
828 
FOREST AND STREAM. 


[Nov. 23, 1907. 



The Touring Squad. 
JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Nov. 16.—Taking up my _ story 
from the point where I left off in my letter to you from 
Eastman, Ga., we now get to Nov. 1, the date on which 
the boys broke two world’s records, the one for 500 tar- 
gets and the other for 1,000 targets. 
' Up to this date, the best previous records were 490 out 
of a possible 500, made at Albany, Ga., last fall, and 
971 made at Chattanooga, Tenn., also in the fall of 1906. 
Both records were made by a squad composed of Messrs. 
Crosby, John Taylor and Hawkins, of the present squad, 
and Mrs, Topperwein and John Boa 
The new records are: 493 out of 500 and 978 out of 
1,000, figures which would seem likely to last for some 
time. But then one never can tell, and the unexpected 
is always happening in trapshooting. New records may 

be hung up when every member of a squad as good as 
the present Winchester-Dupont squad is ‘‘feeling right, 

and when. conditions are right also. 
To-day, strangely enough, conditions were not exactly 
what one would expect them to be for record breaking. 
A good wind was blowing right in the face of the 
shooters at the start, but it was steady and not puffy 
and unstable The targets were thrown from three ex- 
pert traps, and were certainly not “‘dubs’’ in any sense 
of the word; they went nearer 50 than 45 yards, but the 
background was good and the targets were easily fol- 
lowed in their flight from the traps. 
A start was made by finishing up the programme for 
the previous day which had had to be carried over, owing 
to the Fair <Association’s management having insisted 
upon the moving of the traps to a new location due to 
the shot falling around the horsemen as they raced to 
the quarte1 [wo events at 25 targets were left 
over, and the boys made the following scores on the 50 
targets 
post 




Hawkins —49 Gilbert 
Crosby —50 J Taylor 
Barkley —49 H Taylor 
These scores show what the boys were doing in the 
way of pointing, but one scarcely expected anything 
like what did result from the first 100 targets on the day’s 
programme. 
There was something doing in the first event, when 
the squad went out and broke 124 out of 125, ‘‘Chamber- 
maid”? Fred being the one to drop a target, much to his 
chagrin. In the next event, Hawkins and Crosby each 
dropped a target, and Barkley two, the total being 121 
out of 125. In the third event Hawkins dropped his 
fourth target, while the rest ‘“‘went straight” and another 
124 out of 125 went.on the score sheet. All present then 
realized that if the boys could keep up their great work, 
a new record was almost sure. Consequently everybody 
was deeply interested in the work done in the fourth 
event, and when the squad finished that event with but 
a single lost target, charged to Barkley, there was quite 



some applause, and the new record of 493 out of 500 
was an accomplished fact. 
Che individual totals were: John Taylor, 100 straight; 
Crosby and Gilbert, 99; Hawkins, 98, and Barkley 97. 
As so often happens when the strain is off, something 
happens in the next event. This was the case here, and 
it looked mighty poor for a new 1000-target record. In 
the fifth event, Gilbert lost two and Barkley three, the 
others going straight. Crosby and Gilbert lost one each 
in event 6, while John Taylor broke his long run with 
two lost. In event 7, Barkley and Gilbert were charged 
with one lost each, but the three others ran their strings 
out without a miss. Then came event 8 with now a 
practical certainty of a new record for the 1,000 targets 
Hawkins, Crosby arid Barkley broke their 25 targets 
straight, while Gilbert and John Taylor dropped two 
each. 
The individual totals for the second 100 targets on the 
progremme were: Hawkins 100, Crosby 99, Barkley and 
John Taylor 96 and Gilbert 94. Thus the team dropped 15 
targets in the second half of the programme as against 
only seven in the first half. The curious feature in the 
comparison of the two totals is the fact that during the 
second half of the programme the weather conditions 
seemed absolutely perfect, the wind having dropped and 
there being apparently nothing to prevent straight scores 
from men in the shooting form the boys were surely in 
that day, : fi 
In the matter of long runs Hawkins led with one of 
146 unfinished; Crosby had one of 141 and John Taylor 
another of 135, It is also worth noting that Harry 
Taylor broke 192, his scores being 24, 24, 24, 22, 24, 24 2 
25. He thus broke 94 out of his first 100 and 98 out of 
his second 
Among the 


