!Au6. 25, J900.J 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
1S9 
In the Mattef of Handicaps — I. 
In target shooting, handicapping by distance is now coming into 
such general vogue that some information concerning it may be of 
special interest to new clubs, and even to older clubs, which have 
given the subject but little if any thought. Before treating of its 
particular details, let us consider some of the principles on which it 
rests. 
As every one knows, the trapshooters, compared one with an- 
other, vary greatly in the skill which they possess in the use of 
the shotgun. Among the thousands of them there are degrees 
from the lowest to the highest; but, as in most every other inter- 
est, the majority of approximate skill will be found between the 
two extremes, the intermediate degrees. 
For the sake of illustration rather than for any nicety of pre- 
cision, let us assume that the average of tournament skill is from 
70 to 100 per cent. It probably varies even more, but at this 
estimate it is evident that there is a wide difference in the capa- 
bility of shooters who enter a competition. Indeed, it not infre- 
quently happens that there are extremely variable degrees of ability 
in the same individual, which may manifest themselves one event 
after another many times during the same day, or perchance the 
in-and-out shooter performs phenomenally well one day and unac- 
countably poorly the next. 
The high class men — those who can shoot up to a certain high 
standard of excellence with reasonable certainty day after day — are 
few indeed as compared to the great sum total of shooters. On 
the other hand, the shooter who does not improve with practice 
and who has not an ever lively belief that he can do better next 
time is rare indeed. 
But in tournament matters the amateur— by the way, a misnomer 
as it is generally used, for it is mistakenly applied to him who 
shoots poorly instead of to him who is not a professional — long 
since discovered that he could not be even moderately successful 
in competition with the expert on even terms, and therefore he 
for a time competed very little or not at all in such sections of the 
land as had afforded the best opportunities for his trapshooting 
schooling. The modesty of the beaten trapshooters, exhibited by 
refraining from competition, was regretfully observed as a matter 
of course, and a cure for it was sought. 
However, instead of directly considering the matter of skill as 
between man and man, the point wherein lay the true equity, there 
were by wise men evolved many "systems" more or less intricate 
which governed the division of the moneys, and which, thougli 
professing to make a more equitable division and competition for 
the "amateur," were fallacious, misleading and inadequate. It re- 
quires but little thought to perceive that juggling with what a 
shooter is competing for detracts not a jot from the skill of the 
man opposed to him, nor adds a jot to his own chances. When 
one considers the irrelevancy of such efforts and their abstu-dities 
"in practical use, it will appear strange that they should ever have 
had so much serious consideration. 
It may be safely assumed that a poor shot and an expert, stand- 
ing on the same mark in competition at a target tournament, are 
not in equitable competition, regardless of what mathematics may 
be applied to the division of the moneys. Under these conditions 
the winner is known before a shot is fired. As a matter of 
figures, it is conceded that the money can be so divided that the 
tailender will receive a part of it, but, so far as having an equal 
chance with the expert— a chance to have the honor of beating him 
as well as to have the honor of winning the prize — the poor shot 
has none, though under such systems he had a constant chance 
to be a tailender. 
Let us assiime that there are two shooters, A and B, in ' com- 
petition, and that A is a 95 per cent, class man, while his opponent 
fluctuates about SO per cent. Let us further assume that they have 
$10 as the subject of competition, §5 put up by each. Now, if we 
juggle with the $10 with any kind of a system, as a matter of equity 
it does not even remotely affect the competition between A and B. 
A breaks his 95 per cent., and B his 80 per cent, just the same, 
regardless of how the money may be divided. There thus is 
no competition between them in its true sense. A knows to a 
certainty that he can beat B. He therefore does not need to ex- 
tend himself. On the other hand, let B exert himself to his utmost 
and there still is such a distance between him and his opponent 
that there is not, excepting as a matter of trapshooting fiction, any 
race 
If we consider that the $10 are so divided that A gels $5.10 
and B gets $4.90, and that B after all is but 10 cents loser, we are 
then confronted with the proposition that he quite as well might 
have shot for 10 cents in the first instance, and furthermore that 
if he shoots times enough with A, it is but a question of the 
number of times before the money is transferred from his inicket 
to that of A. 
