NAVAL AND MILITARY NOTES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21163, 22 October 1930, Page 5

NAVAL AND MILITARY NOTES.

FROM MESS DECK, PARADE GROUND, AND RIFLE RANGE. By Bdll’s-Eye. Personal. New Zealand Gazette (No. 71), dated October 10, 1930, announces the following;—Second Lieutenant G. A. Perry I4th Medium Battery, N.Z.A., to be lieutenant. Dated September 15, 1930. : • The notice published in. the New Zealand Gazette, No. 48, dated June 27, 1029, relative to Major G. W. Massingham, M.C., is hereby cancelled, and the following substituted“ Graham William Massingham, M.C., to be major, with seniority as . 'from November 28. 1928, and‘ is. posted to the 2nd C Battalion Otago Regiment. Dated May 28, [ 1929.” R.N.V.R. Otago Division. On Tuesday evening of last week, Lord Stonehaven, accompanied by his aide-de-camp, Captain- Houston, 11th Hussars, paid a private' visit to the division at its headquarters in Tewsley street, and expressed himself as deeply impressed and surprised at the splendid work being done by the division. He was much struck with the smart appearance of the men, and in the course of his remarks he' said that he considered the Naval Reserve movement was a fine one for the Dominion, as also, for the British Empire. Lord Stonehaven referred to its being a voluntary movement, and it reflected great credit on members of the division that they gave much of their time in learning to defend their country should, necessity arise. Route March. On Saturday afternoon, November 15, it is intended to carry out a route march of the whole of the Otago Division R.N.V.R., assisted by the 3rd Artillery Band and the 2nd C Battalion Trumpet and Bugle Band. At the conclusion of the march the division will parade on .one of the city recreation grounds, when an interwatch tug-of-war will be held and the proceedings terminated with a march past. THE OTAGO REGIMENT. Weekly_J|aradeß. Training was carried on last Monday evening according to, schedule. There will be no parade nest Monday (Labour

Day), but on the following Monday D (M.G.) Company and signal section will continue specialist work at the Drill Hall while the rifle companies will parade in mufti at the Pelichet Bay range to commence a firing course in light automatics. DEFENCE RIFLE CLUBS, Fosiboi^JVhJeShooting, _ It is a known fact that throughout the British Empire the favourite position of all riflemen la the prone. It has a superiority over the other positions in various ways, A person can shoot better and mid the rifle steadier when lying down than standing np. In open warfare the prone position was found to be the more practical, as it obscured the firer to a greater degree than any other, and also allowed him to concentrate on his target with more security to himself. Then, again, if we consult records of all prize firing (some practices of service conditions excepted) we find all competitions conducted under the prone position. The , foregoing brings the writer to the that a good position while shooting is an invaluable aid to the marksman, and perhaps a few points gamed from actual experience may be of help to our younger shoctisti. We may safely assume that all men arc not physically built the same, and or . should, .be,;.the ,objeot 3 - v of, every marks in an to try and evolve a position' that best suits his physical developments. In other words, to find out his natu. al position.

A little practice at home will soon discover strong points and weaknesses. A good point, however, for all to remember is to, lie facing the target at an angle of approximately 45 degrees. Some men will need more, some less. The idea of this angle is to enable the forearm under the rifle to be . used as it should be—in

a- perpendicular .'position. Unless absolute steadiness is ..achieved good shooting will not result; and the forearm being placed upright, well under the rifle, gives this desired result more readily than if it were placed at an angle. Haying dilated upon the relative mportance. of lying at an angle, we may mention here that it is a good point to have.as much of one’s body on the ground and to get as close to mother earth as is practicable. The object of this is to ensure, as far as possible, the necessary steadiness. The position of the legs, too, is another important factor. From experience of all positions there is no hesitation in recommending that they should be well spread, not so as to be uncomfortable, but in a natural way. Quite a few very good marksmen have developed the habit of crossing the legs while shooting, and seem to do very well. It does appear, however, to be uncomfortable, and, moreover, the necessary balance to .the body is greatly minimised.' The position of the feet also enters largely into the art of rifle shooting. ‘ They should not be crossed, neither should a person lie down with his toes .sticking into the ground. The inside- of-both feet should be as flat on the ground as possible compatible with comfort; The balance of the body mentioned above will be greatly enhanced by this.

