RIFLE SHOOTING.

Taranaki Daily News, 28 February 1922, Page 3

RIFLE SHOOTING.

THE: PAPAWAt MEETING. YESTERDAY’S RESULTS. \ CHANGE IN THE LEADERS. By Telegraph—Press Association. Greytown, Last Night. Interest in the progress of the rifle championship quickened to-day in a marked degree as each of the two long-range matches was completed. The weather was fine all day, but the light was variable, and the wind, though generally steady, had occasional touches of perversity that spoiled promising scores. The nett result so far as the championship is concerned is that there has been an interesting double shuffle among the four leading men. Saturday evening saw them placed thus: Guy 352, West 350, Pimm 350, Roots 349. At midday to-day, after ten shots at 900 yards in the Hawke’s Bay match, the positions were: West 398, Guy 397, Roots 397, Pimm 393. At the conclusion of the day, when the men got up from the Buchanan match, the four were in this order: Roots 446, Guy 444, West 443, Pimm 441.

The shooting all day was exceedingly good, as a glance at the prize list scores will show, and the interest never flagged. At 900 yards Duncan and Piper each got on the possible, while three 49’s were registered, and 45’s were counted out. Guy only got 45 and West and Roots pulled 48 each out of it. Pimm had a hard luck shoot, getting a ricochet in the middle of his score, and finishing with 43 out of a possible 45 for the other nine shots. When the men went down at the 800 yards after lunch the top men had to wait till almost last before firing, and meanwhile F. Nichols set the ball rolling with a possible, and 49’s appeared on several boards. Guy was the first down of those at the head of the fist, and he put on a useful 47. Roots bettered this with 49, with five bulls, an inner and three fives to finish. Pimm made a fine 48. West had to get 48 to equal Roots; he struck a puffy patch after getting four bulls, and then the diqps showed 3,4, 5,3, 5,5, making the range total 45, and putting him third in the aggregate with 443. Among the rest 48’s were common places, and 47’s were counted out. The prize list is as follows:

HAWKE’S BAY MATCH; 10 shots at 900 yards: £8 10s: W. Duncan (Westport), 50. £8 10s: W. Piper (Christchurch), 50. £5: F. J. King (Okawa), 49. £4: A. J. Dodd (Wellington Sub.), 49. £4: V. E. Donald (Opaki), 49. £3: R. C. Barkle (Petone), 49. £3: W. H. West (Blenheim), 48. £2: F. Clark (Ashburton), 48. £2: D. Roots (Hawera), 48. £2: D. J. Guiney (Petone), 48. £2: J. L. Turner (Suburbs), 47.

BUCHANAN MATCH; 10 shots at 800 yards: £10: F. Nichols (Greytown), 50. £7 : R. Wilton (Martinborough), 49. £5: G. Eyles (Dannevirke), 49. £4: H. Croxton (Karori), 49. £4: T. Goodall (Suburbs), 49. £3: H. Simonds (Wanganui), 49. £3: D. Roots (Hawera), 49. £2: R. Caughley (Karori), 49. £2: F. James (Napier), 49. £2: A. Weir (Lower Hutt), 48. £2: W. Mclver (Christchurch), 48. Seventeen 48’s and sixteen 47’s took £1 each, and four were counted out. Twenty-five names of the leaders for the Belt follow (one more match of ten shots at 900 yards has to be fired before the final fifty for Wednesday’s test emerge from the contestants): Roots 446 Guy _ ; _ L .... 444 West 443 Pimm 441 Halmshaw 437 H. C. Loveday ... 436 Guiney 436 Eyles 436 Bryan 436 Hunt 435 J. Feast 434 Barkle ..... 433 Piper 433 Nielson 432 Mclver 432 Atkinson 430 Croxton . 42SL James 428 Bryden 428 W. K. Williams 427 Mo&s 426 Simmonds 426

To-morrow morning will, be occupied with the final eliminating round of the Belt series. The Dominion match of ten shots at 900 yards, and the annual North Island versus South Island match, for twenty men a side, at 300, 500 and 600 yards, will fill in the afternoon. The North Island team is: Atkinson (Auckland), E. Ballinger and Barkle (Petone), Bryan (Auckland), Caughley, Ching and Croxton (Karori), H. Donald (Opaki), H. C. Loveday (Hawera), Mayhew (Linton), Neilson (Napier), Roots (Hawera), Simmonds (Wanganui), W. K. Williams (Ohura). The South Island team is: Bryden (Kaiapoi), Clark (Ashburton), Day (Nelson), Duncan (Westport), Green (Westport), Hameshaw (Christchurch), Henderson (Sounds), Masefield (Marlborough), Mehrtens (Rangiora), Milroy (Nelson), P. Morgan (Christchurch), Mitchell (Blenheim), Moss (Greymouth), Munro ( Wyndham >, Mclntosh (Blenheim;, Mclver (Christchurch), Pimm, Piper and Sandford (Christchurch), West (Blenheim). At a meeting of riflemen this afternoon, at which all the competitors were present, the Defence Department’s oroppsals in connection with the future organisation and composition of the executvie of the Dominion Rifle Association was discussed at length, and resolutions were unanimously arrived at urging that the representation of rifle clubs on the executive should remain as last agreed upon—viz., the chairman of the New Zealand Rifle Clubs’ Executive and four officials of rifle clubs, as previously defined; also, that no change be made altering the present military representation on the Dominion Rifle Association executives in those that have done active work of the D.R.A. for many years with credit to themselves and satisfaction to the competitors.