TRENTHAM RIFLE MEETING

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 331, 5 March 1910, Page 8

TRENTHAM RIFLE MEETING

NI?W ZEALAND RIFLE ASSOC 1A- ! TIOX. I FRAXKLIX WINS THE CARBIXE | CUP. j I TARAXAKI RIFLEMEN START WELL i By Telegraph.—Press Association. TrenthainT'Last Night. Firing- commenced at Trentham at, one o'clock. Previous to that, Colonel Collins addressed the men, and spoke; of the progress of the Association, which this year saw ,39ft ■competitors, as ( against 252 last year. He also con- ; ' gratulated the New Zealanders upon the , number of representative Australian rifle shots among them. He hoped to finish the championship series (with, the exception of the King's Match), in j addition to the service and teams' matches, Sy Wednesday night, leaving. only the Empire match, champion teams ] match, and the King's match to fired, j All parts of New- Zealand, as well as New South Wales and Victoria, were represented. The first matches taken were the volunteer and rifle club matches, which were fired in conjunc-' tion. The ranges were 200, 500 and 600 yards, the ordinary bull's-eye target be-' ing used at 200 yds, and the green and brown target, with a male khaki figure, at the longer ranges. The latter is a distinct innovation. The greater num-1 her of competitors used the new aperture sight, which has given the greatest | impetus to shooting that it has ever re- J ceived. As a consequence, a number of men who had given up shooting have { taken up the sport againWhen shooting started the light was absolutely dead. A drifting rain and a light puffy wind upset even the most experienced. A number, however, got 34, among them being W. H. Cutler (of Bathurst) and King (Christchurch). Shortly after the start of the 300 yds, the rain ceased. King finished with 34, which gives him a total of 08 for the two ranges. Next came F. Franklin, Mansfield, Marshall, Thorpe and Kells, each with 67. At 600 yds, matters were still tricky, but King,' with 30, brought his total to 98. Marshall got 33, which placed him in the lead for the rifle clubs-' match in tHe 600 yds. He was, however, speedily displaced by F. Franklin, of Weberj who planked on 34, and won the match. None of the "volunteers succeeded in beating King, who was returned the winner.

Captain Dormer, of Auckland, aged 72, who had not fired for ten years, discovered that he could still shoot with reliability, and put up 93 in the match, getting well into the prize list. . The following were the possibles at 500yds:—G. Crimp (Green Island), Smart (Wellington), Liddle (Lincoln), Bryant (Waihiika); at 600 yds, Jjpnes (Dunedin) and Price (Wellington). The following is the prize list:— RIFLE CLUBS MATCH, 200, 500 and 600 yds; seven'shots, , ..„* F. Franklin (Weber), £5 .. .. 101 Marshall (Karori)," £4 . ... -a* 100 Roots (Kaponga), £3 - < .. .. 99 Thorpe (Stratford), £2 .. ' '.. 98 Oliver (King Country), £2 ..' . • 96 Masefield (Sounds), £2 .. ..96 Caldwell (Karori), £2 .. .. Mb Twenty won £1 each. VOLUNTEER MATCH, 200, 500 and 600 yds. King (Linvvood), £5 99, Ching (Lyttelton), £5 .. ..OS 1 Marenzi (Eketahuna), £3 .. .. 98 J Head (Rangitikei), £3 .. ..97 Price (Wellington), £2 .. ..96 j Wakelin (Wellington), £2 .. .. 90! I Kells (Palmerston North), £2 .. 96 ' ; Domigan (Gore), £2 .. .. 96 ! Fifty won £l. prizes and 15 tyros re-1 ctive £1 each. Franklin wins the Carbine Cup. ■ , USE OF MATCH BARRELS. I •TARANAKI VOLUNTEER'S PROTEST' The following letter, signed "Ten' Years an Efficient Volunteer," and for-j warded from New Plymouth, appeared in Friday's New Zealand Times:—Will J the Defence authorities enlighten the i volunteer companies and rifle dull) men I competing at Trentham why they sus-! pended the rules of the Defence Associa-1 tion to permit match barrels to be used ' this year at Trentham? Is it because I tDe Australian team is coming to com- ] pete? Well, as one swallow does not 1 -•make a summer, and as this team will | not pay the whole of the expenses at I Trentham, it is manifestly unfair to ; tie other 600 competitors that have to j pay their own expenses, nominations,, Tioard a,nd challenges (which, by the j way, Is too stiff, 2s 6d each challenge). which amounts to a goodly sum. Of course we know that 75 per cent, of the j members of rifle clubs and volunteers j cannot afford a match barrel; and, moreover, if New Zealand is ever threatened by an enemy the Government of j the day will not rely on one or two dozen match barrels but on the rack rifles which are issued to the volunteers and rifle clubs. These have been served out to use. We have served the purpose for which" we enlisted and now compulsory training fs in .view the Delenee authorities have turned round and *»id: "We nave always barred match barrels, but we have got no further need of you lot. that is, the volunteers, and you can got to Trentham and compete against the best barrels of the .world some ot Australia's best marksmen I at the back of those barrels." Trusting some abler pen than mine will ventilate l this matter.