NATIONAL RIFLE MEETING

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21730, 12 March 1936, Page 14

NATIONAL RIFLE MEETING

MASEFIELD WINS KING'S PRIZE LEAD OF SIX POINTS OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE (PRESS ASSOCIATION TBLEGBAM.) WELLINGTON, March 11. The Ballinger Rifle Champion Belt, the gold medal, and gold shield of the National Rifle Association, and the King's Prize of £3O, were won by W. N. Masefield, of the Blenheim Rifle Club, at the national rifle, meeting at Trentham this afternoon. Masefteld increased his overnight lead of two points in the King's Fifty to win the championship by six points, with a score of 469 out of a possible 500. Two men tied in the final for second place, and in the shoot-off D. E. Wilton (Whangarei) was runner-up for the championship, and P. R. Catley (Ohau) was third. By winning the championship, Masefield has equalled the record of Arthur Ballinger (Wellington) and D. Roots (Patea), who have each won the belt three times. Ballinger, who was an interested spectator at to-day's final, won the belt outright in 1907, and then presented it to the association for competition. Roots was a competitor at the meeting.

Difficult shooting conditions were Rxperienced for the final, and it was realised that in the strong, blustery wind that blew from the rear high scores would be few. Even experienced marksmen, including champions of former years, could not master the conditions, and several competitors missed the target altogether through misjudging the strength of the wind. •The King's Fifty fired m two batches, the last 25 men first and the first 25 last. Behind the leading men gathered a crowd of spectators, which included the Governor-General (Lord Galway) and the Minister for Defence (the Hon. F. Jones). Masefield finished early with a 43, and it was soon clear that he had won his third King s Prize, for in the rough conditions that prevailed his was a good score. Masefield was far from well, and in these circumstances his was an outstanding performance. He contracted a chill in the heavy rain that fell during the shooting on Monday afternoon, and to-day he was suffering acutely with bronchitis, as well as from a bad bullet wound he received in his back when on active service during the war. Wilton and Catley had equal scores for second place in the King's Prize, each with 463. A shoot-off was necessary, one compulsory sighter and five counters being fired. Wilton finished with 24 to Catley's 21, and they took second and third places respectively. Wilton has attended several national meetings, but this was the first occasion on which he had entered the final 50. Hitherto he has usually crashed at long ranges. The highest score in the final match for the King's Prize was 46, made by H. R. Hunt, of the Suburbs Rifle Club, for which he receives the Rifle Challenge Cup. After the usual trigger test, Masefield was hoisted into the historic chair and carried by his club-mates shoulder high to the Young Men's Christian Association hall, where the prizes and trophies won at the meeting were presented by his Excellency the Gover-nor-General. Few New Zealand marksmen have competed in championship rifle shooting with more consistent success than Masefield. He has been attending the national meetings at Trentham for more than 30 years, competing there for the first time in 1904. Seldom out of the final 50, he was King's Prizeman in 1914, and again in 1929. Last year he finished third in the King's Prize, and in 1934 he shot into second place. In 1929, Masefield went to Bisley, where he competed against the leading marksmen of the Empire. There he obtained a place in the King's Hundred, and finished in seventh place in the King's Prize. He also competed at Bisley in 1910, when he gained sixteenth place in the King's Prize. He has also competed with marked success at meetings in Australia, and since 1907 he has represented New Zealand in representative matches about 14 times. He is a sheep farmer, and has a station about 50 miles south of Blenheim.

Thirty-four teams competed in the champion teams' match, which was fired during the morning. The team." consisted of four men, wh,o had to fire* seven rounds at 300, 500, and 600 yards. A strong wind fish-tailing from the rear was not conducive to accurate shooting, and many were unable to master the difficult conditions that prevailed. The Wahgaruii No. 1 team won with a score of 384 out of a possible of 420. The Petone No. 1 team and the Auckland City No. 1 team, each with 380, finished in second' and third place respectively.

Marksmen to obtain a place in the service fifty fired during the morning their final 10 rounds application at 600 yards for the service championship, which was won by A. R. Symons (Okawa) with 206 out of a possible of 250. He managed to improve his onepoint lead in the fifty to finish in the championship three points ahead of the second man, J. E. Farley (Wanganui), who was also his runner-up in the fifty. This is the third national meeting attended by Symons, who is a member of the first battalion of the Hawke's Bay Regiment. He won the service championship at the 1929 army meeting and finished second in the championship event at. the same meeting a year later. The Simmonds Cup, which is awarded for the highest individual score in the final match, for the service championship, was won by Mase-

