The Sun.
London, England, 1864-07-18 00:00:00

THE WIMBLEDON MEETING.

On Saturday there was another bright sunny day,
well adapted for showing off the camp to the visitors,
who came down in vast numbers, but, if anything,
rather too bright for successful shooting, so that in
competitions where the time of firing was optional
many of the wariest riflemen Mild back till the
cooler hours of the afternoon, familiarly known to
anglers as "the killing time." The tedious, but in-
teresting process of shooting off the ties for the first
stage of the Queen's Prize occupied some hours, and
when the previous day's list of 114 had been reduced
to the 100, who gain prizes this year, instead of 60,
as formerly, it was found that the Metropolitan
Volunteers, although distanced and outnumbered by
those from country districts, were still creditably
represented. No less than three members of the let
City of London won their way into the first detach-
ment, composed of the 30 most successful shots
among the 2,128 competitors ; and the same fore.
most class likewise includes the names of Captain
Field, of the Hon. Artillery Company and Private
Vignoles, of the 38th Middlesex (Artists'). The
list, as ultimately settled, was as follows :
QUEEN'S PRIZE—FIRST STAGE.
List of Winners in Order of Merit.

Winners of Silver Medal, 30 Whitworth Rifles, 30 Prizes o
£5 each, and 30 Badges, N.R.A.
Points.
Private Haward, lot Suf-
folk (winner of silver
medal) • t 47
Private J. Edwards, 4th
Kent .. .• 47
Priv. Lane, Ist Gloucester 47
Corporal Richardson, 3d
Cambridge University.. 46
Private Frere, tst London 45
Corp. Worth, BthWarwick 45
Priv. Goodson, Bth Herts 45
Priv. Chivers, sth Wilts 45
Capt. Field, Hon. Artil-
lery Company .. .. 44
Col.-Serg. Reavill (2),26th
Kent .. . 44
Sergeant-Maj. Robinson,
2d Lincoln Artillery .. 44
Priv. Ingrain, Ist Lanark 44
Ensign Thomas, 4th W.
York 41
Priv. Vignoles, 38th Mid-
dlesex 41
Major SCOtt, 33d Lanca-
shire .. . .. 43
Corp. 31`Bean, 4th Rox-
burgh .. 43
Winners of £5 each
Points.
Serg. Gntteridge, 34th
Stafford .. . .. 42
Capt. Russell, let Essex.. 42
Corp. Whitwell, Ist West
York 42
Lieut.-CoL Raiford, 4th
Leicester .. 42
Priv. Oakes, 11th Surrey 42
Private Keiser, 2d Tower
Hamlets • .. 42
Serg. Birks, 4th Notts .. 42
Private Hanks, Ist Notts 42
Serg. Williamson, 29th
Lanarkshire , .. 42
Lieut. White, 25 h West
York .. . 42
Private Hanson, Bth Staf-
fordshire .. . 42
Ensign Burton, 40th Mid-
dlesex .. t . 42
Corp. Rodger, sth *Forfar-
shire .„ 42
Corp. Connell, Bth Dur-
am .. 42
Ensign Lockhart, 7th
Ayr .. Wilts.. 42
Corp. Allen, 14th
The following are winners
in the 2d stage (Queen's) :
Private Hall, 9th 3fiddle-
Points.
sex 4l
Sergt. Porteous, 9th Mid-
dlesex .. ll
Priv. Criddl, 11th Corn-
wall 41
Ensign Hoopqr, 40th Mid-
dlesex .. • . 41
Corp. Day, 6th Cheshire 41
Lieut. Fryer, 4th North
York . 41
Priv. Wyatt, 13th Salop.. 41
Priv.Blackmore, 2d Devon 41
Priv. Birkley, 2d Tower
Hamlets .. 11
Sergt-Instructor Robin-
son, 16th Middlesex .. 41
Capt. Hadden,lst Notts .. 41
Priv. Atkins, 12th Essex 41
Priv. Pavitt, 16th Somer-
set .. .. • • .. 41
spEfi+daeln" `)."1.Q""". 41
Sergt. Charles, sth Dorset 41
Lieut. Brown, Ist Wilts.. 41
C.-Sergt. Churchill, Ist
London .. .• 4O
C-Sergeant Delves, 17th
Kent 40
Corp. Roberts, 6th Salop.. 40
Priv. Harper, 2d Salop .. 4
From this list it will be seen that although the
top scores made with the Enfield rifle in the first

Points.
Serg. Jenks, Ist Shrop-
shire ..
_.• . 43
Priv. Rhead, 3d Giouces-
-43
lEntesfgll.l9leri let bevo•i;
43
Priv. Scott, 4th Renfrew 43
Catain Jee, 55th Lanca-
shire
43
Serg. Jeffries, 18th Che-
shire .. • . .. 43
Col.-Serg. Marriott, 4th
West York .. .. 43
Lieutenant Hesketh, 27th
Lancashire . .. 43
Sergeant Edwards, 6th
Stafford .. .• .. 43
Private Stubbings. 7th
Dorset .. .. 43
Priv. Nodder, Ist Lanca-
shire .. • • .. 43
Private Wyatt, Ist Lon-
don .. • • • • 42
Priv. Stormont, Ist Lon-
don 42
Col.-Serg. Westake, 18th
Devon ..
anet 30 Badges, N,R.A

