< Previous22 T H E R I F L E M A N March, 1943. from aperture in cocking .handle slide. Remove cocking handle. Push piston rod to rear until halfway between buffer and link and using both forefingers remove hammer from its housing in the piston rod. Depress link to horizontal and remove piston rod. Force bolt retaining catch outward with forefinger of right hand and fix with the rim of DC. Hold link with forefinger and thumb of right hand, withdraw gently to rear and upwards. With DC remove link pin and link. Hinge the bolt and remove firing pin. With point of DC press claw of extractor otrtwards and upwards and remove. Remove extractor spring (once only). ^Assembling. Replace extractor spring (see the hook of spring fits in vent of extractor and tail of spring is opposite channel). Replace extractor and firing pin. Replace link and link pin (shoulder of link to shoulder of bolt). Fix bolt retaining catch as above and replace b.olt group. Put link to horizontal and replace piston rod to halfway between link (which will be forward) and buffer and replace hammer (round portion to rear lug underneath), using both forefingers. Pull piston rod forward and engage hammer with link. Withdraw until hammer locking pin seating is opposite aperture on left side. Insert point of return spring rod through aperture and allow locking pin to follow through on point of rod from right side. Pin should protrude through three-eighths inch. Replace cocking handle (right forward), hold cocking handle with right forefinger and thumb and withdraw until locking pin and its seating are cbincident, at the same time pushing- on axis of pin with the point of rod until pin enters its true seating (this requires gentle handling until correct feel is obtained). If bolt can now be drawn to rear by cocking handle assembly is correct. With piston rod to rear replace return spring and rod. This is the hardest part of assembling, as the spring has to be inserted on the rod without kinks, which requires a good deal of effort. The best method is to hold spring and rod in right hand, placing forefinger on T and gathering as much spring as can be held compressed with thumb and second finger, spring and rod lying diagonally across palm of hand. Insert end of spring into vent of piston rod, holding rod with left hand until point of rod return spring enters vent, then allow piston rod to go slowly forward, following through with return spring and rod. Engage T of rod in its seating from 3 o'clock and revolve to 12 o'clock, ensuring that T is flush, otherwise tongue of gas cylinder group cannot be forced home. Complete assembling as in Lesson 3. L e s s o n 5 : C A R E A N D C L E A N I N G A N D L A . Cleaning as for S.M.L.E. Barrel is best cleaned with rod. Two ash sticks are required ; (1) For gas cylinder, slit at the end to hold flannelette ; (2) Flash eliminator with a slit similar. There is also a scraper for gas regulator and a combination tool for seized gas regulator and flash eliminator. Oil profusely, but barrel and face of bolt dry when firing. LA. (Immediate action is simple) : (1) Empty msigazine (change mag. cock and continue firing) ; (2) Missfire (cock and continue firing) ; (3) Faulty ejection, i.e. empty round in ejection opening and bolt, trying to force another round forward (cock, put change lever to'S and clear). Put change lever to F and continue firing. If firing is intermittent change regulator to larger hole ; if recurs largest hole, again recurs, strip and clean. While at preseni. the whole of our skill and resource? are devoted to work of national importance, the day will come—soon, we hope- when all the experience, develop ment and improved ideas gained in the present cause will be placed at the service of the Club Rifleman." B.S.A. GUNS LTD., Birmingham, 11 WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UKMarch, 1943. T H E R I F L E M A N 23 Looking BackNo. 2 By A. G. Rickarby. *' I HANKS to their supporters we still have today I quite a number of rifle clubs whom we may look L upon as the pioneers of the small bore move ment, in which Field Marshal Earl Roberts took such a great interest immediately after the Boer War. Some of These clubs, originally, had very large memberships, the registered numbers in may cases yunning into hundreds, and I note that in 1906 Hendon and Cricklewood, for instance had a registered membership of 557. Other strong clubs to mention only a few, were Southfields (now Wimbledon Park) Midland Railway (Derby), Balham and Southern, Borough of Wandsworth, Marylebone, Maiden head, Alexandra Palace and Erith. There were numerous Clubs up and down the country, with smaller memberships, but first class teams such as Liverpool, Urmston, Beckton, Manchester Municipal Officers, Mansfield (Highgate) Central Markets, Market Rasen, and a number of Lin colnshire Clubs upon which our old friend Charlie Laywopd worked so hard. Think of these clubs alone, and one can call to mind many famous riames of the'past, many of whom, unfor tunately are not with us today, but they left behind fof themselves the names of great sportsmen largely responsible for sowing the seeds of a movement that has grown to such a great extent; To those early pioneers of the shooting game we owe our thanks as it was through their efforts that the clubs were enabled to operate so strongly until the outbreak of the Great War (1914-1918) when good use was made of thousands of small bore marksmen. Generally the press has never given to rifle shooting the support accorded to other sports and games and it would seem that in recent years up to the outbreak of the present war, even less prominence has been given to our' game than in 1907 when the Daily Mirror and Daily Express indirectly ran meetings in various parts of the country with the view of assisting Earl Roberts in his great efforts. E., J. Amoorc of Southfields took the championship of the Express meeting held at Ham where Southfields men were well to the fore. In May, 1907, the Daily Mirror Championship at Southfields was picked up by Fred Greener Harborne Rifle- Club, with 293 out of 300 follqwed by G. Barnes, E. J. Amoore, A. Comber with 292, 290, and 289, respectively. The last three men were all Southfields representatives. Hard work in those days to make scores like this. At this meeting England beat Wales in the International Match for the " Bovril " Challenge Trophy and I am the proud possessor of one of those Daily Mirror medals, but disgusted with myself for being low man in the English team, not like our friend A. G. Banks who in 1908 International Match for the same trophy at Manchester, made top score for England, winning the North of England Chartipionship and having a good time generally