SHOOTING- OF COAST ARTILLERY. 
169 
A certain sum of money is allotted annually to the station, and am¬ 
munition to that amount, may be expended, in a manner left to the 
discretion of the G.O.C. or O.C.R.A. at that station, who is thus very 
wisely left a free hand, subject to the necessity of carrying out the 
equipment regulations as to what is termed “ station practice.” This 
particular practice has to be carried out, from every gun in the com¬ 
mand, at stated intervals, forthe complete testing of its mounting, etc.* 
The natures of service practice for which the available ammunition 
is usually employed, are as follows! :— 
(a.) “ Kegimental,” carried out under the immediate orders of 
the Lieut.-Colonel, O.C. unit. 
(b.) “ Station ” or ff station and regimental combined,” sim¬ 
ilarly carried out. 
(c.) “ Company practice ” (including elementary).J 
(d.) i( Company ” practice —“ competitive prize firing.” 
(e.) “ Company Q.F. practice.” 
(/.) “ Infantry ” (training as artillery), “ militia,” and “ volun¬ 
teer ” practice. 
Although, no doubt, more could be done as to the organization and 
carrying out of the practices, a , b, e and /, they do not come under 
the scope of this paper, which moreover does not treat, in any way, 
of practice with Q.F. guns of any description ; there is much to be 
said about the latter but, for the mode of giving rewards for it and 
the method of judging results, it may be found wise, in all probability 
to borrow almost bodily from the system pursued in the Navy. It is 
hoped to treat of Q.F. practice in a further paper, on another occasion. 
Q.F. guns may be looked upon as “ shoulder” guns, and as such 
their practice, more or less approximates to musketry practice. 
However that may be, it is with, the ammunition expended in pract¬ 
ice c. and d., that it is proposed to deal with here, the others only 
coming in incidentally. 
9. Disadvantages of the existing system of company 
PRACTICE. 
With regard to company practice, as now carried on, experience 
leads one to feel strongly that a great part of it is, more or less, thrown 
away ; and that the ammunition usually allotted to it may be far more 
usefully employed for instruction of the company than it is at present. 
C.CFs of companies employ it at present, mainly towards qualifying 
their companies for the competitive practice carried on in the narrow 
limits already described. 
* So far as possible tbis compulsory practice is made to work in with some scheme of 
combined practice from several works. 
t See “ Instructions for practice seawards,” 1897-8. 
(( t “ Elementary ” practice should not be termed “ service ” practice in reality, for in the 
“elementary,” service conditions need not necessarily prevail (see “Instructions for practice 
seawards,” 1897-98; par. 12), as it is employed for training new gun-layers and young soldiers. 
Whereas at “ service ” practice all conditions should prevail, as far as possible, such as we might 
look for when actually engaged with an enemy. 
