RIFLE AND RANGE

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20485, 11 December 1934, Page 11

RIFLE AND RANGE

WITH THE .303 :

fixtvbbß. December 15—.Sydenham Defence Rifle Club’s third three-range competition, at Redcliffs. December 15—Christchurch Defence Rifle Club’s second three-range * competition, at Redcliffs. \ December 15—Rangiora and Kaiapoi Defence Rifle Clubs’ competitions, at Rangiora. December 15—Timaru Defence Rifle Club’s veterans’ match for Volunteer Cup. December 26—Canterbury championships, at Redcliffs. N-Z. Small-bore Meeting. An innovation will be introduced by the New Zealand Miniature Rifle Association at the next National meeting at Trentham, when a New Zealand smallbore rifle championship will be fired, with two matches each at 50 and 100 yards. In England a similar meeting is held in conjunction with the King’s Prize at Bisley every year, and is most successful. A good programme has been drawn up for the initial meeting, the four matches carrying prize lists of £25 each. The aggregate includes £4O in caab and a medal to the winner. The prizes in the individual matches are: First £3, three prizes of £2 each, ten prizes of £1 each, and twelve prizes of 10s each; total, £25. Grand Aggregate: First £5, second £4. third £3, fourth £3. four prizes of £2 each and seventeen prizes of £1 each. All matches are of ten shots, all to count. The programme is based on 100 entries with an entry fee of £1 10s. At the conclusion of the meeting the executive intends to select a team from the competitors to represent New Zeae'Vor Cup, at present competed for by tlie United States. Great Britain and Canada. This match will be fired on the following day. « M « Reducing the Bullseye. The question of reducing the bullseye is again being freely discussed in Australia. This was done by the Rational Rifle Association of New Zeaitnd^ seflson - so as to conform with the Bisley authorities. But, with one season’s experience, it was decided to go back to the old order of things. In Australia the, full bullseye aiming mark (which has long been discarded in the Dominion for the tin hat, which is the above cut in half) is still retained. This makes for much easier aiming and, with the wider scoring rings, no doubt accounts for the high scores registered at recent meetings in Australia. “Marker” writes in the “Australasian ” as follows: At the always interesting “ complaints ” meeting of the N.R.A. of New South Wales at Anzac range during the progress of the recent matches one of the principal subjects discussed was the .size of the bullseye. Many and varied were the views expounded, and some useful hints may he gleaned from the whole. It was a disappointment to know that all possibles did not shoot off immediately after each match, but it was decided at the meeting that the old order will be restored next year. With one tie shoot only, and that in the first stage of the King’s Prize. Captain Stinson, the efficient chief range officer, had a comparatively easy task. With the deadly accuracy of the present rifle long strings of possibles seem inevitable. Each year sees more young and keen-eyed riflemen coming into the front rank. What can be done to alter this? If the powers that be make the bullseye smaller will it discourage many who now are able to get. points above their average score with the long rifle? Personally I think that the ability to put on high scores is bringing rifle shooting back to the leading position it occupied just before the Great War. When a man is scoring regularly in the high 48’s and 49’s he is naturally more pleased than when returning 45’s. But is he any nearer the top in the prize lists? The genera] opinion among some of our best marksmen is that the size of the bullseye should be reduced without interfering with the other dimensions of the targets. The man who now scores a 10-shot possible would with a slightly smaller bullseye “ wobble ” an inner or two, while the moderate, man who gets an occasional inner would not be penalised. His inners would still be inners, while the top-notchers would certainly have to be content with an occasional four. Undoubtedly the question will be thoroughly discussed at the meeting of the Commonwealth Council of Rifle Associations to be held in Melbourne.

By

“TRIGGER.”

Jottings. F. Hodge is to be congratulated on winning the Sydenham Defence Rifle Club’s competition at Redcliffs last Saturday. Scoring a useful 45 out of 50 at 300yds, he registered a splendid 54 out of a possible 55 for eleven shots, making his total the rifle. D. J. M’Lelland, who finished second, also sliot well for 51 at 500yds, as also did H. Barker, whom he narrowly counted back. Barker was top-scorer at 300yds with a well-earned 46. J. M’Carthy and A. Barker, also of Sydenham, shot well for 50 each at 500yds. Sergeant-Major F. Hiscock, who is musketry instructor at the Wigram Aerodrome, shot well to win the Christchurch Defence Club’s first service competition. He totalled 117 off the rifle, out of a possible of 144. D. F. Keir was unlucky In the service competition, missing badly in the moving target practise. Hg scored 115. Keir registered a possible in the 200yds application. A new trained soldiers’ musketry course has been approved in India, whereby rifle shooting will he carried beyond the present short range battle practices to medium long range. Soldiers will be trained to fire at 800yds experimentally this year. The new course will place more ammunition into the commanding officer’s pool, and encouragement will be given to men to practice battle firing in competitions. The policy underlying the new course is that the rifle will be important in future wars, and especially in India against tribes over the frontier, who use ground well, and trust to their rifles at considerable distances. It is realised that the war tended to emphasise the machine-gun and wire entanglements, but all nations are applying the antidote, and future battles may find smoke screens and other devices reducing the effectiveness of machine-gun fire, when the rifle will become all important In closing with the enemy. The infantry will become light infantry, carrying only rifle and ammunition and with all requirements behind in the modern lorry, which can also be used to &a*.'e marching and bring troops unfatigued into the zone for the assault. The training will be based on these mobile lines in the belief that the trench deadlock can be overcome. « Entries are already coming in for the Canterbury championships at Redcliffs on Boxing Day. The number of inquiries the secretary has had from places outside Canterbury augurs veil for a successful meeting. R. Gillick, who is well known to local riflemen, scored a fine possible for the Kiwi Club at Dunedin 1-ast Saturday. On the same day R. A. Mackie (Dunedin Defence Club) put on 34-34-30, total 98, over 300, 500 and 600 yards, winning the competition—a good shoot. a The rifle clubs in Wellington are still experiencing poor scoring in 1 heir matches and competitions. A poor issue of ammunition is the main ground for complaint. Few scores of over 42 were registered at 600yds last Saturday: in fact, 75 per cent of tlie competitors scored less than 40. Sydenham Club’s Short Range Contest. Members of tlie Sydenham Defence Rifle Club fired their third short-range competition at Redcliffs on Saturday, the conditions being ten shots at 300yds and eleven shots at 500yds. Scores:— 300 500

F\ C. Hodpe .... I>. J. M’Helland yds. . 41 54 51 Hep. 5 Tl. 99 P Morgan | W. H. Cockroft . 41 5 •T. McCarthy . 43 50 93 W. R. Barrett . 4 3 49 R. Poulsen .... 4 5 47 91 W. J. Pattison . . . 40 88