EXTRAORDINARY RIFLE PRACTICE.

Oamaru Mail, Volume IV, Issue 1319, 23 August 1880, Page 2

EXTRAORDINARY RIFLE PRACTICE.

The captain of the American * selected to do battle against Ireland oIeJK for a team of six instead of oiehfc three of the nine fine marksmen brofi over with him from New York weH' compelled to stand aside. The cracfc the team is undoubtedly Mr. W tj Farrow, the Albert prizeman of *W Wimbledon, whose scores have wonderful. In one of his earlier ortr> ymount obtained 74 point* *1 800 yards, 68 at 900, and again 74 at Sto -a total of 216 out' of a possible 225 jus tone-fifth of a point less than thef u u possible value for every shot of tli o 45 S fired. On June 26th, at the practico before the match, } lO " al in still more excellent form fourteen bull's-eyes and one inner in his fifteen shots at 800 yards, followed by thirteen eyes and two inners at 90n and eleven eyes and four inners at loon yards. The average value per shot fired by the Americans on June 26 roaohnA nearly 4f points out of the 5 possible, and with reasonable weather the general aver! age of the team is as likely to exceed as t& fall below that splendid average. Hiuh as the American averages have bedn tL Irish had done still better, so that to reduce his team to six men, instead of eight, was a prudent resolve on the part of Colonel Bodine. The two RigbvV scored during the practices 218 and 21? respectively, out of a possible 225, both beating Farrow's 216 score ; and on Juno, 26, at 800 yards, Captain Fenton put 74 ; Major Young, Mr. Murphy, and Mr Coghlan, 73 each ; Mr. Milner, 72; and Messrs. Dyas, Coghlan, and Joynt, ft each. The average of the best six men of the Irish team was 4 6-7 th voir nearly, against 4 6-Bth for the Ameriat the first rango, but in tho con-, eluding range the performance of the, Irish team fell far below that of thoir rivals. Major Young and Mr. Murphy had each the misfortune of a miss, and a considerable number of threes wero scored by the other members of tho team, while at this range the Americana were chiefly scoring s's and 4's, only four 3's being made by the six The grand aggregate of tho America® team amounted to 1273 points out «£• 1350 possible, and the Irish to 1248', a, minority of 25 points, of which 22 were lost at the last range. Six of the Irish, competitors had made, a fortnight provU ously, a better score by 20 pointß at tha longest range, while the Americans, commencing their practice with rather low scores at the 1000 yards, day by day improved, until their total at the extrerao range has arrived within a couple of points of their 900 yards total. The interest, taken in the match in Now York was* scarcely inferior to that felt in Dublin itself, and the New York Herald went, toi the expense of putting up some miles of special wire between the ranges nnd Dublin, in order to be in direct communication with Dollymount. The cable has informed us that America won, the scores being—America, 1293; Ireland, 1281.