INTERCOLONIAL RIFLE MATCH.

Evening Star, Issue 3304, 22 September 1873, Page 2

INTERCOLONIAL RIFLE MATCH.

The following are the official conditions for the rifle match between New South Wales and Victoria :

1. To be fired at the Sandriclge Butts on such day as may be fixed in or about the month of November, 1873. 2. Twenty men a-side. Volunteers of respective Colonies.

3. 200, 500, aud GOO yards; ten shots at each distance.

4. Hay rifles. The foresight may be either a bead or a knife sight. It must be immovable. It may be blackened, but white, red, or other coloring matter will not be allowed. The backsight must be immovable laterally. The cap and bar may be straight, with not more than five lines, all of which must be fixed, and none of such lines may be painted out. The ladder may have a graduated scale. Any nipple or flash-pan may be used. Spirit levels, shades on rifles, or slings will not be allowed. No chequering the stock or trigger allowed. The same rifle must be used throughout the match, save in case of accident, when it may be changed by permission of the referee. No two competitors shall shoot with the same weapon. _ Competitors may wipe out or clean out their rifles during the match, provided they do not delay the squad by so doing. 5. Trigger’s minimum pull Gibs., to be tested at any time during the match. 6. Each competitor will be allowed to take two sighting shots at each range. 7. Any position that can be assumed on a flat surface. Artificial rests will not be allowed. 8. Each Colony to provide ammunition for its competitors, the Commandant to certify that it is strictly Government as served out to volunteers ; to be supplied at the time of firing each shot. No competitor will be allowed to take any ammunition to the firing point. Cartridge testers will not be allowed. 9. Scoring and targets as at Wimbledon in 1872.

10. Disc marking : A white disc to denote a bull’s eye, a red disc a centre, a black disc an outer. A check marker to be in each butt. Misses may be signalled by a red flag. All hits (including ricochet hits) to count. The marking, as signalled, shall not be questioned; but should the referee receive reasonable evidence that a shot has struck the target and has not in any way been signalled, he may cause the markers to be communicated with and the shot signalled. The result of such signalling shall be final. Every discliargeof the rifle at the target, Avith or Avithout bullet, [shall be counted as a shot in the match. 11. Wind screens and shades will not be allowed. 12. Telescopes may be vised at the firing 2>oints. 13. Ties to be decided : (ft) By the greater number of hits, (6) By the score made at GOO yards. (c) By firing five rounds each man at 600 yards. 1-i. Postponement: The match to be fired in one *day, unless it be deemed advisable, by mutual consent of the umpires, or of the referee, if they differ, owing to stress of weather, to postpone it. 15. Umpires: One on each side, who shall appoint a referee befoi e the match is commenced, Ail disputes, whether in points pro-

vided for by these conditions or otherwise, shall be settled by the umpires ; if they disagree, by the referee. The decision of the umpires or referee, as th encase jm ay be, t shall be^final.

A s it will interest a good many, we extract the following from the Lyttelton Times to show what our neighbors in Canterbury are doing in the above matter : —lt was decided by the Council of the Rifle Association to get up an art union on an extensive scale, in order to raise funds for paying the expenses of the Canterbury representatives in the New Zealand team which is tube sent to compete in the Intercolonial and other matches in Melbourne in November, It is proposed to issue about 2,000 tickets at one shilling each, and as several influential members of the community are already at work collecting the materiel, the affair is likely to be successful, and the prizes of considerable value. There will be an exhibition of the articles collected, when a charge will be made for admission. The next evening|the distribution will take place after the drawing has been concluded. The art union will probably take place about the middle of October. The council of Association, in selecting the marksmen to represent this Province at the Australian meeting, put Corporal Chapman, of the Heathcote Valley Engineers, in the first place on the list, and seme shooting recently made by that volunteer will show, apart from the character he previously bore for steadiness, that the selection was wisely made. It will be remembered that last season Capt. Holmes gave a valuable silver cup for competition between representative teams of the Christchurch and Valley Engineer corps, and that it was won by the latter, who at once arranged a series of matches for deciding whose personal property the cap should become. Five matches were appointed to be shot for this purpose, the distances to bo 200, 400, and 50 J yards, with five shots at each, standing position, and small target at 200 yards, but any position at the remaining ranges. These competitions have just been completed, and the result is that the cup becomes the personal property of Corporal Chapman, with a total score of 250 points ; Sergt. Dixon standing second with 241 points. Chapman’s score, it will be seen, is an average of fifty points for each of the five matches ; or, to go further, it is considerably over an average of a centre per shot, indeed, within ten points per match of all bulls-eyes. Both Chapman and Sergeant Dixon only missed the target twice each in all the seventy-five rounds of ammunition that were fired per man during the competition. In face of the conditions referred to above, and the fact that the men fired with Enfield rifles, it must be conceded that the shooting was highly creditable to both, yet more especially to Chapman. Without doubt, his shooting is the best that has been recorded under similar circumstances in the Province.