field. The silver t eup preyed for this year's meeting. by W* > W. N. Masefield for the highest wdivranl score in the campion teams inatch was won outright by F- xi. jwonit (Hautere) with. 100 out of a possible' 105. Results are:— KING'S PRIZE MATCH, Ballinger rifle belt, National Rifle Association golf medal and gold shield, and £3O—W. N. Masefield a - (Blenheim V..... : . ■ -•.-„ ** *" N.R.A. silver star ffl»d=*j*w and £ls—D. E. Wilton (Whangarei) .. - L « *» N.R.A. silver star and badge and £lO.-P. R. Catley m (Ohau) .. •.. . ,•• *» 483 N.R.A. silver star and badge and £B-J. E. Farley Rifle Challenge Cup and £s _ H. R. Hunt (Suburbs) .. 46 461 £s F. J. Jeune (Gisbqrne) ..44 Wi £3 each-W. J/Mclver (Petone) 41, 459- F H. James (Napier) 37, 458. £2 each-A. H. O'Donnell <Pf* e > Ki ll eSSw. 3 SaSy 42 455; C. Whiteman (Upper Hutt) 42' 455; F. H, Sharland (Nelson) 41, 455; C. J. Nix (FeatherstonV 41, 455, P. Churcher (Cheltenham) 38, 453, E. R. Truman (Christchureh) 37 453; T. H. R. Boon (Karori) 38, 453, fc. -flo. Wrigley (Opaki) 33, 452; G. Rhodes (Grfytown), 38, 451: M. nganui) 38, 451;. F. Bowes (Auckland) 36 451; R. H. Nicholl (Petone) 81* 451; S H. Haraldsen (Napier) 36 449; N. Mac Williams (Invercargdl^• 32, _449^ P. B. Goldfinch (Karori) 34, 448rW. McChesney (Invercargill) 33, 448; W. J. Bulton (lOkawa) 32 448; D. S. McKenzie (Opaki) 32. 448; D. Hpllard (Kaponga) 32, 447; T. Goodall (Suburbs) 33, 446; H. Frankland (Karon) 32, 446; W. E. Jones (Timaru) 34, 445; F. Hickinbotham, (Christchureh) 33. 445; D. P. Donald (Opaki) 33, 445; Cromie (Ashburton) 33 445; F. Hisnock (Christchureh) 23, 445, J. H. Manssen (Napier) 32, 444.

SERVICE CHAMPIONSHIP, for aggregate scores in all service matches. Ross Carbine Champion Belt, N.R-A, gold medal, and £5—A. R. Symons iOkawa) 206.

N.R.A. silver medal and £3— J. £; Farley (Wanganui) 203. N.R.A bronze medal and £2— W. J. Burton (Okawa) 202. £1 each—J. C, Feast (Greytown) 200, A. R. Tantrum (Levin) 198, D. S. McKenzie (Opaki) 196, A. G. Devore (Akarana) 196, E. T. Haldane (Waipukurau) 196, J. H. Kearney (Napier) 195, H. Simmonds (Auckland City) 194. 10s Each—R. E. Stuart (Rangitikei) 193, H. King (Opaki) 101, W. J. McTver (Petone) 191, W. H. West (Blenheim) 189, T. Goodall (Suburbs) 188, W. N. Masefield (Blenheim) 186, W. Oakley (Christchureh) 186, C. J. M. Clark (Auckland) 186, I. L. Ford (Wangantii) 185, C. J. Nix (Featherston) 184, H. V. Croxton (Karori) 182, H. R. Hunt (Suburbs) 182, D. F. Keir (Christchureh) 182, J. A. Munro (Mataura) 182, C. H. Gower (Wanganui) 181, D. Rankine (Karori) 181. CHAMPION TEAMS' MATCH (For teams of four men; seven rounds each at 300, 500, and 600 yards.) District Challenge Shield, four miniature cups, and £l2—Wanganui No. 1, 384. £B—Petone No. 1 .-. ■ . .. 380 £6—Auckland City No. 1 '..-■' 380 £s—Karori No. 1 .... 379 £4—Kaponga .. .. 378 GRAND AGGREGATE (For highest aggregate scores in all matches except final 10 shots fori King's Prize and service championship.) 1 Collins Challenge Cup and N.RJV. Gold Medal—J. E. Farley (Wanganui) 687. .N.R.A. Silver Medal-J. C. Feast (Greytown), 670. N.R.A. Bronze Medal—W. J. Burton (Okawa), 669. IMPERIAL AGGREGATE (For highest scores in Otago match, Hawke's Bay match, Taranaki match, and Witcombe and Caldwell match.) Club Coffee Cup—W. N. Masefield (Blenheim), 193. Colonial Ammunition Company's Cup (for highest team scores in all long-range belt matches except the final 10 shots). Karori No. 1, 755.