THE RIFLE CARNIVAL.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1067, 4 March 1911, Page 7

THE RIFLE CARNIVAL.

MEETING. : v THE OPENING DAY. nRECiSRB -ATTENDANCE" OF MARKSMEN.

(By Our Special Eepgrter.)

" A-groy dau'iv' heralded the opening day of the Now. Ztialanirriflechampionship meeting'of .1911, an{l fis tlio marksmen camo forth from : tlieirvtents many an :anxious eyo;.'was turned;' to tho eolith-east, '- : 'wheiico' r . camo 1,1 drifting over tho Trcutham hills great'- slatecoloured cloudy draped ,\vith Occasionalsquall's,.- ; .swept > across ijitije range, harbingers, .of., worso things . to follow, but. jtlioit'gh, the .menace of bad weather hung aloft, liko a sword of Damocles, " the. rain.'-lisld -off-Hhe real rain', that is, m As-a Scotchman would have put it,' '--it wis'spittiu' " all day.. 'Ther-First Parade. hugltf call for.the..first'.morning pai;a<Je of tlie comp'dtitbrs was ,'respohdby no fewertjian 592 marksmen, a Toiprd -mustei - , for tho .New . Zealand clnimpionship' meeting'. -, This breaking ot-'records iu. thq ..matter of'musters is Heqoming an. aiiiufal. affair,, ' 'arid . as liieut.-Colonei : 'Ro¥erV^Huj;hes." put it,' whbn ' addressing'the' competitors, it is hard to say where it. is going, to end. Thb. hew. defenco pclipmo.. miist certainly giye a great'lstimiilus' to the nationdl sport of rifle jslio.oting, and Trentham, tlio .tricliiest."range, in New Zealand, will, as'a corollary,'become one of the • greatest 'convincing .grounds south of the.. Line. . Tho, muster.,of riflemen .at th£, . squadding, . posts . behind , tho Stiinmervillo' rango yesterday morning" 'was. 'indeed" a great sight. Thero wero drawn" up ■ all sorts find conditions'of marksmen, in all sorts of uniform, a nondescript army recruited froniVov'eryl liftle''community, in New, Zealand, came t-o .fight the Battle of:., tho Belt—grey-beards, smoothfaces, stalwarts , from tho back of beyond. V. .. . ' ..'Addressing. tho company drawn, up, before him, Lieutenant, Colonel Huglies, nctihg-commandant. during the unavoidahlo absence ..'of 'Colonel .11. J. Collins, whose recent family bereaveiiicnt' will mako it impossible for him to appear at tho rauge-till' Monday,''referred with pleasure to Jho .yory condition of the' entry .-list, and reviewed tho. .many changes., which, under .the scbemo • of. improvements . instituted after the . previous,, meeting, had taken placo, on tho . rango (theso improvements have already publicity in Tjie. Dominion). , T]hq ; ,speaker went on toj.say that; all :; present;,would..regret the,;sad' cirounistaftqesc.whicli jiadVvendered it impossible for' Colonel , Collins to be in- his accustomed .place oh tho opening clay-of tho moeting, and as a mark of sympathy lie . would ask''the, assembled company to bo.w their lieads for a few seconds. After a Tirfef pause, Hiiches referred to the demise? sdmo 1-ime' , ago"of Liou-toiiant-Cploiiel Sommervillo, for many-years-chief- executive officer of the New Zealand,.Billo Association, and regardoclrfby triflcmien ev,cry.ivherc as -the father of, riflo shooting in .tho Dominion. The death .of .Lieutenant-Colonel /Sonimorville,- said the-speaker, would bo widely regretted.. Continuing, LieutenantColonel Hughes referred to tho recent criticisms in. the press (The Dominion) alleging laxity in tho testing of triggers, ■ and pointed out that the testing would. be. .. very . thoroughly parried out this year. Every rifle would ho tested before the commencement of; the ..first jn.ateh, ,an,d .every competitor woiild be liable to havo liis rifle" tested during tho course of the meeting. -Further', oil- championship day, the fifty men wlio competed in tho King's Prize- Match would havo their rifles tested before the commencement of the match and at the conclusion, the rifle of the obampion, as well -as any others tho rango officers might select, would be againI'.tested.'"1'.tested.'" That, considered the speaker; ought 'to bo a comprehensive safeguard' against any possiblo irregularity. • 'The. speaker then" referred to-the visit to tlio range on Monday nesrt of Major-General A. J. Godley, C,8., Commandant of-tho New Zealand Forces, : and -expressed tho hope that such a strict disciplinarian as tho General was known ;to he would have no reasort to' coniplaiii'of; fho^'results'of liis - ilispection. Casting' his eye' over ! tho nsSbriibletl company, 'Lieutenant-Colonel Hughes said that hp noticcd some laxity in tlie observanco of the rule about competitors shooting in the uniform of tlieir corps. -Members of riflo. clubs ! wero: not sonrigiilly. 'governed 'by . tlie rule, but every competitor wlio befonged to. -a territorial'corps' must wear tho uniform of his, corps, Some of those present- .had not .dpii'e so; straw, hats and- slouch-hats'"were..being .worn, and .part of. tlio r .corps uniform, have tp be cliscai'ded,. otherwise tlio:;wearers ..wojild ~not,.bo. allowed 'to slipqt..- The'Bisley shoo.ting cap, with thb, .flap, would,., .however, bo allowed. LieU'tenant-Cdloner Hiighes also (liVcbted the attentioit-'-o'f-'-tllo- 'flfon-.'-to the fact that, under tlie law, no liquor could be brought intone,'{nip.-- ■ Tho speaker.concluded, with a caution to thci.nien about goiug : .to .and -frgm the targets. The..receut, alterations to tlio range rendered., it iiiiperativo that.competitors proceeding;- to"' aild froiii the mounds should 'go by the proscribed routes, and not-"ofr-airy-nccduht to short cut-across the-,raijgc« . .inspection of tho nflCs fmlowedj. cards Were issued, . t^lc cpnii>etitprs..tt-cro. marchto the,2oo,yards nioiiuds "oii Collins and Soninier.ville .ranges,. to open nraj_in the -first match • of tho C'lntiviil; an-'Opciiing Match at .200,-500, and =600 yards;-seven shots"at"each range.' 'Thismatch* is not one bf'-the cliamriidhship ' series, and is' only;important' bv'reason ! of .tlie fact .that. it gives a v€rv fair < indication of the form of thc : eompeti- : tors', ' and also tJiat .lipoii. tlio' aggregato results, is determined .tlie winner" of the Carbino Cup.