Now the common sense method of establishing an equity between 
A and B is to deal directly witli them. We observe the differences 
of skill and we proceed to establish a handicap. B can perform 
best at a certain mark, which let us assume to be say 16yds., and 
we place him there. Put A at 20, and if he is still too strong for 
B, put him buck still further. Do not for a moment consider that 
there is any ditiliculty in the problem of making A equal to B in a 
competitive sense. There is none. Nothing can be done to make 
B shoot better, but much can be done to make A shoot worse. It 
is only a matter of putting him back far enough, whether he is 
shooting at either live birds or targets. There is a distance point 
at which there is a reasonable equity of competition between A 
and B, at which both will have to exert themselves to their 
utmost to win, and at which there is a real race between the two 
opponents, instead of a mere juggle for the money. This prin- 
ciple holds good among a greater number of competitors as well 
as it does between A and B. It establishes an uncertainty as to 
who can win, and so long as this uncertainty is maintained there 
is interest and competition. 
However, tournament managers, up to within a very recent • 
period, seemed reluctant to meddle with the experts seriously 
by setting them back to a greater distance, and hence any kind 
of other makeshifts which were plausible on their face and 
sufficiently well supported to get a trial, served to divert the 
multitude of shooters till such time as numerous practical tests 
exposed their fallacies. 
Under many of the old "systems," so far as any equity of com- 
petition is concerned, the weaker shooters never had it. It was a 
cinch from first to last for the expert. The neglect of the true 
solution is all the more astonishing in view of the fact that the 
true principles of handicapping were observed in live-bird shoot- 
ing, as well as in other forms of competition. In running races 
the superior horse carried a greater weight; the faster sprinter gave 
his weaker competitor some yards of start; the trotters were 
guarded by classification, etc., but, strange to say, target shooters 
were supposed for a long time to be properly safeguarded by some 
intricate mixing up of the moneys which were to be shot for. 
Such was not unlike the system of the old doctor who gave an 
emetic to remove a splinter frbm the foot of a patient. 
The- recent Gr-inf) American Handicap Target TocmaTnerit jil 
Interstate Park, while not the first that adopted the principle of a 
distance handicap in a target tournament, was the first which 
adopted it in a comprehensive and efficient manner. Some man- 
agements had rathei- timorously adopted 14, 16 and 18yds. as con- 
taining the elements of a handicap, and some had even used the 
20}'d. mark, but it remained for the Interstate Association to adopt 
distances which would establish a true equity among the shooters. 
This tournameiTt determined a great deal in respect to handicap- 
ping and to the ability of the experts, all valuable for future 
reference. It determined that the latter were so far superior to the 
average shooter that the matter of a couple of yards back of 16 
was too insignificant to be worthy of consideration. It determined 
that the 16yd. mai-k as a standard is too close for the average 
shooter of to-day. It should be reserved in a hartdicap for the 
weakest shooters. However much this mark may have been correct 
in the early days of trapshooting, or, rather, after the early days, 
what with improved guns and loads and the greater skill of the 
multitude of shooters, it for a standard is too close now; 18yds. 
would be better. 
