Los Angeles herald., 1910-08-30
RIFLE EXPERTS TO
SHOOT At VENICE
Champion Gun ManipulatorS Will
Give Exhibition of Skill
on Beach Range

Heralded as the premier rifle and
pistol shots of the world, Mr.. and Mrs.
Adolph Topperwein, of San Antonio.
Texas, will give an exhibition of their
skill on the Venice Gun club grounds
at Venice on the afternoon of Thurs
day, September is. The two rifle ex-
perts have been making a tour of the
United States in the interests of an
eastern rifle manufacturing concern
and have aroused great deal of COM
ment among the riflemen of the coun-
try.
Adolph Topperwein halls from San
Antonio, Texas, the home of the great
est sharpshooters of the country, and
has been accustomed to the use of a
firearm from childhood, Mrs. Topper
vein has had only four years expert
ence at the game but is scarcely less
of an artist than her husband.
Among her scores are 80 out of 100 at
an open tournament in Kansas City;
245 out of 250, 1856 out of AGO. 434 out
of 450. ASS out of 500 targets at un-
known angles (this record she shot at
sixteen yards, the time occupied being
two hours and twenty-five minutes).
She has scored 1876 targets in open
tournament, and has made straight
run of 1913 targets. On several occa-
sions she has broken 100 straight or
better. She has also won many aver
ages in open competition at the trap.
something no other lady shot has ever
done.
During 1906 Mrs. Topperwein shot
at total of 1S01S targets under var
ious conditions breaking 16,600, nearly
half of this number being shot at
regular tournaments. Her longest run
for 1907 was made at Sulphur, l. T.,
when she scored 113 straight.
At San Antonio, Texas, July Is,
1908, Mrs. Topperwein broke 961 out of
1000 targets thrown from regulation
traps at unknown angles. In perform
ing this feat she made many long runs,
the longest being III targets.
At the big Texas State shoot, Mrs.
Topperwein won high professional av-
erage, breaking 461 out of 400 targets.
To do this she had to outshoot a field
including some of the best men shots
| in the country.
Mrs. Topperwein is the only lady in
| the world who ever had the honor to
qualify as a national marksman at
200, 300, 800 yards with a military ri
| fe.
In the year 1908 Mrs. Topperwein shot
at 1920 targets with the shotgun, in
tournaments and exhibitions, in all
kinds of weather and on various
grounds, scoring lO,Uio IL LTdCllOH over
SO per cent, which is an average that
for such a large number of targets is
| remarkable and eXcelled by few men
| She won high average at the state
| shoot held in Austin, Texas, over a
| large field of crack shots, scoring 461
out of 400 with a sliding handicap of
from 16 to 20 yards, a performance of
which she is justly proud. Her score
, of 961 out of 1000 targets made on July
1S 1t San AnfOniO-1 feat 1lnn9TAl-
leled among women-was a striking eX-
ample of her skill and endurance, be-
ing obliged to shoot continuously for
| four hours and 80 minutes. Her long
est run during the year was ia ana
| she broke 100 straight and better four
| times. Her work with the rifle was
| equally marvellous, and in particular
her latest and best score made at
! San Antonio, December 8, where she
chalked up 1895 hits on 2 IA inch blocks
| at 20 feet rise, and made straight
run of 1437 with 20 caliber automatic
| rifle.
During the worlds fair in st. Louis
| Topperwein broke 35O7 flying targets
without miss. The targets were COM
position discs IA inches in diameter,
and were thrown in the air % feet
! from him. This record was made in
| four hours and ten minutes and was
witnessed by hundreds of spectators.
| Another feat performed by him was
to hit IS out of 100 21s inch targets
thrown in the air, he doing the shoot
ing while riding at full speed in an
automobile. Topperwein is the origi-
nator of many marvellous fancy and
trick shots, including the drawing of
pictures with rifle bullets.
In September. 1907, Topperwein shot
at 10000 21s inch wooden blocks, scor-
ing 1890 with a straight run of
8840.
During ten days in December, 1907,
he shot at 72,500 2 IA inch wooden
blocks, scoring 72,491 only misses.
He lost only four out of the first 5O,-
900 making straight runs of 14,540, 49,
599, 1922, 1929 and 10, 1888. This is the
most remarkable performance with a
rifle on record and is likely to stand
for some time to come, as aside from
the almost incredible score the physi-
cal exertion is something tremendous.
Topperweins skill is not confined alone
to rifle work, as he also does some phe-
nomenal shooting with pistol and a
hshotgun.
No entrance fee will be charged at
the exhibition and a large attendance
is expected. The exhibition will con-
clude with a blue rock shoot.
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