J? \Ji\rj O 1 Al^ U (51 nn* AM . 



237 



Creedmooe, Oct. 20.— A cold drizzling day at Creedmoor 

 last Saturday did not prevent a good attendance at the two 



off-hand matches on the programme, and g 1 scores were 



Shown at 300 as well as at 200 yards. It will be noted that 

 ont of a possible 50 in each match, the best winning score is 

 shown at 300 yards. The lirst match contested was the lit'lh 

 competition for the Turf, h'idd and Warm badge ; 200 yards, 

 10 rounds, any rifle, off-hand. The scores stood : 



AFFiulels 4 r, t 3 ■( S 4 4 4 5-42 



J F Kuthven 5 4 3 5 4 3 4 3 5 4— 48 



John Uavanagti 3 5 4 3 4 3 5!) 64—41 



MMMalthy. - . - 5 -1 y 4 4 4 G 4 4 4-41 



\VK Llvermorc 4 $4444446 4-41 



N D Ward 4 4 4 4 5 4 4 4 4 4-41 



\VM Farrow .545434444 4-41 



WH Cochrane, Jr 3-3 5 5 3 4 4 5 5 3—40 



KK Lewis 4 45344443 5—40 



AM Miller 4 3 4 4 5 4 5 2 4 5— HI 



B W Uav 5 8 4 i i 4 4 4 4 3— 3fl 



G A Befcit - 4 I 6 3 4 1 4 4 4 8—39 



1) Banks - 3 5 4 3 4 5 3 4 4 4—39 



S F Kneelaud , 4 4 l 3 J 4 4 4 3 5—33 



C UJohr 4 3 4 5 3 I 4 a 4 4—38 



M FrallClB .-...., 4 5 4 8 a 4 i 6 3 I- 38 



CF Bobbin* 5 2 A 3 4 4 5 3 4 '1—37 



V Dewing 4 3 3 4 3 1444 4-37 



L('ass 4 4 5 3 4 3 4 3 4 3—37 



T W LlOton 4 3 5 3 4 3 4 4 4 3—37 



CE Blydenbtirgh 4 4 3 4 6 4 4 3 3 3—37 



L it Wreve 2 3 r> 4 5 4 i 4 9 8— 36 



G Rov^r ; 4 3 4 4 3 2 3 4 4 3—35 



Patrick Fatrelly 8 4 -1 4 4 3 3 3—27 



J L Paulding 2 3 4 4 4 3 3 3—26 



The Spirit of the Times new medal was competed for the 

 first time. The conditions following exactly those which 

 governed the previous trophy ; 10 shots at 300 yards, off- 

 hand, any rifle, open to all coiners. The scores stood ? 



CH Jolir 5 4 4 5 3 4 15 5 4-13 



EELewiS .4 5 3 4 4 5 4 5 4 4-42 



JF Bathyen 1 4 5 3 6 5 5 4 4 3-42 



W II Cochrane, ,Tr :i 4 5 4 5 4 4 2 4 4-39 



CDewillS , 3 4 4 4 4 3 3 4 4 4-31 



T W LiuTon ' 4 3 4 4 4 5 3 4 3 3—37 



WM Farrow 3 4 4 4 3 4444 3-37 



W B Liverrnorn 3 4 4 4 3 4 4 4 4 3-37 



CE Hlvdenburgh 4 3 4443433 3-35 



A M Miller 4 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 5-35 



N 11 Ward 4 3 4 4 4 4 5 3 3—34 



<'F Bobbin* 4 3 I! 3 4 2 4 3 4 4—33 



D Banks 433 4 3 2 3 3 3 4—32 



G A Reed » 4503434 5-31 



M KiailOlB 4 3 3 4 4 4 4 4-31 



RWBa* 3 4 3 3 3 3 4 3 3—^1 



JOlin CavaWh 2 4 433204 43-29 



SF Ivaei'land , 3 4 4 3 3 3 4 3-27 



MM Maltby 4 2 3 4 4 5 3 3 0-27 



LHGreve. " " * 3 3 2 3 4 4 3—24 



Patrick Farrelly 3 4 4 4o 3 2 2-22 



Columbia Kifbe Association.— This popular organize 

 tion held their annual fall shooting at Guticnuurgh Park, 

 N. J., the 15th and 15th iustant. It was well alteneded by 

 marksmen from the numerous clubs, and the shooting was 

 excellent, as the scores -will show. The target of honor 

 (rings), open to members of Columbia Club only ; ring or 

 union target, open to all, and the point target were all that 

 were used on this occasion; 200 yards; position, standing; 

 ring target, possible 75, three shot's. 



