The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1887. THE RANGE DIFFICULTY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1484, 16 February 1887, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 1887. THE RANGE DIFFICULTY.

Surely somebody is to blame for the fiasco m connection with the approach ing annual meeting of the New Zealand Rifle Association, which may be regarded as the New Zealand Tir National. In matters of cookery the historic formula of Mrs Glass, "first catch your hare," is universally acted upon, though m order to the preparation of roast or jugged hare we are not sure that a' stove or range of some kind is not a prior requisite to that of the catching of " puss." Anyway, the range is an indispensible necessity both m cookery and rifle-shooting. The Soyer, or Spiers and Pond, who busied himself or themselves m the details of a banquet before providing that .first requisite of all cookery would bo r«^ garded as a shingle short, and it does not say much for the wit of the managers of the N.Z.R.A. that they have busied themselves with arrangements for a series of shooting matches without first setir.g to it that there was a place ready to shoot m, at, or over, whichever be the correct term to use. And yet it seems that this is just what they have omitted to do, and Captain Somerville, who is now m Christchurch with a view to putting matters m train for the meeting, is at his wits' end to know what to do. There is, or was, a range at Rabbit Island, which it was assumed would do, but this has been found to be overgrown with rushes, tussocks and thistles to such an extent that it is estimated that it would cost no less than £80 to clear it, and as the Association cannot afford to expend any such sum without seriously cutting down the value of the prizes, the Rabbit Island range is out of the question. We afe told that j Captain Somerville is negotiating for a range at|Ahuriri or failing this at Kaiapoi, Sumner, Cashmere or Hillsborough. and if he can get none of these the meeting will have to be postponed. Of all the places named (we write from experience) Hillsborough is the best, but it will be open to a good many objections. The fact is it is not at all easy to get a thoroughly gcod range anywhere within easy reach of Christchurch, and it would be a good deal more satisfactory for the shootists, we think, if the meeting were held a few miles farther South, where it would be easy to find any number of ranges fulfilling all the requisites for satisfactory target practice, viz, perfectly level, with the back to the sun, having a perfect background, etc. All these desiderata are to be had almost anywhere between Timaru and Oamaru, and as there is the railway all the way, nobody would be inconvenienced by shifting the locale of the meeting from Christchurch as proposed to some point within the limits suggested. If a range can be got at Hilisborough it may do as a makeshift, as it did m the old days of voluntering three or four and twenty years ago, but, if not, there are ranges m plenty, and first-rate ones too, to be got where we have pointed out.