in all competitions. Then followed open meetings in which the two papers were interested, at Derby, Nottingham, Birmingham, Ashford (Kent), Hendon, Gloucester, Bournemouth, Maidenhead and Bristol. One of the weekly magazines ran a freak competition open to a team of 4 competitors, ten shots at 25 yards the team total to be an exact score of 365,, with one member of the team making an exact score of 95. Needless to say this was a very unsatisfactory postal competition and the prize of £20 for the team- or teams accomplishing the feat was very much split up as was to be expected. From then onwards everything dried up, as far as, the press was concerned, for a few years, until the Ladies fancied their chances, and issued a challenge to the Daily Express to pick a team of men to shoot a match upon an indoor range which I believe was called the Cork Club, Piccadilly. The Daily Express accepted and under the captaincy of E. H. Robinson (Norwood and Dulwich R.C.) afterwards King's Pfize winner at Bisley, the names of a number of ,men were selected from which the team was eventually chosen. Each day would find the paper publishing two likely starters for the team with a small photograph and a short history attached. How Cyril Maude the actor (for I think he was mentioned) came into it, I don't know, and Walter Winans the revolver crack was amongst the " runners " but neither got a place in the team. Miss Fenton captained the Ladies who came from all parts. I was lucky enough to be among the chosen " gents.," and equally lucky to put up 99 which was not beaten. D. C. Brown of the Palace was in the team and I cannot call to mind if he was on the same score or one less, but in any case I received a Silver mounted Wedgewood mug as an extra to a very handsome travelling clock given to each Member of the team. Each lady received a handsome present also, and whilst the Amazons got a hiding it was a wonder I did not get one as well. The Express people took a close up, front view, flashlight photograph of my opponent, Mrs. Woodrow of Salisbury, and " yours truly " -at the firing point and published it next day. My wife was away on holiday and someone who had spotted the picture placed it before her saying " This is what your husband does when you are away!" Not satisfied, the Ladies challenged again, and the Express staged the return shoot at the next N.R.A. Bisley Meeting, the Ladies going down again to a very strong men's team. Miss Marjorie Marjorie Foster did however, a few years later, carry off the " King's Prize " at Bisley just to help the Ladies get a bit of their own back. There were some excellent markswomen prior to the 1914-1918 war to mention only a few, Mrs. Alton (Ham and Petersham), Mrs. Woodrow (Salisbury), Mrs. Marsden (Sleaford), Mrs. Pyle (Bedminster), and Mrs. Taylor (Craw ley). Messrs. Gale and Polden through the Military Mail stirred matters up again around 1911 and 1912, when we had a Military Mail League Competitiofi in which a number of Clubs were prominent such as Royal Naval Barracks (Devenport), and Thetford, clubs that I have not previously mentioned. The 25 yard target was a novel one at the time, having 5 aiming marks blacking out the 10.9 and 8 following the American idea and 5 aiming marks blacking out the 10 and 9 only. This was a tricky target very often resulting in dropped points shooting at the larger aiming mark which looked so much easier to hit. At one time in those early days, questions used to be raised as to professionalism in rifle shooting, some agitating for the barring from competition, members of clubs who iContinued on page 28.) WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UK24 T H E R I F L E M A N March, 1943. Teaching Novices to Shoot By Lt.-Col. G. E. A. Granet, D.S.O., M.C. F"^0R three years of this war I had the privilege of commanding a training unit which received recruits directly from civil life. Among other subjects which we had to teach was musketry, but as we were not an infantry unit this was not our principle subject, and we only got a few hours during the first month of training in which to give preliminary instruction as well as practice with .22 in. and .303 in. on the range. We had no trained instructors, but I was keen and had done a certain amount of training and coaching teams in peace. We made a lot of mistakes, but at last evolved ; a system which gave good results in the short time available, i I am therefore putting this system down on paper in the* 1 hope that it may be of use to others in the same position i and that they will put forward their ideas also. [ This particularly applies to the Home Guard. I ran a competition for them once—I think sixty-four teams of eight entered—and I was appalled at the low standard of shooting. There were sergeants and corporals who could not hit the target at twenty-five yards. I know j they are short of ammunition, but there is a lot that can be done without it if a little time, money and ingenuity are expended. As I said above, my experience had been mainly in the ' direction of improving for competition the shooting of men who were already pretty fair shots. ■ This I found was a very different thing from teaching the first elements. ! To begin with, we stuck to the book, but we found that this took too long and was very dull. The recruits took very little interest in lying on the square and snapping at targets without any result. They could see the improve-^ ment in their drill, but there was nothing to mark progress in shooting and though the more intelligent did well those who were less quick in the uptake came to the range w i t h l i t t l e c o n fi d e n c e i n t h e m s e l v e s a n d i n s o m e c a s e s with little idea of what they were trying to do. . Evidently something was very wrong, and the instructors were discouraged also. We came to the conclusion that the only way to teach a man to shoot was by shooting or, since ammunition was scarce, by some means whereby he could see the results of his efforts and mark his progress. So we made and bought various pieces of apparatus and started afresh. By this time the permanent staff had done a fair amount of shooting, and we were able to pick out some good shots who were keen on the game. We then arranged the instruction so that each of these instructors took four men only at a time and he kept the same men throughout. This number is probably an ideal, b u t I w o u l d n o t l i k e a n i n s t r u c t o r t o h a v e m o r e t h a n eight men to deal with at a time. Two things we aimed at ; first, to get the men interested and keen to be able to shoot, and secondly to make them confident of their ability to hit a man-sized target at 200 yards. The course started