The average tournament shooter, standing at 18yds., is not 
handicapped in the least, and as for putting the expert at ISyds. 
with the idea that he is thereby handicapped, it is absurdly er- 
roneous. Placing a shooter at 14yds. with the idea that he thereby 
receives an advantage is still more erroneous. A shooter who is 
not good enough to have a fair chance in a tournament on his own 
skill from the 16yd. mark cannot be benefited by standing nearer, 
for if the No. 1 and No. 5, at 14yds., are as wide apart as at 16yds. 
the angles of the targets are much more acute, the field of vision 
is not so wide, and the load of shot has not time to scatter so 
for if the Nos. 1 and 5 traps at 14yds. are as wide apart as at 16yds. 
mark, his chances to win in any tournament are very remote in- 
deed. He .should bear in mind that no handicap can compensate 
for an absence of a reasonable degree of skill. There is, or 
should be, a distinction between a handicap and a school of shoot- 
ing. If, however, a novice chooses to enter a competition, know- 
ing that his skill is inadequate to reasonably insure success, it is 
his own affair, and yet he could obtain equally as good schooling 
at much cheaper rates. If he enters with an idea that a handicap 
will compensate for the absence of skill, he deceives himself if 
there are any important differences in the skill of the contestants — 
and in tovu'nameuts there generally are such ditferences. 
It was shown at the recent Interstate target tournament tliat 
targets could be broken with much success from the 30yd. mark. 
At the 16yd. mark the shooter can see his target well, the target 
angles are not particularly acute, and the targets are well within 
reach of his gun even when near the end of their flight. This 
should be the closest mark. The real handicapping begins after 
the I8yd. mark is passed. The distances then begin to be more in 
harmony with the ability of the better shooters and the powers 
of their guns and loads, and to tax their skill. 
The matter of handicapping will be further treated in following 
papers. Bernard Waters. 
Reminiscences of Winnipeg. 
Editor Forest and Stream: 
Chatting one evening in South America with Gott.schalk, the 
famous pianist, I ventured to ask him how it was that he had 
named one of his beautiful compositions "Recuerdos do Para." 
Why Para and not some other larger city? Said he, in a 
dreamy waj', "Well, friend, I have been about this world a great 
deal, but f never have left a place with more genuine regret than 
Para. To me there is a charm about the place which I cannot 
describe, and can. still less shake off; so I dedicated that piece 
to the memory of Para." 
And so it is, for while it may be true that the wanderer seldom 
forms a lasting attachment for any one place it is equally certain 
that some particular spot rivets itself into his mind with far 
greater force than many another — be it for some person or persons 
for whom a warm attachment is formed; be it for some special 
attraction in the way of scene or episode; some startling surprise, 
coming as it does to break the monotony of routine travel ; ,or 
some series of such affairs, clinched the more firmly by acts of 
imiycrsal kindness and good fellowship extended to one far away 
from home and friends, 
Pos.sibly Gottschalk, though encountering less tinsel and glitter 
in Para at the mouth of the Amazon than in Paris on the Seme, 
felt that his reception there was of more spontaneous sincerity 
and therefore more charming to him. Hence we now have 
"Recuerdos do Para" and no "Recuerdos de Paris." 
Tci me, then, in an humble way, I say "Recollections of Winni- 
peg, ' for a combination of all the pleasures that go to make some 
phases of life brighter and happier than others overtook me at 
Winnipeg, that bi-ight and shining spot -in the far-away North, 
whence my mind constantly reverts with feelings of deepest ad- 
miration, gratitude and delight. 
An attempt to analyze in a cold-blooded way why we like or dis- 
like some places, people or things is an unsatisfactory task— a 
tedious one. We are aware that children and dogs intuitively know 
their true friends, and so it is with the genuine born-in-the-wool 
sportsman. There is an unseen and indescribable bond which, ' in- 
tangible though it be, fastens one man to another, regardless of 
religion, politics, creed or nationality, and that bond is sports- 
manship. We remember with unfailing fondness the chum who 
divided his la.st few shells when birds were flying low and fast. 
We remember the men who shoot on their own side. We never 
forget those who, though loving their horses and dogs best, have 
still breadth enough of soul to see good points in ours where they 
exist, and we love them the more for it — for these are the manly 
men, who most heartily applaud a good shot, a bold leap, or a 
plucky act of any kind. These are sportsmen, and I verily "believe 
that no place of equal population can boast of more of such men, 
take them as they come, than can Winnipeg. 
