BISLEY RIFLE MEETING

Southland Times, Issue 19224, 14 May 1921, Page 3

BISLEY RIFLE MEETING

NEW REGULATIONS. LONDON, March 24. Certain new regulations will come into force at the next National Rifle Association meeting at Bisley. The Council of the Association has now decided to revert to longrange shooting for the final stage of the King’s Prize. The qualifying round will consist of seven shots at 206, 500, and 600 yards; the second stage will be ten shots each at 300 and 600 yards; and the final fifteen shots each at 900 and 1000 yards. At the two meetings since the war the Royal Prize has not been competed for beyond the 600 yards range, so that this will be the first time that the short rifle has been put through a really serious long-range test on the Bisley ranges. In order to make up for the alleged deficiencies of the short rifle as a target weapon at the long ranges the use of the aperture sight, wind-gauge, and sling will be allowed. Major-General Lord Cheylesmore, who presided at the annual winter general meeting of the Association, announced the new conditions which have been adopted for the shooting of the “King’s,” “Queen Mary,” and other principal competitions at this year’s meeting, which is to be held from July 7 to 21. There were, he said, to be three classes for rifles: the S.M.L.E. as issued, and also with optional use of approved aperture sight, wind-gauge, and sling. The third class would include any pattern of Lee-Enfield or Lee-Metford British Service rifle as issued, with the optional use of the aperture sight, wind-gauge, and sling. The “King’s” and the “St. George’s” would be confined to the short rifle, with optional attachments, but the “Queen Mary” would be fired excluflvely with the Service (short) rifle as issued under Army championship conditions. The Grand Aggregate this year will be fired as in 1920, excluding rapids. Some alterations are to be made in the targets. The central is to be abolished on all targets, and the “1920” target is modified as follows :

Lord Cheylesmore referred to the financial position of the Association. The expenditure, he said, had exceeded the revenue, which is mainly derived from the entrance fees of competitors. Since the war fewer riflemen can afford to compete at Bisley, and thus it came about that, on last year’s working, there was a total net loss of £2235 11/10. To meet its liabilities the Council of the Association has had to arrange for an overdraft with its bankers to the amount of £3640. The special appeal which was made last year, with the approval of the president of the Association, his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, produced only about £3OOO. A large part of this was spent in sending a team to Australia to shoot in the Imperial competition. Last year the entrance fees for the competitions at Bisley were considerably increased, but despite this there was still a deficit of £1647 on the revenue account. Dealing with the year’s work at Bisley, Lord Cheylesmore said it was on the whole satisfactory, though it entailed an actual loss to the Association. One matter for regret was that there was a falling off in the number of English schools entering for the Imperial Challenge Shield competition. This was a trophy shot for by boys all over the Empire. Altogether 1389 teams, which included about 14,000 boys, competed. The Governor-General of Canada gave a special cup for the Canadian teams in the competition last year, and he was glad to be able to announce that his Royal Highness Prince Arthur of Connaught, had promised a cup for the South African teams this year. The alteration in the date of the Bisley meeting this year, he said, had been made so as to facilitate the attendance of public school boys, and to make the date of the meeting coincide with the period of the summer holidays in Scotland, a part of the country which provided a lareg number of competitors at Bisley. He was glad to say that the number of rifle clubs was again increasing, and there were now 2035 affiliated to the N.R.A.—Press Correspondent.

Aiming Yards. mark. Bull. Rings. 500 and 600 24in 20in 36in 48in 72in 300 12in lOin 20in 30in 48in 200 12in 8in 14in 24in 48in