with a preliminary talk on the necessity for every man being able to shoot, with instances from this war when other troops than inf^antry had had to take to their rifles. Each lesson began with a short talk on safety, cleaning, etc., and a few parts of the rifle with, of course, repetition of the lesson before. This took about ten to fifteen minutes, and then we went on to practical work. L E G R E T A I M T E A C H E R The first thing we taught was Aiming. For this we made great use of the Legret Aim Teacher (Fig. 1). We had been amazed at the curious ways in which some recruits had managed to aim simply because they had not got their eye into the right position to see what they were wanted to. These aim teachers were made up by the artificer. We were using S.M.L.E.'s, but there is no doubt that they are equally necessary for the P. 14, because the aperture is so far from the recruit's eye that he can look over the top or round the side or do other queer things unless his eye is fixed in the right position. When the recruit had seen the correct aim through the Legret this was moved out of position and he had to move it back. R I F L E R E S T We had a number of rifle rests, but not enough. The tripod and sandbag we had l<ing discarded, and so we got 4he artificer to make some adjustable rests (Fig. 2). These could be made by anybody who is handy withdools. SPOTLIGHT AND MIRROR Having made sure that the recruit could make a correct aim, we put him on to two other gadgets to practice. Both are adaptations of the triangle of error, and for the mirror apparatus I am indebted to an article in the American Rifleman (Figs. 3 and 4). The spotlight can be used by two recruits, and has the advantage that one can teach the recruit at the same time to make clear and decisive signdls. The mirror apparatus can be used by one man by himself. After aiming we taught Position, starting with the Standing Position. We explained nothing at firsfi but just gave the man a rifle and told him to aim at a target. Faults, such as leaning backwards, were then corrected, not so much as faults, but rather by way of giving tips that would make it easier to hold the rifle steady. Then the special points were explained. It was emphasised that the rifle must point towards the target a n d t h a t t h e m a n m u s t m o v e h i s f e e t a n d a r m s t i l l h e i s comfortable with the rifle in this position and not try to pull the rifle round. There's footwork in this just as much as there is in lawn tennis, where, if you want the ball to go in a certain direction, your feet must be properly placed to enable you to hit it properly. Then there is the grip of the rifle in the full of the left hand, which is wanting in so many men jn the lying position. The left elbow is not directly below the rifle, if it were there would be a strain, which must be avoided at all costs. Point out how far the left shoulder is in advance of the right, how the rifle is placed on the shoulder the grip of the right hand and the cheek cuddled well down on the stock. This is a good place to put in some Bolt Manipulation. We tie the triggers back (in the P. 14 the magazine platform must also be depressed) and we make them open and close the bolt smartly without taking the rifle down from the shoulder . WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UKMarch, 1943. T H E R I F L E M A N 25 Prone Position. If the legs of a man in the Standing 1 Position were suddenly pulled backwards from under : him, he would fall on his face in the Lying Position, and the ; following points would emerge. The same good grip j with the left hand. Left elbow not directly under the rifle. Left shoulder well forward of the right and the rifle still pointing in the direction of the target. We teach the recruit to come up on aim with his eyes shut, and when he is comfortable to open them and see if his sights are on the target. If not he must keep his left elbow steady and move his body till they are. The commonest fault here is not keeping the grip with the ^ left hand. So many men hold with the tips of their fingers and often too far back, sometimes even on the magazine. This is caused by not getting the left shoulder far enough forward, and it is a point that should be specially watched by the instructors. The indifferent or ignorant instructor pays far too much attention to the position of the legs, which is comparatively unimportant, as evidenced by Mr. Wildgoose, who is an international small-bore shot. He lies on his side with his legs curled up and anything but straight and gripping the ground. I can remember the days when a lot of people shot with their legs crossed. The real point is to get that left shoulder well forward. More bolt manipulation in this position. Sitting and Kneeling. There are no particular points ^ about these, though some of the older men find the kneeling uncomfortable at first. Closing the Left Eye. Some men naturally shoot with both eyes open, and we always encourage this. Men whose right eye is master, but who cannot close the left ; can be taught to do so. Or they can shoot with both eyes. . The right-handed man whose left eye is master can be taught to shoot off the left shoulder. He will have to put in some practice in his own time. Everyone should, of course, be taught to shoot off either shoulder, but t h e r e i s n o t t i m e t o d o t h i s t h o r o u g h l y . . . . Loading.' Men are taught that when ammunition is issued to them the first thing to do is to see that the clips are clean and in good order and then to arrange the cartridges properly in the clips. The importance of keeping the magazine free from dents is emphasised, and we have a dented magazine to show miss-loads from t h i s c a u s e . Trigger-pressing. There is not much that one can do here beyond putting one's finger on the recruit's and making him put his on your's. So we come to the next gadget. ' Trainii^jg Devices. The Martin Dot Light is rather expensive, but it is very good, for it shows faults in holding, ; aiming and let-off. So also does the Swift Training Rifle, which is even more expensive, but the targets are realistic and therefore interesting. These two gadgets are the recruit's first introduction to shooting, and here we begin to inculcate the quick shot. We never allow more than five seconds, and we insist on a smart reload after each shot. The Air Rifle. Ammunition being scarce, we use air rifles and have targets and bullet catchers in the drill hall. With a red flag on the bullet catcher and another at the firing point we begin to teach range discipline both for i safety and to save time. There is a terrible lot of time wasted on the ranges through the lack of organisation ni