The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-07-16

tor tree advice.
but the practical determination of the wild
pigeon cannot be laid al the door OF trap
shooting live birds, both wild and tame
pigeons, was, broadly stated, gun below
the elbow and bird on the wing" That Is.
stock, as a matter of fact-was dipped be-
low the elbow of the shooter and the gun
was brought to the shoulder as the bird rose
on the wing. This style copied the usual
position of a hunter in the field, ana was
and natural of pose, The present
style differs very much, and almost any OLD
way of shooting goes now.
The traps were of two kinds. There were
tossed a bird up like a bundle of rags and
made snap shooting possible with q NUMBER
of shooters. These traps stood a couple OF
feet or so above the ground, and at the word
pull the pigeon would be shot out OF the
trap into the air by the working or a Spring.
1t was a bad method OF trap shooung, wnlcn
finally disappeared. Live tame pigeons were
used principally In these traps, and, as IN
all trap contests, luck was OFTEN an I'M
man might draw easy birds and another
man hard ones. And with the poundarieS
at fifty or eighty yards-and i recollect tne
eig~hty-yard boundary best-it was often 1he
case that one man might Kill twenty-five
birds straight and his opponent Kill, say,
twenty-three. and the man Killing IMentys
three win because all Of his birds dropped
inside of bounds, while the man killing
twenty-five had, say, three birds IAN oeao
A tame pigeon which has been well fed
and lightly handled is able, If of the blue
rock" or some other hardy breed, TO carry
off a lot of shot. Suppose a straightaway
bird with a good wind behind him is flying
from the center trap. Shooter No. 1 nres
both barrels at such a bird, centers or GOV.
ers the birds flight almost exactly, and yet
the strong wings o. the pigeon, AIDED py the
wind, carry him a foot or two outside OF the
IS p0I iooseG for ors Shooter No. ; and ne brings the
pigeon down inside the boundary line with
a broken wing. shooting raggedly ana not
is credited with the bird he gets down., al.
though his shot was a poorer one than thae
out of bounds. The match and tournament
shooting il done now from ground traps:
Now as to the ethics Of the game. II Is
usually shoot at least for the price of the
birds. unless you are merely practicing,
g y;Gas 0 opp he1b shoot ~ losing stl oft eayi yeu t So into n9s
q shoot with several others, putting, In say
a dollar or two. and the purse may be oil.
vided with as much money as may be agree9
upon between the shooters. AS a matter or
cold. hard fact, the pigeons are as mucn the
instruments to gamble with as the dice in
a dicebox. But IL is not true that IL Is more
cruel to shoot Live birds from ground traps
than 1t is to kill quail over a pointer or
shoot ducks on a pass. III is the taxing OF
life. true enough; but the pigeons are USED
as food. At the tournaments the birds are
usually well taken care of, both because they
are wanted to be In good nying trim and pc
cause the nlch VIZ hSllC 80
ments are almost invariably gentlemen. 1
have attended many tournaments and nave
never seen pigeons handled cruelty: The
men who attend the shoots would not per-
nit of anything savoring OF wanfon cruelty.
These shoots do not have any reminder or
field sports. There is the crowd, the held,
Ready; pull" The pigeon goes up or out,
to the right or left. or comes in toward the
shooter. There is the crack or the gun ana
that is about all there is to it If the bird
gets away from the man at the trap there
are generally a lot of bushwhacking out
slders near the grounds who are laying Tor
him, and he has that gauntlet to run before
he is safe. The shooter Is firmly planted
on solid ground or planks. He knows that
his bird will rise from one OF five ground
traps at a distance OF, say, thirty-one yards
from him. This is the usual maximum dis
lance, but sometimes an extra yard OF two
Is added for an expert. And different marks
men are graded all the way down TO twenty
five yards, according TO their supposed
ability with the gun.
So then you have plenty OF noise, much
smell OF powder, heaps OF exploded shells, a
constant repetition of Are you ready?
and various remarks by the spectators. You
do not have the woods and fields. the cover.
marsh or stream; There are not the tense
backs come in stately 10 the decoys, or the
mallard drops down TO the pond hole I'm the
Is not the beauty of November woods. and
no hurting rush of the quail or rufed
grouse through thick cover thrills you. No
RFeGQ SLIGlCntS u lid VI LDFdaOW
and the erratic jacksnipe twisting up from
short grass or tussocky bog with his start
led .scaipe, scaipe;" There is not the
gradually to the point, and finally standing
rigid as marble. All the beauty of forest
and lake and the loneliness and wildness
are absent. Just Ready. Pull. Bang, bangi
Dead bird"
1 repeat there is nothing more cruel in
feld-shooting. What is sauce for the trap
shot is sauce for the field-shot. Liye-bird
shooting helps some 70 acquire proficiency
as a field shot. but not very materially In
my judgment. The frst-class duck. quail.
snipe, woodcock and ruffed grouse shooter
can Kill pigeons from a trap after very brief
has not hunted I'm the field would be Il lob
ster'' in heavy woodcOck cover or over the
p pesitten on q a MANI man nnds nj himself obliged 10
shoot from when kneeling I'm a boat or a
blind" or tangled up In a thicket. are
rot have the firm footing to stand on, with
arms extended and an easy pose: And there
is no w tRea 10Y; P sast ss aoogt :, II; nat IL Il ,ss usually roaGy
cock darts out, and when a duck comes
whizzing over the decoys at sixty yards.
for speed and elusiveness.
| Ground traps are OF different styles. but
are usually made to fan apart. and the bird
| flies out as the trap falls. Sometimes he has
10 be stirred up before he starts. The traps
are placed in a line in front of the shooter,
| and he stands facing the center trap. IL a
bird stretches his wings he is technically
considered 10 be on the wing. This was ths
| rule when Bogardus and Erb shot a match
at one hundred live wild pigeons each, years
| ago. I saw Bogardus cut down quite a
number of birds that were simply "yaw--
ing with their wings. their feet being on
the ground. The opportunity for thus taking
advantage was open to both men,
Shooting at targets with the shotgun be-
gan In my experience with the old rotary
trap, now out of date and discarded, az
glass balls. Then came the clay saucers,
called pigeons "blackbirds." blue rocks"
and other names. This is a sport well calcu-
lated TO increase the dividends on stock IN
| the different powder companies No bird
ever few like a clay pigeon unless II was
the dodo. The sport Is harmless. and n Ia
quite a trick 10 break saucers right along.