Jan. i, 1910.] 
FOREST AND STREAM 
31 
unit is mainly used for heights and the latter for horizon¬ 
tal distances, and as it is impossible to think equally 
clearly in two measures, it is only reasonable to suppose 
that feet are at times mistaken for yards in estimating 
height. 
The ordinary hayrick is, for instance, one of the com¬ 
monest objects of the countryside, and it is erected at a 
fairly uniform height of about 20ft. Birds frequently fly 
no higher than would enable them comfortably to clear 
the top of a hayrick, and as the muzzle of the gun is 
practically 8ft. from the ground, it may be said that the 
range of a bird clearing a hayrick by a margin of 6ft. 
or 8ft., is between 6 and 7yds. from the muzzle of the 
gun if taken at a fairly overhead angle. Such a bird 
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Fig. 3. —Improved Cylinder at 10yds. This pattern is 
capable of placing 135 pellets into the body, etc., of a 
pheasant. Total area of pheasant’s body, not including 
feathers, 46 1 /4sq.in. 
would be badly riddled with shot if it caught the full 
brunt of the charge; but every pattern has its thinnish 
lining, so that the occasions when mangled remains have 
to be gathered are only a percentage of the number of 
close shots taken. 
When clay birds are thrown from a medium height of 
tower, reaching, say, to the top of a well-grown elm tree, 
all the shots, except those taken at wide angles, are 
within a 20yds. zone, measuring from the muzzle of the 
gun. That this must be so is evident the moment a gun 
with half or full choke is used. The clay birds are either 
clean missed or blown into powder, and the distance must 
be a good deal increased before the characteristic effect 
produced by the impact of two or three pellets is at¬ 
tained. If the conditions which have been reviewed are 
correctly stated, it is apparent that 10yds. must be a 
frequent game shooting distance; 20yds. then becomes a 
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Fig. 4.—Half Choke at 8yds. 
medium range, 30yds. is quite a long way off, and a 
40yds. shot seems out of reach. Till quite recent years 
shooting experiments were mainly conducted over a 
range of 40yds. Of late the distance is frequently halved, 
and it is now proposed to concentrate attention on what 
may seem the absurdly short range of 10yds. At this 
distance the full choke gun produces the kind of diagram 
which is represented in Fig. 1 of the acompanying series 
of reproductions from actual results. The whole of the 
charge is contained in a 9in. square, while the thickest 
cluster of pellets is concentrated in a 4in. circle. A gun 
behaving in this manner seems hopelessly unsuitable for 
use at such a distance; certainly the shooter’s chances 
are greatly diminished by the small area of spread. The 
half choke, as depicted in pattern No. 2, is very little 
better, though it may perhaps have happened that the 
particular result selected for illustration was rather on 
Fig. 5.—Improved Cylinder at 594yds. 
the close side. Admittedly some of the others in the 
series were much less concentrated. The improved cyl¬ 
inder pattern, which is third in the series, introduces 
much better conditions, and excluding other considera¬ 
tions, is sufficient to make a man bar any other system 
of boring for the rest of his shooting career. On the 
other hand, it must be remembered that each gun has its 
best distance, and that all short-range experiments favor 
cylinder boring, just as much as all experiments at the 
further distance favor a considerable degree of choke. 
The present series of pattern reproductions are partic¬ 
ularly interesting as giving the exact relation at the 10yds. 
distance of the three chief systems of boring. The quicker 
the shooting and the more approximate the aim, the 
greater is the chance of striking a bird with the margin 
only of the pattern. Now and again a less fortunate 
result will supervene, and the moral drawn by onlookers 
is not always just to the man who has had the bad luck 
to shoot too straight. The offense of smothering a bird 
is not wholly confined to full choke guns or even half 
chokes, as is proved by the exceedingly instructive dia¬ 
grams Nos. 4 and 5 in the present series. These two 
diagrams were obtained after the firing of many shots 
and a careful scrutiny of results. At the finish it was 
decided that the improved cylinder gun repeated at 
514yds. the behavior of the full choke at 10yds.—surely a 
tremendous advantage in favor of the open shooting gun 
on estates where low-flying birds are the rule. The half 
choke, instead of occupying the midway position of 
794yds., needed to be fired from a distance of 8yds. to 
reproduce the full choke’s standard of misbehavior at 
10yds. The slight disproportion in favor of cylinder bor¬ 
ing fits in with previous experiences, and therefore needs 
no special examination. 
