TRENTHAM SHOOTING

Taranaki Daily News, 4 March 1935, Page 3

TRENTHAM SHOOTING

CHAMPION BELT SERIES FORD WINS THE CANTERBURY. C. B. BENTON IN PRIZE MONEY. By Telegraph—Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. Difficult shooting conditions were experienced at Trentham yesterday, when competitors at the 'annual meeting of the National Rifle Association started the championship belt series of matches.-Two one-range matches, each at 300 yards, were fired in a frontal fish-tail wind from the south-east. With a dull light and a quickly changing mirage sighting on the small tin-hat target was by no means easy. The fact that not one full score was returned is sufficient proof that the weather was tricky. Most of the low scores could be attributed to loss of elevation rather than to wind changes. ■’ ' Four marksmen dropped one point only in the first match of the championship series, the Canterbury match. They were A. A. Ford (InvercargilD, F. H. James (Napier), L. E; Braithwaite (Okawa) and C. J. Nix (Featherston). Ford, however, had the best finish and took first prize. James and Braithwaite had identical figures and divided the second and third prize money between them. Nix had to be content with fourth place. Forty-sixes were counted out of the prize money. W. N. Kummer (Opaki) finished first in the B grade with 48 and received £3. Second and third places were filled'by C. B. Benton (Okato) and D. Lundy (Bulls), each with 48. They received £2 each.

Country marksmen were to the fore in the Otago match, in which first and second places were filled by W. Johnson (Featherston) and J. H. Thompson (Woodville), each with 49. The next two positions in the prize list were occupied by C. J. Nix (Featherston) and H. C. Whiteman (Upper Hutt), each with 48. The general standard of shooting in this match was not so high as that in the Canterbury match, 10 forty-fives managing to get into the prize money. W. Norris (Whangarei) was the winner of the B grade match, with 48. With the same score W. McChesney (Invercargill) and J. H. Croxton (Karori) finished second and third respectively. Wanganui maintained its reputation for service shooting of a consistently, high standard, that club’s No. 1 team repeating last year’s success by again winning the champion service teams’ match. This /

match is fired concurrently with the general service matches and is open to teams of four men. Eighteen teams entered for the match, which carries with it, in addition to a cash prize of £4, the Sir Logan' Campbell Shield. The Dawson Shield and the Islington Cup will also go to the Wanganui team as the winner respectively of the rapid-fire match and tile competition. The members of the winning teams were F. J. Soler, C. H. Gower, J. E. Farley and J. L. Ford. With, a combined aggregate of 541 out of a possible 860, the three first-mentioned marksmen were in the champion team last year. The Auckland City team was second, with 533, and Opaki No. 1 third, with 514. / i - Results were:—

Canterbury Match. (Ten rounds at 300 yards.) £5: A. A. Ford (Invercargill), 49; ! £3 10s. each: F. H. James (Napier) 49, L. E. Braithwaite (Okawa) 49. * £3: C. J. Nix (Featherston) 49. £2 each: O. P. George (New Plymouth) 48, I. L. Ford (Wanganui) 48, R. H. Nicholl (Petone) 48, A. H. O’Donnell (Petone) 48. Thirty-four collected £1 each and 14 10s each. The winner of the B grade was W. A. Kummer (Opaki) with 48. OTAGO. MATCH. (Ten rounds at 300 yards.) ■ £5: W. Johnson (Featherston), 49. £4: J. H. Thomson (Woodville) 49. - £3 . each: C. J. Nix (Featherston) ’4B, C. Whiteman (Upper Hutt) 48. £2 each: H. C. Percy (Alfredton) .48, F. H. James. (Napier) 48, R. Nicholson (Napier) 48, E. Ballinger (Petone) 48.; Thirty-four took £1 each and 14 10s each. ’'' ,J' ’ . The B grade was won by W. Norris (Whangarei) with 48.