Omaha daily bee., 1902-02-24

has necessltated the adoption by him Of a
tense position. He leans well forward,
with his feet well apart, for n he did not
every recoll would lay him out on his back.
Then he takes a firm hold OF his weapon,
squeezing Il tight and hard 10 his shoulder,
and comes forward against Il on the dis
charge. Billy Is fond Of making his fret
barrel do the work. but II II does not II
makes no difference, since his second is
exceptionally certain and quick. He uses a
Parker gun with a thirty-inch barrel. while
the drop Of the stock ls two and a half
inches. When this little man friends see
him put three and a half drachms Of smoke
less powder into q shell for that seven-and-
a-half- pound gun they look him over and
marvel at his fine scores, for II would
seem that he would shoot up In the air
most Of the time. Townsend is very merry
at the traps; in fact, he is the biggest
jollier Of the bunch when shooting and II
only makes him do all the better for the
boys to make passes at him, which they
accordingly do with a will.
biggest Omaha
Townsends antonym ia Fred Goodrich,
who takes pride in $50 pounds Of man
which he carries with him. This weight
compels Fred to be unique in his shooting
iron. He uses a c~ast-off Of half an inch
and he is the only man who does.
This means that the stock Of his gun,
besides dropping. turns to the right from
the barrels, thus throwing the latter nearer
Fred's head. He is 90 broad-shouldered
that he cannot get his head over far enough
with a straight gun. Fred's bulk also com
pels him to use q very short stock, thirteen
inches, for II makes his arms too short to
reach out farther. He Is q new shooter
and one Of the two 1eft-handed gunners In
Omaha, but he is a crackerjack Just the
same and is picked by many as the
Conner He favors neither barrel.
Quickest and sIOwest
''Diek" Kimball is the quickest shot in
Omaha. He always throws his first barrel
the instant the bird leaves the ground, SO
that the pigeon is never more thar three
feet from the trap before hat FIRST shower
Of pellets is upon It. Most shooters loosen
up when the bird has gone anywhere from
ten TO twenty feet. This same instantane-
GUS first barrel causes Kimball to rely very
largely upon his second, which is good, and
with which he is more careful. Dick drops
his gun just before saying PULL" He
sights 1t up frat, lowers 1t as much as an
BINC0 ~ oibhaA oaa NhNh AoAEN rs
covering his bird at the same time, SO as to
be sure and get that first shot in on the dot.
Most shooters hold it up there tight all the
time and spend their time industriously
hunting for the bird 80 as to cover.
As the opposite Of Kimball, w. B. Bur-
CESS is most striking. He is the most de-
liberate shot of them all. He stands very
straight as he handles his thirty-two-inch
Cashmere imported pet and his long suit is
constantly changing something about the
weapon, which is a beauty. Every time he
shoots Burgess has done something to alter
his gun. He has either cut 1t down or built
It up, shortened 1t OF heightened 1t, padded
1t up or sawed IL of. His friends always
wonder what he will do next. Burgess
cool manner and elaboration make his first
barrel something to be feared.
This Pair shoots for Fun.
Charles Lewis is the most enthusiastic
shot in Omaha. He is a regular old war
horse for the smell OF powder and he will
shoot a 22-caliber rifle or an eight-gauge
shotgun with equal pleasure. Just for the
fun Of hearing the noise. Charley Is a
pioneer at the game here and is a safe
shot. AS regards barrels, he doesn't care
much which. aqtt'n
0AlN DAOWOA - haD eaC AAC3N iva
chalant one Of the gunners. He stands at
the mark In a very easy and graceful posi-
ton, handles his Parker very loose and free
and drops 1t a little before he says a word.
His lethargic methods make q good second
barrel an imperlous necessity and Brewers
is probably the best around here. It is the
star part Of his game.
Double p. Burke's style.
The most earnest man Of the crowd is a
new shooter, p. P. Burke. Although a re-
cent addition to the fold Of sportsmen,
Burke is one Of the crack live bird shots.
That is not the chief feature OF his work,
however. His main Interest as an attrac-
tion is his style in shooting, which Is ex-
IRENE. P. p. tries so hard that his fellow
shooters always claim that he gets two
yards nearer the traps than anyone else,
for he straddles his legs very wide and then
leans, tensely, strainingly, away out over
the chalkline toward the trap, his gun to
his shoulder. AS the others see that mug
zle reaching out further, and see that
Burke's feet are nevertheless still on the
mark, they lose heart because OF the adj
vantage which he gains. Burke tries very
hard. His whole soul Is in every cartridge.
But he has still another unusual character
istic, and that is his gun. This is an old
Lefevre, and 1t came out Of the ark. Burke
says that the reason he gets his birds so
handsomely and so invariably with his first
barrel is that it scatters the shot ali the
way from one trap to the next and there is
no show for the pigeon.
Frank Fogg is Burke's opposite. His
long suit is levity. He will Jolly when he
is high, and just as much when he Is low
man. II 1t is the last bird Of a bitter race
and one that decides the money or the
medal. Frank does not forbear nlnging 9
sally at some bystander. and one in return
does not put him OF edge in the least
When he shoots. however, he pulls togetheI
and is very tense. with his feet well spread
His first barrel is one of considerable re-
nown.
Jim smead's PecuIiarity.
James smead has the edge over them al
in style. for in this he is the most unique
James is not content to set his Parker
evenly up to his shoulder the way II wa
built to be, but he always twists It in. 81
that the left barrel Is considerably higher
than the right one. while the stock liei
over on q slant smead has a very easl
position at bat, however, and does the busi
ness. He is another strong first barre
man.
G. W. Loomis is another shooter WHOSE
chief characteristic is great enthusiasm
Loomis is in the game for love of It, AM