RIFLE RIVALRY

Taranaki Daily News, 20 July 1933, Page 10

RIFLE RIVALRY

NEW, ZEALANDERS MAY TOUR. . EMPIRE MATCH ' TEAM. . The possibility that a New Zealand rifle team would visit Australia next year was mentioned by Mr. W. Mcßain, when responding to the toast of “The National Rifle Association” at the complimentary' smoke concert of the Karori Rifle Club on' Saturday evening. He said it was probable that Victoria would be . inviting an Frigfish team to Visit Australia about. October, 1934, And that the National Rifle Association of New Zealand was in com-*' munication with the Victorian body at the present time. If Australia were able to get a team to come out, -New Zealand might send a team ’across to Australia for an Empire match. ■ “The British teani will come to Australia via Canada immediately after the New South Wales meeting, and we are hoping to be able to send a team from New Zealand to compete in the Empire match,” Mr. Mcßain continued. “If this team goes from New Zealand it will have to fire with the short rifle, and I think that the leading shots of the Dominion should begin to practise with the cut rifle.”

When speaking later in the evening, Mr. H. V. Croxton, the New Zealand champion, agreed that it would be wise, for the .better shots to start to practise 1 with the short or shortened rifle, and quoted from, a cutting which he had received jfrom a fellow shooting enthusiast in Australia, which recorded the change over to the short-barrel rifle and the high-velocity stream-lined Mark VII bullet.

“Fired from the short rifle,” the report explained, “the new ammunition has an initial muzzle velocity of ,2240 feet per second, compared with the 1950 feet, per second of the blunt-nosed Mark VII. bullets fired from the long rifles. “The .increased accuracy Of the new bullets has meant reductions in the sizes of targets, but some remarkable scores at present being attained.” Mr. Croxton said that the question of smaller targets had not been thought of here.