A. H. O’DONNELL LEADING

Taranaki Daily News, 5 March 1935, Page 9

A. H. O’DONNELL LEADING

KING’S PRIZE SHOOTING

ELGAR (OKATO) AMONG LEADERS.

TARANAKI MEN SHARE PRIZES.

TRENTHAM NATIONAL MEETING.

By Telegraph—Press Association.

Trentham, Last Night.

With the completion of all the championship short range matches and one long range match at the end of the day’s shooting at the national rifle meeting at Trentham to-day, A. H. O’Donnell (Petone) is leading for the King’s Prize with an aggregate score of 286 out of 300.

The next two positions are occupied by two Napier marksmen, F. H. James and R. Nicholson, each with 282. James was the King’s Prizeman in 1913. Two more long range matches will be decided to-morrow and the 40 marksmen with the highest aggregate scores at the end of these will compete in the final match for the championship belt on Wednesday afternoon. When shooting commenced in the morning, the light was dull but fairly even. As the day advanced there were occasional' patches of sunshine which caused a mirage and, although conditions were at times tricky and required careful watching, they were not difficult to follow. Dark, low-lying clouds adversely affected visibility in the afternoon. A strong, frontal fishtail breeze also blew down the range.

High scores were fairly plentiful at 500 yards in the two-range Wellington match but back at 600 yards there were many crashes and more than one ex-King’s Prizeman returned mediocre figures. Failures were due principally to bad holding rather than to wind variations. The winner of the match was H. Cromie (Ashburton) with 98. He scored the only possible at 600 yards. Second place was filled by K. Grigsby (Morrinsville) with 96. F. H. James (Napier), who had a possible at 500 yards, finished in third place with 96. The only other possible at 500 yards was obtained by J. P. Petersen (Tararua), but at 600 yards range he dropped six points. GOOD AT SHORT RANGE. Those who did well at the short range but lost ground at the longer distance included the reigning champion, R. H. Nicholl (Petone). He dropped one point only at 500 yards but at 600 yards could not do better than 43. The last of the short range championship matches was the Hawke’s Bay match of ten rounds at 600 yards, which was won by A. H. O’Donnell (Petone) with 49. A string of bulls was broken by an inner for his second shot. Several dropped only two points, but G. G. Kelly (Auckland City) had the best finish for second place. With the completion in the afternoon of the firing in the Hawke’s Bay match, the Trentham aggregate was compiled, this being awarded for the highest aggregate scores in the short range championship belt matches. First place in the aggregate was gained by O’Donnell with 239 out of a possible of 250. The second highest score was obtained by F. H. James (Napier) with 238, and A. ; H. Cromie (Ashburton) finished in third position with 235. Six forty-nines were registered. In the Taranaki match, ten rounds at 800 yards, the first place went to L. Palmer (Otorohanga), and the next two positions in the prize list were occupied by F. H. Sharland (Nelson) and R. Congreve (Old Navals). At the end of to-day’s shooting- the following were in the lead for the- King’s Prize: A. H. O’Donnell (Petone) 286, F. H. James (Napier) 282, R. Nicholson (Napier) 282, F. Bowes (Auckland City) 281, E. Ballinger (Petone) 280, A. R. Wills (Invercargill) 280, H. H. Mclntosh (Blenheim) 279, A. R. Elgar (Okato) 279, H. V. Croxton (Karori) 279, .C. Whiteman (Upper Hutt) 279, H. Simmonds (Auckland City) 278, W. Johnson (Featherston) 278, C. J. Nix (Featherston) 278, L. E. Braithwaite (Okawa) 278.

Results to-day were:— Wellington Match. (Ten Rounds at 500 and 600 Yards.) £5—H. A. Cromie (Ashburton) 98.

£4—K. Grigsby (Morrinsville) 96. £3 each—F. H. James (Napier) 96, R. Nicholson (Napier) 95. £2 each—D. Roots (Patea) 94, F. C. Hogg (New Plymouth) 94, H. H. McIntosh (Blenheim) 94, L. Davidson (Patea) 94.

Thirty-four collected £1 each and 14 10s each.

The B grade was won by S. C. Parkinson (Auckland City) with 95.

Hawke’s Bay Match.

(Ten Rounds at 600 Yards.)

£5—A. H. O’Donnell (Petone) 49.

£4—G. G. Kelly (Auckland City) 48. £3 each—H. V. Croxton (Karori) .48, H. Simmonds (Auckland City) 48. £2 each—R. C. Anderson (Invercargill) 48, F. C. Hogg (New Plymouth) 48, E. Ballinger (Petone) 48, .G. R. Smith (Okato) 47, R. Nicholson (Napier) 47. Thirty-four took £1 each and 14 10s each.

The B grade winner was C. B. Benton (Okato) with 48.

Trentham Aggregate (for highest scores in Canterbury, Otago, Hawke’s Bay and Wellington Matches). B.S.A. Cup, B.S.A. gold medal and £5 —A. H. O’Donnell (Petone) 239. £4—F. H. James (Napier) 238. £3—H. A. Cromie (Ashburton) 235. £2 each—R. Nicholson (Napier) 234, F. Bowes (Auckland City) 234.

Ten received £1 each and 10 10s each.

Taranaki Match.

(Ten Rounds at 800 Yards.)

£5—L. Palmer (Otorohanga) 49. £3 each—F. H. Sharland (Nelson) 49, R. Congreve (Old Navals) 49. £3—H. R. Hunt (Suburbs) 49. £2 each—T. W. Warburton (Petone) 49, L. G. Benton (Featherston) 49, J. C. Carter (Petone) 48.

£1 10s each—W. H. Ballinger (Petone) 48, H. V. Croxton (Karori) 48. Thirty-three received £1 each and 14 10s each. The B grade was won by F. Booking (Cheltenham) with 48. Dr. A. F. Ritchie Crawford, Invercargill, was to-riight elected president of the National Rifle Association at the annual meeting of members. He succeeds Colonel F. B. Creswell, who recehtly announced his retirement from that office.