The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-02-02
GEORGE MrALPIN's SURE AIM.
His Recent Fine Shooting in n zig
con Match in New York.

con Match in New York.
Mr. George S. McAlpin, formerly of Sa-
vanuah, and one of the best ANA
teur shots and advocates of gentlemen's
enorts. has made several remarkable rec
IL - shnatinar since he went to Nelv
York several years ago Mr.. ndcAlpin is
almost beyond challenge the best shot with
a shotgun in this country. The New York
Herald gives an account of a double-hand-
ed match won by Mr.. MeAlpin and Mr.
r. A. WEIGH of the Cartaret Gun Club
against Capt. A. w. Money, Carteret, and
C. S. Guthrie, a member of the Heron
Hill Gun Club Pittsburg.
The conditions of the match were 100
birds each, thirty yards rise and thirty
yards boundary, for $500 side.
There were more than the average num-
Der of members and guests of the cub
present, among them being Foxhall Keene
Gen. Arson G. McCook, w. w. Watrous,
Herbert NJ. Hartman Elmer e. Shaner.
e. D. Fulford, Isaac Eckert, Reading, Pa;
e. S. Thompson, James A. WEIGH, Louis
Harrison, Minneapolis; J. s. L. Remsen.
Il. Taylor, w. Fred Quimby, w. F. Hoyt
and August Loeing.
Features of the match worth especial
mention were the extraordinary strong lot
of birds served from the traps, the heavy
westerly wind that blew across the ground
from right to left. and the fact that such
reliable shots as Welch, Money and Guthrie
came out of the contest with "a, 30 and 81
misses respectively, against them.
The four contestants as well many an
expert wing shot who looked on, we're I'M
unanimously of the opinion that they had
never seen a prompter or stronger lot of
birds spring from any set of traps in all
their experience. Added to the natural
velocity of the birds was the weight of
a good old topsail breeze thrown into the
scale The fact that a large proportion
Of the birds, from natural instinct, flew
down the wind, had very much TO do with
the unusual percentage of misses ana
birds dead out of bounds-in the latter
case many pigeon though shot through
and through carrying down on the wind
Just over the fence.
Again. many Of the ninety-f1ve lost birds
would shoot out of the trap TO the right
in the teeth of the wind, and then, find
ing this heavy, like a flash of lightning
would turn sharp round and quarter to
the left. OF the 400 sprung, Us we're left
ouarterers and 9S others drove out away
from the traps. but alomst invariably in
clned to the left. With the latter class,
Capt Money came very near establish
ing a graveyard just outside the bound
airy. He had five left-quartering drivers
dead in a bunch against the fence when
the match was over.
Nothing but this phenomenally fast lot
of birds and the high wind can account
for the fact that three men
whose 100 bird records range from 90 TO
SO kills fell down with such a big array
of misses against them
1t is no discredit to George McAlDn
one of the winning team, and who made
the least number of misses, to say that
whatever good fortune enters into tran
shooting came his way. Nearly a third
of his birds undertook TO fly against the
wind which Of course retarded the speed
of their flights, and both he and Mr.. WEIGH
his partner. had fewer drivers than either
of the defeated men. ra
Though to some extent favored bv these
condition, Mr.. McAlpin had more than a
few teasing incomers and twisters. and
these he brought down in faultless fashion.
the match he shot with The M
most steadiness, missing but one easy bird
in his hundred. Another feature OF his |
shooting was that he rarely let a bird get |
up and attain any degree OF velocity. the |
bulk Of his ninety-oue grassed being Killed /
within a few yards of the trap And the |
fact that he used No. instead of the |
No. shot helped him, with the /
stiff wind that was blowing.
All things considered character of the
birds and the weather conditions, Mr. Nc |
Alpin is justly entitled 10 be proud of the /
score he made.
OF the losers it may be fairly said that
they had about as difficult a lot Of birds as |
the Cartaret boys have ever put In the |
traps Twisters, incoming and outgoing /
Iowerers drivers low and high, lift quar- /
terers that drove down on the wind like /
seemed 20 get all that kind
and some others that came or went all /
sorts Of ways. In his second twenty-five
Guthrie missed bird after bird, and no one
blamed him, and his partner, Capt. Money,
had similar run of teasers between the
iftieth and seYenty-fifth rounds.