A SELF-MARKING TARGET.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXXXV, Issue 75, 27 March 1903, Page 4

A SELF-MARKING TARGET.

Tn invention of a target which regis tars the result of each shot cn rd indicating board at the fiting p:int, before the marksman has had time to remove his rifle from his shoulder, will b.-j wvlwmed by everyone who is ibt.; in rifle shooting, be ha regular, volunteer, or member of one cf the many rifle elubß throughout the country (says the Illustrated Mail). No moie will h : s patience and nerves be Ron ly tried by mistakes of tins ic-it b< r's indistinct Bignala on a-count of mi;-t, h r ze, alar.-, Or bad light, time lost .through clifillerg ing signal?, and, rb is scme'imea the case, accidents which may re suit in fital injuries to a lOHiker. The new el-ctric ■elf-marking target, which has been invented by a French officer, Ospt-nin Chevallier, will obviate all this. M/>re, it will save time, a very important point for a great number of volunteer?, who have to ran down to the range &nd fire their class on a S urday afternoon, cr sometimes even in the luncheon hoar. With the new appliance it is possible for six men to ose the one target in «he came time that it takes one man under the existing syrtent, pnd to get the exact wauls of each shot, not merely " bull," inner, or outer, but almost the exact spot where his sho 1 : struck. The target is capable of marking 100 shots per minute if required. The target is made in a most ingenious way. It is composed of several sections cf ballresisting sted plates, of a thickness in proportion to the distance at which th»y are ta be fired on. Thf se plates are placed vertical'y, but slightly overlapping each oth' r, and are kept apart by strong springs in th:ir normal pesition. At the bsck of etch section is a steel percussion rod placed in a horizontal position, r.nd when a ere tion cf the target is struck by a bul'et, t) is rod is driven sharply back, str.king one of the balls forming the headpiece cf a vertical Archimedean screw, ciueing it to revolve ropidly and ris?. Th? screw, in rising, completes the circuit, and sets in motion 'he current which lc'soii the indicating board, the said board being a duplicate of the target. The new target has bstn largely ih. Franc 3, while Spain, Roumacia, snd Mexico have each ordered a number, and the Rossi n Government is now testing the systam with a view of adopting it. dp to the present tho targets have not been publicly tried in England, but h is anticipated that tests will be made shortly.