RIFLE SHOOTING

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10571, 29 February 1912, Page 5

RIFLE SHOOTING

TRENTHAM MEETING. SERIES OF PRACTICE MATCHES (By Telegraph—-Press TRENTHAM, Last Night, Wheal reveille sounded this morning for the opening of the Dominion Rifle Association meeting at Trentham, the weather was warm and genial, and promised a fine day. The teams entered for the Service Teams Matches, which formed series "A" on the programme, were instructed to parade at 8.15, and it was intended to start the Islington Cup competition, which includes marching and an attack on a position represented by targets, at 9 a.m. However, at, the time appointed, only one team appeared at the squadding posts, although four had been entered. TheOpaki Rifle Club had their full number of twelve men and a commander, but the Suburbs Rifle Club only had ten men, and the Karori Rifle Club only nine men, while the! Nelson Infantry Regiment, the other! entrant, had only one representative.! As one of the conditions of the series was three entries or no match, it was palpably impossible to start. Lieut.-CMonel Hughes, who, in the absence of Colonel Collins, was in command, postponed the parade until two o'clock, to give the teams a chance'of getting others of their team together. At two o'clock there was no further appearance of the absentees, and Colonel Collins, who had! arrived in the meantime, decided to postpone the teams matches till next day. A couple of extra matches had 'been placed on the programme— one at 800 yards and one at 900 yards, as practices for those -men who were not shooting with the teams, and Colonel Collins issued instructions to add one at 300 yards and one at 1000; yards. The men had been' steadily drifting in all day, and at 3 o'clock there were 327 entries for the meeting, with a probability of at least a dozen, more before the individual matches start on Friday morning. At noon a sharp shower on, afterwards turned into a ] isteady downpour, but the light was | excellent, which gave opportunities j for useful practices. Among the entries are several ex-champions, and among those shooting to-day were Hyde, R. J. King, Roots, and Ross. W. S., King is another ex-champion who has entered. The shooting in the 800 yards was an index of the meeting, and showed that most of the men were in excellent form. There were two possibles and a long string of 34's, among the latter being Marshall, Marenzi, Lovcday and 'Roots, all of whom were airing their ißisloy experiences. James, another •Bisiey representative, who had made such a sensation at Greytown by scooping the majority of the prizes, also put up 3-1. Roots also got 34 at 900 yards, at which the shooting was very warm. R. J. King got 33. The match was won by Barkle (Wellington), with a possible. At 1000 yards, Malcolm (Wellington) was on top with 31, among the 32's being Loveday, Marenzi, Barkle, and Maingay. The 300 yards match, which was the last fired, produced two possibles in Russell (Petone) and Wool.ley (3rd Regiment). To-tfnorrow morning shooting will commence at 9 o'clock, with the Colonial Ammunition Company's Cup Match for field-firing by teams, and it is expected three teams will start. There will also be a number of extra matches put on for pra iice purposes. There has been a misunderstanding on the part of many competitors as regards the service teams matches, most of them being under the idea •that they must enter for the series. This,was not so, as each match was independent of the others. The extra .matches fired were sweepstake matches, and altogether apart from the official programme.