FOREST AND STREAM, 



67 



support and approval, not only of myself, but of the officers 

 of the army in general. I regard tho proposed match as 

 specially valuable in directing toward military rifle shooting 

 that attention which has hitherto been directed to practice 

 with Oreedmoor rifles, and at extremely long range, as well as 

 in instituting an annual competition hei.weeu I ho regular army 

 and the National Guard of the different Stales, which cannot 

 hut prove beneficial to all. Having learned from General 

 Wingate. your vice-president, th.it this prize would aid in 

 making this match a success, 1 have been very glad to be able 

 to do something in that direction by making the application 

 in question to .fudge Hilton, f am, gentlemen, very truly 

 and respectfuUy yours, WrSITSW) 8. Hancock, 



Major General U. 8. A. 

 A motion of thanks was passed to Geueral Hancock and 

 Judge Hilton. The trophy will be in the form of a statuette. 

 General Wingate stated that he would confer with the Sec- 

 retary of War in reference to having the United States Army 

 represented at the International Military Match. 



Zetti.ek's Galleut, Aug. 15. — Associated Ex., N. Y. 

 Turner Cadets ; 200 yards, Oreedmoor reduced target ; 



H SprleBer 39 Ed Zetmegg 29 



Q Mwluer ,;J T BULUL'l 26 



Tsuhmager ST O Boen 28 



C Blast .11 At Llltirat 26 



i' ;;■■■ i" .. .. . ...■'■' ■ ;." ;.... 



L Denis SB J Hosanbaum 23 



H Spinier 68 W Ko-inger 1s 



JGoinuuilt - 84 L Kale.fc , . . , ,,..lfi 



KHayieic 34 Denis 14 



6 Maag 32 WSiebirc 



New Yobk RrFt.Kiiira ooisii to Yieginia.— Six members 

 of the Now York Rifle Club, Messrs. Alder, John Blyden- 

 burg, Hewlett, Dunlap, O'Donnell and Holton, will leave 

 this week for Richmond, Virginia, to shoot a match with 

 a team, the Old Dominion Rifle Club. The match will be 

 at 200 yards, 10 shots each man. 



Zkttlbu Bift.e Club.— On Tuesday, August 27th, the 

 Pettier Rifle Club will hold their fourth annual prize shoot- 

 ing match at Schuetzen Park, Union Hill, N. J. Prizes 

 amount to $250. The committee are C. G. Zettler, D. Mil- 

 ler, N. D. Ward, M. Dorrler and T. Broadwav. President 

 of the Zettler Club, M. L. Riggs, Esq We think for team 

 shooting, there are very few clubs that can compare with 

 the Zettlers, who twice have carried off the Fobest ahd 

 Stbkam medal. 



Helvetia Rifle Club.— Twenty-fifth anniversary. This 

 well known club will hold a grand shooting contest at the 

 Scheutzen Park, Union Hill, N. J,, on Septembers, 0, 10, 

 and 11. On Sunday the 8th there will be a promenade con- 

 cert with illumination of the park, to be followed by shoot- 

 ing on the subsequent days. Total prizes amount to some 

 $4,000. The President of tho Helvetia club is C. Matt- 

 man, Esq. We look for a large attendance, and feel certain 

 that the programme will be followed out in all respects. 

 Prizes for the target of honor are rapidly coming in, and 

 the best, inducement is that every body is allowed to shoot 

 in this target. 



Pbogbajumk of the Sharpshooter's Union. — The follow- 

 ing list of shooting festivals of German shooting societies is 

 an addition to the list given a few weeks ago. Fifth Ward 

 German Guard, Captain H. W. Cordts, in the Schuetzen 

 Park, Union Hill, N. J., August 20th. Zettler Rifle Club, 

 President, M. L, Riggs, in the Schuetzen Park, Union Hill, 

 N. J., August 27. Baltimore Schuetzen Gesellschaft, Balti- 

 more, President, W. Raine, September 1, 2, 3. Brooklyn 

 Rifle Club, Captain Latnpus, iu Koch's Schuetzen Park, cor. 

 3d ave. and 50th St., Brooklyn, September 2d. Staten 

 Island Schuetzen Corps, Captain Bachmann, in Gebhardt's 

 Schuetzen Park, Staten Island, Sept. 0th. N. Y. Independ- 

 ent Schuetzen Corps, Oapt. I. J. Diehl, in Bender's N. Y. 

