RIFLE SHOOTING.

Taranaki Daily News, 7 March 1921, Page 3

RIFLE SHOOTING.

DOMINION MEETING. ! SATURDAY'S RESULTS. By Telegraph —Press Association. JVellington, March 5. Trentham awoke this morning with a very restricted horizon, a dense fog filling every part of the valley and blotting out all detail of anything a couple of hundred yards away. The men squadded promptly at 7.30 for the Westland match, but as the targets were quite obscured some time passed before a move was made for the rounds. Even when they did march off the vapour was so thick that a body of a couple of hundred men at 200 yards distance looked a blurred conglomeration of ghostly anovUig shapes that came and went without apparent rhyme or reason. The first men ready to fire at 300. yards had to wait some minutes, and it was 8,35 before the first shot was got off, one hour late. There was no wind, but as tte sun struggled into sight, sending down torrid rays, the heat made steam rise from the sodden grass in shimmering eddying wreaths, while the last of the fog slowly lifted from the back of the targets. The marksmen had their work cut out to keep the elevation, and the scores reflected tteir difficulties, and everything above 30 for seven shots was good. By 10 o'clock the fog had quite gone, but passing clouds made the light patchy, while a rear breeze sprang up and, assuming some of the tricky fishtail characteristics for which Trentham is notorious, made holes In the scores at 500 and 600 yards. The commencement of tte Westland match, seven shots at 300, 500 and 600 yards was delayed by a thick fog, which eventually gave place to roaming heat with alternative bright and dull light, all of which knocked the elevation about badly in many cases.

A scorching afternoon followed the rising of the heated morning fog, and there was really good shooting, the light breeze from the rear having just enough kick to keep the marksmen thinking and watching the tell-tale flags. The Westland match was completed by midday, and after lunch several teams (matches, wherein twenty-two teams of five men entered, with a cadet series, an extra match, and the running man kept the men busy. In the casualty competition, six shots at 200 yards, the Te Kuiti Rifle Club team won, taking tte Islington Cup and £7. The Te Kuiti senior cadets came second, and Karori No. 1 third.

The superiority of fire, eight shots at 300 yards, was won by the P.pBt and Telegraph Engineers (Wellington), with a score of 71, taking £7 and Club Coffee Cup, the G.H.Q. School (Trentham) being second with 69, and Karori ClUb third with 66.

The Machine Gun Rescue, 300 yards, was won by the Post and Telegraph (Wellington) A team, taking the Dawson Shield and £7. The Petone Rifle Club were second and Christchurch No. 1 third 1 .

The Sir Logan Campbell Shield, which was awarded for the best aggregate score in the three service matches just mentioned, fell U) tte Post and Telegraph (Wellington( A, with Te Kuiti as runners-up.

The individual service aggregate, which concludes with the running man event, cannot be officially announced till Monday, as some of the men have not shot yet. The following half-dozen, however, are not likely to be displaced: D. McLeay (Te Kuiti) 197, R. J. King (Opaki) 195, R. E. Hfester (Wellington) 192, H. L. Frank (TLmaru) 186, J. C. Nicholls (Bruce) 186, A. J. Henderson (Sounds) Following are the leading prize winners in the Westland match, 300, 500 and 600 yards, seven shots each, possible 105 £5—P. Piper (Christchurch) ioo £4—Captain Nielson (Napier) 94 £4—H. G. Diy (Nelson) 97 £3—S. Elliott (Auckland) 97 £3—C. J. Nix (Featherston) 9g Capt. W. N. Masefield (Marlborough) 95 £2 —H. Glynn (Glenavy) / 95 £2—H. V. Croxton (Karori) 95 £2—S. McNabb (Dannevirke) 95 £2—C. G. Engstrom (Opaki) 94 Ten other 94’s, three 93’s, eighteen 92's, seventeen 91’s, and a 90 got £1 each. The senior cadet match, seven shots at 200, 500, and 600 yards, was won by J. R. Baird (Hamilton), with a score of 93, G. Allan (Auckland) being second with 84. Though it is early yet to speculate on the possible belt winner, it is interesting to note that, with two matches completed, R. Piper (Christchurch) leads with 190 out of a possible of 205, Croxton (Karori) being next with The extra match in the afternoon., the first seven shots at 900 yards, was won by A. J. Dodd (Wellington Suburbs), who beat his clubmate, C. Whiteman, on the count. Burk 34, and W. H. West (Blenheim) followed with 33, eight getting 32’s and four 31’s also got into money. The second extra seven shots at 900 yards fell to Healey (Ohura) with 33. Eleven 32’s followed, McNabb/ (Dannevirke) handing in the best card, and three 31’s formed the tail of the queue at the pay box. The successful competitors in the extra matches divide the entrance fees, taking £1 each.