RIFLE SHOOTING

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 77, 31 March 1931, Page 11

RIFLE SHOOTING

FIXTURES, April 3, 4 and 6—Otago Rifle Association annual championships, at Dunedin. April 3, 4 and 6—South Island Rifle Championship meeting, at Blenheim. April 14—Christchurch Miniature Rifle Association; entries close for all grades in Winter Tournament matches. April 27—Matches commence in Christchurch M.R. Association Winter Tournament. Pinal Days at Treat ha in. When the National Rifle Meeting was resumed on the third day at Trentham the conditions could not have been worse. The weather was fine, but threatening, with a strong “ fish tail ” wind blowing down the range. The wind changed with such marked Quickness that it required, at times, alterations of windage from four degrees right to four degrees left. Shooting was not by any means easy, even for the more skilled shots. In the afternoon the wind increased in velocity to almost gale force, accompanied by heavy rain, and competitors, clad in overcoats, lav on sodden waterproof ground-sheets under pelting rain. So atrocious did the weather become that at 3.30 the executive were compelled to conclude the shooting for the day. Short Range Matches. The last of the short-range matches in the belt series, the Canterbury Match, ten rounds at 600yds, was completed halfway through the morning, the winner being Rifleman C. J. Nix. of Feather* ston, with a possible. Second and third places were filled, by Rifleman W. H. West, of Blenheim, and E. A. Ballinger, of Petone, re_spectively, each having a score of 47. The B grade was won by Rifleman W. Oakley, of Christchurch, with 46, and the tyro grade by Rifleman J. Mkenzie, of Opaki, with 44. With the completion of the Canterbury Match all the short-range matches in the belt series had been completed. For the highest aggregate scores in these matches the Trentham Aggregate is awarded, the winner of which was Rifleman W. M’lver, of Petone, with a score of 192 out of a possible 200. His success in the aggregate lfieant that at this stage Rifleman M’lver was holding the leading position he had in the contest for the King’s Prize at the end of firing m the first. two short-range matches—the Marlborough Match and the Wellington Match. first Loif Sange Match. After"flring In the Canterbury Match competitors moved hack for their first long range in the Belt series, the Taranaki Match, ten rounds at SOO and 900 yards. The first range was completed before the luncheon adjournment, and firing at 900yds was carried out in pouring rain in the early afternoon. The match was won by Rifleman V. K. Donald, of Opaki. with a score of 92—an excellent score considering the treacherous conditions that prevailed, more particu- £ rJy n T the afte ™°on. Captain W. N. Masefield was second with 91. and Rifleman H. V. troxton third with 90. The winner In the B grade was Rifleman R. I. Wells, ol Paeroa, with an 8 7, and T y J n ,* h i e tyro P rade went to Rifleman I. A. Coleman, of Karori. with Xing's Prize. Rifli fl Cb, a h n .¥7 v ? r - of the Petone Rifie Club, was “chaired" at Trentham i?® 1 r, e , a . K tlle champion marksman of t?,® J s, ominmn, and the winner of the Kings Prize of £2o, the Ballinger Rifle Champion Belt and the gold medal and the gold badge ot the National Rifle Association. Shooting with the superb consistency that characterised his markman ship throughout the meeting Co6l ai2j & colle< ?ted In spite of M4ver r fi‘, > ,lY 0 o V<i about him, Muter finished with 4G for his final ten rounds at 900yds. this bringing his aggregate up to 423 out of a possibll "'*nt to ‘he firing Stmin w ' lOn S 3 Brize Match. Rifleman VV M Iver was leading with linger bein'.?™ 016 ’ R iflen,an E. A. Balungei, being in second place with 374 mn-e V-? 1 . a * 7 _n"ould make him mtv inlJ ,?*"* S. Before the King's to 9.k their places for their final m Y°„ U Y S at 900 yards . it seemed al- " - , :l foregone conclusion that MTyer would wm the King's. And so i‘ ra*. a ou?h ont w a i,g fl h fti tne bull, and sometimes out to the extreme edge of the targets for the lowest score a marksman can obtain—a two, commonly called an “outer.” Conditions called for caution. M Iyer wasted no time on the mounds. ° ne the flrst to c °mplete his Sl£}tJ£. n r °, Un ? 3 ‘ Discarding his two sighteis, which were threes, his first counting shot was also a three. Allowing another degree for windage he A° „ his Secon d and third shots in the bull. With his next two shots he could not do better than lnners,’ but from then on he kept “on e ,V lack * . and finished with a string of bulls Finishing with a 46, the King’s then became his, for Ballinger, who could with that score have beaten him With a possible, had already dropped a point or so. The well-known Wairarapa marksman, Rifleman C. J. Nix. wa«* runner-up for the King’s with a score two points less than that of the King’s Prizeman. j.; j.; The Kew Champion. Seldom out of the King’s Fifty for some years past, Rifleman M’lver has been a formidable opponent in the annual struggle for the King’s Prize, for ‘when he settles down there are fewer finer marksmen than he. Last year he finished in third position, and on various other occasions since 1914 he has shot into seventh, eleventh, and fifteenth place. A builder" and contractor by occupation, M’lver shoots with the Petone Rifle Club. He was a member of the New Zealand team that visited Australia about two years ago, and on that occasion he won the “Argus and Australasian” Aggregate for the highest aggregate score on the flrst day of the meeting. Twelve months ago last October he attended the annual meeting of the New South Wales National Rifle Association, and on the Anzac range at Liverpool, against some of the foremost marksmen of the Commonwealth, won the Prince of Wales Match. He was also a member of the New Zealand team which met an Australian team at Trentham at the national rifle championships there in 1929. Three years ago M’lver led into the King’s Fifty, but crashed badly when firing the final ten rounds at 900 yards. tt tt tt Otago Championships. The Otago Rifle Association will hold their annual championship meeting at Pelichet Bay range, Dunedin, next Friday and Saturday, April 3 and 4. A large number of Canterbury men * are

