Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-07-25
DIANAS OF OUR OWN DAY.
Women Who Shoot with Rife and Double
Barreied Shotgun.
New York Mail and Express.

New York Mail and Express.
Now that the season Of outings is under
way, many of the fair Maid Marions
who wander under the greenwood tree
are proving themselves adopts with
something more dangerous than the
clothyard shaft, Robin Hood weapon.
Ladies shotguns and rifles are mauufac-
tured expressly for the more enter
prising SportsWoman, and once the Lin
coin green has been dOnned, the joys of
the chase, in many a gentle creature 5
bosom, cause the charms of tennis or
even the mad delights of croquet to pale.
Dressed from head TO foot In flannel,
with felt hat and high, easy boots, weap-
on on shoulder, the woman who shoots is
making ready to tramp the AdirOndacks
from North creek to Paul Smith 5, and
with her cartridges to shove headache,
nervousness and about all the ills that
feminine flesh is heir to into the beautiful
steel tubes, and with the instant's pres
sure other finger blow them all away.
The favorite shotgun Of the markswo-
man is dOublebarreled and made after
the pattern used by Miss Annie Oakley =,
The stock is Of different shape from the
ordinary gun to accommodate the
shorter neck and arms, and the weapon
is much lighter The barrels are twen-
ty-seven inches long or Whereabouts, and
are often beautifully figured. The weight
is anywhere from to 50 pounds, about
51e pounds being recommended. The
bore ordinarily is twenty. 1t shoots
three-fourths of an ounce of fine shot
ahead Of two drachms of Schultz powder,
which give very little TecoH. 1t has
killing circle of thirty inches in diameter
at thirty yards, costs from 500 to $3.50,
and is usually made to order to suit the
strength and figure. a woman is meas
ured about as accurately for a fine shot
gun as for a gown. A lower
more guns, in all probability,
for the use of women than any other man
in America, has blank form to be filled
in with the height, length from armpit TO
tips Of fingers, width from point of one
shoulder to point of the other, chest
measure, full-breasted or otherwise. In
addition 70 these particulars, if the gun
is ordered by the SpOrtswOman IN person
ne always gives her one to handle, get
ting points as to bends and weights from
observation of her carriage.
Mrs Pierre LOTillaTd, who has an eX-
cellent reputation for GOODNESS in the
field and skill, owns some fine weapons.
Mrs. Cleveland has a pretty 12bo g,
which was gift to her on the eve Of one
of the Adirondack vacations, but which
she has not often used. 1t weighs five
and a quarter pounds, and the barrels
are Of full weight and strength and OF
the handsomest finish possible. 1t re-
quires less skill to kill a partridge
with it than when a smaller bore
is used, and hence the light
12-bore is quite a favorite among
women, at least in their first season $
shooting. Bertha Won Hillern, who won
Quiue a reputation for herself as pedesT
trian, is an excellent shot, and uses a.
single barreled gun, which is Of 28calf-,
Der and weighs trifle under four pOunes.,
Miss a. Beckett, the artist, who for many
years shared Miss Won Hillern 5 moJn-
tain studio in Virginia, IS also
an accurate markswOman and shoots
with a double barreled gun of &c. caliber.
1t is told of the pair that one day while
they were shooting at q target in the
Blue Ridge mountains party Of mount
aineers Iounged up and watched the
practice, challenging the ladies to a test
of skill. The men were armed with old
fashioned Kentucky rifles, while the
The mountaineers were invited to
set up target to SUIT themselves, and.
chose a distance Of 100 yards. They shot
well, but the women were in good train
ing, and the impTomptu match ended in
q draw A woman who is credited with
almost as much skill with the gun as in
snap shots with the detective camera is
the wife of ex-senator Plat, who is off
to bag game in Alaska
The rife, the weapon of precision, is
used by fewer women, though numbers
of the old make of the RemingtOns are
still in circulation The MarquIse de
Mores brought down some game during
her ranching experiences in Dakota.
Her rifle was Of short stock, was
of 32-caliber, with twenty four Inch
barrel and weighed not over five and
three fourth pounds. The bTeech mech
anism was simple, and it was told of
her that she first photographed from
horseback q scene of wild life, and then
she brought the animal which was its focus
of interest down. More ladies shoot at a
mark than at game, but the exodus to
ENGLAND every summer, and the sight of
their cousins across the water regularly
taking their stands at the butts during
a grouse drive, and bringing the game
to bag with the skill of veter-
ans, is having its influence on American
women Good double shotguns are be-
yond the purses of any but the rich, but
good single guns and good single shot
rifles are cheap enough to enable any
body who is not satisfied with her eyes as
deadly weapons to kill in more effect