THE CHAMPION RIFLE MATCH.

Grey River Argus, Volume XII, Issue 1046, 2 December 1871, Page 2

THE CHAMPION RIFLE MATCH.

The rifle match which was recently fired at Dunedin between Walker, of Auckland, aud Ensign Christie, of the Taieri Vohm r teers, was highly mentioned by telegraph. The following details are from the Dunedin papers : — At the hour of noon, which was fixed for the commencement of the. match, Mr Christie, and Capt. M'Farland, who acted as his umpire; with a few spec?; tatora, were, upon the ground ; but Mr" Walker did not put in appearance until nearly one o'clock. This was the first delay. Preparations were now made for the commencement of the firing, the agreement between" the parties to the match being read. Mr Paterson, late a captain in No. 1 Company, acted as umpire for Mr Walker. ■ Conditions of an intercolonial small-bore match which took place in Melbourne in 1867 were produced by Mr Walker as the conditions under which the present match was to be fired. A clause' in this ran as follows : — " The marksman to be allowed two assistants oh the mound to shelter him ; no others admitted on the mound." Mr Christie having stated his intention of not using the mounds which had been erected, this clause was pointed out. by Mr Walker and his umpire as making it compulsory on the part of each marksman to use the mounds. The other side objected to this, and so much time was occupied in its discussion with no result that there seemed a strong probability that the match would not take place. A new cause of dispute next afbse, it being shown by the regulations of the International Rifle Association, 1871, that the back sight on Mr Walker's weapon was the first of a number of sights (No. 20) which had been disallowed. On Mr Walker asking what objection Mr Christie could have to shoot from the mounds, he replied that they were neither level nor sufficiently firm, and that, he would rather fire from the ground, and further stated that he would

not have taken exception to Walker's sight if he had not first objected to his (Christie's) firing from the ground. It was also urged, on behalf of Christie, that the clause in the rules did not necessarily imply that the mounds should be used by both marksmen, and if, as alleged, it was compulsory to fire from mounds, why was not one erected at 200 yards? After much more discussion, in which many of the bystanders joined unasked, j and one of whom received a nientea. rebuke, a compromise was effected, Walker consenting to change his Bight, and. Christie to fire from the mounds. The office of referee was accepted by Captain Trouton, who arrived from Sydney by the Phoebe. The weapons used were both muzzle-loaders — Christie's being a Rigby, and Walker's a Whitworth. The appliances used by Walker are many, and his careful manner in loading and adjusting the sights of his weapon was the subject of much remark. The charge of powder, carefully measured in a phial, is conveyed to the barrel of the rifle through a tube of the same length as the barrel, with a funnel-shaped mouth. The back sight is fixed at the extreme end of the butt of the rifle, and to it is attached a small spirit-level. Mr Walker's attitude when firing is as follows : — With his feet towards the target, he reclines on his back resting on hit right shoulder. His left foot is planted firmly, and the left leg kept erect as far as the knee, and it is inthe angle formed by the crossing of his right leg under the left at about the shin that the fore part of the barrel rests. Mr Christie assumes the ordinary attitude of firing when lying down. The following are the scores made at the different ranges :— 200 Yards. Christie 4334334343-34 Walker 4434443443-37 300 Yards. Christie 3434343333—33 Walker 4433334333-33 400 Yards. . Christie ... .. 3443443344-36' Walker 4444444444-40 500 Yards. Christie ... ... 4333444444-37 Walker ... " .. 4434344444-38 600 Yards. Christie ... . 3344433233-32 Walker 4443443343—36 700 Yards. Christie 4344443343—36 > Walker. ... ... 4344444343-37 800 Yards. Christie 3332443444-34 Walker 2243444323-31 900 Yards. Christie 4444323444-36 Walker ... ... 0314434033-28 At la little after five o'clock the men moved to the hist range, 1000 yards. The wind was still from the north, and very puffy, blowing strongly at times. The light, too, was very uncertain — the target at times being so much shaded as to be imperfectly visible to the naked eye. .The position of the men was so close that Christie's backers and friends hoped, and for a little time with good reason, that he would be enabled to pull off the match. The excitement which had been very keen at the two preceding ranges was now most intense— as shot after shot was fired the interest increased, until towards the finish the closing shots were fired amidst almost breathless impatience. In the first sighting shot each man made a centre, and in the second each a miss. Then the range shooting began, Christie leading off with a bull'seye* wett placed— the signal from the butts raising a hearty cheer, and many cries of ! Christie !" It was now Walker's turn, and as he proceeded to fire it was noticeable that he took extreme care in making his arrangements. There was not that rapidity in his movements that was noticeable, in Christie's ; he was more calculating, and we will say, equally cool to all appearance. Away went the bullet; eyes were strained through every instrument that bore the semblance of a glass, from the large unwieldy telescope to the smallest opera-glass ; and when the possessors of the former, who could tell the result of each shot long before it was announced from the butts, gave it as only a centre, there was moire cheering, for Walker's majority was reduced by one, Then Christie fired his second shot, a centre, rather wide, but of good elevation; and Walker followed, scoring a similar number. So with the next shot, but in the fourth, when Christie again made a centre, Walker only scored an outer, and a bare one too. This brought the men level ; and was the signal for loud cheering. The betting, which from the finish of the last range, had been, if anything, slightly in Christie's favor, was now openly so. Christie's fifth shot was a centre, while Walker scored a bull'seye, at which an encouraging cheer was given, which again Piadehim one point in advance. Then Christie only scored an outer, while his opponent registered a centre, so the majority was increased to two. Yet Christie's friends were confident that he would make up his deficiency in his remaining shots ; and as he fired each time the loud cries of " Bravo, Christie/ "Christie wins," or "it's a buffs-eye," before the shot, had struck, and sometimes even before it was fired, showed that " the wish was father to the thought." At the seventh and eighth shots each man made centres. There were now only two shots to go, and in them Christie must make buffs eyes, to Walker's outers or misses, as some uncharitable people seemed to think the latter must make to enable him to win. Of course, such a resalt was high improbable, to say the least of it, but many fondly believed it to be a possibility. The Fates, however, were against their man, who, by some unaccountable means made a miss — his first miss during the match. There was a general feeling of regret— what a contrast to the feeling when Walker made his misses?— and all hope in Christie died out. Walker was four points ahead, and it was folly to think he could then make a miss. Christie fired his hut shot for a centre, and Walker .fired— this time all ears were strained, and there came the clear ringing sound which accompanies the bull's eye shot. Up went the red and white flag, and aniidat loud cheering Walker was proclaimed the winner by five points. 1000 yards. Christie 4333323303—27 Walker 3332433324—30 Aggregate Scores. Walker, ... . ... ... 310 Christie ... M , ,„ 305