discipline. Men who are not shooting or next to i shoot should be under an instructor and do some revision of musketry talks or map-reading or something of the sort. Now although the walls of the drill hall are decorated with specimen targets, we are careful to explain that we do not expect these results at the first go off. All we ask is that the man shall hit the target every time. Then he can shoot for the magpie ring, then for inners and finally he will reach the stage when, instead of being pleased when he gets a bull, he will be annoyed when he does not. He will by then know enough to be able to think out for himself the reason for a bad shot. Now and again one gets a man who, in spite of all the careful teaching he has had, still cannot hit the target. He has got to do it somehow, or he will never feel confident that he can. So the range is decreased from ten yards to five or even less until he does hit. If his fault is not obvious he is put back on the dot light or one of the aiming gadgets to find out. I am a great believer in this system of making a man hit even at the shortest range. In addition to the ordinary target we also have some air rifle darts and a dart board. A game of darts with the air rifle is great fun. S M A L L - B O R E S H O O T I N G The next stage is small-bore. Here again we follow out the practice of the five-second shot and the quick opening of the bolt, though not so quick as to form the habit of pulling down the rifle almost before the shot has been fired. Insist on a good " follow through." As before, the man who cannot hit at twenty-five yards i s t a k e n c l o s e r t i l l h e c a n . The instructors note the number of the rifle that each of their men used and see that he has the same one next time. Now is the time to introduce the subject of grouping, which the recruits will have to do either on the 30 yards range or on the full range. If I can get a recruit who is a good reliable shot I like to use him rather than an instructor. I give him a rifle other than the one he has shot with and I privily move the sights. 1 say to him : " Imagine that you are going to shoot in a competition tomorrow and that you think you have a good chance of winning. Your own rifle is in the armourer's shop and you can't use it, but you have borrowed this one from Jones, who shoots very well with it. You have got the chance of some practice now. What are you going to do ? " So by question and answer you can lead him on to the idea of grouping in order to see how a rifle shoots. Then make him do it. ^ In addition to the ordinary instructional shooting it is good to have a pool bull target. One of the S.M.R.C. 25-yard targets does very well and a penny for three rounds is a fair charge. In addition we have another target of the same sort at which we shoot (those who want to) with a B.S.A. 12 fitted with a telescope sight. I t a l l a d d s t o t h e i n t e r e s t . C O A C H I N G A N D I N S T R U C T I O N O N T H E R A N G E Having seen that my man is in a nice comfortable position f like, myself, to lie alongside him and watch his trigger finger. I lie on the right side of a right-handed man. On no account should the coach watch the target. It won't run away and he can't see the bullet hole, at any rate without glasses, so what's the use. WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UK26 T H E R I F L E M A N March, 1943. On the full range, when not coaching any individual, I like to watch the muzzles of the rifles as they fire. It is easy to see a loosely held and wobbly rifle. Snap Shooting. If the five-second shot has been thoroughly inculcated, snap shooting will have no terrors and very few difficulties. But, coaches, watch those trigger fingers ! It is much more fun to see something fall or break when you hit it, and so I had a disappearing target made which falls when hit and comes up to the upright position again ready for the next exposure. I should like to abolish bull's-eyes except for recruits, and to have all shooting at targets of this sort. RAPro Fire. We never teach this as such. Rapid fire is nothing more than a number of snapshots taken in quick succession. The command " Rapid Fire," however, too often means that all but the best and steadiest shots blaze off as hard as they can go without much expectation of hitting anything. Perhaps the noise encourages them. If a man has been thoroughly taught the five-second shot, snapshooting and the quick, clean reload, he has nothing more to learn about rapid. If in addition he has confidence in his ability to hit what he aims at he will not lose his head and waste ammunition. Of course, we were lucky in having a good big hall in which we could put all our apparatus as well as having r o o m f o r l e c t u r e s a n d a s t o r e . We w e r e a l s o f o r t u n a t e in haying a training grant, which enabled us to buy air rifles, a Swift rifle and Dot lights. But the other gadgets we made for ourselves, and I think that it would also be possible to produce a copy of a Dot light also. This and the Swift rifle are the only things that I know of that will show f a u l t s o T l e t - o f f . The key-note of our instruction is keenness in the instructors, who are encouraged to increase their knowledge by reading books such as Banks and Barlow, The Rifleman and The American Rifleman, so that their talks to their pupils are really talks and not lectures out of " the book." Rifle shooting is a necessity nowadays ; every able- bodied man ought to be able to shoot. But it is also a fascinating sport, one of the cleanest there is and one which is almost pure skill. It is my hope that some at least of those whom we have introduced to rifle shooting will keep it up after the war and become members of the •M.R.C. F I G . . 1 . T H E L E G R E T A I M T E A C H E R . A is a thin disc of steel with a small aperture. Arms are pivoted at B, C and D. The pivot D is held between two pieces of thin angle- iron E which are rivetted on to a piece of flat steel E shaped to fit over the small of the butt. This is fastened on the butt by a strap and buckle or by a "Jubilee" worn clip or by other convenient means. In Use.—The instructor moves the aperture A till the correct aim is seen. The recruit then looks through and cannot help but see the same sight-picture as the instructor. The instructor then moves the aperture out of place and tells the recruit to move it back till he sees the correct a i m o n c e m o r e . At first no target is used but the recruit is shown how to get the correct relation between the backsight and the foresight against a blank wall or the sky. He has only Elg 1 llrie Legret Airr\ Teacher these two things to think of and is not bothered about a target. Later with the rifle on a movable rest, the correct sight picture is got and then the tip of the foresight is placed on the correct point of the target. F I G . 