competing-, and Christchurch clubs will also be represented. The prize money totals £22S, including 74 tyro and Territorial prizes. On Easter Monday, the Ladies’ and Ashburton Challenge Shield matches will be fired. Christchurch and Sydenham will be represented by one each. A full account of the meeting will appear in this column next Tuesday. Previous Belt Winners. Since 1910 the champion belt lias been won by the following:— 1910— G. Halliday, Karori Rifle Club. 1911— D. Roots, Kaponga Rifle Club. 1912 L. Loveday, Linton Rifle Club. 1913 F. H. James, Okawa Rifle Club. 1914 — W. N. Masefield, Sounds Rifle Club. 1915 —No competition. 1919 R. J. King, Opaki Rifle Club. 1920 IT. V. Croxton, Karori Rifle Club. 1921 E. E. Vennell, Te Wharau Rifle Club. 1922 D. Roots, Hawera. Rifle Club. 1923 L. Loveday, Linton Rifle Club. 1924 H. Simmonds, Wanganui Rifle Club. 1925 — D. J. Anderson, Kaituna Rifie Club. 1926 — L. A. Caldwell, Karori Rifle Club. 1927 — D. Roots, Patea Rifle Club. 1928 E. S. King, Wanganui Rifle Club. 1929 W. N. Masefield, Blenheim Rifle Club. 1930 R- Berry, Tararua Rifle Club. 1931 W. M’lver, Petone Rifle Club. Miniature Botes. Two matches were fired last week, the first, between Returned Soldiers’ and a Cashmere team, proving a win for the former by eleven points. H. Brake, with a possible for the winners, was top score for the match. The second match was that between New. Brighton and another team from Cashmere, and resulted in a win for Cashmere. The scores were as follows: Returned Soldiers—H. Brake 70. C. Wear 69, Dobson 69, Bassett 69, D. Murray 68, Burgess 68, D. Harries 68, C. Farley 68; total 549. Cashmere— r W. Guy, jun, 69, W. J. Gabb 68, D. M’Donald 68, L. Ragg 68, A. Craw 67, E. Grafton 66. G. Naylor 66, D. Barr 6G; total 538. Cashmere —D. M’Donald 70, L. Carlyle 69, A. A. Taylor 69, E. Grafton 68. L. Ragg 68, W. Ragg 67, S. Clark 67, V. Guy 66; total 544. New Brighton—H. Ragg 70, F. Lee 69, P. Millar 68. E. Topp 67, R. Turner 67, A. Watson 67, V. Tims 66, T. Hobbs 65; total 539. tt 22 All entries for the Winter Tournament matches close on Tuesday, April 14. W. H. Harris, Ltd., will again be competing this season. A strong junior team will probably be the only entry from this club. The Cashmere Club commenced their competitions last evening. Several excellent scores were put on. and the shooting generally was the best since the opening night. Possibles were registered by S. H. Clark, E. Grafton, G. Naylor and H. Mason. Other good scores were:—W. Guy, jun, 69, F. Haworth 69, A. Herne 69 and A. A. Taylor 69. Practice will be held next week on Tuesday evening, New Brighton Ladies. The. New’ Brighton Ladies’ Outdoor Miniature Rifle Club fired a match recently against West Melton, conditions being seven shots at two ranges. The following were the scores:— NEW BRIGHTON.

