ipS 



TJie Auicricaii Ansrlcr 



season. A hundred and forty men in 

 all took part in the shooting- at different 

 times during the four days' work. Each 

 of these used on an average 200 car- 

 tridges a day, or 800 for the week. To 

 be more precise, we would say that of the 

 140 mentioned, 100 shot in all the 

 events. This gives us 80,000 loaded 

 cartridges fired by the different con- 

 testants during the four days' shooting. 

 The loads of powder would average 3^ 

 drachms, being over a ton of powder, 

 the cost of which would be the enor- 

 mous sum, counting twice as many 

 charges to the pound of nitro in com- 

 parison with black, of over $5,000. The 

 shot also figures up the sum of 6,250 

 pounds, estimating i^ ounces to the 

 load. And all this was expended in the 

 effort to secure a portion of the $3,000 

 which was given as prizes by the Ameri- 

 can E. C. Powder Company. 



The above is but a single example. 

 Other tournaments have followed fast, 

 one upon the heels of the other. Mem- 

 phis, Tennessee, came the week after 

 the one at Guttenberg Park, and the 

 management of that also presented a 

 list of prizes whose value in the aggre- 

 gate ran well into the thousands. The 

 next week saw an equally successful 

 shooting meeting at Omaha, Nebraska, 

 where again the attendance was good 

 and the prizes large. Frank Parmlee, 

 of Omaha, the broken-tongued orator, 

 popular sportsman and man of the 

 world, was at the head of the manage- 

 ment of this meeting, and of course it 

 was a success. Then followed in rapid 

 succession the tournaments at Cincin- 

 nati, under the management of the 

 Hazard Powder Compan)^ that of the 

 Illinois State Sportsmans' Association, 

 held at Chicago. This in turn by the 

 meeting of the New York State Asso- 

 ciation for the Preservation of and Pro- 

 tection of Game, this one being in full 



progress at this writing and ending- 

 June 13th. The next week the Cleve- 

 land Trap and Target Company holds a 

 three days' tournament at Cleveland,. 

 Ohio, under the management of Paul 

 North, the popular and masterful repre- 

 sentative of the Cleveland company, 

 and whose electric pull for the traps at 

 inanimate shooting have proved the 

 best of all so far. The last week in 

 June the Pittsburg Gun Club holds a 

 two days' tournament under its man- 

 agement at Allegheny City, its old 

 grounds at Pittsburgh having been 

 given up. The march of improvement,, 

 owing to the growth of the Smoky City 

 in population in that direction, made- 

 the exodus an enforced one. Elmer E.. 

 Shauer, one of the most popular of 

 men, and one of the greatest experience 

 of all engaged in the running of shoot- 

 ing tournaments, has the management 

 of the meeting. 



Now the events mentioned above are- 

 outside of the shooting done by the 

 regular clubs of the United States. 

 Naturally around the larger cities clubs 

 are readily formed. There are any 

 number of shooting men gathered in 

 business centres, and these- must have 

 some outlet for their hobby. Another 

 thing also that tends to the multiplica- 

 tion of clubs is in the fact that men, as 

 a rule, have a fondness for seeing their 

 names in print as officers of some or- 

 ganization. It denotes a certain amount 

 of popularity above that possessed by 

 others, and it is an innocent hobby, as- 

 suredly. The writer certainly thinks 

 that it is a pleasant thing to read about 

 such a man being elected president,, 

 such a one treasurer, such a one secre- 

 tary and such and such ones members 

 of the board of governors of the High 

 Flyers Club. Complimentary, certainly. 

 Does it amount to anything ?' Assuredl}^ 

 so, for if not, why should the positions 

 be so much sought after, for that they 

 are sought after goes, without the tell- 

 ing of it. 