2 . T H E R I F L E R E S T . A is a stout box such as an ammunition box. A V is cut out of each end. A block B is screwed alonaside one of the Vs. The rifle is placed in the V's with the front of the trigger guard hard up against the end of the box. It is then turned till the side of the trigger guard is hard up against the block. The rifle is now held at six points viz ;— Each side of each V, the rear of the box and the side of the block. Unless- the box is moved the rifle can be in- instantly put back exactly as it was before. This is called " The Mann Six-Point Rest." By means of a bolt and nut C the box is pivoted to a board D and is free to move horizontally. D is hinged at E and E to another board F so that A and D can be moved vertically. This vertical movement can be controlled by a wooden wedge G which can be pushed backwards and forwards between D and F. This movement can be made very 2 T h e K i F l e K e s f WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UKMarch, 1943. T H E R I F L E M A N 27 delicate by means of a nut attached to F and a long screw passing through it and attached to G. A piece of wood nailed to F on either side of G acts as a guide. This arrangement is not shown as it is a little more difficult to make and complicates the picture. In CAe.—The rifle is laid in the rest and the recruit lays an aim on the target by moving the box laterally and vertically. To begin with it is easier for him to do this with the Legret Aim Teacher in position. F I G . 3 . T H E S P O T L I G H T . A piece of semi-transparent paper B with ^half bull in the middle is pasted on to a wooden frame A. This frame can be moved sideways by the rod E. It slides in grooves in the frame C. The sides of C are tongued and can move up and down in grooves in the frame D. Frame D is open at the top but the bottom member is grooved to take a wedge-shaped Back piece of tKin wood H. H is also held by a small grooved piece of wood G which is fastened to the bottom member of Frame C. As H is moved to the right or left so Frame C is made to move up or down and, within the limits of movement the bull B can be put wherever it is wanted. To the back of Frame D is fastened a wooden bar K. This has at its centre a hole containing a small electric light bulb. The front side of the hole isl^est covered with a small metal plate with a tiny hole in it so that when the lamp is lighted a small spot of light shows through the paper. A dry battery and bell-push or other form of switch are carried on the base-board L. In Use.—The instructor places the frames so that the light spot shows in the proper place, in the centre of the bottom half of the bull. He then lays a correct aim with a rifle in the rest. He then moves the frames. A recruit looking over the sights signals*to another recruit to move the frames till he thinks that the bull is again in its proper place. The switch is then pressed and this shows the correctness or otherwise of the recruits aim. F I G . 4 . T H E M I R R O R A I M T E S T E R . The rifle is fixed in a rest, which need not be adjustable. To the right hand side of the rest is a board about a foot square. At a convenient distance is placed a mirror which Hole for pencil ^'9 4 TKe Jltrror Aim can be moved on both a^ horizontal and a vertical axis. On the board is a wooden clip like a clothes-peg. The side of the peg towards the mirror carries a target per manently fixed to it and in the other side of the peg, there is a small hole, which will just take the point of a pencil. In Use.—A piece of paper is pinned to the back of the board and the peg is put on. By moving the mirror the sights of the rifle are made to coincide with the centre of the bottom of the bull. A pencil mark is made'on the paper. The peg is then moved and the recruit takes over. He moves the peg as he looks over the target until he thinks that he has got the target in the right place. He then makes a pencil mark on the back and repeats. He does this three times. The result shows the correctness of his aim compared with that of the instructor and also the consistency of his aim. To begin with it. is advisable to use the Legret Teacher as an aid to aiming, but after one or two attempts it can be discarded. WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UK28 A D I S A P P E A R I N G T A R G E T . This is designed so that the target can be pulled up from the firing point. When the target is hit it falls out of sight but is restored to the upright position automatically so as to be ready for the next exposure. It does not require an artificer to make it. Anyone who is handy with tools can do this. The construction is as follows :—See Figs. 5 and 6. A-A are two wooden uprights fixed to the ground or to a wooden base. Their inner faces are grooved as shown. B is a Carrier which can slide up and down between A-A Its outer, faces are tongued. Inside the carrier is a wooden Block C. It is hinged to the carrier at the back and is held by two spring loaded F19 5 Ulpyig ht% Sprtnq loaded ball N c ? "B 1 / ° \/cr-n o -a— 0 o \ Carrie r 1 Si oh , i . Tki SccSjclW t J String -j balls at its two ends. The reason for this is to hold the target up against unexpected jars or a wind. Protruding from the rear face of the block are two metal pins with a screwed bolt between them. Corre sponding holes in the target fit over the pins and bolt and the target is firmly secured to the block by being nutted up. The target D is made of mild steel of sufficient thickness to withstand the impact of a . 22in. bullet. It is easily cut to the shape required by a hacksaw and file. The size will vary according to the range which it is desired to represent. Targets of different shapes and sizes can be fitted to the same block and are easily changed. The lower part of the carrier is forked and a hole is bored from side to side to take a bolt. The carrier, block and target are raised and lowered by means of a see-saw F carried between two uprights E-E. To the rear end of the see-saw is attached a string which is led through loops or pulleys to the firing point. A tongue is cut at the font end of the see-saw and this fits in the fork in the carrier. A long slot in the tongue allows the hinge bolt to pass through and thus makes a sliding connection between the see-saw and the carrier. When the string is pulled the rear end of the see-saw is depressed, the front end rises and takes with it the carrier, block and target. At the front of the see-saw is an upright triangular fin. This is so placed that when the carrier is