NEWS FROM BISLEY

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXIII, Issue 7869, 3 August 1911, Page 9

NEWS FROM BISLEY

NEW ZEALAND KIFLE TEAM. A member of the New Zealand rifle* team now at Homo, writing to a friend in Wellington by the lasi mail reaching here, stated that Alow Zealand s representatives were doing steady practice at Bislecy. They had new rules issued to them of the territorial pattern. They were not accustomed to the weapon, and steps were being taken to secure the issue of the sain© pattern rllio as used in New Zealand. The new pattern is equipped with the knife-edge lioodcd sight, while the ono in common use here has the barleycorn sight. The New Zealanders found the more modern weapon very serviceable over the short ranges, but they had great difficulty with them at 800, 900 and. 1000 yards. The Kolapore Cup ranges this year-were 300, 500 and 600 yards, the first practice over these distances producing the tine aggregate of 761 by the first eight men, five points ahead of the score that eventually won the trophy. The scores were as follow: 300 500 COO yds yds yds Tl. Henderson (Sounds) '35 32 31 98 Lovoday COhura) 33 34 31 98 James (Nelson 34 33 30 0< Cos (Auckland) 3*2 32 3- 96 Needham (Palmers- _ ton N.) 33 31 ix n? Marenzi (Eketahuna) 33 32 t 29 94 Ching (Lyttelton) ... 33 33 27 93 King (Christchurch) ,32 30 30 • 92 Totals .... 365 257 242 —764 Other scores were: Halliday 92, Roots 89, Cuthbertson 89, Prank 87, Marshall 82. ‘ At 300 yards in the Kolapore Cup contest an eight-inch bull's eye is used; at 500 yards the figure target, with an eighteen-inch bull's eye; and at 600 yards the ordinary black and white target with eighteen-inch bull. Much surprise has been expressed locally at the smallness of the scores made in the Kolapore Cup match, but this is accounted for by the altered conditions concerning the targets and size of bull’s eye. Ponnorly the contest was fired at 200, 500 and GOO yards, the bull’s eye at 200 yards being six inches in diameter and at 500 and GOO yards 20 inches. Altogether the team had fired 106 practice shots over all ranges when the mail loft, the aggregates being as follow:

Lore-day 469 James - 465 Henderson. - 460 Needham • 454 Cox .v 4A2 Frank 435 Marshall 434 Ching .. - 442 Maronzi 430 Holliday ’ 429 King 421 "Tho i entrance money is much too large for the amount of prizes given,” continues the letter, ''and there are altogether too many paid officials. This causes a loss on the meeting and the financially poorer class of competitor cannot alford to enter. It has been ,a rich man's meeting for years, and it will take a revolution almost before it recovers its old status.” The letter concluded. by stating that Cuthbertson had a bad passage oh. the way over, and had not recovered, while Loveday, Henderson and James were considered the strong men of the team. •