 Schuetzen Park, cor. 63d street and 1st ave. City, Sept 

 11th. Jersey City Schuetzen Corps, Capt. R. Surber, in Schu- 

 etzen Park, Greenville, N. J., Sept. 10 and 17. Schuetzen 

 Cadetten, President, H. Raschen, Schuetzen Park, Union 

 Hill, N. J., Sept. 18. N. Y- Schuetzen Gilde, Captain I. 

 Best, in Bender's N. Y. Schuetzen Park, cor. 63d street and 

 1st ave., City, Sept. 23d. Tritouen Schuetzen, Captain A. 

 Ellerich, in field's Hamilton Park, cor. 69th street and 3d 

 ave., city, Bept. 24th. S. O. V. 



Conlin's Gallery. — Our old friend Mr. Conlin will open 

 the fall and winter season at his gallery 1222 Broadway, in 

 the first week in September. Matches will be shot for 

 marksmen's badges. 



New Jersey Sohttetzen Corps — August 15. — Again has 

 Mr. Hayes, with a 68 out of a possible 75, been made king. 

 The following are the best scores : Target of Honor — William 

 Hayes, 68 out of a possible 75 ; Henry Oehl, 66 ; C. G. Zettler, 

 65 ; M. Hammerschlag, 64 ; John Kever, 63. Most bull's- 

 eyes— P. H. Jacobi, first prize, §15 ; G. Jonier, second prize; 

 John H. Raschen, third prize. Ring Target— David Muller, 

 74 points out of a possible 75, which is the best score ever 

 made on the park, first prize $30. Man Target— J. W. 

 Snyder, 29 out of a possible 30. After the distribution of the 

 prizes at the Castle the banquet hall was opened at 8 o'clock 

 for the regular annual supper. Captain Ermisch presided, 

 and, after the good things had been disposed of, made a speech 

 of welcome, and called upon Mr. Hayes, the King, for an ad- 

 dress, upon which Mr. HayeB made a most appropriate speech. 

 Altogether the meeting was a grand success. 



Brixton Riflb Range.— The next competition for the 

 All-Comers Badge, presented by the Rahway Rifle and 

 Sporting Club, will take place on the New Jersey State Rifle 

 Association's Range, at Elizabethport, New Jersey, to-mor- 

 row, Friday, the , 23d inst. at 3 p. m. The Briuton Range 

 is on the line of the Central Railroad of New Jersey, and 

 very accessible and convenient to riflemen in this city and 

 vicinity; all the local trains on this road stopping at the en- 

 trance to the range upon request to conductors. This will 

 be the first competition on this new range since its opening 

 in July last. 



Pssnsylvaku— West Chester, Aug. 12.— West Chester, in 

 her endeavors to emulate the example of cities of 

 greater dimensions and possessed of fat superior advantages, 

 evinces a progressive spirit worthy the esteem of that portion 

 of humanity unfortunately living beyond the pale of her be- 

 nign influences. I reler to her sporting proclivities rather 

 than to her industrial progressiveuess, although, for a town 

 Similarly situated, a comparison would in no manner be 

 to her disparagement. About a year ago a rifle team, com- 

 posed of members of Co. 1, Wayne Fencibles, Eleventh Regi- 

 msnt, N. G. of Pa., was organized, T. W- Taylor captain, 



and the reputation which they have acquired in this State as 

 aarksmen is mainly due to his rigid enforcement of 

 target practice. As an illustration of their shooting qualities, 

 it is important to state that they met and badly defeated an 

 organization whose members were selected from Co. E, First 

 Regiment, N B. G., of Philadelphia, Pa. The rifle team was 

 considered invincible by its backers, as its members were all 

 crack shots. The stipulations were as follows : Distance, 100 

 yards ; arms to be used, regulation breech loading muskets of 

 ihe State National Guard ; best two in three matches ; every 

 member to be allowed ten shots in each contest ; highest pos- 

 sible score, 50; the winners to bo presented by the defeated 

 parly with a handsome gold badge. The Wayne Fencible 

 Rifle Team is comprised of tho following gentlemen : Capt. 