Win" Hayes, Newaik 71 rings .' $22 50 



P Fanning, Zeptler Club 71 " 22.50 



Pliilip Klein, N.Y. S.Corus 70 " IS 



LBird, Zeltler Clnb 69 " 15 



J Buschen. N. Y. S. Corps c» " n 



C Zeltler. Zeltler Club OS " 10 



JRGrohman, Zettler Club 08 " S 



MBEcgel, Zeicier Club OS " 6 



W Klein. Zettler Club 08 " 4 



M Dnrrler, Zattler (Jlub 67 " 3 



W M Farrow, Zeltler 66 " 2 



At the point target the bull's-eye is divided iuto three 

 rings, numbering 1, 2, 3, 100 shots possible 300 points. 



WW Farrow 103 M DorrBr 134 



W'm Ilayes 160 JHeintz.,... 120 



W Klein 145 M Bngel U3 



C Zeitler 138 PFeuuing 210 



At the target of honor the csores stood : 



Geo Baler, Columbia Bifle Olub oSiiogs King medal 



CHoiuey, " '• 00 " Ca-b prize. 



BLlppman, " " 15 " " 



ABni.isob, " " 63 " " 



John Beln, " ■ " 13 " " 



GAKundahl, " " 02 " 



J Heiutas. " " 60 " ..••. •• 



J Sueider " " »■> " " 



O Knudahl, " " 5S " " 



W. M. Farrow won the first and last flag prizes. 



" Wisconsin" writes : I notice that in last week's paper 

 you give what appears to be a full account of toe rifle 

 matches in Chicago. You, I believe, omitted the mid-range 

 matcli, which was as follows. The most exciting and best 

 shooting of all: 



The Mid-Range Match at Chicago — As the teams iu 

 the interstate match retired to the one thousand yards range, 

 Sir Henry Halford arrived on the ground, accompanied by 

 3". Iv. Millner, R. 8. Gireenhili, and other members of the 

 British intarnational team. They at once proceeded to the 

 five hundred yards range and began shooting in the individual 

 match, open to any member of a regular rifle club. They 

 had shot out their scores before the last of the team shooting 

 was done, and left for the depot, pretty well satisfied that 

 the prizes for that match belonged to that crowd, for Mill- 

 ner and Hyde had made forty-eight out of a possible fifty 

 each, Millner taking first place uuder Creedmoor rules. Then 

 ths rest came down and began shooting. It was evident that 

 forty-eight was necessary to get the silver, so, when any one 

 dropped three he dropped himself out of the competition. 

 Finally, the con'est narrowed down to three, and became 

 excUing, as there was every chance for either of them to 

 beat the best scores yet made. There were Hill and Field- 

 ing, of Milwaukee, and Thompson, of Chicago. Hill shot 

 Ms score through, making ten bull's-eyes, and first prize. 

 At the sixth shot Thompson got a "centre" and Fielding 

 follow with one in the same place. Then each made four 

 lives, scoring forty-nine, their scores being symmetrical. 

 So they had to shoot off for second place. After three bull's- 

 eyes Thompson's mid range cartridges gave out and he put 

 in a long-range cartridge, lowering his elevation a couple of 

 points, but itwas not enough, for he got a high four. Field- 

 ing furrowed the black and took the cup. Honors were 

 therefore even. Illinois took the team prize, Wisconsin the 

 individual. The scores are as follows : 



David Hill 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5—50 



E Fielding ,° 5555 4 555 5—49 



BSTUompflOn 5 55554555 5^49 



J K Millner 4 55f55655 5— IS 



George Mlllurd 4 5 5 5 5 4 5 5 5 5— 4S 



F Hyde 5 55554545 5-4S 



Sir Heuvy Hal Cord 5 54535555 5—41 



AGAlford * 55455545 5—47 



J Johnston 5 53555555 4-47 



BSGreenllill 3 45555534 5-44 



W H S Cleveland 2 3 4 2 2 5 4 3 5 3—30 



Ties on forty-nine. 



