RIFLE ASSOCIATION 



fore-sight a bead ; whilst some 

 sporting rifles have a telescopic 

 sight, consisting of a small telescope 

 conveniently mounted and fitted 

 with cross wires in the field. Open 

 sights are correctly alined when 

 the tip of the fore-sight is exactly 

 level with the shoulders of the 

 back-sight and appears exactly in 

 the centre of the noteh, whilst in 

 the case of aperture sights the 

 bead should be in the exact centre 

 of the aperture. The sights, of 

 whatever type they may be, must 

 then be alined on the lowest point 

 of the object it is desired to hit, 

 that is, assuming the object to be 

 marked like the face of a clock, at 

 the point where VI appears on the 

 circumference, and the rifle must 

 be held perfectly level, a fact shown 

 by the observation that the 

 shoulders of the back-sight are ex- 

 actly horizontal. Sketches illus- 

 trating correct and incorrect aims 

 on a " bull's eye " are given to in- 

 dicate what is necessary in this 

 respect. 



Trigger pressing is the next 

 matter to receive attention, as any 

 tendency to pull the trigger will re- 

 sult in the shot being deflected to 

 the right. The correct position of 

 the trigger finger has already been 

 given, and the rifle is fired by 

 squeezing the small of the butt 

 with the right hand. This action 

 will result in the trigger finger ex- 

 erting a gradually increasing pres- 

 sure, which will fire the rifle with- 

 out disturbing the aim. Aiming 

 should be practised by alining the 

 sights on the target with the rifle 

 held on a stand or rest, the result 

 being noticed by looking through 

 the barrel with the bolt removed, 

 aad then considerable practice 

 should be made by " snapping " 

 the unloaded weapon after sighting, 

 and noting that the aim has not 

 been disturbed by the act of firing. 



The first practice with the loaded 

 weapon should be made on a bull's- 

 eye target, five shots being fired 

 with exactly the same aim for each. 

 If all the rules have been observed 

 the shots will all be close together, 

 and practice must be continued 

 until this is attained. If the group 

 so made is not in the centre of the 

 target, an incorrect aim has been 

 taken, and may be corrected in 

 subsequent practice ; but the first 

 essential is to be able to place all 

 the shots together, by taking a 

 perfectly constant aim and firing 

 the rifle correctly. Subsequent 

 practice should be made against 

 figure targets at gradually increas- 

 ing range. 



Owing to the fall of the bullet 

 due to the action of gravity, it 

 is necessary to adjust the height 

 of the jack-sight to allow for the 



66 i 8 



fall at various distances, and the 

 ability to judge the distance of the 

 target from the firing point is most 



Rifle Bird, an Australasian bird of 

 paradise 



essential to successful shooting, 

 whilst the allowance that must be 

 made for the effect of wind on the 

 bullet is a factor which requires 

 much experience to estimate with 

 accuracy. The employment of 

 rifle fire in warfare introduces 

 further problems, as it is necessary 

 to train the men to fire rapidly 

 and accurately under difficult 

 conditions, whilst the effective 

 control of the fire under trying 

 conditions is a matter of great 

 importance. The secret of success 

 in rifle shooting, whether for hunt- 

 ing, competition shooting, or war- 

 fare, is perfectly steady nerves,com- 

 bined with physical fitness, so that 

 in all situations the firer never be- 

 comes flurried, but takes a steady 

 aim, with correctly adjusted sights, 

 whilst the correct method of trigger 

 pressing and the operations of 

 loading and aiming become 'abso- 

 lutely instinctive actions. See 

 Ammunition ; Bullet; Cartridge; 

 Chassepot ; Firearms ; Flintlock ; 

 Fusil; Gun; Lee-Enfield; Match- 

 lock : Mauser ; Musket ; Needle- 

 gun; Propellant; Ross Rifle; 



Wheel-lock. E. de W. S. Colver 



Rifle Association, NATIONAL. 

 Association founded in London, 

 Nov., 1859, for the promotion of 

 rifle-shooting. Its 

 establish ment 

 was thus contem- 

 poraneous with 

 the formation of 

 the volunteer 

 force which was 

 raised to meet the 

 supposed danger 

 National Rifle o f invasion by the 

 Association badge French . Meetings 

 were held on Wimbledon Common 

 every summer until 1890, when the 

 annual camp was removed to 

 Bisley. The N.R.A., which re- 

 ceived its charter of incorporation 

 in 1889, and to which many county 

 and overseas associations are affili- 

 ated, is the recognized controlling 

 authority on all matters connected 

 with rifle-shooting. During the 

 Great War it did good work in 

 supplying trained musketry in- 

 structors to the army, and its 



Rifle Brigade badge 



RIFLE BRIGADE 



ranges at Bisley were used for a 

 time as the headquarters of the 

 School of Musketry. See Bisley ; 

 King's Prize ; Volunteers. 



Rifle Bird OR RIFLEMAN (Pti- 

 ioris paradisa). Genus of birds of 

 paradise. It is found in Austra- 

 lasia and New Guinea. It has pur- 

 plish black plumage with green and 

 bronze reflections, the throat being 

 covered by a shield of feathers of a 

 metallic lustre. 



Rifle Brigade. Regiment of the 

 British army. Raised in 1800, this 

 regiment is also known as The 

 Prince Con- 

 sort's Own. 

 As part of the 

 Light Division 

 during the 

 Peninsular 

 War it gained 

 a distin- 

 guished re- 

 cord, which 

 s u b s e q uent 

 campaigns 

 have enhanced. During the years 

 1807-15 it added 17 battle honours 

 to its roll, and in the Kaffir Wars of 

 1846-47 and 1851-53 it did splen- 

 did service. The Crimean War, the 

 Indian Mutiny, the Ashanti War, 

 1874, the Afghan War. 1878-79, the 

 Burmese War, 1885^87, and the 

 Sudan campaign, 1898, gave op- 

 portunities for further distinction. 

 In the South African War the 

 brigade shared in the defence and 

 relief of Ladysmith. 



The regiment had, in addition to 

 its regular battalions, a number of 

 service and territorial battalions 

 in the Great War. The 1st, which 

 formed part of the expeditionary 

 force, was in all the great battles of 

 1914, from Mons onward, and in 

 addition to distinguishing itself in 

 subsequent campaigns in France 

 and Flanders, helped to defeat the 

 German offensive of March, 1918, 

 and participated in the final vic- 

 tories of that year. The 2nd bat- 

 talion was conspicuous in the fight- 

 ing of 1915, and in the British of- 

 fensive, Sept.-Nov., 1918. The 3rd 

 fought at Mons and the Marne in 

 1914, in the Ypres area in 1916; 

 and the 4th distinguished itself at 

 St. Eloi and Neuve Chapelle in 

 March, 1915. 



The brigade, as a whole, was very 

 prominent in all the British battles 

 on the west front Loos, Somme, 

 Arras, Messines, and Passchen- 

 daele. There were also battalions in 

 Egypt, Palestine, India, Mesopo- 

 tamia, and Salonica. The regi- 

 ment gained 10 V.C.'s, 206 

 D.C.M.'s, 9 M.C.'s, 914 M.M.'s. Its 

 death roll was 11,245, and to per- 

 petuate their memory a memorial 

 has been erected at Winchester, 

 where also is the regimental depot. 



