112 DTTCKIITG DAYS 



solve the problem of making his gun ontshoot the other 

 fellow's via the choke-bore rotate, and from the distance 

 that he killed live birds, one would think that he had 

 succeeded. His pet gun at that time was an eight bore, 

 single barrel, weighing about nine pounds. The barrels 

 were of laminated steel, a muzzle-loader, put together by 

 Stock under Kimble's instructions. The inside of that 

 gun had received more attention than five ordinary guns. 

 It was a diamond in the rough. The racy appearance 

 of the present-day Parker was conspicuous by its ab- 

 sence, but how it could shoot! 



After spending a couple of days targeting it, Kliinble 

 ihied himself to the tall timber along the Illinois River, 

 where he spent a half day with the mallards in flight 

 over the great oak trees along the river. He succeeded 

 in bagging tliirty-two out of thirty-five shots, none of 

 them less than fifty yards high, and some of them at 

 least sixty-five. He came home very much dissatisfied; 

 said that the three that he missed were within sixty 

 yards, and should have been killed ; therefore it was the 

 gun that was in fault. Further attention was given the 

 interior and in a short time it was pronounced perfect. 

 Sometime later the annual meeting of The Illinois 

 State Sportsman's Association was held at Peoria. The 

 main events on the program were at live birds, but there 

 was target shooting on the side at Peoria blackbirds. 

 Kimble participated in all the side events, witli a clean 



