OTAGO RIFLE ASSOCIATION.

Otago Witness, Issue 846, 15 February 1868, Page 9

OTAGO RIFLE ASSOCIATION.

The fourth competition for prizes offered by the Otago Bine Association, was fired on Feb»,7th. ■ The prizes offered were— "First, Cup -presented by, the Proprietors, of- the Otago Daily Times, value LlO 10s ; second, L 6; third, L 6; fourth, L 4 ; fifth, L 3; sixth and seventh, L 2 each ; eighth, ninth, and tenth, Ll each. The conditions , were—^Ranges. 300, 500, and 600 yards, seven rounds at each range ; ppsition at 300, yards, "standing, 500 and 600 any ; Wimbledon targets. The day was not one favorable for good shooting. During a part.ot the time of firing a strong wind, was blowing, and at other times it rained so heavily that it was with much difficulty the competitors could see the targets, especially at the longer ranged, which will account for the rather poor average score made yesterday. The highest score at 300 yards was 20, made by Sergeant Muir, Artillery; Private Corrans, ' East Taieri ; and Private Stevens, Naval Brigade. At 500, Sergeant Dunn, No. 2, made the good Bcore of 26, being only two less than could be made ; and at 600, Gunner Cato finished a very steady score with 24. The highest total score was 62, and was made by Gunner Cato, Artillery, who takes the .first prize. The next score was 54, and was made by Sergeant Muir, Private Corrans, and Private Stevens ; but as the rules provide that ties shall te decided by the score at the longest range, and as it will be seen from the scores below, that Muir was highest at 600 yards (the longest range in the match), the second prize falls to him. Corrans, who is next highest at 600, takes the third ; and the fourth goes to Stevens ; Private Dalziel takes the fifth, with 53 ; Sergeant Taylor, the sixth, with 51 ; Gunner Hardy, the seventh, who also scored 51, but was a point below Taylor si 600 yards ; the eighth, ninth, and tenth, go to Private Wedderspoon, Gunner Hannah, and Corporal Christie, respectively, they each scored 50 ; but the above is the order in j which they stand according to their scores at 600 yards. The following are the scores of those who fired through the match :—: —

The following were the prizes offered on Saturday : — First, prize presented by the proprietor of the Evening Star, and L 4 in money, from the f und§ of the Association ; second, L 5; third, L 4; fourth and fifth, L 3 each ; sixth and seventh, L 2 each ; eighth and ninth, Ll each. The conditions were — Ranges, 700 and 800 yards, 10 rounds at each distance ; Wimbledon targets ; any position. The shooting in this match was very poor, and not to be compared to the shooting made at the same ranges at the meeting of the Association last year; but this may be accounted for by the fact that the day was not at all favorable for rifle shooting, especially at long ranges. In the morning it was very cold, and a pretty strong breeze blowing ; and in the .afternoon, though a little warmer, the wind still continued, which at times was very puffy, and rendered it a very difficult matter to hit the target at aIL The highest total score Wcis 50, made by Sergt. Taylor, who takes the first prize ; the second goes to Lieut. Wales, with a score of 45; the third to Private Wilson, with 41 ; the fourth to Private Fountain, with 40 ; the fifth to Gunner Hardy, with 39 ; the sixth to Gunner Stevens, who also scored 39, but made a lower score at 800 than Hardy ; the seventh to Private Reid, who also scored 39, but was a point behind Stevens at 800 ; the eighth to Private Stalker, with 33 ; and the ninth to Gunner Pell, with 32. The highest score at 700 yards was 29, and was made by Sergt: Taylor ; the highest at 800 was 2Q, made by Lieut. Wales. The above completes the Fourth Rifle Meeting of the Association, and which has been, notwithstanding the bad weather we have had, a very satisfactory one. The number of entries has been