Fielding.,., 5 6 5 5 5—26 Thompson 5 5 6 6 4— 8 



English Opinion- on the Big Match. — The English press 

 have been characteristically slow and cautious in their com- 

 ments on the International Match, but once convinced that 

 the victory is undoubtedly against them, and that the fight 

 was fairly conducted, they are free to acknowledge the fact, 

 though their explanations do not in every detail tally with our 

 own. The inferiority of muzzle-loading weapons they are 

 not ready to agree to. In a long leader on the match the Vol- 

 unteer Service Gazette says : 



Just four years ago the first prize meeting of the United 

 States Rifle Association was held at Creedmoor. Immediate- 

 ly afterward Major Leech offered to bring an Irish team to 

 shoot against the United States with match rifles. This chal- 

 lenge was accepted, and it was arranged that it should be shot 

 for in theautrano of [874, It, would«seeni that this invita- 

 tion or challenge, coming from a country whose representa- 

 tives had just vanquished England and Scotland in the great 

 small-bore match of the year, stimulated the American rifle- 

 men to incredible exertions, with the result, as we all ktoow, 

 that to the unbounded astonishment of every shooting man 

 here, they not only won the match, but won it with an aver- 

 age which had then never been approached. Not one of the 

 least interesting features of this debut of the American long- 

 range shots was that they had not only, if we may so speak, 

 to learn to shoot, but actually had to construct a weapon to 

 shoot with, for one of the stipulations made by Major Leech 

 was that each team should fire with rifles manufactured in its 

 own country. The American gunmakers were characteristic- 

 ally as ready to accept this challenge as the shooters had been 

 to accept theirs, and boldly discarding the muzzle-loading 

 principle turned out breech-loaders which were shown to shoot 

 at least as well as the form of match rifle accepted in England. 

 Prom the first match in 1874 the Americans have undoubtedly 

 carried all before them, and have shown to what a pitcli of 

 precision team shooting may be brought. In 1875 they sent 

 a representative team to Ireland, and shattered all the theories 

 which had been framed as to the advantages accruing from 

 the bright climate of North America. In 1870, on their own 

 ground, they routed in detail the Irish and Scotch teams 

 which attacked them ; and now in 1877 they have successful- 

 ly resisted the onslaught of a picked team of the best available 

 small-bore shots of the whole of the United Kingdom. Truly 

 Colonel Drake was right when he said last year, when the 

 question of getting together a team from the United Kingdom 

 was mooted, that whatever we did we should find the Ameri- 

 cans "hard to beat." 



As for the match of this year, the very ample report which 

 we reprint from the excellent New York paper, Forest and 

 Stream, shows that the shooting was better than ever. Sir 

 Henry Halford and his comrades need take no shame to have 

 been beaien. 



It only remains to be said that the great International 

 Match of 1877 gives another instance of the honest and cordial 

 good feeling which rifle shootins; shares with cricket and one 

 or two other forms of emulation. The winners are pleased, 

 and the losers are only desirous of trying once more. It is 

 not necessary to say that the reception of the foreign team 

 was marked by the usual cordiality and hospitality of the 

 American nation, and that Sir Henry Halford undoubtedl}' 

 expressed the feeling of all his comrades when he announced 

 his intention of, if possible, challenging the great trophy once 

 more. 



The American papers, particularly those which treat at all 

 scientifically of rifle-shooting, are, of course, much elated at 

 the success of the representatives of their country, and read 

 113 many good-humored lessons on the causes of our defeat, 

 and the antecedent probability that such an event would hap- 

 pen. We are not, indeed, quite sure whether the Irish team, 

 which carried off the Elcho Shield at Wimbledon in 1875 will 

 be quite ready to acknowledge that, as one of the New York 

 papers assert, the Irish victory was solely due to the "coach- 

 ing" of their American friends. But we think that all our 

 small-bore shots must admit it to be true that the drilling of 

 teams for target shooting has been much more scientifically 

 and systematically carried on in the United States than has 

 ever been the case on this side of the Atlantic, and that the 

 wonderful results which have been arrived at are due almost 

 altogether to this drilling. It is for our captains to learn a 

 lesson from their opponents. Our men are individual!/ as 

 good, and our weapons are, we believe, at least as good as 

 those used in America. When the Americans next visit us 

 at Wimbledon, which we hope may be next year, or if Sir 

 Henry Halford again takes a team across the Atlantic, we 

 shall confidently hope that it may be shown that the small- 

 bore shots of the United Kingdom can shoot as well together 

 as they can undoubtedly shoot individually. 