Naturally my mind reverts to Winnipeg, Land of the Far North 
— albeit cold and bleak in its long winters, yet fostering as it does 
v.'arm-hearied men, sportsmen. 
Dense centers of population are not calculated to -develop in man 
the same noble traits of character that we find in more sparsely 
'Settled localities, so perhaps it comes about that the bold and 
sturdy men who first pitched their tents in far-away lands, re- 
moved by many miles from civilization, develop many sterling 
traits of character which might have remained dormant had they 
lingered around the old homestead fireside in ease and luxury, 
"^dependent of help, excepting that which their wealth procured. 
\\hatever be the cause, the effect is the same. The chivalrous 
hospitable Southron strides into your affections by his genuine 
politeness, affability and spontaneous generosity. Every well- 
bred_ traveler has commented on this, nor could he do otherwise, 
for it is all as apparent as the blazing sun, the moss-covered 
grand old oaks, the singing of the mockingbird, the glorious 
Mississippi surging down its widespread banks. 
Whatever else he may have lost in the way of sheckels and 
chattels, the born Southern gentleman has these traits, and they 
have proclaimed him what he is— a prmce if in his power, a hos- 
pitable host always, perchance with only a meager meal to divide, 
but always with an open heart and a free hand, and therein lies 
the charm of it. 
My first visit to Winnipeg, though a flying one, brought back to 
me many of the fascinating traits of the far sunny South, and 
tjiough getting but a hasty glimpse I stood amazsd at the 
similiarity of its people. Now. having seen and known more of its 
men, I find a still greater resemblance, for never in my life have 
I been received with more cordial hospitality, courtesy and bon 
camaraderie than at Winnipeg — Land of the North— cold and 
bleak in the winter though it be! 
So I say with reluctance and deepest regret, au revoir, yo-u big, 
brawny men, whose handshake savors of a tug of war; au^ revoir^ 
my friends, whose lusty, hearty cheers make the woodland rine; 
au revoir, brother sportsmen, but not farewell. Think kindly 
as you may of your erstwhile guest of one who can never forget 
Winnipeg. ^ _. Gaucho. 
"No, yon kain't go swimmin'," cried old Farmer Hardman* "I 
got this here axe tew grind, an' ' 
■"Oh," protested his young son, "I don't wanter be a-griridin' 
ihet ole stone all the time." 
"Why. you worm! How dare ye? Ye'll do as T say." 
Then, tradition has it, the worm turned.— Philadelphia Prest 
The Brant County Rod and Gtin Clab. 
BrantfordT* Canada, Aug. 17. — Appended are the scores of our 
tournament, held Aug. 13 and 14. Mr. C. A. Montgomery, of this 
city, won the handsome silver cup given by the club for high 
aggregate, with .92,3 per cent. Mr, Forest H. Conover, represent- 
ing Dupont Powder Co., was a close second. 
There Was a good attendance of both shooters and spectators, 
and the presence of Mrs. Draisey, a lady shooter from Gait, created 
a decided interest in trapshooting in this city: 
Monday, Aug. 13, First Day, 
Events: 12 3 
Targets: 15 15 20 
Bates 8 12 12 
Price 10 13 17 
Conover 14 13 20 
Summerhays 13 12 19 
Cartier 10 10 . . 
Di-ai.sey 11 11 13 
Wayper 13 13 18 
Reid ........... . 9 13 16 
Stevens 12 12 17 
Mud 11 17 17 
Westbrook 14 12 17 
Mrs Drai.sey 32 .. 15 
Montgomery 13 14 18 
■ CutGliffe 13 14 18 
Birdsal! 14 
Wilson , 16 
Hunt 13 
Bugger 16 
Fletcher 16 
Mitchell 
Smith 14 17 
Marmalade' .. 14 
Robins 19 
Clin.: .. 17 
4 5 6 7 8 10 
25 20 15 25 15 15 
22 15 11 24 13 11 
21 19 13 24 13 14 
23 16 14 23 15 14 
24 19 14 21 13 14 
22 17 
14 15 
22 16 
21 13 
20 17 
16 
23 20 
25 16 
20 12 
19 16 
.. 11 
22 16 
16 .. 
