BISLEY RIFLE CONTEST.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 205, 27 August 1912, Page 7

BISLEY RIFLE CONTEST.

THE TRIUMPH OF YOUTH. (From Our London Correspondent.) , LONDON, July 27. The absence of lA-ÜB_n_la_ian teams from the National rrfle meeting at __.- ley this year detracted a great deal from the interest of the gathering, and so far as -the general public was concerned few •people seemed more than dimly aware that the great animal rendezvous of riflemen was in progress. Kven on S_t*ii*rda.y, tlhe last day of the camp, which saw the final -stages of the coveted King's Prize., the artendaiTice of the public was meagre in the extreme. Yet that event provided one of f.he most exciting finishes ever seen at Msley, and some very fine long-distance shooting. The long rood -which competitors for the King's Prize had to travel to rc_—l the goal of their ambition ended when His Majesty's gold moduli, gold badge, and prize of £250 was won by Private A. G. Fulton, of the Queen's Westminster*. The success of Pulton is unique in one p_rt/ie*u'a.T he is the son-of a f__ier who has aA won the gold medal at Wimbledon in 1888, namely. Mr. G. E. Fulton, of the Queen's Westminsters. When Fulton ppre was being congratulated on his position as Queen's Prizeman his son n-a* an infantin arms. The gold medallist of to-day has -been trained to shoot since he Had strength enough to DioM _ rifle, and his _iu*c__-s is another instance of the -triumph of youth. Most gold medallists of recent years have been young men, some of theim scarcely out of their teens —a cirfl_m»t__ee destructive of the -widelyheld idea that only ''old pot _—___-_'' prevail at Bis-loy. Clifford, of Canada, last year's gold medallist, was „ young man. Corporal Bad-ice, who won in* 1910, was an O-ford undergraduate. George Gray, of Glasgow (1908), was a mere youth, and Addison, of South Australia, -was a long way from even middle age when he won in' 1907. Private Fulton is a londoner. horn in the constituency represented by Mr. John Burns, and _. a gunsmith by trade. Young as Die is, Fulton has --ready woo many prizes, and shtat as a member of many teams. lie was one of the British Olympic riflemen at. Stoe__o_n last month, and in 1007, when only twenty years of age. lie went with tihe British team to Canada and Australia, and proved himself one of the best marksmen of the group. The present was his fifth appearance in the King's finaJ. "Young Fulton" everybody who knows him calls • the King's prizeman is such a splendid all-round shot that ||ve.rybody who ta_e|: tin interest in rifle-shooting looked upon him as a coming gojd medallist, but he has "come" sooner, perhaps, than was expected. The score by which ho carried his triumph through three stages in, with the exception of Bodice's performance of two years ago, the best on record. lie made 33.3 points out of a possible 355 at distances from 200 up to 1,000 yards. The deciding shoot on Saturday was at the long ranges—Boo, 900, and 1,000 yardsten .rounds at each. Thn conditions lent themselves admirably to a highly sporting contest over the 800 and 900" yards ranges. The 100 men had conditions which came very nearly within the category of perfect, and then Dame Nature played her artful tricks. Pack at the longest ranges of all the marksmen were under rain from start to finish, and Uiough the rainfall -was not so -heavy nor so tiick as to interfere with the view of the target, the gentle but steady drive was sufficient to bother the most experienced shot. Sergeant Harvey, of Johannesburg, tho silver medallist, was in the position of starting at the. 800 yards with a lead of three points over all opponents, but when the competitor-* retired to the 900 yards mark the "best man" was a —Chaplain J. G. Fcnn, of the sth Essex, who made the full score of 50 marks, as against 46 by Harvey. Fulton stood fourth in the list. At 000 yards Fulton made two points more than "the Parson," and stood only one behind him. At 1,000 yards, it was a ding-dong light between these two. Chaplain Fonu was the first to finish. lie had an aggregate of 334, while Fulton was 330", with a shot still to lire. Anything less than an inner would lose him the prize. With an inner he would have to shoot off a t'e. The youthful Londoner was equal to the occasion. His final shot found the "bull," and ringing cheers from the onlookers saluted him as the King's Prizeman of 1912, and the fifty-third of the line of gold medallists. Just a word for the church militant, for Chaplain Fenu, though beaten, pat up a score that would win the King's Prize in most years, and his performance was truly remarkable, seeing that "the Parson" (as he was affectionately called on the ranges) is only a "two-year-old" where rifle-hooting is concerned. Chaplain Fenn. who is now in his fortieth year, was "smitten with the shooting fever two year* ago, when he visited Bisley for the first time. Fie is a curate at Mistley. and he decided forthwith to devote himself as regimental chaplain to the cult of the. rrfle. To such good purpose did he utilise his opportunities, that last year he won the Essex County Championship, and repeated the achievement again -this year. Norw lie comes to Bialey, and very pearly wins Hie King's Prize in contest with all the experts who have made rifle shooting a "hobby" for years.