Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1880-07-03

| but comparatively uDaccustomed to pigeon
shooting. The organization of the st.
Louis Gun Club in 1875 developed in Mr..
| Pierce an excellent shot at pigeons under
the club rules. Mr. Pierce shoots entirely
| for recreation, and has in few instances,
to settle question of superiority,
| matched himself against members of
the st. Louis Gun Club In each instance
he came off victorious In match with
! G. JEFF Clark. shot on the Club grounds in
st. Louis in 1877, with Captain Bogardus
as referee, MIR. Pierce scored thirty
double birds, the entire number shot at
Later during the same year, Mr.. Pierce in
match on the grounds OF the st. Louis
Gun Club, with Taylor Bissell, scored
thirty six double birds out of forty, shot
at q yards rise, tame pigeons. These
matches, together with a single bird match
at q yards rise, in which Mr. Pierce
killed thirty three straight. gave Mr..
Pierce a reputation at home as a more than
ordinary single.bi shot at short dis
tances. During the two seasons last past,
which Mr. Francke ard Mr.. Pierce sported
together, hunting in the Rocky Noun
tains, naturally they discussed the merits
of the favorite recreation of both, that of
trap shooting at pigeons, and it was mutu-
ally understood that the first favorable OPP
portunity would settle the question OF
superiority. At the Missouri State Sports
mems Associations Annual Convention,
| held at Macon, Mo-, June lst, 81, 81 and
4th, these two friends, and contenders for
honors, met, each there representing their
respective organizations as delegates. AS
usual on expeditions when the gun is
prominent. Mr. Francke was accompanied
by Fred. Erb. Jr., who aided by his sug-
gestions Mr.. Francke's success at the traps.
Mr. Franeke at once commenced the to
him, never-tiring controversy, and insisted
the time for a settlement had arrived !;
he had brought to Macon the very
| traps used in st. Louis by Captain
Bogardus and Fred Erb Jr., and
offered to shoot match fora purse of $500
in gold, under strictly English rules. At
| the suggestion of several of Mr.. Pierce's
friends, Mr.. Pierce requested MIR. Francke
to name the match in every detail, at the
same time stating he had never seen Eng
lish rules at all, or English traps, until he
saw the match between Captain Bogardus
and Frederick Erb, Jr., at st. Louis, and
knew nothing about that style of trap
shooting After the tournament shooting
on Thursday, June Sd, Mr.. Francke an
nounced to Mr.. Pierce the following as the
terms for their match: Purse, $500 in
| gold; 30 wild pigeons each man . ground
traps 80 yards rise English Nottingham
Club rules; MIR. Pierce to be allowed to
use his ten-bore gun, and in return Fred
erick Erb, Jr., to select the wild pigeons
ont of several Thousand then in coop, and
act as Mr.. Francke's judge and retriever OF
birds. Five o'clock A. M, ON June 4th,
was the hour nared for the match. Al
though both principals desired to have as
few people present as possible, the match
hour found fully 500 people on the grounds.
As heavy wind, amounting to almost a
tornado, was blowing, wagers were very
freely offered that neither contestant would
score 40 dead birds. Mr. Francke bet
heavily against Mr.. Pierce's killing 40, and
declined to back himself against that score,
although the day before he had backed
himself to score 45. I. Fl. Burtt acted as
Judge for Mr.. Pierce, John W. Munson as
referee, and j. B. G. Lucas as puller-all
members of the st. Louis Gun Club. Mr..
Burtt won the dice, and Mr.. Francke faced
the traps for the first shot. The following
is the score
H. Pierce . 0l112 I'LL 211l1 212i1 1l1Ol Hill
I'LL 22111 1921 11l01-47.
Paul Francke HIP Il1I1 II121 I0Il2 1900 OO2lO
11l2I 1lll1 00lo0 10O2l-37
indicates when second barrel was used.
There were only two challenges during
the entire match. The first bird of Mr.
Pierce's was challenged for boundary
upon inspection by the judges it was found
to be three inches outside of the S0-yards
boundary. Mr.. Pierce's twenty fourth
bird fell, when shot, within two yards of
the trap, but after Mr.. Pierce had left the
score flew to building near by, from
where it fell to the ground dead. Mr.
Pierce's forty-ninth bird was clean miss,
the only one of his entire fifty birds. At
Fred Erb, Jr.'s suggestion the traps were
so set as to have the wind in favor of the
birds, and as result every one out of the
entire one hundred were strong starters,
and upon the falling apart of the trap
darted away low down over the dark grass
as only strong wild pigeon can. To
any one acquainted with Mr.. Francke
or Fred. Erb, Jr., there can be no
question that every detail of the English
rules were strictly enforced. To add to
the wonder of the score, the morning was
dark, the wind blowing very gale from
the score to the traps, and the traps them
selves were painted as near the color of the
grass on the ground near them as possible.
As the great match in August, 1873, shot
in England, between Captain Bogardus and
Aube Y Coventry, yielded but seventy
nine birds out of one hundred, and the
late match IN st. Louis between Captain
Bogardus and Fred. Erb, Jr., but eighty.
six for Captain Bogardus out of one hun
dred, Mr.. Pierce's score stands as the best
on record, and he may well feel proud of
his first score under English rules 1t may
prove of interest to know that Mr.. Pierce,
in his right-hand barrel, used FIVE drains
of &C" Dittmar powder, covered with
three pink edge wads, one and one-quarter
ounces No. chilled shot covered with
one card board wad, the shell firmly
crimped. The same load in his left-hand
barrel, with the substitution of five drains
of Dupont's Eagle Duck No. for Dittmar
powder.-[St. Louis Correspondent Chi
cago Field.
| The PoMPANo OF CALIFoRNIA.-A fish
| is caught on the coast of California
which is called by the fishermen "pom-
PIANO or "pompino, and like the homony-
nous species of our own Eastern coast, is
much esteemed as food. 1t has, however,
no close affinity to the pompano of our
Southern waters. and the two belong even
to different families. The Eastern POM
pano is representative of the family
Carangids, and is known as the TrGchy-
| notus carol;ms. The Pacific coast species
is member of the family Stromateids. and
its relationships are with the Poronotus
triacan. Thus, the Poroaot'ts is variously
known as the butter-fish New York and
Massachusetts,, harvest-fsh New Jersey,
and dollar fish (Maine), to the fishermen of
coast. The Californian fish, how