13 20 12 .. 
15 23 14 14 
11 20 11 12 
13 23 14 15 
7 16 10 10 
15 20 13 11 
i.3 22 is 15 
14 19 13 13 
12 19 15 13 
13 23 14 12 
i3 20 12 ii 
'g 
Total. 
128 
144 
152 
149 
149 
121 
144 
112 
13» 
iss 
147 
18 15 12 18 
16 16 11 20 
22 
Tuesday, Aug. 14, Second Day. 
Events: 1 
Targets : 15 
Bates 30 
Conover 15 
Reid 9 
Stevens 12 
Summerhays 14 
Price ,.13 
Montgomery , ..>...>...•. 13 
Westbrook 11 
Cull 12 
(^harles 10 
Wayper 12 
Mud 10 
Cutcliffe : 14 
Gray 
Mitchell .. 
Newlands .. 
Mrs Draisey 
Draisey 
2 3 
15 20 
14 14 
14 38 
11 19 
10 .. 
14 38 
12 15 
15 37 
10 14 
8 .. 
.. 15 
12 18 
9 .. 
13 16 
5 6 7 8 9 10 
20 15 25 15 20 15 
12 11 19 13 12 13 
19 12 25 14 17 13 
18 . . 17 12 10 10 
16 11 22 11 19 12 
18 15 23 10 19 12 
16 12 24 12 15 12 
20 13 25 13 17 14 
.16 11 20 11 13 U 
.. 8 .. 15 15 13 
.. 4 .. 13 .. 12 
18 13 28 13 19 14 
.. 10 .. 9 .. .. 
15 10 38 12 19 13 
. . 13 13 8 10 8 
Total. 
118 
147 
148 
132 
147 
142 
8 15 
A. B. 
9 
12 14 
.. .. 12 .. 13 
.. .. 13 16 11 
Cutcliffe, Sec'y. 
Zanesvifle Gun Club. 
Zanesville, O,, Aug., 21. — Herewith find scores made at prac- 
tice shoot on Thursday last. This change of date was made at the 
request of numerous gentlemen who desired to attend, but found 
if held the latter part of any month the u.sual necessary trial 
balance would prevent. So numerous were such requests that the 
club quickly saw the impossibility of pulling the tournament 
through in one day, so they decided as above. 
The programme calls for five 10 and 15 target events and two 
20-target events for each day, with an entrance of .$1 and .$1.50 for 
the two tormer, per se, and $1 only for the 20-target events. The 
latter being for merchandise prizes only, and for amateurs only, 
no one ever having made over 70 per cent, is eligible to these 
last two events. 
Money divided in the first two named events Rose system, 5, 3, 
2 and 1, with privilege for targets only, should satisfy the most 
pronounced amateurs. 
The main feature of the tournament naturally centers in the 
team event, to which the club adds a very handsome and valuable 
prize. Five men and one substitute to constitute a team. All 
members of a team must be members of one club and enter as a 
ckib team. Each team pays an entrance of $25. Each to shoot at 
125 targets per day for the purse and prize. Purse divided 50, 30 
and 20 per cent. 
At this writing eight teaitts are entered for this event. 
The tournament will be a handicap one, 90 per cent, men being 
placed at 22yds., and 70 per cent, at 16yds. 
Shooting will be done over a magautrap and one set of expert 
traps will be rigged up in case of accident to the magautrap, or the 
impossibility, owing to a very large number of shooters, of carry- 
ing out the programme over the magautrap. 