down the apex . of the fin is almost touching the target. When the target is raised the apex of the fin recedes from it. When^the target is hit the block revolve about the hinges between bloek and carrier and the target lies on the top of the fin. When the string at the firing point is released the weight of the carrier and target cause it to fall and take-the front of the see-saw with it. As it does so the apex of the fin goes forward and so pushes the target upright until the block is caught and held by the spring l o a d e d b a l l s o n t h e c a r r i e r. Several of these targets can be put in different parts of the range to represent observers, snipers, single men or sections. Practice can be had in picking up targets and* pointing them out and they can be fired at by single men or by a party. A good competition is to put up five targets and give a m a n fi v e r o u n d s . Ta k e t h e t i m e t h a t i t t a k e s h i m t o fire the five shots and divide this time by the number of targets hit. This gives a figure of merit. The record as far as I know is five hits in eighteen seconds starting from " on aim " and using a Martini actioned rifle. Another is to put up one target for each man of a squad. Give them five rounds eaeh. If all targets are not hit in say ten seconds, pull up three more and if all are not hit in twenty seconds, the squad is disqualified. The shortest time wins and in case of a tie the fewest rounds fired. It teaches men to shoot steadily without wasting time. Note.—Where, an aiming rest is being used for instruetion there is no need to have a rifle if these are scarce. The armourer has spare sights and he can fix a pair on to a pole at the correct distance apart and lay this on the rest. "Looking Back" No. 2 {Continued from page 23.) were in anyway connected with the sale of arms and ammu nition, but it all came to nothing. Those in the know were fully aware that some competitors interested in the trade did attend practically every open meeting held up and down the country, and in unlimited competitions would shoot their eyeballs out until they reached a high score to appear at the top of the list irrespective of the cost, but what was perhaps even worse, was the fact that there were one or two isolated cases of good shots not connected with the trade, but who were more or less subsidised, having their expenses and entrance fees paid by an interested party. Whilst a competition was open an entry could, in those days, be rrtade at practically any time, except at N.R.A. meetings, and it was noticeable that about the last day of the meeting a certain marksman would turn up, make his entries, comb in at the death and do a good turn to the trader interested, much to the disgust of some competitors who had seen their scores leading the way for the greater part of the meeting and pipped on the post. WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UKM a r c h , 1 9 4 3 . T H E R I F L E M A N Handicapping for Small-bore Rifle Shooting B y J . S t u a r t D a n i e l s . PA R T I . '"T^HERE are five principal systems of handicapping I k n o w n t o , t h e w r i t e r, n a m e l y : — , (1) The dropped point system, in which com petitors who receive a start are given a certain proportion of the points dropped by them. (2) The fixed start, in which a certain definite number of points, are alloted to the less skilled competitiors, the number of points allotted depending on their individual skill. (3) The " Choose Your Own Start " system. In w h i c h c o m p e t i t o r s c h o o s e a c e r t a i n number of points to be given to them as a start, and in which system they are penalized if the number of points they score, plus the start they have selected, gives them a total score exceeding 100. Some form of these three systems is in use with the approval of the Society . ' j (4) Competitors of different degrees of skill | will shoot at the same target from varying ! distance's, and ! (5) Competitors of different degrees of skill | will shoot at the same distances at targets of varying sizes. j There are other systems differing more or less from I the above, but most systems fall within these five general types. In choosing a handicapping system, the purpose intended to be achieved by the granting of a start to the less skilled shots, must be very clearly understood and agreed. In ' the dropped point system, in which a certain number, usually 97,98 or 99, is " scratch," and a number somewhere between 101 and 103 is taken as " base " and the competitors are allowed a certain proportion of the dropped points, it does not matter very much what scratch and base are adopted, because a gun score of 100 is unbeatable, and will win unless more than one competitor scores 100 off the gun, and if a very poor shot makes a gun score of 99, while a crack shot scores 100, the less skilled shot will receive a final score which with his dropped point allowance is less than 100 by some small fraction, and the scratch man will win. Therefore the dropped point system may, and does, ■ work very well, in clubs where there are no members of outstanding skill, but if a club contams even one mem ber who is able frequently to make a gun score of 100, the weaker competitors are definitely discouraged in handicap competitions under this system. The fixed start system, on the other hand, gives a start to the weaker shots of a certain number of points, which are added to their gun scores and it is possible for one of the less skilled shots, whose shooting has improved greatly, to make a score which, when his fixed- start is added, will give a final result of over 100, and in such a | Handicap competition, the scratch man shooting a possible can be beaten. The " Choose Your Own Start" is fairly well known, and is extremely just, and gives a fairly good chance to the weaker shots although it allows the skilled shot a small ■ but definite advantage. Under this system each com petitor estimates the number of points which he wishes to receive, and if the gun score he makes, plus the start he has stipulated, gives him a final score of 100 or less, he is credited with precisely this number of points ; but if, on the other hand, his gun score added to the number of points start which he stipulated, results in a final score of over a 100, every point over 100 is deducted from a total of 100, as, for instance, if a competitor with his start gets a final score of 102, instead of being credited with 102, that is, 2 over a possible, he is credited with 98, that is 2 less than a possible, and thus bad judgment or greed on the competitors' part is definitely penalized ; while, at the same time, he has no complaint, because the start allotted to him is