RIFLE SHOOTING

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVIII, Issue XLVIII, 19 February 1913, Page 3

RIFLE SHOOTING

COMMONWEALTH BISLEY TEAM. (P&ES9 £.BSOCIAriON. Coi-XaTQHT.j SYDNEY, Feb. xP. The following is the complete tom monwcalth team for Bis'.ey : —'« I - .'"! " wards, .T. H. Williams, Lieutenant I-u-:>g (Victoria); A. Halliday, 11. P. / Armstrong (Queensland); and Alfred Harris (Westralia) v Colonel Dean, of South Australia, will be commandant, and Major Semmens, of Victoria, scooting captain. THE COMING NEW ZEAX.AND CHAMPIONSHIP MEETING.

From one end of the Dominion to the other marksmen are practising for the forthcoming New Zealand championship meeting, wnich takes place at Trentmm, commencing on Thursday, Feb. 27th. This year more than usual interest is being displayed amongst rifle clubs f-.r .. the Territorial forces generally. A rvroul entry is anticipated, with keen competition. for that coveted honour of all rifle shots, the winning of the Championship Belt.

Seven times this prize has been won by Nelson men. The first' time by Private Holt, in 1862; then by Lieut. Morse, in 1864; followed by Lieut. Paynter, in 1877, the same winning it again in 1881; then for a time Nelson men were out of the running, until Sergt. ! J. W. Ching captured it in 1904, when it rested here for three, successive years, Rifleman J. W. Milroy and Cblour-Sei'gt, R. M. Irvine being the two succeeding champions. The following ten men of the Nelson Defence Rifle Club are this year entermg the arena: —President, R. Kenning, Riflemen J. W. Milroy (ex-N.Z. chamgion), J. Anstice (district champion), W. :. Kenning, D. Scannel, McGuire, T. Carter, J. Manssen, C. Curnow, and E. J. Painton. According to the high scores these men have been making on their own range, and given fine weather conditions, they should return with so'me honours—if not the belt.

But beyond those immediately connected with rifle shooting, little sepms to be known about the annual N.Z. chartipictiship meeting, and we think that if a wider knowledge was gained by members of the Territorial forces, they would be encouraged to become more pi'pftpient with the rifle. There are so Biany tyrp prizes allotted (30 in e&cn match) that a vpry medium shot can enjoy a 'week's "holiday amongst r ca.l good sport 3, and win sufficient to pay all expenses, pnd a little to spare 5 iyi)ijst for the crack shot there is both much honour and cash to' be won, with ft chance of a trip to the Old Land in the BUley teajTb The total cash to be distributed at this year's meeting amounts to £1674 10s, besides many cups and shields, SPme of them valued as high as 60 guineas. All this is to be won by some four hundred odd marksmen, so that the chance of ■ one drawing a blank is small. Tents ere pitched on the spacious grounds in military style, and the commjsariftt well attended to in the large buildings erected for that purpose, A telegraph office is open »U through the meeting, ftnd everything is carried out with a thoroughness wl?ich is in an-y military undertaking.