KING’S PRIZE TO BOWES

Taranaki Daily News, 7 March 1935, Page 7

KING’S PRIZE TO BOWES

SHOOTING AT TRENTHAM TARANAKI’S WIN IN TEAMS MATCH. YOUTH TRIUMPHS ON LAST DAY. MISFORTUNE DOGS VETERANS. By Telegraph-Press Association. Wellington, Last Night. Youth triumphed over experience at Trentham to-day when the Ballinger Rifle Championship Belt, gold medal and gold badge of the National Rifle Association and the King’s Prize of £3O were won by F. Bowes (Auckland City), who is 27 years of age. An extraordinary feature of the final was that five tied for second place. As a result of the subsequent shoot-offs this was filled by R. Congreve (Old Navals). Congreve is 21 years old and both he and Bowes competed at the national meeting this year for the third time. W. N. Masefield, who was runner-up for the belt last year, finished third. Conditions were tricky for the final match for the King’s Prize, a variable south-east wind blowing across the range. The King’s Forty fired in . two batches, the last 20 firing first and the first 20 shooting last. When they went down at the mounds for the final ten rounds at 900 yards, A. R. Wills (Invercargill) had a three-point lead over Bowes. Wills is 68 years of age. This veteran marksman could not master the conditions. Wills shot on target No. 15 and Bowes on target No. 16 and it was around their score boards that the majority of spectators gathered. Bowes was by a long way the first of the. leading men to finish and with his 46 in the final match .he had an aggregate of 466 out of a possible 500. His performance was a brilliant one, for there was a margin of . eight points between his and the next highest ecores. The rapidity with which he got his shots away was an outstanding feature of his shooting. Wills could not do better than 37 to share an aggregate score of 458 with Congreve, Masefield, F. H. James (Napier) and L. G. Benton (Featherston). A shoot-off was therefore necessary among these five. This also resulted in a further tie between Masefield, Congreve and James, who each made 22. Benton with 19 took fifth place and Wills had to be content with sixth position. Misfortune had again dogged Wills for in his shoot-off he put a shot on the wrong target. CONGREVE’S BULLSEYE.

The second shoot-off was on the basis of shot for shot. Congreve had a bullseye. Masefield a four and James a three which gave them second, third and fourth positions. , , In the King’s Prize match the Rifle Challenge Cup is awarded and a shootoffi was also necessary to decide this. Congreve, Bowes and L. H. Proffitt (Napier) each had 46. Five shots were fired, Proffitt making the best score with 24 and winning the cup.

The championship belt is returning to Auckland after an absence of 43 years. The last King’s Prizeman from that city was Sergeant Doughty who won the championship in 1893. Since Bowes first came to Trentham three years ago he has competed with marked success. He is the holder of the South Auckland championship and the Auckland miniature rifle championship. . Congreve has been member , of the Old Navals Club for the past four years. He made his first appearance -at the national meeting at Trentham four years ago, when he/shot as a tyro. He missed two meetings but competed last year ,as a B grade shot and this year as an A grade competitor. After his success Bowes was chaired and carried shoulder high by his club mates to the Y.M.C.A. hall where prizes and trophies were presented by Lieuten-ant-Colonel E. Puttick. Twenty-five, teams competed in the champion teams , match which was fired in the morning. Teams consisted of four men, who each had to fire seven rounds at 300, 500 and 600 yards. Variable lightand rapid wind changes made sighting difficult but in spite of these conditions there were some good individual scores. The New Plymouth No. 1 team vjoh with a score of 388 out of a possible 420. The service championship, the final match of.- which was also/ fired during the morning, was won by R. H. Nichoil (Petone). With his finaV ten rounds application at 600 yards,/Nichoil made 41, this bringing his aggregate up to 200 out of a possible 265. F. A. .Hiscock (Christchurch), who had one point lead in the service forty could not do better than 38 in the final match and finished second with 198 •'

Results are as' follow:— King’s Prize. t Ballinger Belt, gold medal and gold badge of the National Rifle Association and £30 —F. Bowes (Auckland City), 46 464 N.R.A. silver star and badge and £l5. —R. Congreve (Old NavaldA 46 ... 4jB N.RA. silver star and badge an<\£lo. —W. N. Masefield (Blenheim);., 43 458 N.R.A. silver star and badge and £B. —F. H. James (Napier), 42 \4.>B The following take £5 each: L. -£r. Benton' (Featherston), 42, 458; A. R. Wills (Invercargill), 37, 458. £3 each: J. C. Carter (Petone), 44, 456; L. H. Proffitt (Napier), 46, 454. £2 each: C. J. Nix (Featherston), 43, 454- A. H. O’Donnell (Petone), 38, 454; H. ’Simmonds (Auckland City), 43, 454; F. J. Soler (Wanganui), 42, 453. £1 each: C. Whiteman (Upper Hutt), 44, 452; R. Nicholson (Napier), 43, 452; F. H. Sharland (Nelson), 43, 451; K. Grigsby (Morrinsville), 40, 451; H. W. Feast (Greytown), 43, 450; H. V. Croxton (Karori), 42, 450; F. C. Hogg (New Ply-/ mouth), 44, 449; W. Johnson (Feather-; ston), 44, 448; D. McKenzie (Opaki), 44, 448; D. Roots (Patea), 39, 448; H. Thompson (Woodville), 41, 447; A. R. Elg»ir (Okato), 40, 447; L. E. Braithwaite (Okawa). 41, 446; R. H. Nichoil (Petorie), 41, 445; W. N. Kummer (Opaki), 40, <145; W. H. Ballinger (Petone), 39, 445; J/ C. Feast (Greytown), 38, 445; I. J. Spry (Auckland City), 40, 444; P. W. Congreve (Old Navals), 40; 443; B. B. Jones (Nelson), 39, 443; Ballinger (Petone), 39, 443; J. McKelvie (Karori), 36, 440; F. 14'. McVicar (Waipukurau), 36, 440; H.,' King (Opaki), 34, 439; F. Booking (Cheltenham), 32, 439; R. C. Anderson cargill), 30, 435; W. Norris (Whangarei), 29, 434; H. C. Percy (Alfredton), 26, 30. ) Other results are:— ; Service Cliampionship. (Aggregate Scores all Service Matches.) Ross Carbine Champion Belt, N.R.A. gold medal and £5—R. H. Nichoil (Petone) 200 N.R.A. silver medal and £3—F. A. Hiscock (Christchurch) ...i. 198 N.R.A. bronze medal and N. Masefield (Blenheim) j 196 The following take £1 each; F. J. Soler (Wanganui), 192; H. R. Hiimt (Suburbs), 191; C. J. Nix (Featherston), 190; G. G. Kelly (Auckland City), 190; J. E. Fardley (Wanganui), 189; S. C.I Parkinson (Auckland City), 188; C. H. Gower (Wanganui), 186. < Champion Teams’ Matcl/. (Teams 4 men; 7 rounds 300, 500;' 600yds.) District Challenge Shield and; four miniature cups and £l2—New

Plymouth No. 1 <F. C. Hogg 96, A. R. Elgar 100, 0. P. George 94, C. B. Benton 98) ..388 £B—Opaki No. 1 387 £6—Wanganui No. 1 386 £s—Wanganui No. 2 .............. . 385 £4: Invercargill No. 1 . 382