 T. W. Taylor, R. T. Cornwall, L. G. McCauley, A. Roecker, 

 A. L. Smith, M. C. Muir, L. B. King and F. Wollerton. 

 Challenges from organizations emanating from the N. G., of 

 Pa., will no doubt be cheerfully received. A. C. D. 



The Most Rbmabkable of all Scores.— Woodland 

 Range, WJieeUnp, W. Ya., Aug. 13.— Prof. Dwight, of the 

 Maynard Rifle Club, having been notified to complete his 

 scores for the American team competition, shot his third com- 

 petition, Aug. 12 and 13, making the following remarkable 

 scores : 



Aug. 12. 



BM 5 GG45S6 5GS4664 8—72 



000 5 54SG6B566BS66 G— 7* 



1,000 ....D 5SB6066654564 G-T3— 219 



Ang. IS. 



800 44BS 3 86666656 5— «8 



900 B BGB5GBB5B66GB 8—76 



1.000 5 BB5G5G686GG6G B-TB— 218 



Total for two days 43T 



In his score to-day (Aug. 13) he made thirty-nine consecu- 

 tive bull's-eyes, commencing with his seventh shot at 800 

 yards ; no sighting shots, of course. I believe this score beats 

 the world. At the 800-yards range to-day tl}e wind on the 

 fifth shot changed suddenly from 10 o'clock to 1 o'clock, 

 carrying him outside the three line, and it required a change 

 of four points of wind to get back into the bull's-eye. The 

 above scores were made with the Maynard Creedmoor rifle. 

 J. D. Stanton, Sec. Maynard Rifle Club. 

 South Cabolina — Charleston, Aug. 10. — An impromptu 

 match was held between twelve active members from each of 

 the following companies : Carolina R. B. , Sumter Guards, 

 and Charleston Light Dragoons, at the Parade Ground 

 Ranges, 200 yards, open sights, any military riHe, off-hand, 

 five shots each. The team entered by the dragoons had never 

 shot together before, and several of the men had never fired 

 more than a half-dozen shots over a 200-yard range before. 

 There was a strong breeze blowing, and the shooting was poor 

 on the whole. Total score of each team : Carolina R. B , 

 213 ; Sumter Guards, 209 ; Charleston Light Dragoons, 169. 

 Some very good individual scores have been made this week 

 in practice. Mr. Ogilvie, of the Sumter Guards, scored 5 5 5 

 5 5—25 on Thursday afternoon. 



" Unaocountables." — New York, Aug. 19, 1878. — Editor 

 Forest and Stream : 1 was pleased to see the subjectof " Unao- 

 countables" treated so ably by your Connecticut correspondent. 

 My experience, which has lately not been inconsiderable, con- 

 firms his. A few days ago a friend, who has been manufac- 

 turing bullets, handed me twenty-five, with the request that 

 I should test them. Their shape was certainly perfect, but 

 they were patched with quite a heavy papor, in the usual 

 manner, great force having been used in passing them through 

 a sizer. At the same time I had fifty cartridges made up 

 with the^new Hyde or Sharps special bullet, on which the 

 same paper is used, but is allowed only to turn the corner of 

 ihe base, leaving the conical depression quite bare. A thin 

 wad of draughting paper was used with both bullets. The 

 practice with them was at 1,000 yards, and all of the latter 

 struck near the centre of the target. Of the twenty-five 

 former bullets, I had fifteen bull's-eyes, four centres, one 

 inner and four misses, for none of which did 1 change eleva- 

 tion or windage, though they were interspersed evenly 

 through the score, or nearly so. The paper of the Hepburn 

 bullet is quite thin, light and easily torn, and some of my 

 most conclusive experiments have been made with it, using 

 my new Remington, which however I am reluctantly com- 

 pelled to lay aside, from no fault of the gun and for reasons 

 beyond my control. I find " unaccountables " almost impos- 

 sible to secure with this ball, and perhaps quite so, unless a 

 thick wad be used with a very small charge of powder. I do 

 not believe any one has had a genuine npss of this descrip- 

 tion with the Hyde bullet as it is now made, whether a wad 

 was used or not; but with the Sharps "Old Standard," 

 which is patched like the Winchester and Hepburn, but with 

 much thicker paper, and which appears to have been forced 

 with considerable exertion through a sizer, such misses are 

 very common from, I believe, the paper following the ball in 

 its flight. This tendency to " following " is certainly dimin- 

 ished if not overcome by dispensing with any wad, thereby 

 permitting the charring or burning of the base of the patch 

 by the explosion. Pieces of the paper can be seen smoking 

 in the grass after each shot made under these conditions, 

 especially if the grass be a little damp. I sincerely hope 

 others will give their experience in investigating this very in- 

 teresting question, and I am sure any new ideas will be ac- 

 ceptable to the F. & S. S. T. G. D. 



