The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-07-02
CRACK SHOP B0GARDUS
Feats of Skill by the American
Veteran Marksman.
His Description of Early Days When
He Began to Shoot Grouse. Wood
cock, md Snipe-Successful Career
In Europe-Wns Champion Before
Smokeless Powder Was Known


seen every day and night man of COM
manding stature, who for years held the
| wing shot championship of the world.
This is Capt. A. H. Bogardus who has
burned more powder, shattered more glass
and slain more live birds than any other
man now living Although s.xty-seven
years of age, the captains eye is still
+, clear blue, and searching; his marksman-
ship as unerring as II was when he WIN
renown in England in the I0s ana re-
| turned to his native country with his coat
weighted down with medals and his trunks
filled With silver cups and addresses writ
ten by lord mayors.
The aged captain. as strong as an OAK al
its prime does but little shooting now
He is teaching others how to shoot. In
! the shadow of the great wheel he has
100 foot range. Hanging upon one side OF
the enclosure is the fiint-lock musket his
grandfather carried in 1872. When this
! weapon belched it sent forth three buck
shot and ball that weighed an ounce.
| Upon another wall are suspended the guns
the captain shouldered when he won his
title of champion wing and all-round shot
. of the world II was with one of tn m
that he broke $500 glass balls in seven
| hours, nineteen minutes and two seconds
| and with the other he killed 100 birds
straight.
Captain Bogardus was born in Albany
County \. Y. At the age OF fifteen he
began shooting under circumstances IA
vorable to the development of his skill. Il
was then" he relates, "a tall, strong lad,
and l grew so strong and so muscular that
people called me a giant and as hard as L
barrel of nails. When i began to shoot
there was much game in Albany County
! and Of n
and woodcock. which are difficult birds for
| youns beginners to kill / received no in
! structions from anybody. but possessed
! quick. true eye and steady nerves, and
had, as | know, the natural gifts which
enable a man to become in time, with
I proper opportunity, a first rate shot.
| 1T was in the SOS when l moved to ILL
nois and settled on the banks of the Sanga-
! mon River near Petersburg. 1t was more
| broken. swampy country, with much
! cover, than a prairie land like that far
Their to the northward. Game OF all sorts
was in vast abundance. Quail, pinnated
grouse, and snipe were everywhere, and
ducks and geese came in immense focks
( in the spring and fall. Deer and turkeys
also were plentiful in certain seasons.
His Professional Career.
ut was in this paradise that l began
to shoot for the market. to become thor
oughly acquainted with the haunts and
habits of game birds. In 1872 l was badly
wounded by the premature discharge of
my gun. The bullet pierced my right
thigh. and it was many months before l
was able to walk. When / recovered /
began to shoot pigeons and II was then
that my professional life began. My first
public match was a sweepstakes contest
in st. Louis. / figured well in the finals
and attracted some attention Later l shot
against George Stanton in a ffty-bird con-
test each. This lost by four birds. Then
went back to the country and began
practicing. Six months later went into
the game again, and won several matches
in Illinois. In one contest in Chicago /
killed IS birds in consecutive shots, and
in the last los out of 500 / scored 100
But let somebody else tell the rest of the
story" the sturdy captain said abruptly,
as he turned to fill the magazine of a rifle.
Picking up the thread of this great marks
mans career it leads one to Europe, where
he astonished everybody by his shooting
He challenged the cracks" of England
and Ireland, and in 1875 in a match with
George Rimell for the championship of the
world he became possessor of the badge
ernblematic Of his prowess. Lancashire
man said of him: I'VE have seen emo O.
thou, captain. Fare thee we'll, captain
lad. till thou comes to t little island
again.
Fine ShnrpshootinE Records.
When the shooting of>glass balls became
popular Captain Bogardus from time to
time shot many remarkable matches In
one contest at Lincoln. H.. he smashed |
1.o21 glass balls. breaking the last 300 with |
out miss. He broke LOCO balls in one |
hour twelve minutes and fifteen seconds |
me Linor Enviv-
without counting misses. One OF his great |
est feats, however, was performed at Gil |
mores Garden, New York, where he broke |
5000 balls in six hours thirteen minutes |
and forty-fve seconds, with only 15G miss
es. The match to break 5000 balls |
in 500 minutes-eight hours and twenty |
minutes. Captain Bogardus was Obliged |
to train for this match by pulling the gun |
TO his shoulder several times a day and |
making the motions Of firing, opening the |
breech. extracting spent cartridges and re- |
loading. Seventy pounds of powder. 500 |
pounds of shot and an immense quantity |
of pads and shells were required Dur
ing this terrific strain TO eye and nerve
Captain Bogardus suffered severely from
cratnp in right arm and hand. He was
Obliged to put the in!iaIned member in |
bucket of hot water. When morning came
the arm SO paralyzed and swollen that
a surgeon was summoned. He also had a
terrible roaring in his ears and pains in
his head. 1t was many days before he fully
recovered
Anxious for new contests. Captain b.
gardus again sailed for England This
was on May go 1878. His greatest match
abroad was that which he shot with Capt.
Aubrey Coventry. The stakes were 81 900
a side and the contest was at 100 birds at
80 yards. Bogardus won by one bird, the
score standing ~ TO 49, The excitement
was intense as the men tied each other, |
and 1t was not until the American fired
the last shot that the result of the most
duel was known. Captain Bo-
gardus had the winning bird stuffed and
brought it back to his native country.
When he returned to New York in 1879 he
again astonished the world by breaking
. 800 glass balls in seven hours nineteen
and two seconds. In this mar
velous exhibition the captain used two
sets of barrels OF 10 and u bore and thes,
were changed every so shots.
Talking about the marksmen of today
Captain Bogardus said: Marshall. Grimm
Elliott, Budd Gilbert. and Heikes are great
shots, but they are favored by improved
guns and ammunition. When / won the
of the world il was viii,
black powder Now the boys have the
smokeless article. the shells are better
and the guns and traps work with greater
ease and Comfort When i look back To
my record, all things considered, | sort
of figure that am still champion But one
has to keep up with the procession to get
the music. Maud s. and j. |. c. did wond-
ers with the old-fashioned sulkies. but
rubber tires and other w-fangled things |
helped to put their records in the shade.
1t is the same story with shooting A
man who was a 'crackajack in his time !
is has been' now. That is how the world