RIFLE SHOOTING

Southland Times, Issue 23336, 21 October 1937, Page 10

RIFLE SHOOTING

(By BULLSEYE) Clubs are reminded of the shoot for the Breweries Cup which will be fired on the Garston range next Monday. Shooting will start at 9.30 a.m. Competitors must bring their own ammunition and lunches, and boiling water will be provided. An individual prize-list will be run in conjunction with the teams competition. A miniature cup will be presented to the team winning the Breweries Cup twice in succession or three times at intervals. A cup presented by Mr H. MacKenzie will be given to the highest aggregate scorer, to be held for twelve months. Indications point to a good entry of. teams and given fine weather a very successful day seems assured. The National Rifle Association’s annual prize firing for the New Zealand rifle championship will be held at Trentham from February 25 to March 2, 1938. On Thursday, February 24, the range will be open for practice as usual at ranges from 300 to 900 yards. The compulsory use of the single arm sling has been adopted for the meeting. The full programme will be posted to clubs in December. Defence rifle clubs must now be affiliated to the N.R.A. before they are entitled to the usual annual grant of ammunition. Affiliations must be made before April 30, and musketry returns must be in before May 31 in each year otherwise no ammunition will be issued for that year. Clubs when making application for the ammunition grant must produce the receipt for affiliation to the area officer. Slings may be used in service matches at the N.R.A. 1938 meeting. The sling must be attached to two swivels on the rifle and must not exceed 54 jin in length nor Ilin in width. The rifle clubs will have the use of the Otatara range next Saturday. GORE DEFENCE CLUB The Gore Defence Rifle Club began its new season last Saturday with a practice match over the ranges 300, 500 and 600 yards, seven shots at each. The shooting was of a good standard for an opening shoot. W. D. Milne with 33-33-35-101 showed fine form, and F. Morton with 31-33-34-98 shot well. C. M. Wilson 31-30-34-95 and H. Windle 33-33-29-95 also shot well. C. M. Wilson’s 34 at 600 yards was a fine effort while Windle with 66 at 300 and 500 yards should have had a bigger total. P. Mallon made a good 34 at 300 yards which headed the list at this range. His diagram is here shown:-—

At 500 yards, A. B. Crawford made top score with 34 which was a fine effort. His diagram is as follows:— 500yds

N. D. Milne started off the season well by making the possible at 600 yards. His diagram is here shown: — 600yds

5 5 5 5 5 5 5—35 By all appearances the Gore Club should be able to produce a very strong five-man team this season. The Hon. S. M. Bruce, High Commissioner for Australia, who assisted at the presentation of prizes at the recent Bisley meeting said:—“There is nothing that will do more to foster the right Empire spirit than rifle shooting; skill in which calls for very real qualities in the man or the woman if he or she is going to be a success. In Australia we have tried for years to foster the rifle shooting art and theie is no question or doubt whatever that one of the things that helped us most when we had to mobilize our forces and send overseas over 400,000 men, was that rifle shooting had been so much in evidence in previdus years, and that was undoubtedly one of the greatest strengths we had.” KING’S PRIZE FINAL A fine description of the final of the King’s Prize at Bisley is given in the N. journal. The conditions are fifteen shots each at 900 and 1000 yards: “The afternoon was a fairly easy one for shooting, and D. L. Birney who had won the silver medal on the Friday started the 900 yards range with one point advantage over F. J. Aubert, of Guernsey and Sergeant T. A. Jensen, of Canada. Birney shot very quickly and soon outdistanced both those dangerous rivals. When shooting began at 1000 yards, Birney was still leading with another young shot, Lieutenant J. Smith, only two points behind him. Birney’s first few shots at 1000 yards were rather shaky. He had a magpie, then a bullseye, and followed with three toners, dropping five points to the first five shots. Smith dropped one point only in the same series, and now had a lead of two points. By this time however, Birney had got into step with the slowly dropping wind and he was only out of the bullseye twice in his remaining ten shots. He had toners for his ninth and for his last shots. Smith had an outer for his eighth shot; and later some toners and ended as he had begun the afternoon’s severe test, two points behind for second place. Birney who is 23 years of age was educated at Winchester , and Cambridge University, and is articled to a London solicitor. This was the first time he had entered at Bisley for the King’s Prize, and it was only at the last minute that he decided to compete.”