The club is an old and very popular one, its membership con- 
sisting wholly of merchants and business men. It has had a wide 
experience in giving tournaments, hence those desiring to attend 
can be assured of a royal welcome and an enjoyable time. For 
programme and particulars write to L. F, Moore, the secretary: 
Scores made at practice shoot by the Zanesville Gun Club 
Thursday, Aug. 16: 
Shot 
at. 
Porter 50 
Hall 50 
Kemp 100 
Ensign 50 
Rev i ere 50 
Moore 75 
R E V 100 
Wiles 50' 
X Y Z 75 
Holloway 50 
Warner 125 
Hartmeyer 50 
Broke. 
46 
45 
89 
41 
40 
57 
75 
37 
55 
35 
88 
Av. 
.92 
.90 
.89 
.82 
.80 
.76 
.75 
.74 
.73 
.70 
.70 
.70 
Shot 
at. Broke. Av. 
Hull 50 34 . 68 
Gary . 110 73 .66 
Chappelear .... 50 33 . 66 
Ingler ....100 62 . 62 
Brown ,50 31 62 
Mercer 100 61 .61 
Reasoner 65 40 61 
Powers ........ 50 28 . 56 
Dennis 100 54 .54 
Jones 75 36 . 48 
Lihenthal 50 22 44 
L. A. MbORE, Sec'y. 
Staunton Gun Club. 
Stauntoj!, V^^. Aug. IS.— Herewith find scores made by the 
members of the Staunton Gun Club this week: 
Event at 50 targets on Aug. 17: 
Qpie OOOjOOAlOllGOlOlOOOtmOOOOOlOllllOllOlOOOOOOlOlOll— 17 
Steinbuck 00110100111011110111111111001111010010100010111111—33 
Garber 1 1111110101111101111011101111111101100101111110111--10 
(J E Smith ■. ,113 311101111111110011111001111] 1111001111010010001— .37 
Pawson 010O0O1110O1O11001O01OO013OO10000O000OOOI1110OO101— IS 
I^ii-acofe OOlllOOlOOlllllllllllOlOlllOllOlllllllllIllOOllOll— 37 
Event at 50 targets on Aug. 14: 
Quensen lllOlHOllCtOilOllllllOlllOllllllOllOOOllOllOlUllO— 36 
Steinbuck 11100011111110110010111111110111101101310010111101—36 
Garber .lUlllllOlimillllOmillflOllllUllllliOllioOOllllll— 39 
McCoy llllllllllOlllllllllllOlOllllllHlinoOllTlllllllll-44 
Merriken 10011101111111111011011111101111001101111111110111-40 
O E Smith .... . .001000011 0101111011111001011001 OlOOOOOOOTOlOOOlOll— 23 
Summerson 11111111130111111011100101111111011101017)000110111—37 
Event No. 1, 25 targets: 
Quensen HOllllllOllllirUllOllll— 22 
Summerson 0331111001111110000111101^-17 
Event No. 2, at 25 targets: 
Quensen 1111113333101010111111111-22 
bunimerson lOllllllOOOlOllTOllUllll— 1!) 
McCoy , llOlOOlllllllllulllOlUll- 20 
Sproul 1111011101111111111100011-20 
O E Smith 1111010010110110110101100—15 
Aug. 15.— Event at 25 targets: 
Merriken 131110110111011T011111111— 21 
McCoy , . .0111101110311101111101111—20 
Steinbuck , 0111111111110010011011101—18 
Garber , 1110101111111110111011011—20 
Quensen OllUlOlllllOOOlOOllllOll- 17 
Mr. Gilbert's Acceptance. 
Spirit Lake, la., Aug. 14— Editor Forest and: Stream ■ T am 
pleased to accept the challenge of Mr. J. A. R. Elliott as out/ 
lished, to a match for possession of the E C Cup, emblematic of 
the inanimate target championship of America. I beo- to nam- 
Friday. Aug. 31; 1900; and^ ArnQlil's Park; la., as time and place 
