ON THE MOUNDS.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 936, 1 October 1910, Page 12

ON THE MOUNDS.

SPORT WITH THE RIFtE. PROSPECTS FOR THE SEASON. [By Echelon.] To-day, his Excellency tho Governor will attend tho official opening of the season of the now Suburbs Rifle Club at Miramar: A week later the rifle Bhooting season will open at Trentham, and the echoes of the great • contesting 1 ground will awake from their long sleep, fish-tails _ and corkscrews slink - from their hollows; like goblins of ill-favour, to warp the course of virtuous bullets, and . from then onwards-...through the long summer weather and'far into the ; autumn the crack of the rifle.; will, ripple jup ana down the firing mounds. In I many, the coming season will be a notable one in t-ho history of rifle shooting.. /On the other,'side, of the world big changes have been .taking I place,, and. the march of events at the National Rifle _ Association's contesting ground at Bisloy has' ' been closelywatched by' riflemen all over' the world, for';tho ;cue to i improvements and innovations comes from : Bisley—in. a great many things;at all events. How, or.to what extent, ■; are we. in New ' Zealand likely to be affected by these changes?. One naturally looks to the Dominion Rifle Association of-New Zealand for an answer. - . - A Talk With Colonel Collins. During the oourse of a long con-, versation with Colonel R. J. Collins, V.D., 1.5.0., Chief Executive Officer of the Dominion Rifle Association, on the future prospects of rifle shooting generally,* I gathered from- the. Colonel that the progressive, policy which has characterised the conduct of the D.R.A. in the past will continue to be ■:its:- conspicuous featurp.; "As you aro aware," began,. "Trentham range has been under an extensive scheme of improvements and additions! and, by; January next," in time-for 'the district championship meeting,'' there - will - be available for use -75.' targets/At?ranges from 200 t0,600. yards'/and 50 targets at tho long yards—and f .with the improved system of telephonic communication and a radical alteration in the' system./ of. squadding, 'it' - will bo possible,, tat-'- the, .New-Zealand championship meeting in March next, to put ■through 600 men.; in an hour . and. twenty minutes, reckoning/ten minutes" .to a: man., .The. additional target commodation'iwill' include thirteen.extra . Ralston. targets on . the ; Sommerville Range)/bringing--.'the' number / available' at that range, up to, twenty-five, V\fith new head-shelters for .the--men in. the trenches.New firing- mounds have been provided on the Seddon Range, at .200, 300,; 500, arid 600 yards." . This extended accommodation . will ■riot. be . ready .for. the opening .of . the. season, colonel? "No. It was originally intended to go - right ahead , with ■ theimprovements on the Seddon Range, bnt tne swampy, ground was found to bo too wet during the winter months, and work: was proceeded with on the Sommerville Range. Thp accommodation will be the same as last year, till .January. I. have. ar-' ranged that the old. target .''posts on the Sommerville :will remain in position for the convenience of tho week-end shoot-' ing men, and as tho extension works aire only in progress during . the .week there will be/'no interruption ' either one way or the other."'.': • '/; :/■•

Improving the "Town." : "Canvastown is also being replanned," continued the. colonel. As ihave already announced, the messroom is to ba enlarged to accommodate 25U men, and a- oven is beting provided.This year, to avoid the annual; loss on . the ■ catering arrangements, which is very consiuerable, we intend . to ■ institute; the .' coupon'system.' A man. may purchase for> los. a set of. shilling and: sixpenny coupons, so that he; may be in a position' to choose whether' ho : will have a lightrepast or a full meal.-; If there' are 'any profits .;the prize fund will get! the beneht ot them.. I'he sanitary and water -supply 'systems are ; being: placed i upon an up-to-date footing under the direction ot Colonel i J urdy, the principal medical- oiheer, and there will ; arrive from. England bol'oro March a- complete equipment."

Tho D.R.A. Programme. And what of the programme; colonel? .' .:■■ "Well," he replied, "the. draft pro. gramme is ready now, but it has yet to be approved. 'However, I\ think I may anticipator in a-gene'ral way what is, proposed tor the next championship meeting. In thie- first- place,, it is proposed to have single range matches. Ivor example, instead rot having one double-range match, we: will have two single-range contests, with prize lists for each, so that if a man does well at .one'lrange he is rewarded. In a tworange 'match a man might do well at one range and collapse at the next. Then, again, it iis proposed to make one contest of the ride club and volunteer In the aggregate matches special aggregate prizes will be awarded in alii competitions at 200, 600, and 600 yards, and.alSa all matches at 800, 900, and\ 1000. yards A small entry tee will be imposed for theso special aggregate competitions.Service Matches.

"The introduction of the figure target in all oiatches at 600 and 600 yards is another proposal,", continued' the colonel.' "This: has already been tried in special . matches at Trentham, but, its adoption at Bisley for all: matches • at ;500 .yards' anti. the excellent shooting recorded'' show, that its introduction is fully warranted, and is a step .in tho direction of satisfying military: opinion on tho As regards tho service events, experience has shown that .the. old primitive methods of- conducting the service matches., have not .been popular, • nor havp theyi; succeeded ; in fulfilling the objects sought to be obtained., . Improvements,, with regard. to' these will, of .'course, take time, as the arrahgepaent of more up-to-date, condi-; tions will be somewhat, difficult.; Our range at Trontham does not lend itself to the institution of l , matches' involving the.; judging of unknown ; distances. I also propose to strike; put the rapid firing events as at present constituted, and substitute tiles for targets, thus affording praotice in observation of fire. Loophole matches at disappearing targets at varying intervals will lie made a feature, and the conditions of tho snap-shooting events modified to; allow of the result of each shot being made . known to the competitor. \ A new feature will be the introduction of a service match of the 'running-man' description, in which 1 the figure will advance from 100 to 200 thus proriding a competition whero the marksmen fire at an advancing onemy. Squadding Arrangements. \ V "Now," said tho colonel, "a word as to the squadding arrangements. Under the new system of squadding ; I propose; to adopt, the men ' will be squadded_ in fours. With only: four men of. a particular squad' at the target;.' the others .will bo free to get in their shooting at 'servjeo' matches in progress, on other ranges. ' After tho short-range matches, havo been disposed of, the Collins Range will be- continuously available for service; and teams matches, eto. / "All these," concluded the speaker, "are in the direction of improving and expediting tho shooting, while not interfering with .the comfort of the men. The D.R.A. gives a lead; to the district associations in these things,, and no doubt' the various programmes of district meetings will reflect the ideals and standards sot up by it,"