And, in concluding, the Gazette thinks : 



Everything seems, indeed, to have passed off in the most 

 satisfactory manner — the Americans were evidently pleased 

 with their guests, and the arrangements appear to have been 

 nearly perfect. The more one examines the scores, particu- 

 larly those of our opponents, the more one is astonished. The 

 United Kingdom must manage to train a team during the en- 

 suing twelvemonth which will bring the trophy across the 

 Atlantic for once, if only to tempt an American team to come 

 and fight for it at Wimbledon. 



Regular Army Practice. — The report of General Benet, 

 Chief of Ordnance, made to Congress within the past few days 

 contains some interesting facts touching the confessed inability 

 of our regular arni3 r men to make anything like a respectable 

 showing before the targets. That such a deficiency does exist, 

 with few exceptions, is beyond question, and it has frequently 

 been remarked that much of the apparent want of success on 

 the part of the troops in their encounters with Indian outlaws is 

 the fact that the savages know how to make their firing effect- 

 ive, while the soldiers waste their efforts and ammunition in 

 wild shooting. At many points where regular troops are sta- 

 tioned, target practice is not systematically followed out, if 

 attempted at all, and at many other stations it is only the 

 presence and example of the resident militia which has com- 

 pelled them to a certain amount of drill. This state of ineffi- 

 ciency has been the natural outcome of a miserly system of 

 restriction in the issue of ammunition. Certain it is that 

 without a reasonable supply of material with which to prac- 

 tice, the men will never reach even a reasonable degree of 

 skill in the use of the regulation arm. General Benet speaks 

 as follows : 



In no one particular are we so lamentably deficient as in the 



supply of metallic ammunition. Until recently only ten 

 rounds per man per month for target practice has' been 

 allowed, making a total of 3,000,000 of cartridges required 

 annually for this important purpose. Experience has con- 

 clusively proved that this allowance is entirely inadequate to 

 teach the. soldier the use of his rifle, and perfect him as a 

 marksman. Constant applications from the troops aud from 

 commanding Generals for a larger supply clearly indicate its 

 absolute necessity, and upou my recommendation the allow- 

 ?. n «™ l ,as bcen doubled > making the annual expenditure 

 6,000,000 ol cartridges. Our reserve stock of cartridges 

 calibre 45, is only 0,000,000. wwgwi, 



—The Separate Troop Cavalry, at Oswego, have challenged 

 the Porty-Eighth Regiment to a rifle match for a supper — 

 distance for infantry 20Q and 500 yards with rifles ; for caval- 

 ry 200 and 300 yards, with carbines. The infantry team is 

 composed of Col. C. V. Houghton, Lieut. J. S. Barton, Serg't 

 L. L. Barnes, Corporal A. Cropsey, Bereft-Major Geo. White 

 1 he cavalry team will be Capt. Turner, Lieut Newell, Lieut. 

 Wellington, Serg't Haven and private Wagner. 



Another Challenge.— The Zettler Rifle Club, discontent- 

 ed with their defeat at the fall shooting of the Helvetia Rifle 

 Club, has challenged the latter club to another match, which 

 will take place at the Sehuetzen Park in Union Hill, on Mon- 

 day, October 20. Great interest is attached to this match 

 the result of which I will not fail to communicate to you for 

 publication in your next issue. s. O. V. 



Amateur Rifle Club.— The Competition for the Bronze 

 Medal of the National Rifle Association, will take place at 

 Creedmoor, Long Island, Saturday, October 27, 1877, at 10-30 

 A. m. Conditions, open only to members of the Amateur Rifle 

 Club; distances: 800, 900 aud 1,000 yards, fifteen shots at each! 

 no sighting shots, coaching or previous practice on day of 

 match allowed ; position and rifles, anv within the rules En- 

 trance fee, $1. Prize to become the' personal property of 

 the winner in this competition. 



Joseph Holland, Secretary. 