563 WEST HELTON. 75 100

538 At the conclusion of the match the visitors were entertained to tea in the Aranui Hall, when the prizes for the outdoor season were presented, as fol—'Men’s championship: L. Ragg 1, y- A. Guy 2. Ladies’ championship: Mrs Caldwell 1, Miss Corser 2. Men’s aggregate: L. Ragg 1. Ladies’ aggregate: Mrs Caldwell 1. Miss Parks’s trophies (Society of Miniature Rifle Club silver spoons): L. Ragg and Mrs Caldwell. Mrs Burmeister’s trophv; Mrs Nicliolls 3, Mrs M’Clelland 2. Competitions: L. Ragg, D. Turner, Miss Corser, Miss Bamford, Mrs Buschl, Mrs Caldwel and Mrs Chapman. In the evening the visiting' team attended the official opening of the winter season of the Ladies’ Club, which was followed by a match on the indoor range, the visitors winning by 25 points. Present were the Mayor and Mayoress (Mr and Mrs J. H. Shaw), Messrs G. W. Bishop, J. Buschl, and A. Newton (vicepresidents), and Mrs Newton. The Mayor, in his opening speech, wished the club a successful season, the Mayoress and Mrs Newton firing the opening shots, each scoring a bullseye. At the conclusion of the match the Mayoress, president of the club, addressed the visitors, and Mr W. Oakley, sen., suitably responded. Supper concluded one of the most enjoyable evenings on record. The match scores were:— WEST MELTON. J. Simms cs S. Pascoe . . 67 P. Roper OS S. Walker 64 W. Oakley, jun 67 R. Walker 68 W. Oakley, sen 66 11. Roper 65 L. M’llwraith 67 600 NEW BRIGHTON LADIES. Miss Parle 61 Mrs Ball 66 Mrs Ragg 67 Mrs M’Clelland 62 Mrs Buschl 65 Mrs Nicholls 62 Miss Corser 65 Miss Tilley short 61 Mrs Watson 66 , 575

75 100 _ , yds. yds. Total Mrs Buschl 35 34 69 Ij. Ragg- i. 95 32 67 J. Buschl 32 32 64 W. Horner 32 31 63 Mrs Caldwell .... 33 30 63 Miss Corser 33 20 62 Mrs Nicholls .... 28 31 59 Mrs M'Clelland .. 27 31 58 Mrs Ball 31 27 .5S

j. Si mins yds. yds. Total W. Oakley, jun'. ’ ! 33 31 G4 R. Roper . 34 29 63 L. M’llwraith .. * 32 27 60 R. Roper 33 2 a 59 A. Summerfield . 28 29 57 R. Walker . 32 25 57 S. Fascoe . 21 2 4 55