amateurs Mr. Geo. Collins of Due West, 


S. C., was easily high man with the good score of 189, 
which won for him the shotgun put up by S. B. Mc- 
Master as a prize for the winner of high amateur average. 
Mr. Plowden came in for second honors with a total 
of 176 
The scores made by the other amateurs were: S. B 
McMaster, 180 out of 150; Ellicott, 74; Geiger, 68, and 
Hyatt, 60,’each shooting at 100 targets; Frost and Mars 
had 65 and 48 respectively out of 75; Newman 41. Wood- 
burn 32 and Lawrence 19, each shooting at 50 targets. 
The following shot in only one event of 25 targets: 
Newman, Sr., 20, Hoffman and K. R. McMaster 17, 
Person and Moorman 45, Bostick 12 and Shillits 7. I 
broke 45 out of 50 and quit ‘‘tired.’’ 
We surely were glad to get out of Columbia, and all 
the discomfort at the hotel due to the crowds attend- 
ing the fair [he city was getting back into a normal 
conditiom but we were perfectly satisfied to get into 
the 7:30 \. M.—6:30 Central time— train for Spartan- 
burg, S. ( even if it was a raw, damp morning with 


rain falling. And it did rain all the way to, and when 
we arrived at Spartanburg. The plan had been to get 
off the cars at the junction and take a special trolley to 
the grounds, but as rain was still falling, Mr. Buckhister 
of the street railway company, got aboard and told us to 
keep our seats and go on to Spartanburg proper. 
At Spartanburg. while waiting for a car which Mr. 
Buckhister desired us to ride in at the expense of his 
company, Gilbert spied the colored porter of the hotel 
we were to stop at, who is familiarly known as “King 


LOG CABIN CLUB HOUSE, TRAPSHOOTING 
edward,” due to his wearing gray whiskers fashioned 
after His Brittanie Majesty's own style, Fred’s voice 
was heard saying: “Look at ‘King Edward.’ His 
whiskers are just about what John Boa’s were when we 
came out of the mountains, only John’s were red ones!” 
We all now know what we are missing due to John’s 
habit of having his face trimmed. 
To resume: The weather cleared up about noon, and 
about 2 o’clock the boys and a good crowd of shooters 
went out to the traps and shot 75 targets or thereabouts, 
the regular programme having been called off. The 
boys made good scores, and broke 124 out of thé last 25 
each of them shot at. As this was no tournament, the 
scores were kept on loose sheets and no record made in 
our book, hence I cannot give the totals for each man, 
but do remember the above score and also believe that 
71 and 72 were low scores for the members of the squad, 
although the wind blew very hard and the targets did 
all sorts of things while in the air and before they were 
smashed. The exkibition was a rattling good one, and 
the boys of the local club gave every sign of appreciat- 
ing it. On our part, the visiting shooters have asked me 
to express to the members of the Spartanburg Gun Club 
their appreciation of the hospitality extended to them 
not only in the city, but also out at the grounds. 
The next. day, Sunday, Nov. 8, I got the boys up 
rather early in order to have a photographer take a shot 
at the champion squad. As we had to leave about 11 
o’clock for Augusta, there was really no time to spare. 
The boys underwent the operation successfutly, but it 
was apparently impossible to make any one of them 
smile or even look pleased. They knew it was Sunday, 
and there is just enough of the McPherson blood in 
each one of them to make them feel guilty at even a 
slight breach of the Sabbath. 
Augusta was reached about on time, something rather 
unusual in our travels of late. And what a_ beautiful 
city it is! It has good reason to be proud of its main 
thoroughfare, about 175 feet wide, and of its Greene 
street, a few feet wider and shaded all through with the 
loveliest of the southern shade trees. If this were not 
a report of a trapshooting trip, I would like to wax even 
more eloquent on the beauties of fair Augusta, but will 
conclude by quoting a few authorities: Billy Crosby 
said, “It certainly has got O’Fallon beaten a block, and 
that’s going some!” Fred Gilbert: ‘‘Say! This is a 
bigger town than Spirit Lake, I do believe, But, do 


you know, Bunco, I’d just as soon be up in that old 
spot right now. J know ‘de dawk’ is flying good up 
there!” And Harry Taylor said: ‘If Augusta was only 
a bit nearer Mecklin, S. D., I wouldn’t mind it a bit, 
and it would heip Augusta some.”’ 
As for our hotel, The Albion, it was distinctly all right, 
and the only thing any of us had against its proprietor 
was that his name was Lawrence—no fault of his, but 
just then the boys were none of them any too friendly 
to any one bearing that mame on account of Frank 
Lawrence, the W. R. A. Co.’s lusty missionary, and the 
things he has been doing to us in the course of his duties 
as advance agent for a squad of gentlemen like our- 
selves! As for Mr. Lawrence of the Albion (as our 
mutual friend Ben. Waters would say) “If there were 
more men like him in the world, the sun would shine 
more warmly and the twitter of the songbirds would 
have a sweeter tone!” 
It was fair week in Augusta, and the shoot was held 
at the fair grounds on the slope toward the lake in the 
rear of the grand stand. Every target went downhill 
and against the woods on the far side of the lagoon-like 
lake. The traps, too, were placed behind a screen that 
was way downhill from the platform where the shooters’ 
stands were. 
The attendance of shooters was somewhat of a disap- 
pointment to the management, but the gallery of spec- 
tators was all that we could ask for. They came, they 
stayed, and then others came also, until we had a really 
good and interested crowd witnessing the work done by 
the boys. R 
The scores were good notwithstanding the peculiar 
conditions. Hawkins was high with 196; the two Taylors 
(J. R. and H. G.), 195; Gilbert, 194; Crosby and Harold 
Money (who joined us here), 193; Barkley, 191; while 
Colonel Anthony had the courtesy to only beat me by 
one target, his score being 18], ‘ 





























































































































