Arizona republican., 1919-10-19

,lVen TO the novice ana huncneS TO the |
along the lines Of trap and |
ield shooting and fishing.
Improving Workmanship
Suggestions, which, if followed, will
enable 'crackerjack" to improve his
scores, and which will start the begin |
Ter along the proper channels for sue
less, by avoiding the many trapshoot- |
ng fallacies. An occasional article |
will be devoted to the many women
who are adopting this sport in many
localities. 1 have been connected with
he trapshooting fraternity for the past
10 years, while my experience afield
extends beyond that period. 1 have
shot repeatedly in every state in the
Union with fairly good success Ny
extended acquaintance with the trap
shooters of this and other countries is
such that am at home with any gun
club 1 visit. To the devotees of the rod
and shotgun, take off my hat as being
the salt of the earth, congenial and
cordial The little filtration they carry
on with Dame Nature, when afield, in
Oculates them with generous impulses,
which brands them the most. congenial
to be found on earth.
Breaking Into the Sport
How did you break into the shoot
ing gamer" is a question frequently
asked me, Drift back with me to a
time when l was living in Keithsburg,
ILL.,, a beautiful little city located on
the banks of the Mississippi river. The
noble red man yet padded his canoe
upon the Father of Waters, migrating
like the birds impelled by the seasons.
y, he civ hi
billions of their skill with the bow and
arrow, shooting small coin from split
sticks. At night, with a wierd light
rejecting upon them. spectators would
be regaled with the Snake, Sun, Green
Corn and other dances. II was the bow
and arrow exhibitions by the Indians
that aroused in me the desire to shoot.
My first attempt was with the weapon
of the redskins. This taught me to
shoot with both eyes open. as do all
trap experts like Heikes, Crosby and
Gilbert. The next step was a single
barrel muzzle loader. which was only a
gun in name, yet with careful and con-
tinuous crawling l occasionally landed
a duck. On my 18th birthday, my par
ents presented me with a Joe Manton,
double barrel, muzzle loader, hammer
gun. The ramrod had a screw on the
end. The locks had ducks engraved on
the sides. This placed me on the PIN
nacle with the other boys. 1t then be-
came necessary for me to win the
friendship of an older person who could
and would teach me the fundamental
principles of wing shooting. Louey
Charbonnaux was the man. l made nc
mistake in my choice. Louey was q
typical French voyageur, spoke broken
English, was well educated, honest
congenial, resourceful and faithful.
grew to love him. Louey discovered il
me Gas he in later years confided)
latent shooting ability, which he deter
mined to develop. His first lesson was
accuracy, care and safety. Take nc
chances" was his motto and slogan
Afield, the stars were his signal lamps
the touch OF tree gave him direction
the darkest night was an open book to
him. Louey was my ideal. He taught
me TO shoot, hunt and fish. Explained
the secrets of the forest and introduced
me to Dame Nature. He was the NOV
ing spirit that put me in the shooting
world
N My First Victory
NV first special trap success was
the winning of the Mercer county, ILL
nois. championship in 1876. ] still
have that trophy and prize it highly
1 have never won a cup since that
looked as large to me, although the
height was only about four inches
After that date l was in many tourna-
ments, shooting tame and wild pigeons
glass balls, Ligowsh clay pigeons, Pc
oria blackbirds, etc. In 1891, as a
member of the Northern team
toured the south, visiting the principal
cities, and returned indicated. E. S
Rice of Chicago, in 1897 organized q
team of twelve western shooters and
entered them in the Grand American
handicap (the premier shooting even
of the world), which was held in New
York. No western man had ever wor
this annual contest. On his team wert
DR.. Carver. Grimm, Williamson, Dun.
nell, Merrill, Powers, Vorhis, Bingham
Budd Gilbert Stannard and myself
1t required three days to finish thu
shoot. From start to finish the west
| ern contingent was in evidence. A
the conclusion I had won the premie
event and was the only contestant t
| turn in a perfect score. The followin:
| year (1S9S) the event was captured b.
Mr.. Ed Fulford Of New York who wol
| the honors for the east. Mr.. E. S. Ric
| in 1899 organized a second party wit
So shooters in line to again attemp
the capture of the Grand American
championship.
Winning the Championship
/ was also member of this party
This was another three-day affair
with 263 contestants facing the trap.
Eight men tied for first place, Q
which l was one. The tie was shot OF
on a miss and-out race. The honor
again fell to my share on the thirty
| third bird. l had captured the premie
trapshooting event of the world for til
| second time. No other shooter ha
ever duplicated this performance. |
1901, the l-American team was ser
abroad by the American people to com
pete in the international shoots. It wa
my honor to be elected captain of tn
team. We met all Corners and returne
to America with an uninterrupted sue
cession Of victories. OF this trip wi
write more later.
Since my return with the All-Amerl
can team l have been and am at til
present writing actively engaged in tt
ioP9h"Otihb 5eino, dIteHulhB ali VI u
interstate and many OF the stat
tournaments. Am personally az
quainted with the major portion of tt
trapshooters who have been connecte
with this sport for any length of time
many Of them have not met in receI
years. now desire to extend the gla
hand of good fellowship through IL
columns of this paper to all of my Of
and prospective friends.
Question-Is trapshooting being al
tempted on the battleships? Is it pos
sible for a man to shoot with any az
curacy aboard ship?
JAMES BURMINISTER.
Answer-Yes. there is a great de-
of interest manifested in the navy
the sport Of trapshooting. Many shiJ
have formed teams and some hot