Previously to the setting up of the national body, the miniature rifle sport had been catered for by a number of small, independent local associations. The New Zealand Miniature Rifle Association, now known as the New Zealand Small-bore Rifle Association, was formed following an informal meeting at Christchurch on 19 July 1924. During the succeeding months further meetings were held. On 28 March 1925 the first annual meeting, attended by delegates from 15 local associations, approved the constitution and rules of the new association. It thus became possible to regulate the conduct of competitions, and one of the first actions taken was to adopt the Ashburton printed target as the New Zealand standard target and to arrange for a uniform system of scoring. Points ranged from one to five so that the seven-bull match would count for a possible 35, and the 10-bull match for a possible 50. This system continued until 1927 when the value of the shots was changed to conform with those of the Society of Miniature Rifle Clubs, London. In July of that year the New Zealand association affiliated with the Society of Miniature Rifle Clubs and indicated that it wished to take part in the international competitions. In 1928, as a result of this, the New Zealand Association discarded the Ashburton target in favour of the Roberts target, and the checking system was changed from “out the line” to “a touch”. The Roberts target continued to be used for competitions until 1936, when it was replaced by the metric target.