RIFLE AND RANGE

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18640, 18 December 1928, Page 15

RIFLE AND RANGE

WITH THE .303 :: :: :: :: By “ TRIGGER.”

FIXTURES. December 26—Canterbury Rifle Championships at Redcliffs. January I —Wellington Rifle Championships, at Trentham. February 7 and following days—New Zealand Rifle Championships at Trentham. Oakes Shield Match. The first Oakes Challenge Shield match of the present season was fired at Redcliffs on Saturday afternoon in fine weather. The Sydenham Defence Rifle Club, which has held the shield since January, 1927, was defeated by the challengers, the Ashburton Defence Rifle Club. The latter were making their third attempt to lift the trophy from the present holders, and were on this occasion successful. Ashburton were the original holders, having won the trophy when it was first competed for some five years ago. The match was very interesting, and though Ashburton won by a fair margin, it was* a good contest,- as both teams were level at the conclusion of second range. Opening Range, 300yds. At the opening range of 300yds the shooting was only fair, and no scores of any exceptional merit were put on. Ashburton were seven points up on the holders at the conclusion. The top Score was a moderate one of 32 put on by R. Hay, of Sydenham, and F. Porter, of Ashburton. The visitors were more consistent than the shield-holders, having only one score under 30. The scores for each team on going back to 500 yards were: Ashburton 244, Sydenham 237. « H X At 600yds. The holders shot much better at 500yds, and managed to draw level with their opponents', Sydenham putting on 255 to Ashburton’s 248. S. O. Hay, for Sydenham, had the honour at this range of putting up the best score for the day, namely 34, one off the possible. Hay’s score card read: 5,5, 5,5, 5,5, 4. A Barker and R. Hay were also in the limelight for Sydenham by notching 33 each. D. F. Keir, for Ashburton, was top scorer with 33, his card reading: 4,5, 4. 5,5, 5, 5. H. Cromie was next with 32. Final Range, 600yds, With both teams even in totals the match again in a very interesting stage. The light was very bad throughout the shoot at 600yds, and with a tricky wind it was making things very hard for both sides. The scoring was very low, and Ashburton averaged under 30 points out of a possible 35. Sydenham had three men who went to pieces and shot very badly. L. C. Pimm was unfortunate in commencing with a miss, and then his next shot a two, being eight points down in two shots. Then R. Hay, who had per-

formed so well at the two previous ranges, also collapsed, notching the low total of 24. Sydenham’s bad luck did not stop here, as W. R. Barrett, with the exception of one bulls-eve, put on a possible of threes. Sydenham had now lost any chance they may have had of retaining the trophy. Though Ashburton had no scores over 31 they shot much more consistently, and eventually won by sixteen points. The top-scorer at this range was again S._ O. Hav, the well-known Sydenham rifleman, who put on a good 33, making him the top aggregate scorer for the match with 97 off the rifle. Another good performance was that of D. F. Kerr, president of the Ashburton Club, in putting on a total of 95 at the three ranges. He and F. ( lark were also top scorers for their team at the concluding range. ... Ashburton deserved their win m the wav they fought so keenly on the two previous occasions. The holders so far since the competition was first introduced have been Ashburton, Christchurch Railways. Christchprch Defence Club, Sydenham Defence Club, and now the original holders have again obtained possession. Future challengers will make the journey to Ashburton, as the trophy is to be fired for on the holders’ ground. Notes. The Christchurch Defence Club fired their third short range competition at Redcliffs on Saturday over 500 and 600 yards. The conditions were ten shots at each range and two optional sighters. Conditions were fairly good at 500 yards, but the light and a tricky wind was much against good scores at 600 yards. A good shoot was put on by H. Harris at 500 yards notching 47 out of a possible 50. N. Wood and C. Wear also shot well at this distance, putting on 45 each. On going back to 600 yards, scoring fell away, and 44 was the top score, this being put on by N. Wood, who shot consistently at both ranges. Other fair scores under the conditions ruling were: Piper 42, R. Neill 42 and H. Harris 42. » X % President D. F. Keir of the Ashburton Defence Club has been asked tb join the New Zealand rifle team to the Victorian championship meeting to be held in Melbourne in February. The Canterbury Rifle Association has everything in hand for a championship meeting which is to be held on Wednesday next (Boxing Day). A splendid programme has been arranged and besides the large amount allotted to the cash side of the programme there are a number of valuable trophies to be competed for. The programme includes a service match and four other matches to be fired over 300, 500 and 600 yards ranges. Given fine weather, the meeting should be one of the most successful 3 r et held by the association.