-greatly -increased- this year by a: number , ,of the members., of countty, corps- taking part 1 in' the 1 proceedings, and 'who have, though firing on * rftrange- range, succeeded in carrying off one or two prizes. The total number of ontriesanade for each match was between 70 and 80, and nearly that number fired in each matclt • The shooting, as a whole, cannot, however, be compared to that of last year ;. but that is accounted for by the fact that everyday on which the matches have been fired, competitors have, had either heavy rain or strong breezes to contend against ; and also, that numbers of the- Volunteers are quite out of practice, it having been almost aanatter of impossibility for them during the severe weathef we have had during the last three months'to go out for practice. The value of prizes shot for this year, including those of the Provincial Government, is about L2OO— LUO of which is given in money, and the balance in cups, a, watch, and o*her valuable articles. This year disc-marking has been introduced, and though at first it did not ' appear to be much in favor with a few, still it is thought that when the markers are a little more accustomed to the method it will entirely supersede the old style of marking with flags. Captain Atkinson has, during the meeting, been most attentive in carrying out the rules of the Council. Only one protest has been entered — that against some men who fired in the Government Match without their uniform. This protest will come before the Council at its next meeting, as also when and where the prizes will be presented. The following are the scores of those who fired through :—: —

Gunner Cato, Artillery ... Sergeant Muir, Art Private Corrans, E.T Private Stevens, N.B Private Dalziel, W.R. Sergeant Taylor, No 2 Gunner Hardy, Art Priv. Wedderspoon, No. 1 Gunner Hannah, Art Corporal Christie, E.T. ... Sergeant Dunn, No 2 Captain M'Farland, Ait. Private Buchanan, W.T. ... Sergeant Douglas, No. 1 ... Gunner Ogilyie, Art Corporal Smith, Art Gunner Chisholm, Art. ... Private Richardson, W.T. Private Culling, E. T Lieutenant Shand, S.D.R. Private Grant, N.B Private J. Christie, E.T.... Private Douglas, No. 1 Private Buchanan, W.T... Private M'Bride, No. 1 ... Tame Private Stalker, No. 1 Corporal Geddes, No. 1 ... 300 500 17 21 20" 18 20 21 20 22 11 20 17 19 19 18 11 20 12 22 18 18 19 26 15 14 9 18 18 19 12 IS 14 11 10 19 13 18 12 13 ia is 9 14 13 18 13 15 16 11 10 19 9 14 19 16 11 12 600 TL 24—62 16—54 13—54 12—54 22—53 15—51 14—51 19—50 16—50 14-50 4—49 19—48 20-47 8—45 14—44 19 — 44 14—43 12—43 18—43 13—42 19—42 10 — 41 12—40 12—39 9— 3S 12—35 0—35 9—32

<JVV WUV JLX. Sergeant Taylor, No. 2 29 21— 5 a Lieutenant Wales, No. 1 19 16—45 Private Wilson, No. 1 25 16—41 Private Fountain, W.R 24 16—40 Gunner Hardy, Art 15 24—39 Gunner Stevens, N.B 21 18—39 Private Reid, No. 1 22 17—39 Private Stalker, No. 1 18 15— 3 a Gunner Pell, Art 21 11—32 Gunner Ogilvie, Art 15 16— 3 L Captain M'Farland, Art - 16 15—31 Private Caldsr, N.D 28 3—31 Lieutenant S Land, S.D.R 14 14—28 Private Shepherd, No. 1 19 » 9—28 Private Culling, E.T 17' 11—28 Private Ftilton, S.D.R 12 15—27 Ensign Jamieson, No. 2 23 4—274 — 27 Gunner Cato, Art 13 14—27 Private Richardson, W.T 22 5—27 Lieutenant Goldie, P.C.N.8.., 17 7—24 Sergeant Dunn, No. 2 14 9— 2 a Gunner Curie, Art 20 3—23 Gunner Chishohn, Art 18 4—22 Private J. Buchanan, W.T 18 4—22 Private Key, W.R 14 8-22 Private Geddes, No. 1 11 10—21 Private J. M'Laren, No. 2 14 7—21 Gunner Moodie, Art 12 9—21 Private D. Buchanan, W.T 7 10—17