Volunteer Items

Feilding Star, Volume XIV, Issue 63, 15 November 1892, Page 2

Volunteer Items

The Manchester Rifles are reminded of the capitation parade to be held in the Assembly Rooms on Thursday night. We take this item from the Catholic Times :—" Military authorities in Great Britain are urging that troops should be moved, when necessary, by march route and not by rail. They declare that owing to railways, the marching powers of Brit ish troops are now inferior to what they were in older days. " This rule also applies to the colonial volunteers. The officer commanding the Manchester Rifles has received the following circular from the Defence Department: — "It having been found dangerous to fire on certain ranges at the 100 yards range and in order to avoid mishaps, officers commanding districts are hereby notified that in future the individual firing for the first period, third class, will be as follows : Trained men — 10 rounds at 230 yards, 6 kneeling and then 5 standing ; 10 rounds at 300 yards. 5 lying down and then 5 kneeling. Recruits— 2o rounds at 200 yards, 10 lying down and then 10 kneeling ; 10 rounds at 300 yards lying down. Points to be gained to be thirty (30) and thirty-five (35) respectively, as at present. Second and third class remain as before in both cases, This order will not affect corps that have already fired." The new automatic Mannlicher rifle has been tried at Vienna with success. One hundred and twenty rounds per minute were fired, and there is no recoil from the weapon.