tho loaves in autumn. In the end the winning honours of tlio opening match were awarded to Rifleman It. Stewart, of tho Weber H.C., with an aggregate score of- 100-points—33 —33 —34 —five short of tho aggregate possible. The runner-up was Corporal Wagner, of Popotunoa, with 90 points. Tho winner of the Wellington Match —a ten-shot contest at -600 yards—was Lanco-Corporal Hunt, of the Wellington Post and Telegraph Rifles, a young marksman who is on his first visit to tho Championship meeting, and only in his scooiitl season. Rifleman C. J. lfranklin, of the Weber Club, was-run-, ner-up, each man scoring the possible of 50. Tha Garbino Cup. ; ■ The Carbine Ccp, presented to the highest scoi'er in'the-opening- match— sevon shots at 200 yards, 500 yards, and COO yards—was carried off by Rifleman 11. Stewart, of the Weber Rifle Club, who holds tho cup for a year. Rifleman Stewart won his club championship-lost-year, and is leading for the same honour this year. At the receut Greytown meeting ho tied for third placo in , the optional aggregate over 500, GOO, and 800 . yards.. .He was also well up on the championship list. His scores yesterday show consistent shooting. They '-are: —200 yards; (Sighter 3), 4ccc4sc; total, 33. 500 yards: (Sighter 3),-455455c; total. 33. 600 yards: ..(Sighter 4), cecSccl: total, 34, or a grand'total of 100 out of; a possiblo 105. Tho cup wont to the Weber Club las 4 year, tho winner being F. C. Franklin' with a score of .101. , ~ '. "Possible"; Prizes. ' Special cash prizes awarded 1 to ,f tlio scorers of "possibles" during" the shooting were won by tho following marksmen, in tho opening match at 200, 500 and GOO yards:—At 200 yards: Bombai;dier Cliing, R.N.Z.A.; Rifleman S. Currie, Oliura; Rifleman A. Larsen, •Mauriceville; I'rivate Woolley, Auckland Highland Rifles. Each of these qualified for a 10s. "possiblo" prize. At 500 yards tlio possiblo prizo winners (10s. each) wero:—Corporal C. 31. Wilson, Westport; Rifleman J. D. Rivers, Olcawa; Rifleman AV. D. M'Calmont, Opaki; Bugler P. J. M'Keir/.ie, Asliburton; Riflemen W. K. Williams; Lieut. Ongley, Qamaru; Lieut. A. Gee,. Linwood; Trooper Marcnzi, Eketahuna; Col.-Scrgt. G. B. Aiken,' Feilding; Sorgt.-Major Maingay, Piako; Rifleman; A. Hyde, Okaw.a; Rifleman J.'L. Tuiv ner, Wellington. '. ;! Possiblo prizes of £1 each were awarded to Rifleman H. R. Koene, Tarar.ua; Corporal F. A.. Wagner, Popotunoa ; and A. ; Lang, Wiiimatigawa, for their success at the 600 yards rangV.

.In. the Wellington.-.match—a 10 : shot single-rango contosir-rthd''p6ssior6 r^¥fzf winners wero the first and second, men,. Lce.-Corp. Hunt, of the AA'ellington P. and T. Rifles, and Rifleman C. J. Franklin, of tho AVeber-Rifle Club, who each receive £1. '