[TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR.")
Sin,—Being much interested in the correspondence now going on in the Spectator about rifle clubs and cyclist riflemen, I venture to say a few words in favour of short ranges rather than no range at all. Any one possessing an ordinary sport. ing rook-rifle can do much to make himself a fair shot and help others to become shots. A '300 bore rook-rifle is very suitable. The short diameter of the bullet is very nearly that of the Lee-Metford bullet, while in other respects the ammuni- tion is quite the equivalent of the Morris tube kind. It is, moreover, cheap. If your garden has a bank, targets may be improvised out of almost anything; if not, boiler-plate is a wise precaution. I do not agree with one of your corre- spondents, who seems to regard a short range as a toy. The vital principles of rifle-shooting are as necessary on a short as on a long range. The " short-range " man can learn to aim correctly, to manage his breath, and to acquire a steady hand as well as his more fortunate " long-range " rival. In any case, when the " real thing" does come, a man who has learnt something of rifle-shooting on a short range will be far more useful than the self-elected Volunteer who does not know one end of a rifle from the other. I may add that since leav- ing Cambridge I have not been able to rejoin the Volunteers, but I am still able to get rifle-shooting on a modest scale.—I am, Sir, &c., E. A. Ross. Bushey Ruff House, River, Dover.
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