Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-09-04
SMALL-GAUGE GUNS
Efficiency at Clay and Live Pigeons
Thoroughly Demonstrated.
THEIR FIRST TEST IN MATCHES
Excellent Scores Made in the La
Dor Day Tournament.
STUEBENER BEATS NUTTING

- u L l.
large number Of local sportsmen gath
cred at Stuebeners, on the Bladensburg
road, near Highlands. yesterday In attend
ance upon the Labor day tournament. but
more particularly to witness the first real
test of small-gauge shotguns at the traps.
with clay pigeons and live pigeons as tar
gets. When the throng gathered 1t was
| composed Of few who believed that 2S-
gauge gun would do equally good execu-
ton as standard 12-gauge. despite the
smaller charge Of powder and shot, and a
large number Of others who simply derided
the possibility Of such thing. When the
shooting was concluded there was not a
man present who was not compelled TO ad
| NIT that the 2S-bores will do all that is
claimed for them. and do 1t handsomely.
The efficacy of small gauge for live pigeons
was also thoroughly demonstrated, as many
OF the latter were shot at and were killed
as cleaniy and quickly as any birds ever
sprung from q trap and the majority Of
them never fluttered after being struck
All the sportsmen who participated in the
shoots except Mr.. Duvall, were experienced
Mr.. Duvall has but recently taken ND the
sport and has become q remarkably clever
| shot.
Must Hold On to Objects.
Participants found that it was not wise to
lead clay pigeon or a live one with a
small gauge, as far as their experience has
| taught them to do with a twelve gauge, the
former driving shot with greater velocity
than the latter Leading in shooting, it
may be explained, Is to aim slightly ahead
| or i've or clay pigeon. going to the right
or left. In order to make the charge meet
| the object In flight, or aiming slightly above
| rising bird or slightly below a dropping
one. with a small gauge it is well to hold
| 0ot m, tI,., Id
ger is pulled. Each man who shot at a
| tWenty-eight gauge used shells loaded with
! one and three-quarter drachms of E. c.
powder and five-eighths of an ounce of
| NO shot. The guns were all of the Par
| ker make. and it Is interesting to note in
this connection that the firm of Parker
| Brothers was led to take up the manufac-
ture OF these little fellows by Mr.. Arthur
Mattingly OF this city. who is the pioneer
In the small-gauge gun use in this vicinity,
| having shot twenty-gauge in his extern
sive and successful field shooting for sew
| eral years.
The first gauge events were at clay pig
cons. IL yards rise, thrown from five traps,
| being the regular conditions for standard II
| gauge.
The Excellent Scores.
The results were as follows: Wagner
broke 81 out OF 40: Hunter broke 81 out of
Az, missing three Of his first ten and break
Ing thirty straight; Duvall broke 33 out of
40; Mattingly 81 out of 40; Jones Is out of
20: Stuebener 10 out of 80, and Brown II
out of 25.
| In the last match Hunter broke 10 and
Mattingly, Duvall, Brown and Dickerson s
each, an excellent percentage with any
| kind of gum Nine out of every ten TAR
gets struck were smashed into smithereens.
Good Work at Doubles.
A shoot at ten doubles clay pigeons, was
then pulled OFF, Nutting and Mattingly
shooting their twenty-eights and the Others
twelves, with shells loaded appropriately
for that style of gun. Mattingly missed
| the couple first sprung and broke the re-
naming eight Nutting broke seven odt of
ten Jones and Duvall got eight each,
George Wise and Nutting seven each. and
| Hunter FIVE
Brown did some great shooting. break
ing nine out of his first ten. and then break
Ing fye pairs straight. making the pretty
record of 10 out of 20 at doubles
A shoot at five live birds, 20 yards rise.
was made up between Hunter and Dicker-
son for % bores. Hunter killed straight and
| Dlckerson missed his fourth.
Stuebener Defeats Nuttinx.
Then came the twenty-five live bird con-
test between Phil Stuebener and Ralph Nut
ting. The birds were released at twenty
five yards rise from five traps five yards
apart Both men shot twenty-bore Parker
| guns IT was nip and tuck for the first
| n1teen birds. with scores even thirteen out
of fifteen. but Nutting seemed to get rat
tied because his two last birds had both
| FALLEN dead just out Of bounds He lost
| four more out Of his next ten, two being
| dead out OF bounds. losing the match by
two birds. Stuebener killing twenty-one to
| his nineteen.
Neither man used his second barrel more
| than four or five times, the first barrel
killing them dead when struck The same
was the case with the birds killed by Hun
ter and Dickerson, with the twenty eight
| bores. scarcely a fiutter being noticeable
| after the pigeons were grassed.
| There was considerable crowding by the
spectators upon the backs of shooters
| scorers, trap puller and referee, a fault, 1t
Is declared. which has been too frequently
noticeable at tournaments in this vicinity
1t Is a practice that sometimes unnerves
| participants in matches and all agree that
| 1t should be summarily stopped In future
| Nutting and Stuebener were compelled to
direct pulp several times yesterday with
| the crowd almost showing against their
right elbows. Talking to the men at the
| traps by spectators should also be made
| unpleasant for those who indulge tn sense
| less jabber when a man has his gun to his
| shoulder. In these respects 1t is to be
hoped. future tournaments will be better
| managed