Hubbard, Tae. 1 (134) 41 43 46 267 C. AV. Robinson, 1 Q. (113) 41 40 33 262 J. A. Joiinstojio, Vic. (147) 45 37 23 25S Lvsut. S. A. Long, Vic. nss) 41 45 So .257 G Bradley, Q. (139) 41 37 37 251 Capt. W. C. Addison, S.A. (134) ... 46 41 27 251 Totals, 1st stags 1122 3*5 ■328 293 20S8 New Z G. Halliday (134) ... 39 42 41 256 Sift. I'*. Jonas (136) ... 37 41 41 255 J. W. MaseDold (131) 45 41 37 25i Lt. Hawthorn (131) 30 45 29 2-47 Capt. W.Kiuig (133) 33 42 37 245 Corp. Patrick (13a)... 43 36 24 233 Coi-SgtHad:fie!d(123) 41 43 25 337 A. H. Guy (125) ... 45 33 19 226 Totals, 1st stage 1057 326 323 253 1353