Conlin's Rifle Gallery.— Mr. Conlin has inaugurated 

 something new in the way of gallery competitions, whfch can 

 not help being popular. The prize offered is an elegant "old 

 badge which is to be won three times, not necessarilly con- 

 secutively, before becoming the property of the winner The 

 following are the conditions of the match: Each competitor 

 to load his.rifle and fire as many shots as he can within one 

 minute and a half* time (by the sandglass) at a reduced 

 Creedmoor target. The competitions to be shot every Mon- 

 day evening till the badge is finally won. Each competitor to 

 have two trials during the evening. If a shot should be fired 

 after ' time" is called the average value of one shot will be 

 deducted from the total score. Iu case of a "tie" another 

 target to be shot. All disputes to be decided by a referee 

 Open to all comers. 



The first competition took place last Monday evening. 



Thomas Wilds, MD S ^ t3> **»*■ 



Pierre Lorillard '. :.". r %l 



Dr. Dudley l\[,] it °» 



JDCheever ."" ,5 57 



AJHowlett ' il i] 



Judge Shearman Smitn " v? aL 



EBoebling- \i f. ■ 



HA Shearman ]t, 1" 



XB Thurston 



BPinnegau .". a J | ** 



«r work .:::::::'.':';'.;••" 10 *1 



A J Wilson . o « 



Wm Klein 1\ *> 



The second competetion will take place at this ffdlery next 

 Tuesday evening, Oct. 29, 1877. y 



A Correction.— A correspondent writes to correct the score 

 of Mr. A. G. Afford at the long range match at Chicago the 

 other day. The score should have been 7o instead of°74 as 

 stated. 



THE "UPSET" OF BULLETS. 



I will give you, in brief, the experiments of Mr. A. S. Fowle, ariHe 

 maker and rifle shooter, of Newark, N. J. Iq conversation with Mr'. 

 Fowle, he was satisfied that there was soni< thing that impaired the 

 11 glit of missiles when qnick powder was u.sed, and he had no donbt 

 but they were forced out of sliape while in the gnn, aud on a favorable 

 ociMsion he instituted the following experiments : Perhaps the most 

 important of these experiments were conducted by a .40-ral muzzie 

 1 lading rihe, 230 grains of lead and Sj grains of powder. All the pow- 

 der used was Hazaid's. It was found by shooiing 6au yards and land- 

 ing the mUsiles into a Hgnt, but veiy thick snow-drift, when coarse 

 alow powder was used (I think No. 4 duck size), the missile was per- 

 fect; but when the powder was reduced to liner, PG sea shooting 

 with little change in trajectory, the missiles were quile visibly upset or 

 flattened at the front; and where, the powder w«s reduced to FiTIHi 

 the missiles were mnshed like putty, and their flight was seriously d,s- 

 turhed. At each charge of powder a new locality in the drift was 

 chosen, so that when the snow thawed away, those missiles that could 

 not be found before could theu be gathered in their order; and, not at 

 all strange to me, the missiles were found mashed regularly as the 

 quicker powder had been used, and none had stripped or jumped the 

 rifling. 



The next experiment was with a Remington Creedmoor, regular 

 sized missile, containing 1-32 tin. >VItli 106 grains of PG powder 

 these wore visibly upset. As these by their weight and great force 

 would pass through the drift and reach tne ground, thereby getting 

 scratched and sometimes bruised on the point, it became necessary to 

 determine whether the missile was upset by contact with the air or the 

 earth, and, in order to do this, Mr. P. inserted snugly a haul piece of 

 wood that Just filled the inner chamber of the missile, which, it was 

 thought, while the two forces were acting simultaneously, it would 

 prevent the upsetting of the missile at that point. On shooting, tne 

 fact was proved. Every missile Are- 1 was now upset from the point to 

 the plug, and from the butt or heel the flanges also swelled to the ping, 

 leaving a distinct neck opposite the plug. 



It is here claimed that If the mash or up 3 et had taken place by con- 

 tact with the earth, the mash would have extended through both wood 

 and metal, and would have been greatest at the point of contact- but 

 on the contrary, the mash was evenly distributed through the point of 

 the missile to the plug. The shortening of these Creedmoor missiles 

 with 105 grains powder, was near one-eighth of an inch; those fired 

 with 80 grains were not visibly compressed, notwithstanding they were 

 variously scraped on the side of the convex point by contact with the 

 earth, like those fired by the 105-graln charges. 



We regard this knowledge of the air resistance in guns Important to 

 riflemen, since by such experiments it may be determined exactly 

 how much force the metal they use for missiles will bear without in 

 jury to theirflight. Steaight-Bore 