When taking aim the head should be held as straight as possible. Tt As very uncomfortable and disconcerting to-hold the head at any unnatural angle, and, it good shooting is desired, the head must he; held in such a position, that the! eye comes directly opposite the aperture. Comfort about the neck is also very important. Nobody can shoot in a tight collar, as such a condition causes the eye to tire quicker than anything else-, it also interferes with the circulation of the blood which is fatal to good marksmanship. Having enumerated a few items that may possibly be of help to beginners, it may again be impressed on budding marksmen to find out what is their natural position. Having done so, in a very short time they will be able to engage in their sling exactly the same for every shot, their hands will grasp the rifle in the same place every time, and, with a little study of the elements, rifle shooting will become to them, what it has to thousands o£ others, a national pastime. But, above all, learn to lie down naturally in accordance with the suggestions imparted above. Larger Bull’s-eye. With the influx of a considerable number of new members, the .Kiwi Defence Rifle Club has decided to go back to the bull’s-eye in vogue prior to 1929. Last season the club shot at a 7-Jin bull at 300 yards, and 15in at 500 and 000 yards. The latest proposal means that the size of the bull’s-eye will now be 9in at 300 yards, and ISin at 500 and GOO yards. The motive underlying this new departure was the fact that the young riflemen would get more encouragement by being afforded the opportunity of hitting a larger aiming mark, and thus possibly getting more bull’s-eyes than with last. year’s dimensions. For this reason alone the project is to be commended, because too much encouragement cannot be given to a beginner. We must remember that they are going to become the ones who will have to uphold the prestige of the dub in the shooting world in the future. We also must ever keep in mind that it is our business to se» that our budding-marksmen keep

on improving, because there is nothing more discouraging to a tyro than a bad shoot- This is not to infer that bad scores will not come their way, because even the hardest hitter in the rifle world crashes at times. The old hand knows when he flops that something is wrong, and takes his medicine in a philosophical manner, knowing that the day will come when he will make amends. On the other hand, if a youngster comes a cropper, after perhaps a few successes, he gets into his head the idea that he can’t shoot—that he is not improving—and. until the newcomer gains the necessary experience to treat a bad score in the same light as an old hand, he must be well looked after. It is said with a certain degree of truth that, after some years, rifle shooting gets into the blood—that once a rifleman always a rifleman. A typical example of this contention was the fact that quite recently an old member of the Kiwi Defence Rifle Club made his reappearance after an absence of some 18 years. He is an enthusiastic howler of some repute, having won the Dominion singles championship on one occasion Asked on the range what had gone wrong with his bowls, he replied: " I have still got rifle shooting in my blood.” That is the spirit we want to inculcate in the new member—-to get him vitally interested—and, having achieved that desired condition, we “ have him for keeps.” Championship of Kiwi Rifle Club. Departing from last year’s championship conditions, the committee of the above club has curtailed the number of shoots that are to count. The shooting programme for the year consists of one match of 10 rounds and two sighters at 300 and 500 yards, one at 300 and 600 yards, two at 500 and 600 yards, and two (seven shots and one sighter) at 300, 500, and 600 yards. From the foregoing it will be seen that the programme consists of 18 shoots, together with the final 15 shots at 600 yards. Of that number, six are to count for the club championship, namely, the best score at 300 and 'SOO yards, 300 and 600 yards. and the best two scores at 500 and 600 yards and 300, 500, and 600 yarda respectively, . Last year 12 shoots counted for the champion shield, so it will be seen that the club has halved the number for the coming season. This allows greater freedom for members to make up any leeway through work or sickness, as it was claimed that last year’s championship conditions devolved itself into a matter of attendance. Whether this new departure will have the effect of seeing more competitors closer to -each other than was the case last year remains to be seen,, and will be watched very closely. There is nothing finer than to eee about a dozen marksmen shooting off for top place, and, if these new ' conditions are going to bring about this desired result, the ultitimate goal will have been attained. There is an old saying, however, which states that “the proof of the pudding is in the eating,” and which aptly applies in this case.