National Rifle Association of New Zealand

National Rifle Association of New Zealand
Sport	Shooting Sports
Category	Fullbore target rifle
Jurisdiction	New Zealand
Abbreviation	NRA, NRANZ
Founded	1878
Affiliation	New Zealand Shooting Federation, ICFRA
Headquarters	Trentham, New Zealand
President	M. Dodson
Chairman	R. Mason
Vice president(s)	B. Carter
Replaced	New Zealand Rifle Association
Official website
	www.nranz.com

The National Rifle Association of New Zealand (NRA) is the national governing body for Fullbore rifle shooting in New Zealand.^[1]

The Association is the representative member for New Zealand to the International Confederation of Fullbore Rifle Associations (ICFRA) and participates in ICFRA World Championships and the Commonwealth Games.

History

The NRA traces its history to the foundation of the New Zealand Rifle Association (NZRA) in 1878, taking over the running of the annual national championships from the Government Volunteer Movement which had run an annual meeting since 1861.^[2] By 1900 the NZRA was in financial difficulty owing to the expense of building a new range each year - the annual championships were contested around the country on temporary sites rather than from a fixed base. At the request of the NZRA, the Association was taken over by the Defence Force, becoming the New Zealand Defence Rifle Association. In 1923, the National Rifle Association was formed to differentiate the interests of target shooters from those of the Defence Force.

The Association is headquartered at the Seddon Range Shooting Village, adjacent to the Trentham Military Camp. The Association maintains a License to Occupy the land from the New Zealand Defence landlord.^[3]

International Performance

ICFRA World Championships

As of 2019, New Zealand's highest finish in the ICFRA World Long Range Championships (the Palma Trophy match) is second, achieved in 1979.^[4] They have ranked third on five occasions.

New Zealand has hosted the ICFRA Long Range World Championships three times - in 1979, 1995 and 2019.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]

Kolapore

New Zealand has contested the Kolapore Match^{[note 1]} at Bisley fifteen times since 1897, when they were runners up to Victoria (Australia) on their debut.^[8]^[9] New Zealand went on to win in 1904 and 1960.^[10] As of 2022, their most recent result was 7th in the 2019 match.^[11]

Notes

^ A prestigious international match held annually at Bisley during the National Rifle Association's Imperial Meeting.

References

^ "Organisation". National Rifle Association of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 24 January 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
^ "History of NRANZ". National Rifle Association of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 15 January 2022. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
^ "Seddon Range, Trentham, Upper Hutt". Long Range World Championships 2019. National Rifle Association of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 28 January 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Palma Match Results" (PDF). International Confederation of Fullbore Rifle Associations. 30 August 2015. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 October 2022. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
^ "Long Range World Championship 2019". Long Range World Championship 2019. National Rifle Association of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 16 February 2023. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
^ "Australia wins world target shooting championships at Trentham". stuff.co.nz. Stuff. 11 February 2019. Archived from the original on 21 April 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2023. Australia shooters are heading home with two big prizes after a fortnight of world-level competition in New Zealand. The Australian team won the world long range target shooting championships title, collecting the Palma Trophy on Sunday after an intense competition at the Trentham range near Upper Hutt.
^ "U.S. Rifle Team Wins Bronze Medal In New Zealand". Shooting Sports USA. National Rifle Association of America. 14 February 2019. Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
^ "Imperial Meeting - Historical Match Records - Kolapore". National Rifle Association. Archived from the original on 27 January 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
^ "Kolapore Match - 1871-1899" (PDF). National Rifle Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
^ "Kolapore - List of Winning Captains" (PDF). National Rifle Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
^ "Kolapore Match - 2000-present" (PDF). National Rifle Association. Archived (PDF) from the original on 16 January 2021. Retrieved 6 October 2022.