GROUNDS, PINEHURST, N. C. 

Of the amateurs who shot through the programme, M} 
was high with 169 and Mr. Edilblut second wii 
Third place fell to Mr. Dunbar with 154, Messr 
Lightner being f@urth and fifth with 1}, 
and 132 respectively. 
I forgot to mention that while we got to Augusta c 
Sunday, the above shoot was not held until Tuesda f 
the 5th inst. Monday was “rest day.” 
We left for Dublin, Ga., on the morning of the 6t 
getting up just when the bed was feeling right goo 
We could not loiter, however, as although it is only 1 
miles by rail from Augusta to Dublin, railroad conne 
tions between those two points are somewhat out 
joint, and the trains don’t run to fit closely at all, Fir 
of all, we got to Millen, and strolled around the static 
for about an hour. It was here that Fred Gilbert ca} 
covetous eyes on a bird dog and wanted to know how }} 
swipe it! Then we went on to Tennille, where we he} 
dinner, waited at a small hotel for about two how! 
and a half, at which hotel by the way one of the boy | 
[and the blame lies between Silent Bill Crosby an} 
“Noisy, the Crook” (J. R. Yaylor)] annoyed the re} 
of us and broke up several solitaire games then bein), 
played by drummers and hotel guests on the writin } 
table in the hotel office, by a liberal use of ‘‘cachoo’’ « 
sneeze powder. Some of the boys have an apparent|} 
unending supply of this material, and the Jim Cro} 
cars and their occupants suffer accordingly. My nose \y 
so well trained that it gives warning at the first momen 
and no “carpenter dog’? can beat me in making a bo} 
for the door. 
From Tennille we took the Wrightsville & Tennil| 
road to Dublin. And we now know where originated thi} 
phrase “the rocky road to Dublin!” Its name is tk} 
W. & T. R. R. Anyway, we arrived all safeiy after al| 
although T. Bill -was somewhat anxious the greater pai] 
of the trip, and kept wondering if the ‘‘car would hold q| 
Land 
161. 
Skinner and 



” 
the rails Jong enough to get there. ‘ 
The next day was Thursday, Nov. 7, and out of syn 
pathy to the famous Winchester-Dupont squad, I at 
going to delay for one week the revelation of whe 
“Squad No. 2”—Money, H. G, Taylor, Anthony, Bank 
and Huff—did to “Squad No. 1 on that date. But whi 
it did, was ‘‘shore aplenty 

Epwarp BANKS, 

Montclair Gun Club. 
Monrtcrair, N. J., Nov. 16.—Probably because § 
many members are away hunting in the field, the a} 
tendance at the regular Saturday shoot was quite smal} 
but seven being present. Five events were run of} 
Events 3 and 4 were for the members’ trophy an| 
monthly cup, with F. L. Barnes as high man, the othe} 
three events being for practice. i 
The regular schedule for the year will end with Noy 
30, the annual meeting and dinner taking place on Sai} 
urday, Dec. 14. 
SS 



Events: fd lt ome i} 
Targets: 10 15 25 25 gf 
BW"; Moffettunde occ sancaece aoe ee 10 12 22 2198 
F L Barnes... 9 13 20 24 13] 
G W Boxall... 8 12 16 20 1, 
E Winslow 3.» 6 8 15 TT 
A. JR AA Wan Geant cee os 7 ., 20 Ot 
GH Piercy os: cia tala ee of 
Crise Bushiveny.cccnect aoe eee .- ». 2 160F 
Epwarp WInstow, Sec’y. i 
ty 
i 
South Side Gun Club. | 
Newark, N. J., Nov. 16.—There was a small band ef, 
enthusiasts who enjoyed the sport of trapshooting on th}; 
grounds of the South Side Gun Club to-day. Some ex}; 
cellent was at >i 













shooting was recorded. Each event 
targets. Scores: §; 
SFOWN ccucvenes Reémsotiatens ares 19 25 23m 
Apgar Laney sess tere 17 19 15 1} 
Lanning Mrs Overbeck. 617 Tf 


0 


Glover . 


