NATIONAL RIFLE MEETING

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21729, 11 March 1936, Page 14

NATIONAL RIFLE MEETING

MASEFIELD LEADS FOR KING'S PRIZE TRENTHAM AGGREGATE COMPLETED CROXTbN WINS TROPHY FOR LONG RANGE SHOOTING (PEESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) TRENTHAM, March 10. With an aggregate score of 426 out of a possible 450 in his championship belt matches, W. N. Masefleld, of the Blenheim Rifle Club, has a two point lead for the King's Prize, the final of which will be fired over the 900 yards range at Trentham to-morrow afternoon. Masefield was the King's Prizeman in 1914, and again in 1929. Second place in the King's 50 is occupied by J. E. Farley (Wanganui), with 424. D. E. Wilton (Whahgarei) and F. Hiscock (Christchurch) have the next highest scores, each with 422. The championship series of matches, from which is determined the 50 highest scorers to fire in the final match for the King's Prize (10 rounds at 900 yards) was completed at the national rifle meeting this afternoon. The marksman with the highest grand aggregate after firing his final 10 shots becomes the winner of the champion-, ship belt. Few marksmen can afford to give away two points to Masefield, and with this margin he looks a certain winner. He threw away five points during the morning by putting a bulls-eye on the wrong target, but his consistently good shooting throughout \he championship series stood him in good stead, and more than made up for the five points he lost through an unfortunate mistake. An analysis of the scores shows that the standard of the marksmanship this year was much higher than that at the meeting 12 months ago. Last year A. R. Wills (Invercargill) headed the King's 40 with 421, whereas this year Masefield leads the King's- 50 with 426. A score of 403 was sufficient to place him in the 40 last year, but this year the fortieth man in the King's 50 has a score of 413, and marksmen who finished, with scores of 411 had to shoot off for the final three places in the 50. High Scoring Although the heavy rain of the previous afternoon and night had caused the riflemen much anxiety about the weather for to-day, the morning turned out fine. The rain had cleared the atmosphere, leaving a pearly grey sky, and in the even light the black bullseyes were sharply defined against the white background of the targets. There was a steaay drift from the right, but this presented no difficulty to experienced marksmen. In such conditions as these, shooting was easy, and high scores were plentiful. At the 800 and 900 yards of the Auckland match, the firing of which occupied the morning, eight possibles were made at 800 yards and four at 900 yards. With the completion of the morning shooting, the Trentham aggregate was compiled. This is awarded for the highest scores in the Canterbury, Wellington, and Aucki land matches, which involve one shoot at each of the short and long ranges over yhich the competitors fire in the championship series. The winner of the aggregate was J. I. King (Karori), with 241 out of a possible 250. Bowes (Auckland City) and W. 3&c£<fe£ <P«tcsveV, e&«& vjltfe. 23.8.. fevished in that order. Tricky conditions were experienced for the afternoon's shooting. In the Taranaki match (10 rounds at 800 yards), and the Witcombe and Caldwell match (10 rounds at 900 yards), which were fired in bright sunshine, a troublesome mirage shimmered in front of the targets. A fluctuating breeze required frequent sight changes to keep pace with its variations. In spite of these conditions possibles were frequent at both ranges. The Bisley aggregate, awarded for the highest aggregate scores in the long-range belt matches, was won by H. V. Croxton (Karori) with 196, a loss of four points only for the four ranges. He will hold for one year the Croxton Cup. which he himself presented to the National Rifle Association for competition in long-rang© snooting. The King's Fifty The following marksmen will fire in the final for the King's Prize:—W. N. Masefield (Blenheim) 426, J. E. Farley (Wanganui) 424, D. E. Wilton (Whangarei) 422, F. Hiscock (Christchurch) 422, A. H. O'Donnell (Petone) 422. F. H. James (Napier) 421, P. R. Cafley (Ohau) 420, J. I. King (Karori) 420, R. H. Nicholl (Petone) 420, E. M. Wrigley (Opaki) 419, W. J. Mclver (Petone) 418, H. V. Croxton (Karori) 418, N. Mac Williams (Invercargill) 417, R. C. Russell (Auckland) 417, F. J. Jeune (Gisborne) 417, D. S. MeKenzie (Opaki) 416, E. R. Truman (Christchurch) 416. W. J. Burton (Okawa) 416, J. C. Feast (Greytowri) 416, A. W. Harris (Auckland) 416, W. H. West (Blenheim) 416. T. H. R. Boon (Karori) 416, H. R. Hunt (Suburbs) 415, T. Warburton (Petone) 415, F. Bowes (Auckland) 415. P.'Churcher (Cheltenham) 415, D. Hollard (Kaponga) 415, W. McChesney (Invercargill) .415, F. H. Sharland (Nelson) 414, C. J. Nix (Feafherstone) 414, W. Corlett (Blenheim) 414, W. Oakley (Christchurch) 414, P. B. Goldfinch (Karori) 414, H. Frankland (Karori) 414, M. Jones (Wanganui) 413, T. Goodall (Suburbs) 413, C. Whiteman (Upper Hutt), 413, H. H. Mawley (Opaki) 413, G. Rhodes (Greytown) 413, C. H. Gower (Wanganui) 413. S. H. Haraldson (Napier) 413, S. Roebuck (New Plymouth) 413, J. H. Manssin (Napier) 412, H. A. Cromie (Ashburton) 412, F. Hickinbotham (Christchurch) 412, R. C. Barkle (Petone) 412, D. P. Donald (Opaki) 412, N. D. Stewart (Matamata) 411, S. C. Parkinson (Auckland) 411, J. Norris (Whangarei) 411, J. F. McCarthy (Kaponga) 411, J. Munro (Napier) 411, P. W. Congreve (Old Navals) 411, W. E. Jones (Timaru) 411, I. L. Ford (Wanganui) 411. The last eight competitors will fire off one compulsory sighter and three shots at 900 yards to determine the last three places in the King's 50. The Scores Results:—

THE AUSTRALIAN AGGREGATE, for the highest scores in the Canterbury, Wellington, and Auckland Matches. White Horse Challenge Cup and miniature and £7— J. I, King (Karori) 241. £5—L. E. Braithwaite (Okawa) 239. £4—C. H. Gower (Wanganui) 238. £3 each—F. Bowes (Auckland City) 238, W. J. Mclver (Petone) 238. £2 each—F. H. Sharland (Nelson) 237, E. R. Truman (Christchurch) 236, A. H. O'Donnell (Petone) 236, T. H. R. Boon (Karori) 236. Twenty-five took £1 each.