1040 
FOREST AND STREAM 
Courtesy of the “Winged Foot. 
A Parlor at the Travers Island Club House of the New York Athletic Club, One of 
the Largest and Foremost Organizations of the Kind in the World. 
THE VACATION SHOOTING IRON 
FURNISHES AMUSEMENT AND IN THE 
HANDS OF THE CAREFUL IS HARMLESS 
By Fred. O. Copeland. 
A LL over the land July is the month of vaca¬ 
tions. In a high per cent, of cases the 
trap-gun cannot go along for while many 
of the large summer hotels now have trap-shoot¬ 
ing ranges, many prefer the quieter, smaller re¬ 
sorts further in the “bush” where regulation clay 
targets would be as hard to find as alligator 
tracks on the shores of Hudson’s Bay. It is true 
the little 20 or 28 gauge might go along but it 
probably will not, for shells are heavy in quan¬ 
tities even in these miniature sizes and they are 
not easy to obtain at the village drugstore. In 
short it is the month of the small bore target 
rifle, pistol or revolver. I say it with perhaps a 
prejudiced note but I believe it had better be 
the revolver. 
To those who will instantly arise and intimate 
that I am old-fashioned, I will say that the au¬ 
tomatic pistol handling the inexpensive .22 cal. 
ammunition will not be on the market again for 
two or three months. I am willing to admit 
there is a trace of sentiment in my choosing the 
revolver. Though our frontiers have met these 
many years, the thrilling days of the golden west 
and the type of weapon that playejl so great a 
part in its history still charm me. 
Then consider a good revolver, one made by 
any of our best makers, one with a long lean lit¬ 
tle six inch barrel, indeed, one beautifully pro¬ 
portioned and fashioned by the hand of an artist. 
As in the case of any weapon all the money you 
can afford in ornamentation will never be re¬ 
gretted. An artistically engraved little weapon of 
.22 cal., graced by ivory or pearl stocks bearing 
your monogram, is a beautiful object and a joy 
to shoot. 
The small target revolver is cozy to carry and 
so is its ammunition. Thousands of shots may 
be fired with a minimum of expense. It will 
undoubtedly be a “six shooter” and although it 
will take longer to clean it on account of the six 
chambers of the cylinder and the escape of pow¬ 
der around the breech of the barrel the satis¬ 
faction of having six shots at hand will perhaps 
balance the advantage of the easier cleaning sin¬ 
gle shot pistol. A stiff tooth brush or such a 
brush as is used in cleaning the type on a type¬ 
writer will very readily clean away the fouling 
about the fore part of the cylinder and breech 
end of the barrel. 
It takes skill to hit a small mark with a re¬ 
volver even though it is made especially for tar¬ 
get work and that is why it is fascinating sport. 
Remember, Pat Garrett, the New Mexican sher¬ 
iff, said: “If you can hit a black spot the size 
of a silver dollar twice out of five shots at fif¬ 
teen steps, you are ‘shooting some.’ ” It is bet¬ 
ter to begin at 12 yards shooting at a 1V2 inch 
bull’s-eye which is the theoretically correct size 
for this distance—by the way, it adapts itself to 
your cellar, your winter range—or even a larger 
mark in order to gain confidence; then, as skill 
is acquired, draw back to 20 yards, shooting at 
the regulation 2.72 inch bull’s-eye and at last 
when you are nearing the master’s degree, take 
the full distance, 50 yards, at the standard Amer¬ 
ican target with its 8 inch bull’s-eye. 
Most people enjoy seeing something drop or 
at least wiggle when they hit it. The standard 
regulation American tomato can attached to a 
string suspended from a bough over water will 
not only furnish the proper contortions of agony 
when hit but you may see where you are holding 
by the misses striking the water beyond the can. 
Remember to squeeze the shot off, not pull it off, 
and that a good revolver allows the front sight 
to be elevated or lowered and the rear sight a 
lateral movement, called “windage” by the faith¬ 
ful. Therefore, adjust the sights to you and 
make it your religion, like that of the frontier, not 
to miss. 
In conclusion it is hardly necessary to say that 
this article is written only for the man who 
knows what a revolver is and how to use it. 
He holds all small wild animal life sacred, does 
not wantonly shoot birds, squirrels, etc., simply 
because they furnish a moving target, and is 
extra careful in knowing that his practice will 
not send a bullet where it is liable to injure 
human beings or live stock. 
courtesy ot the “Winged 
Showing the Approach of the Travers Island Country Club House of the New York Athletic Club-This Is the Scene 
of Some of the Most Notable and Famous Trapshooting Events Held in the East-Champions 
Have Been Graduated Here. 