.. 42

Points.
Private Dolamore, 27th
Middlesex . 41
Col.-Sergeant Hart, 38th
Middlesex .. .. 41
Corp. Germyn, 2d South
Middlesex .. 41
Private Bruce, Ist Edin-
burgh 4l
Private Brooks, Ist Devon 41
Serg. Deacon, sth North-
ampton .. 41
Ensign Black, 22d Middle-

sex . 41
Private Hepplestone, 6th
Lancashire .. 41
Private Holland, let Mid-
dlesex .. 11
Capt. Minoan, Leicester 41
Private Hemery, 11th
Middlesex .. . 41
Serg. Snelous, Bth Che-
shire .. 41
Private Popplewell, 37th
West Yorkshire.. .. 41
Private Simmonds, 12th
Ber.s 41

of £3 each, but do not shoot

Points.
Priv. Buxton, Bth Derby 40
C.-Sergi White, Bth Kent 40
Capt. Mitchell, let Clack-

mannan .• 4O
Capt. Bass, 25th itafford 40
Ens. Gruning, 14th Mid-
dlesex 4O
Priv. Clarke,.4lst Kent 40
Sergt. Sipurrell, 12th Kent 40
Sergt. Kimble, 25th Kent 40
Private Norsworthy, 23d
Middlesex .. 40
Private Holloway, sth
Glocester 40
Corp. liissett, sth Forfar 40
Capt. Greg, 22d Cheshire 40
Private Seaman, 2ith W.
York .. 40
I Corp. Dunn, 7th Kent 40
Col.-Sergt. Baines, 23d
Middlesex • .. 40
Wilts 40
Sergt Livesay, Ist Sussex 40
Priv. Farrow, 11th Lin-
coln .. • • . 40
Priv. Anderson, 3d Lei-
cester 4O
Sergt. Muir, 3d Kirkcud-
bright

.. 40

stage of the Queen's Prize have not been as high
this year as in 1863, the competitors shot very
evenly and steadily throughout, the figures descend-
ing in regular gradation and without break or in-
terruption, from 47 downwards. In fact, calculations
have been entered into with a view of showing that
the general average of the shooting for the Queen's
Prize this year is higher than it was in 1863—a
view which is certainly supported by the fact that
last year three men who had made 41 were included
in the first class of 30, which this year contains no
competitor who scored less than 42 ; and that the
second class of 30 then contained 19 volunteers who
qualified with 40 marks, whereas this year the first
name having 40 opposite to it, is pushed down to

the 77th place on the list. The small-bore shooting
exhibits an undoubted improvement this year. In
competitions where 20 is the highest possible num-
ber, 19 marks have been made and beaten over and
over again. This was the case notably at the second
series of extra prizes given for the highest score at
800 yards with any rifle. Lord Ducie made what
was apparently the fine score of 19, but just after-
wards the statistical department received intelli.
genre that there had been ties at that number, and
finally, it was exceeded by a gentleman from the
noble lord's own county. Experience shows
daily more and more what a fund of experience and
observation is indispensable to the rifleman who
seeks to compete on anything like equal terms with
the first-class shots abounding at Wimbledon. The
wind, the light, the character of the soil, the lie of
the range, all these are points that cannot be too
carefully :studied. The day has gone by when
buying a good rifle and holding it straight was all
that was requisite in small-bore contests, and the
volunteer who has never shot anywhere beyond
his county range, is as much at a loss when
he comes to the head-quarters of the National
Association as an untravelled person on his
entrance into society. As one instance of what it
is in the power of practised shots to accomplish,
take the case of Captain Beaton. In the course of
the present meeting he has fired 61 shots at the
Swiss target. Of these 58 were bull's-eyes, 26 of
the shots lodging within the 11-inch carton.
A point which is being forced into prominence by
the high average shooting, both with smooth bores
and regulation rifles, is the manner in which ties
ought in future to be disposed of. Matters have
reached such a pitch now that in the Alexandra
competition, if targets were given up in ad equate
numbers to allow the ties to be shot off expedi-
tiously there would be enough to throw back the
proceedings of the Association for a day. Irre-
spective of equal scores for higher prizes, there are
no less than 109 of 15 for a prize of £3. Remem.
baring that 108 must be disappointed when these
ties are shot off, and that the net value of the prize
if distributed among them would be a little over 6d.
per man, it sounds like an absurdity, but it is never.
theless true, that each out of those 109 competitors
will incur an outlay of 2s. for sighting shots before
the question of precedence can be determined.
Suggestions have been made in some quarters that
the matrer should be decided by lot; in others that
a gradual process of elimination founded upon a
comparison of the scores made at the different
ranges should be employed. It is evident that some
general principle as to ties must be adopted, once
for all, now that between 2,000 and 3,000
competitors enter for a single prize. The extent of
the difficulty in the case of the Alexandra Prize
will be seen from the following statistics :

ALEXANDRA PRIZE.
At 200 Yards.
2 ties of 16 to shoot for first prize of £2O.
14 ties of 17 to shoot for one prize of £l5, and six prizes
of £lO.
28 ties of 16 to shoot for 16 prizes of £5.
109 ties of 15 to shoot for one prize of £3.
At 500 Yards.
6 ties of 18 to shoot for two prizes of £l5.
19 ties of 17 to shoot for two prizes of £lO, and 16 prizes
of £5.
52 ties of 16 to shoot for 19 prizes of D.
No sooner has Captain:Page, the executive officer of