of his own choosing. The advantage spoken of above which the skilled shot gets is that he will more accurately judge the number of points to ask for as a start, and if he finds after 9 shots have been fired that he has to make something less than a 10 in order to obtain a final score of ICQ, the very skilled rifleman is more likely to manage this than an unskilled one. But this advantage is probably not sufficiently great to impair the reasonable justice of the system. This system can also be run on very equitable lines if no spotting is permitted after the shooting of the actual competition card commences and this to some extent reduces the advantage obtained by a first-class shot. The method of shooting at a target of the same size from varying distances is similar to a method of handi capping commonly used in clay-pigeon shooting with a shot-gun, and if the distances allotted to the different classes of shots are wisely chosen, the system ,can be abso lutely fair to competitors, and although 100 will be un beatable, the weaker shot can be given a very good chance of scoring 100, because he will be shooting at the target f r o m a l e s s d i s t a n c e . The disadvantage of the method is that shooting takes a very long time, because it is not safe for the men at greater distances to. be shooting at the same time as those who are nearer to the targets, and the competitors who are shooting at the shorter ranges are bothered by the smoke. The method of shooting at a variable sized bull has exactly the same advantages as varying the distance. The difficulty is the great expense of printing targets of varying sizes. All the systems of scoring by "Taylor Gauges" or other forms of " Graduated Gauges " fall within ibis class, as their effect is the same as varying the size of the targets. In the writer's opinion, handicap shoots are suitable for competitions amongst members of one club, or possibly for friendly competitions among a group of clubs within a certain area, and in such competitions a good chance of WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UK30 T H E R I F L E M A N March, 1943. winning should be given to all the less skilled shots, pro vided they are making meritorious improvement in the average of their shooting, and in such club conpetitioms, the highly skilled shots, who average, let us say, 98 or over, should be, and usually will be, willing and pleased to see the weaker members making such an improvement as to win, and these very skilled shots will look for their prizes in open competitions. The following points should, therefore, be embodied in a sound system of handicapping :— (1) A gunscore of 100 made by the top men, with an average of, say, 98, 99, or 100 should be beatable by less skilled shots who are con siderably improving in their shooting. (2) The chance of a competitor with a low average winning against a gun score of 100 made by a crack shot should not be too great, but should demand steady and'meritorious improvement on his part. (3) To prevent a lucky target winning ; handicap com petitions should be based on the aggregate score of 2 or more targets wherever possible. « (4) It should be clearly understood as a fundamental principle _of handicap competitions, that scratch shots and competitors whose average i s n e a r s c r a t c h c a n b e b e a t e n a n d m u s t expect sometimes to be beaten by less skilled shots who are improving considerably. If this principle is accepted then the dropped point system possesses the inherent defect that any competitor who is receiving a start can never win against a skilled s h o t w h o s c o r e s 1 0 0 . The other four systems, however, can be arranged so as to allow the weaker shot a chance of winning or tieing, and it only remains :— (a) To settle the amount of start allotted to the less skilled competitors and a method of deter mining it which will fulfil the above conditions. (b) To determine which system best fulfils the con ditions. (c)__ To determine which system is easiest to work. (d) Whether any system not falling precisely into either of the five classes already mentioned has greater advantages. PA R T I I . Before considering an equitable system of handicapping it is necessary to ascertain how the'various averages are made up, and what variations above, and below average are to be expected, in order to determine what degree of improvement may be judged of sufficient merit to gain a prize against ,the competitors shooting from scratch. It is also desirable to consider the effect of taking averages and revising handicaps at frequent or infrequent intervals. With this object I have tabulated the annual shooting records of my own club (Woodchester) for several years. These tables .cover 2,600 targets, almost all of which have b e e n s h o t i n t h e v a r i o u s d i v i s i o n s o f t h e G l o u c e s t e r s h i r e winter league. The averages have been taken once a year at the end of the season, and cover roughly a period of 5 to 6 months, and have been tabulated for this analysis in the following manner :— All those whose averages are over 98^ and up to 99| have been taken as 99. All those whose averages are over 97^- and up to 981- have been taken as 98. All those whose averages are over 96^ and up to 97| have been taken as 97, and so on. The tables do not contain any records of absolute be ginners, and therefore give very few records of extreme low averages, nor do they contain averages of practice shoots, as no permanent records have been kept. The club is a small one, usually 24-28 regular shooting members, and as we shoot generally in 3 divisions con sisting of teams of 10, 8, and 6 respectively, the tables contain records of the shooting averages of most of the club members for several years. The writer did not go back further than 5 or 6 years, although records are available for much longer, because they all appeared to be of the same general character and show fairly well the variations in scoring. These data might vary somewhat if an infinite number of records were available, and will vary in different clubs ; for instance, the shooting in a club with a first class,- energetic c^ach, and with a number of careful, consistent shooters amongst its members, will vary from average much less than the shooting of a club with careless, happy- go-lucky shooters, and no regular coaching ; and the in clusion of practice shoots, or taking averages oftener than once a year, may make a difference ; nevertheless the records given in this article do provide a basis for estimating the divergencies from average of the ordinary shooter. Table I. shows the target scores grouped under the different averages. For instance, 382 cards appear in the tables which were shot by members who averaged 96, and these cards vary from scores of 89 to 100. Table II. gives the same results worked out approxi mately as percentages. Table III. shows the percentage of targets which were shot below average, above average, and precisely to average ; from which it will be seen that 16 per cent, or about 1 card in 6 or 7, obtained an average score. 