wonder what special magic there is in the Wheeling ranges. 

 Prof. Dwight is the State Assayer and his bigtf score of 

 the 13th and 14th inst. does not surprise his friends who feel 

 confident that there is even better in reserve. 



One thing is certain, that if after studying these scores any 

 foreign teaai seems disposed to attempt a steal upon us they 

 will.display no small share of self-confidence. In a quiet, 

 easy way, without any newspaper gush, eight men have 

 gotten together and show a disunited skill which promises 

 big things when the men soiidify add the team sya- 

 system to their present individual ability to run up big 

 scores. It is the merit of the American team system that 

 a good shot iu his own right and under all conditions loses 

 nothing by falling into line with his fellows, and if the team 

 be properly managed he can be of immense service in giving 

 confidence to the other men on the squad. 



Coming down to the facts and figures of Ihe elective tests, 

 they read for the leading eight men, so far as we have re- 

 ceived them, as follows : 



Aver.'ge.. 



Ratbhone, Remington.. ..107 209 903 209 195 500 213 213—206 



Jackson, sharps 102 193 2iti 214 208 goo 210 — 2051-T 



Clark-e, Sharps V08 200 200 200 2tl 207 204 lg!t— i'S 1-* 



DwiRht, Muvnurd 182 199 V0S 20$ 219 218 168 197—2112 1-4 



Sumner, Ballard iso 203 209 198 195 199 204 .. — iod 2-7 



Brown, Ral.ard 183 198 211 101 203 205 13S . —TO 9-T 



GerriBh, Remington 179 202 19tt 183 200 206 .. ..—1941-3 



Rockwell, ReiUngron.... 177 193 211 166 197 200 195 ..—189 0-7 



Taking the best score of each man, a total of 1,690 

 is shown, and it is certainly not a chimerical assertion that 

 under the pressure of a great match, and after the careful 

 team coaching, and with the assistance of his scarcely less 

 able associates, each and every one of the members of the 

 team should run up a score which should keep the grand 

 total near that figure. We flatly confess that if with auy 

 sort of a decently favorable day, it will be a mortifying sur- 

 prise to us if the American team does not run well above 

 1650 on the aggregate. A score below 200 is now coming to 

 be looked upon as a mediocre one, and to make such a score 

 on a team is an unexcusable piece of careiessness, or a most 

 provoking piece of bad-luck ; if the two arc not after all 

 interchangeable, for much of what is known as ill luck in 

 poor cartridges, unequal charges, and bad bullets, may be 

 traced back to avoidable defects, or oversights in manipula- 

 tion, and as for slip on the field, bad, " pull off," and such 

 no excuse should be accepted. The back position makes of 

 each man a fixture, and it is his business as a rifleman to see 

 to it that not »ne iota of care is abated. 



The above exhibit of what has been done should silence 

 all the croakers who talk of the decline of rifle shooting. If 

 such be its decline what is <t to be in the full glory of the 

 future, when, instead of dozens, we sIihII have thousands 

 competing for places on a national team. 



The variety of rifle used should be another source of con- 

 gratulation, as showing that in adaptibility for long-range 

 work, the several gun companies are either of them able to 

 turn out weapons fit for the most perfect and exacting 

 work. 



