RIFLE SHOOTING

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17231, 10 April 1930, Page 7

RIFLE SHOOTING

RECORD CHALLENGED 21 CONSECUTIVE BULLS (Per Press Association.) PALMERSTON N., last night. Apropos of the three consecutive “possibles cabled as having been made hv Major Batby, of the Indian Army team, at Bish-y. at ranges of 200, s(a) and 600yds., a correspondent of the Alanawatu ’I imes is reminded of a remarkable "shoot’’ made at Tedding many years ago. Members of the. old Manchester Rifles volunteer corps were practising on the local range at 500. 600 and 7Coycls., and amongst those present was Captain E. Barltrop, at that time O.C. of the company. His first shot at 500yds. was a hull’s eye, and he followed that up by six more consecutive bulls, scoring the possible of 35. At 600yds. the same tiling occurred. Proceeding to the 700yds. range, Captain Barltrop amazed his shooting companions by piling on bull after bull, until he had fired his seventh shot at that range, scoring a total of 105 points with 21 consecutive hulls’ eyes. This shoot was the more meritorious as it included the 700yds. range, always recognised by riflemen as a very difliciilt one by reason of the apparent smallness of the hull’s eye tit that distance from the target, and other conditions of which all rifle shots are well aware. Whilst not underestimating the shoot put tip by .Major Batby, the correspondent contends that Captain Barlttop’s was the better performance, as the. former was over three “easy ranges (omitting 300, which is recognised its a difficult range), whilst Captain Rarltrop’s shoot was over two easy ranges and one. extremely hard one. Incidentally, tho “bull’s eye which was in use at that time was only 18in. in diameter, the smallest tit which riflemen had been called upon to fire. Over rifle sights til 700yds.. this looked like the head of a pin, and took some “holding) on” to. Captain Barltrop also holds the distinction of being the only competitor tit the annual big shoot at Trenthain to score two consecutive “possibles” on that tricky range. This feat lie accomplished on March 2, 1905. at 200 and 500yds., when ho scored eight consecutive hull’s eyes at each range.