RIFLE SHOOTING.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 238, 27 February 1913, Page 5

RIFLE SHOOTING.

DOMINION EIFLE ASSOCIATION. ANNUAL MEETING TO-DAY. By Telegraph—Press Association. Trentham, Last Night. 'Die Dominion Rifle Association's annual meeting opens to-iuorrow morning at S) o'clock, and is expected to continue until Friday week. So far the prospects- for a successful meeting are good. bot.li as regards the weather conditions and the attendance. At present there are some 3(30 entries, and by to-morrow there will probably be another twenty entries. In any case the attendance of ; shootists will bo 50 above that of last' meeting. This, of course, is small compared with the record attendance of two years ago; when close upon 000 men assembled, but altered military conditions have necessarily, for a time at least, brought about a reduction in the num- , ber of visiting rillemen. The abolition of volunteer corps has something to do with this slate of things, for many of those corps assisted promising marksmen to go to Trentham to uphold the honor of their corps. There being no volunteer corps now, the funds formerly available for assisting shootists have ceased to exist. Jlence there is a considerable shortage of visiting rillemen, compared with former meetings. A large number of men are in camp to-night, and when firing commences tu-morrow at 9 a.m. the bulk of the entrants will be present. Service matches, loop-hole, rapid shooting and snap-shooting will then be started, and for these there are some three hundred entries. Entries for the teams' matches are likely to be extensive. Formerly teams had to consist of twelve men. which caused a .good deal of dissatisfaction. This year six. men will constitute a team, and this has possibly stimulated competition. To-day there were nearly forty teamsmen at practice.