The prospect undoubtedly is that the season of 1878 will 

 witness* no Centennial International match, but for the en- 

 couragement of rifle practice, and to give notice, to intend- 

 ing competitors that the sport is alive here. A team should 

 be" picked from year to year. Even though their task be 

 but a shoot over the ranges, without any present competitor. 

 they may still work for a record, and it is as valuable as. 

 though thousands of excited spectators crowded about the 

 firing points. It will do no harm, and can be in many 

 ways conducted to the interests of rifle practice, to have an 

 annual team selected; and the National Rifle Assoaiation 

 will be derelict and deserve to be shorn somewhat of its. 

 prestige and national character of it fall into lethargy and, 

 because American riflemen have overawed foreign marks- 

 men, allow itself to he caught napping and suddenly awoke 

 to find the " Palma " wrested from us. So long as an 

 annual team is chosen we keep up a certain amount of prac- 

 tice, and keep open a school where beginners in long-range 

 work may see good work actually performed. It is 

 encouraging to find but one member of the team of '77 on 

 that of 1878, as it would confess poverty of material were 

 the old men forced again to the fore. In short, the selection 

 of the team of '78 is encouraging in what it actually is, and 

 in what it promises, doubly encruraging. 



THE AMERICAN TEAM OF 1878. 



There was a rumor about the first of June last, when the 

 days for entrees to the Centennial match of 1878 were draw- 

 ing to a close, that the provision requiring such entrees be- 

 fore a fixed date was not valid, and that certain foreign 

 teams would come when ready and demand a match. There 

 seemed to be reason in this, and on general principles that 

 it was well to be prepared for emergencies, a scheme for a 

 team selection in 1878 was sent out. It was as in previous 

 years made open to all American born riflemen, but the fact 

 that 1878 was looked upon as an " off" year iu International 

 match work caused a general lassitude and but few entrees 

 came to the committee of the National Rifle Associatiou 

 having the matter in charge. A baker's dozen of names was 

 all that came in, and even then several dropped out of the 

 contest. A few of the Boston men kept at the task in good 

 style, and on their Walnut Hill range and at Creedmoor put 

 in some excellent averages. From Wheeling, West Virginia, 

 came a brace of scores made by Prof. O. E. Dwight, which 

 may fairly take a rifleman's breath away and lead him to 



LONG-RANGE RIFLES. 



EDITOB FOEB3T AND STREAM : 



In some articles, headed " Sporting Rifle," in lite numbers 

 of your paper, " H. W. O." criticises pretty sharply the idea 

 of using the long-range rifle for hunting large game, "with its 

 elaborate and delicate arrangement of sights." In a previous 

 number I had advocated such a use of this rifle, with a proper 

 modification of sights and ammunition, and I beg for a small 

 space to notice these criticisms. 



Strip the long-range of its delicate sights, and replace them 

 with proper hunting sights, as before described, lay asiCe 

 prejudice, and you have a sporting rifle a little stronger built„ 

 of finer material and workmanship, much closer shooting at 

 either short or long range, of a little longer barrel, and of about 

 same weight as the ordinary sporting rifle. It must be admitted 

 these are not serious objections. The only tangible objection 

 " H. W. O." urges against the long-range for this use is that 

 its sharp twist, necessary for long-range, increases the friction, 

 and, as a consequence,reduces the initial velocity and heightens 

 the trajectory lor the shorter ranges. With all due respect 

 for his great experience in the matter, I cannot but think he 

 has very erroneous views on this point. 



Take the Express rifle, the result of years of experience and 

 study of the best rifle makers of Great Britain, aud designed 

 specially to get the very flattest trajectory possible within 200 

 yards : what twist is used ? The rifle editor of Forest and 

 Stream, who is supposed to be posted, says, in answer to in- 

 quiry, "fromli to If turns in 30 inches," or 1 turn in 24 

 inches to 1 turn inl8| inches. John Rigby, of Dublin, whose 

 name is authority on thissubject,in answer to inquiries, writes 

 me as to twist, " 400-borc, 1 turn in 30 inches; 450-bore, 1 turn 

 in 30 inches," and " our Express rifles are sighted for 150 

 yards, standing sight. With this sight bullets will strike 

 about four inches high at 90 yards, then the rifle would com- 

 mand a five-inch bull's-eye at" all intermediate distances. A 

 full sight will extend the available, range to 200 yards without 

 resorting to a second elevation." As to accuracy of small- 

 bores he says: " Both barrels " (fired alternately ) "will, if 

 carefully shot from a rest, command an 8-inch buli's-eye at 

 200 yards, under reasonably favorable circumstances a* ta 