The general teaching of the entire series of patterns 
here depicted is that no boring of gun entirely protects 
the shooter from the possibility of smashing his birds. 
Diagram No. 3 shews that at 10yds. the improved cylinder 
can put the respectable total of 135 pellets into a pheas¬ 
ant at 10yds. Turning yards into feet and adding an 
allowance for the height of the gun muzzle above the 
ground, an improved cylinder can make a still worse 
mess of a bird which clears the previously mentioned rick 
with a margin of 2ft. Birds rising close by the firing 
line, especially in the earlier part of the season, when the 
leaf is thick, frequently present the only possible chance 
of a shot at this seemingly absurdly short range. The 
half choke, with its power of spoiling game at 8yds., 
widely extends the opportunities for misdemeanors. A 
bird is flying at a quite respectable height when 32ft. 
clear of the ground, this distance being made up of the 
8yds. from the muzzle of the gun plus 8ft. for the eleva¬ 
tion of the latter. The ordinary house with two floors 
and an attic comes just within the height named. Bear¬ 
ing in mind that many guns are bored with improved 
cylinder for the right and half choke in the left, it will 
be admitted that with driven birds, a miss with the right 
barrel is frequently followed by a practically overhead 
shot with the left. If the gun is held well forward, the 
extended neck receives the punishing part of the charge; 
but a very little reduction of the forward load will pro¬ 
duce the characteristic smother of feathers which later on 
causes the shooter to advance in fear and trembling to 
where the bird lies. No better means exists of judging 
the range at which birds are shot than to pass the eye 
rapidly backward and forward between the cloud of 
feathers, which denotes, after the bird has fallen, the 
precise situation where it was shot and the position of 
the gun muzzle at the moment of shooting. The number 
of times the height of the shooter goes into the height 
of the cloud of feathers gives the height of the bird. 
Deducting therefrom the 8ft. for the position of the gun 
muzzle, the net result reduced to yards provides a most 
excellent argument for endeavoring to take all low-flying 
shots before the birds have reached the overhead angle. 
The lessons which these diagrams seek to instil can only 
be fully appreciated by the man who will take the trouble 
to compare the apparent length of a ladder, first, when 
prone on the ground, and, second, when erected against 
a tree or house.—Field (London). 
The Forest and Stream may be obtained from any 
newsdealer on order. Ask your dealer to supply you 
regularly. 
New York Athletic Club. 
Travers Island, N. Y.. Dec. 25.—Eleven brave trap- 
shooters faced the gale and swirling snow on the grounds 
of the Club to-day. Six events were shot, and of these 
F. H. Schauffler won legs on four, the holiday cup, the 
Westley-Richards gun, the De Wolfe cup and the Hall 
cup. Also in the shoot-off for the December cup with 
previous leg winners, he won, defeating F. A. Hodgman 
and G. W. Kuchler. Scores: 
December cup, handicap, 
25 targets: 
II. T. 
H. 
T. 
*A L Burns . 
. 0 23 
Dr H J Thielman. 
,. 0 
20 
F H Schauffler.... 
. 0 22 
G E Greiff. 
. 0 
19 
F A Hodgman. 
. 0 21 
G M Thomson.... 
.. 2 
18 
G T Corbett. 
. 2 21 
G W Kuchler. 
,. 0 
16 
P R Robinson. 
. 4 21 
R D Murray. 
.. 5 
14 
Shoot-off for possession 
of cup with previous 
leg 
winners: 
F H Schauffler.... 
. 0 20 
G W Kuchler. 
. 0 
15 
F A Hodgman. 
. 0 16 
Holiday cup, handicap, 25 
targets: 
F H Schauffler.... 
. 0 20 
*A L Burns. 
. 0 
17 
G E Greiff. 
. 0 20 
F A Hodgman.... 
. 0 
16 
Dr H T Thielman.. 
. 0 19 
G T Corbett. 
. 2 
15 
G M Thomson. 
. 2 19 
G W Kuchler. 
,. 0 
15 
P R Robinson. 
. 4 18 
Dr De Wolfe. 
. 1 
14 
First shoot-off: 
F H Schauffler.... 
. 0 21 
G E Greiff. 
. 0 
21 
Second shoot-off: 
F H Schauffler.... 
. 0 23 
G E Greiff. 
