RcccJit Tournaiiiciits, Etc 



241 



tiired the cash and the trophy that went 

 with it. Clarence Dolan, of the River- 

 ton Gun Club, Philadelphia, passed a 

 larger part of last Winter in Europe, 

 during- his stay shooting regularly at 

 Paris and Monte Carlo. He was uni- 

 formly successful in the different en- 

 gagements, and gained such reputation 

 by his shooting skill as to be thought 

 the coming crack of the American con- 

 tingent. Another of the winning men 

 at Hurlingham Club grounds, London, 

 was P. H. Morris, of the Carteret Gun 

 Club, this city. He shot in such form 

 as to more than astonish those of his 

 club who were with him. In one event 

 he ran along, side by side, with one of 

 England's best shooting men — Captain 

 Shelley — they finally dividing first 

 money, after shooting out all others 

 in one of the more important sweep- 

 stake shootings of the day. 



WHY IS THIS THUS ? 



The record of the shooting above 

 mentioned causes a great deal of curi- 

 osity. Every American, who goes 

 abroad to take part in shooting meet- 

 ings, tells upon his return of the won- 

 derful .speed of the pigeons furnished 

 at the different clubs for these contests. 

 Each says that we have no birds here 

 that can compare with those of 

 England and Belgium. The fact re- 

 mains, however, that when our men go 

 abroad to take part in these affairs, 

 they are uniformly successful. The 

 fact is remarkable and true as it is 

 strange. Still more is it a matter of 

 thought when one considers that these 

 few Americans meet the very pick of 

 the shooting men of Great Britain, of 

 Germany, of France, of Italy, of Aus- 

 tria, and of Russia. This little band 

 of Americans are outnumbered twenty 

 to one. The percentages are all against 

 their winning, yet, despite the paucity 



of their numbers, they invariably give 

 good account of themselves. Ait con- 

 trairc, when visitors come to us they 

 do not seem to be able to repeat their 

 home records. 



THE EXPLAN.'\TION GOES. 



And now let us look back a little and 

 try and find the reason of this. Una- 

 nimity of opinion must be respected, 

 so we will grant at the outset that the 

 Blue-rock pigeon is infinitely more 

 speedy in its flight than the common 

 pigeon of oiir country breeders. Once 

 in a while at shooting meetings, one 

 hears, when a very fast straight-a-way- 

 in-flight bird leaves the trap, ' ' Ah ! 

 That fellow is as fast as a Blue-rock ! " 

 So it may be, but, no matter how fast 

 such a bird may be, the question may- 

 be asked, "Is an out-goer the most 

 difficult bird to stop ? " In the writer's 

 opinion, by no manner of means. If 

 all are out-goers, the contestant gets 

 ' into a sort of swing, and knowing the 

 flight direction of the coming bird, is 

 positively prepared for the shot that is 

 to follow. As I heard remarked once 

 by one of the best shots of the country^ 

 and one who had shot much abroad : 



" Shoot quickly, aim high, and you're 

 bound to score." 



As the writer has never seen the 

 work at Hurlingham or Monte Carlo, 

 he does not know how much truth there- 

 is in that speech, but it certainly seems 

 teaching that it might be well to follow 

 by those intending to shoot at London, 

 Paris, in Belgium, or at the celebrated 

 pigeon shooting resort which overlooks 

 the waters of the tideless sea, the 

 Mediterranean. Possibly the practice 

 in this country, arising from the char- 

 acter of the birds provided at our 

 different clubs, may have a good deal 

 to do with the success of our shooting 

 men abroad. This is the demand 



