The San Francisco call., 1908-08-16
GormanMiSsing Target
Considered Joke

James e. German, the San Francis
can who was robbed of the world s
pistol championship at the recent
Olympic shooting match at Bisley.
Eng, is on his way home and will
reach San Francisco early in Septem-
Der. AS time goes on German becomes
more disconsolate apd further con-
vinced that he was defrauded in
the individual shoot at the Bisley
ranges. 1t will be remembered that
German was credited with a miss at
a target at which he had to take six
shots. When the target was returned
the marks of only five shots could be
distinguished, but German paid no at
tention to this, as he knew perfectly
well that he had double. When the
committee got through examining his
target the San Franciscan was little
surprised to learn that ne had been
credited with miss and that, instead
of being the recognized worlds cham
pfon, as he would have been had the
disputed shot counted, he was only
third on the list.
The entire American team claimed
that two shots had gone through the
same hole, as often happens, but the
English officials declared that the shot
must be chronicled as miss. The
matter was finally passed up to the
captains of the eight teams competing
A vote was taken, and just in fairness
to the British sportsman, who has been
roasted so much of late, it can be
stated that the only vote in favor of
the American was registered by the
captain of the British team. The rank
injustice thus suffered by German can
only be blamed on the captains of the
European teams. as the matter was left
for them to decide, apart from the
opinion OF the shooting committee.
There are men at the Shell Mound
ranges across the bay, where German
41Sc xryfl will hnt l,Ns~-
entire worldly goods and chattels that
the San Francisco man could not miss
the target even though he was blind
Folded, and there is something to this
story TO those who have watched the
work OF German at the Shell Mound
ranges in past years.
Henry A. Harris of Oakland who
shot at the BiSley targets year ago at
the champion shoot and brought back
many valuable trophies with him, is
the possessor of an English target and
showed It to The Calls representative
yesterday. The target measures two
feet across and the possibility of a
man or Germans caliber missing the
mark altogether is too much of a joke
England. The men who have shot with
German for the last quarter of a CEN
tury viii bet that the San Franciscan
WI VIII not GO without the three inch cir
Gle from the dead center.
As an example of what the man can
Go the following summary OF his rec
ORD before being credited with a miss
ought to be conclusive proof that Cor
man put two bullets through the same
hole. Thirty-first shot 10; thirty-sec-
ond shot, 8; thirty-third shot, 10; thir-
ty-fourth shot miss. Now here is a
man who has not missed the target in
20 years being credited with miss
after shooting over 80 shots within
three inches of the dead center of a
target which measures two feet across.
The actual width of the circles is 19%
inches, but there is leeway on either
side which brings the entire diameter
to two feet. To those who know any
thing about shooting there is only one
conclusion to come to and that is that
the local man was robbed. Just to
add little further proof it may be
stated that in the team shoot German
broke the English record and Incl
dentally defeated the Belgian who
wrested the individual prize from him.
The pistol shots of the Fifth infan-
try band OF the national guard will
engage In a state shoot at the Shell
Mound targets today, This will be the
only shooting match of the day Here
Is the result of the monthly bulIseye
shoot Of the Shell Mound pistol and
rife club:
William A. siebe u, George Hol-
stein II 1a, A. NJ Poulson 81, Carl Doell
~. n. A Harris 81. L. Lutz SO, j. w.
Phiillps 432, l.. Erickson 45lz, r. J.
fraser ASH, c. III. Henderson 40. E.
Schlerbaum 81, c. Larsen 81, II. Wob-
Der b2, III. Kleinenbroich SO, j. NJ
f1assen 90. M. w. Housner S3.