. 0 
13 
Haslin cup, handicap, 25 
targets: 
*A L Burns. 
. 0 23 
G W Kuchler. 
. 0 
18 
F H Schauffler.... 
, 0 21 
P R Robinson. 
,. 4 
17 
G E Greiff. 
. 0 21 
Dr H J Thielman.. 
. 0 
16 
F A Hodgman. 
. 0 19 
C T Corbett. 
.. 2 
15 
G M Thomson. 
,. 2 19 
Dr De Wolfe. 
. 1 
12 
Shoot-off: 
F H Schauffler. 
. 0 23 
G E Greiff. 
,. 0 
13 
Westlev-Richards 
gun, handicap, 25 targets: 
F H Schauffler.... 
. 0 23 
F A Hodgman.... 
. 0 
14 
P R Robinson. 
. 4 18 
Dr H J Thielman. 
,. 0 
14 
*A L Burns. 
. 0 18 
G T Corbett. 
. 2 
14 
G M Thomson. 
,. 2 15 
G E Greiff. 
. 0 
13 
De Wolfe cup, handicap, 10 double targets: 
F H Schauffler.... 
. 0 15 
G W Kuchler. 
12 
Dr De Wolfe. 
. 1 15 
F A Hodgman. 
0 
10 
G M Thomson.... 
. 2 14 
G J Corbett. 
. 2 
10 
G E Greiff. 
. 0 13 
A L Burns. 
. 0 
10 
Hall cup, handicap, 25 targets. 
F H Schauffler.... 
. 0 19 
F A Hodgman. 
. 0 
17 
G J Corbett. 
. 2 18 
Dr H J Thielman.. 
. 0 
12 
*Not a club member. 
Larchmont Yacht Club. 
Larcrmont, N. Y., Dec. 26. —The weather conditions 
were exceedingly wintry at the shoot of the Larchmont 
Yacht Club. The scores follow: 
Match at 25 targets—5 pairs 
G F Pelham. 
T Lenane, Sr. 
W B Short. 
T T O’Donahue. 
J R Collins. 
E Robins . 
and 15 singles: 
Doubles. Singles. 
_ 4 10 
.... 6 11 
....5 10 
....5 15 
....4 13 
.... 3 9 
Total. 
14 
17 
15 
20 
17 
12 
Scratch shoot, 25 targets: 
W B Short. 22 G F Pelham. 19 
T Lenane, Jr. 17 T J O’Donahue. 20 
T Lenane, Sr..... 22 JR Collins. 10 
Tie between Short and Lenane, Sr. Shoot-off won by 
T. Lenane, Sr. 
Scratch shoot, 25 targets: 
W B Short. 14 
T Lenane, Jr. 15 
T Lenane, Sr. 22 
Scratch shoot, 25 targets: 
T Lenane, Sr. 22 
T J O’Donahue. 19 
T Lenane, Jr. 19 
G F Pelham . 23 
Scratch shoot, 25 targets: 
G F Pelham. 19 
T J O’Donahue. 17 
T Lenane, Sr. 18 
Scratch shoot, 25 targets: 
G F Pelham. 19 
T J O’Donahue. 17 
T Lenane, Sr. 18 
G F Pelham. 20 
T T O’Donahue. 20 
J R Collins. 16 
W B Short. 20 
G R Schmidt. 15 
J R Collins. 17 
T Lenane, Jr. 20 
J R Collink. 14 
W B Short. 18 
T Lenane, Jr. 20 
J R Collins. 14 
W B Short. 18 
Frontier Rod and Gun Club. 
Buffalo, N. Y., Dec. 26. —Attached find scores of the 
Frontier Rod and Gun Club shoot. The attendance was 
small, but some good scores were made, although the 
weather was quite cold and windy. 
Events: 1 2 3 4 5 6 
Targets: 10 15 25 10 20 20 
Eichberg . 10 9 23 8 16 14 
McKenna . S 11 22 6 .. 12 
Clay . 7 7 15 7 15 12 
Faber . 7 8 15. 
Peasland . 19. 
Wakefield .. H 16. 
Philippbar . 6 15 23 . 
F Striker . 7 6 16. 
Keintz . 1 7 13.. 
Karaman . 8 15 23 .. .. 11 
W Bidell . 7 11 22 .. .. 9 
E Bidell . 7 12 14. 
Goetz . 9 19. 
H. C. Utz, Sec’y. 
