I 
524 
club selling targets at one cent and remember 
they will bring 300% during the tournament and 
some of them as “pick-ups” will almost earn 
their weight in gold. “Pick-ups” are not for 
tournament work but for the club shoots and 
practice. 
With the targets nicely stored on the 15th of 
April the momentous question of the programs 
may be freely tackled. On this undertaking 
there must be no mistake. They must be clear, 
logical and attractive in design and a printer 
chosen who knows how to use his different 
sized type with telling effect. No part of it 
may be slighted but a few things stand out as 
very important. “The Interstate Association’s 
State Amateur Championship” event must be 
announced in so many words. The Association 
awards seven prizes to the seven high guns in 
this event. They are chosen by the winners 
from an illustrated list and a note of the choice 
is made on blanks supplied by the Association. 
The prizes are not sent for display. Let it be 
understood that “target only” men will have 
every chance at the trophies that those shooting 
in the money will have. An eight page program 
brings the arrangement just about right so that 
enough advertising space may be sold to hotels, 
restaurants and the motor car hospitals to enable 
the club to pay for at least half and perhaps 
all of the $15.00 that 600 would cost. 'We are 
told just what the Interstate Association will do, 
we know what the state association will do and 
what the local club can afford so then we may 
study a number of programs of other state 
tournaments, make a draft, send it for cor¬ 
rection to the state association officers, on its 
return make a corrected draft, hand it to the 
printer, get a proof and if all is well place the 
order. By the time the frogs have wound up 
their Spring evening concerts the programs 
should be in the club secretary’s hands and let 
him send a first one to the secretary of the 
Interstate as per agreement and he may well 
hang onto the acknowledgement of receipt of 
this program with both hands. A second lot 
should go to each of the members of the 
Interstate Association for we want all the trade 
representatives available. A third lot ought to 
go to the reasonably nearby clubs running tour¬ 
naments at about this time. Fully a month be¬ 
fore the first gun a bundle may well go to the 
secretary of each live club in the state and 
neighboring states; follow this dose with a 
program to each live individual shooter from 
FOREST AND STREAM 
lists obtained from state secretaries, the indi¬ 
vidual shooter will appreciate the attention and 
when a card reaches him three days before the 
opening date with a special invitation it is a 
sign that money and labor have done all that 
can be done and it is “up to” these recipients of 
the shooting literature. 
• It is a weak kneed gun club that can’t rally a 
delegation to help and “hollar” at the installation 
of the auto traps. The clay saucer throwing 
machines weigh each with pulling pipe 380 
pounds and are as near fool proof as Yankee 
ingenuity can make them and that means im¬ 
mune. The process is simple and straightfor¬ 
ward from pulling stand to the plate on which 
the target roosts for a moment before starting 
on its unknown angle that may mean many a 
heart throb or thrill of victory when the last 
returns are in. The solemn faced trap houses 
which enclose these machines must be at least 7 
feet broad and 6 deep and as much broader as 
is in reason for their capacity to hold targets 
measures the smoothness with which a shot is 
run. When one of these enclosures is built to 
house a trap permanently it is well to keep in 
mind that every precaution must be taken to 
keep water out for when it runs in and freezes 
it is absolutely hopeless to operate the trap. 
Squad sheets are large and when many of 
them have to be written up and assorted fot 
quick delivery to the score boards it is apparent 
the office space must conform to the require¬ 
ments. The sheets cost one and one-quarter 
cents each or may be obtained free from the 
powder manufacturers. Of course the office will 
be screened off from the contestants and be 
furnished with broad counter, wicket, and neat 
paper-covered shelf on which to display the 
trophies. Of all the office equipment nothing is 
more important than the cashier’s sheets. They 
may best be obtained from the powder com¬ 
panies, and their operation will be described 
later. The bulletin board is a part of the office 
equipment although it has its location apart from 
it. On it reside the record sheets on which are 
posted the scores of each contestant by events. 
It saves the cashier from being interrupted 
again and again if the value of the four ratio 
points are posh I for ea h event, this is allow¬ 
ing we use the usual and popular Rose System, 
5 , 3 . 2, 1. Let us post the illustrated folder of 
the Interstate prizes so that the whole field of 
shooters may make a selection though only 7 
can win them. The powder representatives will 
hail with glee any free space for the posting 
of their long run record blanks. 
This is bringing us almost to the opening pop 
from gun number one so up goes the big tent 
one end of which will house the mid-day 
luncheon outfit and the rest will afford with the 
club house ample protection against rain and 
hot sunshine. We will have it arranged without 
walls for they make it stifling inside and the 
inmates can get no view of the shooting. There 
yet remains one important part of the ground 
equipment. Well back of the pulling stand at 
each trap layout posts should be set and a rope 
connection made between them. During the 
regular shooting of the day its use may not be 
over apparent but at the end of the program 
when shoot-offs are being shot and the crowd 
presses forward to watch each target which may 
mean a large amount of money or glory or both, 
the contestants in the shoot-off feel a great need 
of air, space and silence and the rope is worth 
its weight in gold to them. Their nerves are 
keyed to a pitch that sometimes pulls a flinching 
shooter completely off his balance to the extent 
that he would pitch forward unless he caught 
himself with a step or two. 
Not a small part of the pleasure of the tour¬ 
nament is to be found in the hotel lobbies on 
the night before when new acquaintances are 
made and old ones are renewed. Other days at 
the traps are shot over and many an invita¬ 
tion given “to be sure to be at such and such a 
shoot.” No cleaner nor more sportsmanlike gath¬ 
ering can be found than a group of trapshooters, 
each one a participant, not a spectator in the 
game. 
On the morning of the shoot the secretary 
shakes his eyes open at an early hour. What is 
that warm, mellow beam of light streaming 
through the eastern window pane? Real, honest 
sunlight. No greater gift could be handed to 
his club. He is on the shooting grounds a good 
hour and a half before the opening hour, seeing 
that all is ready. The trap boys, pullers and 
scorers are on hand an hour early and are in¬ 
structed again in every detail. The cashier ar¬ 
rives, perhaps a hi ed one or he may be a man 
proficient in all the office details who has been 
sent by a member of the Interstate Association. 
At any rate the money is turned over to him 
and he arranges the cashier’s sheet for the first 
comer. Many will arrive a little early and want 
to practice and let every trapshooter enter for 
the practice events as religiously as though it 
