THE EMPIRE RIFLE MATCH.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 32, 1 November 1907, Page 6

THE EMPIRE RIFLE MATCH.

oN\a striinge range, and under difficult conditions; of wind and light, the New,' 'Zealand riflemen Lave worthily uphold the honour of their country. The llandwick Range, in Sydney, is admittedly'a difficult one to shoot over. It. is situated amongst low hills, in the dius and gullies of which cross-cur-rents and ''fish-tails" abound. The strong glaring light is exceptionally trying, and at the long ranges the targets are yeritablo,-; will-o'-the-wisps. An additional factor which the limited time for' practice made it difficult to thoroughly overcome was the strength of the wind. , , In one,match windage to the extent of thirty-three feet hud to be allowed for. Taking all these factors into 'consideration the performance of the 1 New Zealanders was a

splendid example of sheer clogged determination. The result of the match placed Australia first, New Zealand second and Groat Britain third. Our men were only 'IS points behind the victors, and under n less trying light might reasonably have been expected to have almost, if not quite, turned the scale. As it was, in the three final stages of the match, the New Zcah.nders beat their opponents at 800 and 900 yards. At 1000 yards, howover, their shooting foil away, and the Australians crept paat them. The fight for the second place was excitingly close, only three points separating the Dominion men from the Britishers. Among the New Zealanders, the honours of the match were with Private J. 11. Purnell, of Wanganui, who headed the list with an excellent, aggregate of 205 points, his best score being 47 points at 800 yards. Sergeant Mills, of Duncdin, followed witli 2C3 points, and A. Ballinger, ,of Petone, came third with 260 points. The Dominion riflemen have been the subject of general congratulations on their fine performance. " Australia's win," remarked the " Sydney Morning Herald," commenting on the resulf of the match, " did not come as a surprise, for right through the meeting 1 the local men have shown far better form than the members of either .visiting team. Still, it was not expected that New Zealand would figure '/in so prominent a position." The result of the match goes to show that the average shooting of the Australians was of a very high standard, even whea the advantages of shooting on their own ground are considered. Shootingpractice at a difficult range produces in the- end first-class marksmanship just as riding troublesome mountg'.producie's expert horsemanship. A return match would be an exceedingly interesting event, and the idea suggests itself that ■ at , some future time an intercolonial match might be arranged to take place in New Zealand. ; /