37 per cent are below, and 47 per cent are above average. Table IV. shows the percentage of targets shot very close to average. These tables contain the records of only 2,600 targets, which is not a sufficient number to give absolutely consis tent results, particularly in the case of the lower averages, in which the number of targets reviewed is comparatively small, and if the records of a number of other clubs were reviewed and the individual scores which go to make up their averages were tabulated to cover, say 100,*000 targets it would be found that the percentages of average scores would descend in a perfectly regular scale from the higher to the lower averages and the variation from average in an ascending scale, the variation being uniformly greater as the averages become lower. These tables do, however, i n d i c a t e c e r t a i n d e f i n i t e c o n c l u s i o n s : — " , . (1) The competitors averaging 99 vary from 96 to 100, there being only one score as low as 96 out of 62 targets. This is only to be expected, because if a competitor who has. been averaging 99 for. the WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UKt March, 1943. T H E R I F L E M A N 31 greater part of the season makes one very bad score, he immediately drops to an average of 98 or lower for that season, and it is almost impossible for any shooter with even one bad score to average 99. ■ (2) It has also to be noted that amongst the averages descending from 98 to 94, ahd taking the records of 1,567 targets, there are comparatively few " pos sibles," these percentages varying from 14 per cent for those averaging 98, and dropping to + per cent for those averaging 94, and nobody with an average below 94 succeeded in scoring a "possible." If the results of a very much greater number of targets were tabulated there is no doubt that an occasional" possible " would be recorded amongst shooters with A'ery much lower averages, but it does not alter the general conclusion that the " possible" is very rarely scored by a shooteY whose average is less than 95. (See Table II.) (3) It also appears (See Tables III. and IV.) that al' shooters score a greater number of targets above their averageThan below. This also is inevitable because every shooter is liable occasionally to make a very bad score if shooting when tired, worried or in ill-health, and if a competitor puts in one target, say, 12 points below his average he has to score four targets three points above the average to counter-balance it, and the probability of a target 12 points above the average is very remote, and in the case of the higher averages it is impossible. (4) Table II. shows that roughly 4 per cent of the targets shot are considerably below average, and Table IV. shows that in all the averages from 99 to 88 a little less than one third of the targets vary from 1 to 4 points below average, and from 34 per ■ cent to 41 per cent vary from 1 to 4 points above average. The details of these results for the various averages can be seen from the Table. Although the records of averages below 88 are very few, it does appear that the shooting is so in a Day's Work By courtesy of the Artist and '* Doily Herald.' erratic that no very definite conclusions can be drawn with regard to them ; and probably it matters very little, because beginners with any aptitude for shooting, under the instruction of a competent coach, will be shooting up to an average of 88 within a few weeks or months. " The conclusion the writer draws from these figures is that competitors who are shooting to average and are neither improving nor going back in the quality of their shooting will shoot 34 per cent to 41 per cent of their cards 1 to 4 points above average, and, taking the various averages, these figures amount to about one-third of the dropped points ; for example, a person whose average shows 9 dropped points, and averaging 91, will shoot nearly 40 per cent of his targets with scores of 92 to 94. It is, therefore, giving too ereat an advantage to the less skilled competitors if they are^aiven a fixed start equal to the whole of their dropped points, and whether the starts are given m the form of a fixed start or by some other method, the fact must be taken into account that scoring a considerable percentage of cards above average does not necessarily imply any improvement in the competitors' shooting ability. If, however, handicap competitions are made to include the shooting of two or more targets, the chances of the weaker competitors making two or three consecutive scores well above average is very much less, and a competitor who picks up one-third of his dropped points on two consecjative cards is showing, almost certainly, definite signs of im p r o v e m e n t . „ ■ ■ r - It has often been said that a frequent Revision of Handicaps is necessary to avoid its being too easy for a weak shooter to win ; but it seems to me that t/ifs depends on the method by which the skill of the shootei->and his start are assessed, and that it is possible to fix a proportion of the average dropped points which may be allotted as a fixed start in such a way that competitors receiving a start will be compelled to make a distinct improvement before they can win against a scratch competitor shooting a possible or a very skilled competitor shooting to form. It must be remembered that a competitor receiving a large start is not being handicapped, it is the skilled shot who receives a very small start or no start at all who is handicapped, and the weaker shot should not have such a start allotted as to make things too easy for him. Some clubs use diplomacy here by allowing a tyro to win an early prize to encourage him to continue. I f H a n d i c a p s a r e r e v i s e d a t frequent intervals it is liable to be very discouraging tO' competitors who are steadily improving, and who get their handicaps reduced from time to time before they have won any competition. I think that handicaps should not be revised oftener than once a year, except in the case of winners, and that in a Club which shoots Handicap competitions, once a year at the end of the shooting season, a yearly revision i s s u f fi c i e n t . It has been suggested that a man who buys a new rifle, or improves very rapidly, ought to have his handicap By Rick Elmes WWW.RIFLEMAN.ORG.UKNext >