RIFLE SHOOTING

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIII, Issue 75, 10 March 1933, Page 2

RIFLE SHOOTING

NATIONAL MEETING KING’S PRIZE SERIES H.B. COMPETITORS PLACED Trentham, Mar. 9. The annual matches for the King’s prize were advanced a further stage at Trentham to-day, when the National Rifle Association disposed of three single-range matches and one doublerange match. As a result of the matches already completed in the championship series, 11. Simmonds (Auckland) and E. S King (Wanganui) are leading for the King’s (Wangahui) are leading for the King's prize each having an aggregate of 336 Simmonds and King have each won the championship belt, the former in 192-1 and the latter in 1928. Conditions in the early morning were far from promising, Rain was tailing as the marksmen assembled at the squadding posts, but shortly aftei their arrival at the mounds the weather took a turn for the better. A tricky frontal wind upset the calculations of many. As the day advanced the wind freshened from the right front, particularly so in the late afternoon, with the result that the scores suffered accordingly. Some marksmen were able to master the tricky conditions. The first match of the day, the Canterbury, of ten rounds at 300 yards, was won by C. J. Nix (Featherston), with the possible, for which he collected a prize of £7. Five others dropped oue point only. They were: R H. Nicholls (Petone), T. H. R. Boon (Karori), R. Thomasen (Takapau), E. S. King (Wanganui) and J. C. Ashman (Petone). The B grade of the Canterbury match was won by P. Sim (Okawa). THE WELLINGTON MATCH. The competitors then moved back to the 500 yards mark for the first range of the Wellington match. Here five possibles were recorded, the marksmen to put their ten shots into the bull’seye being P C. Hamilton (Wanganui), S. Mayhew (Cheltenham), A R. Wills (Invercargill), H. K. Smith (Opaki) and J. Sim (Okawa). At the second range, of 600 yards, which was commenced after the luncheon adjournment, the scoring was lower and anyone who shot better than 45 was considered to have done well. The winner of the Wellington match was W. H. Ballinger (Petone), who scored 98, having made 49 at each range. F. Bowes (Auckland) was runner-up with 96. The first prize in the B grade went to S. Mayhew (Cheltenham), with 95. In the Hawke’s Bay match, of ten rounds at 600 yards, Nix repeated his morning performance, again winning with a possible. F. H. James (Napier) was second with 49, and F. H. Sharland (Nelson) and his club-mate E. C. Russell tied for third place. V. Barrow, of Cheltenham, was successful in the B grade with 48. FOUR POSSIBLES. Four possibles were made in the onerange Taranaki match, which called for ten rounds at 800 yards. V. Dunn (Upper Hutt) was first to finish with ten bulls, and he was quickly followed by R, C. Bartie (Petone), R. F. Wakefield (Auckland) and W. Sheriff (Gisborne). Each man collected £4 15/-. The B grade was won by C. J. Williamson (Cheltenham), with 49. The Trentham aggregate for the highest aggregate scores in the King and Henry match, Canterbury match, Hawke’s Bay match and Wellington match went to E. S. King (Wanganui), with an aggregate of 289 H. V. Croxton, of Karori, who won the belt in 1920, shot into second place with 287.