Omaha daily bee., 1890-01-12

WN the world. Now, on be.
half Of a large number of the trap shooting
fraternity, who can only he classcd among
the amateurs, | desire to enter my earnest
protest against placing the amateurs or
poorer class OF shooters on the same level
with the professional or expert shots. and |
fOndly hope that YOU will exert yourself TO
the extent that there Will be some provision
made by the management so that the shoot
ers who are present will either be handi.
capped or classified according to their known
qualifications, especially in the live bird con.
tests. can assure you that such action
will be comforting a great favor on all lovers
of fair play who are only moderate shots.
To proceed further, IL cannot DO denied that
our tournaments do not draw AS they once
did. Many ordinary shots remain ut home
for fear OF meeting too warm company. The
reason is easily explained, because at
nearly all our tournaments you
will find professionals Budd, Sticc, Nc
Murchy, Elliott, Tucker, Ruble, Heikcs, Par
malice, Bandlc and others who are known as
the best shots in the country who can
be depended upon to kill from 90 to 100 per
cent of their birds. Now, the men who eau
only kill three or four BIRDS out of five, and
who stand no earthly show in shooting ten
or twelve-bird contests, under the same con.
dltions, enjoy the sport just az we'll AS the
experts, but they rightfully kick against tho
expense. The practice that is in vogue, all
men shooting in the same class, regardlcsso of
their proficiency, is all wrong and should be
corrected by our literally uisposed friends,
Dunmire and Parmalee. To Illustrate: Is
there II man so duh who, owning a three
minute horse, as to enter him in n race
against an AXtell or a Sunoli But this same
man, under the announcement made that
there be no classification or handicaps for
the April tournament, If he happens to be an
amateur tran shot and attends this tournu-
ment, is compelled 10 play against fully as
great odds, or else remain u silent aud DIS
gusted spectator.
Our friends, the professionals. will ask:
How are you going to make u change to meet
the objections OF the poorer shootcrst In
answer, | would say, one method would be
by classifying the shooters, and allow no
man to shoot in a class lower than
that to which he belongs. This can
easily be determined, and then no
man who is fond of shooting
will be compelled TO remain away for fear of
being forced to shoot against q man who eau
discount him.
men there has got to be some radical changes
and reforms made or else tournaments will
still continue to remain unpopular, and what
are the objections besides those already eX-
pressed! The principal one is ire forming of
combinations. Several expert trap-shots will
30 to a shoot with the avowed intention of
shooting out every one they can aud then
divide among themselves what ever net
winnings there may be. The amateur does
not belong TO any of these combinations, but
Is FOND oil shooting at the trap and is per-
fectly willing to devote Il certain amount for
the privilege. He does not uphold combina-
tons or practice missing birds to obtain n
position. The consequence is that after II
few trials he makes the discovery that he has
no business with the crowd and then he re-
lnpses INTO nncuous desuetude.
This communication is not written in any
spirit of envy. l do not object to those who
by long practice and constant use become ex
perts to utilize their skill, but they can
hardly expect amateurs to contribute to
thelr purposes or attend shoots when fore
going results are certain. In other words
they VIII loook in vain for the appearance of
the solitary granger TO combine upou-then
Othello's occupation is gone.
NOW, MIR. Editor, believing you will recog-
nize the business of all set forth in this
ietter, VIII you lend us a helping hand and
aid IN this reform, and see If Messrs. Dun.
mire and Parmelee cannot be prevailed upon
TO give us a classified tournament. II not,
tnen let them handicap all professional
shooters In live bird shooting and allow all
amateurs according to their proficiency from
three to six yards. IA. Il. CIARK.
Bellevue, Neb., Jan. o.
In reply to the gentleman, who is a we'll
known trap'shot and an ardent devotee of
field sports, it Is but necessary to state that
Messrs. Dunmire and Parmelee have de-
cided to include In their programme "a large
number of classified events, exactly as eX-
pressed IN the above. In addition to these,
there will be n number OF big live. bird shoots
open to all, and, " an amateur or ordinary
shot sees proper to enter any of these he
does so with the full Understanding of the
conditions. These free-for-ail shoots are alb.
soluleIS essential as an attraction for the
best professional shots in the country, aud 1t
stands to reason that but few save the trst.
class will feel like participating in these
events. III they do, and are shot out, it is
tnelriook out Classified trap shooting is all
right, but 1t is in the tree-for-all matches.
where no one is hampered or handicapped,
that one looks for the demonstration OF su-
perior skill, and furnishes ii greater amount
OF sport Tor the spectators. However, Mr..
Clark can rest assured that anna
Tours Will be shown every consideration, and
allowed everything that Is equal, fair aud
equitable at the coming great tournament
aD..