Pigeon shooting. With instructions for beginners and suggestions for those who participate in the sport of pigeon shooting

Front matter

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, i^ap.S.V- ®onri# I0.I18.

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

PIGEON SHOOTING.

Author's Preface

There have been many books written on shooting in the field, but I have never come across one on trap shooting; and yet, it appears to me that if a man wishes to become really expert at this form of sport, he will be able to learn much from a careful perusal of the experience of one who has made a study of it for years, and who has himself been a successful trap shot as well as a game shot, not only in America and England, but in many other parts of the world.

In the course of the last twenty-five years, I have met and known intimately most of the best known trap shots. I am one who belives that the longer I live the more I can learn, and that other people's opinions are always worth considering, and perhaps adopting, if, on careful consideration they are found to be based on facts and good judgment. Therefore, in the following pages I have given my own experience as well as that of the famous crack shots of Europe and America, both amateur and professional.

A. W. M.

Oakland, N. J.

Chapter I

Instructions for the Beginner — Position in Pigeon Shooting — Hov7 to Shoot at a Pigeon.

For many years past, pigeon shooting has been such a fashionable amusement, that for a man to say he has never shot pigeons at the trap, is almost equivalent to saying he is not a shooter. There are, of course, exceptions to this rule, and one, I think, of the chief causes of these exceptions is that live pigeon shooting is, and always must be, an expensive luxury; but it is made more so from the fact that a beginner has little or no chance of winning when competing with those who have practiced this particular form of sport for any length of time and so become expert at it.

The question is often asked. Does pigeon shooting help to make a man a good shot in the field? I should undoubtedly reply, Yes. It shows him what his errors are in shooting, and enables him to correct them ; and if he wishes to be instructed, he can learn more about guns, loads, swing, lead, and all that goes to make him a master shot, in six months as a pigeon shot, than he will learn in six years as a game shot. Few men living have shot more game in the field than myself, and I can say the same of pigeon shooting. I have for many years held my own with the very best at either sport.

As I write these lines, I shall try to imagine that you, my reader, are going to shoot a pigeon for the first time and that you want to know as much about it as the writer.

First, study your position. You have the five traps in a semicircle in front of you, and you must be able to swing your bod}^ quickly toward whichever trap is pulled, so as to be in the best position to kill the bird as it leaves that trap. If you stand with your shoulders squarely to the front, you will not be able to shoot a right quarter from No. 5 trap, the right hand one.

lO PIGEON SHOOTING

because it is always easier to swing to the left than to the right, from the fact that the stock of the gun is resting against the right shoulder. You must, therefore, stand with the left foot thrown forward, the body upright, and the feet slightly apart; in fact, very much in the attitude of a boxer. The higher the gun is held, the quicker you will get your aim on the bird ; therefore, hold it as nearly up to the shoulder as you can, the left hand well extended, but not to its full length, or you will be hampered in shooting a bird coming straight toward you. Take care that there is nothing stiff or rigid about your body, arms, legs or head; grasp the gun very firmly with both hands. You are now ready to have the trap pulled. Give the caution, " Are you ready?" to the puller, in a firm, distinct tone of voice, and on receiving his reply, give the word, " Pull," in such a way as not to jerk your body, and perhaps make you miss your shot, as I often see done.

On saying " Pull," your mind should be concentrated on trying to see, as quickly as possible, which of the five traps is being pulled, and this is of the greatest importance; therefore, keep your eyes looking over the middle, or No. 3 trap, but in such a way that you are seeing ail the other traps at the same time. At the slightest sign of a trap moving, swing on your heels slightly toward that trap, at the same moment bringing the gun to the firing position and pull the trigger the instant you see that you have covered your bird — that is, supposing the bird has left the trap ; if you have missed with your first barrel, keep the gun still to the shoulder and continue to follow the bird's flight with the gun, firing the second barrel the moment you feel you are pointing in the right place.

If the pigeon does not at once leave the trap, a thing which rarely happens where they are fast, as in England, either call, " No bird," or keep the gun leveled just over the bird's head, and at the first moment of its flight throw the muzzle ahead of the bird and pull. Remember that, other things being equal, a bird which does not fly as the trap is pulled is a harder bird to shoot than one that does; the reason for this being, that when you say "Pull," you have your whole being, mind and body, braced up to its full tension, and as the trap opens, you swing to it like lightning; but if the pigeon then fails to rise, you have lost your swing, and

INSTRUCTIONS TO THE BEGINNER 1 1

should it afterward start with anything like a rapid flight, you are very likely to shoot a little behind it.

The very best pigeon shots make it a rule to call, " No bird," when there is what is called a sitter, unless the bird from its appearance shows that it will not fly fast. Nothing but practice will enable the shooter to decide this point at a glance.

Of course, I am taking it for granted that my reader has read the rules of pigeon shooting, which vary slightly' according to the club or ground at which he is shooting.

1 would lay great stress on the necessity of concentrating your whole thought and attention on the shot. I have for many years past, known all the best pigeon shots, both amateur and professional, who have made their mark on either side of the water, and I have seen the very best of them miss comparatively easy birds, because their thought for the moment was on something else ; some one, perhaps, having made a rem ark as they went to the score and so called off their attention from what they were doing.

If these men, then, require all their attention and concentrated energies to make sure of shooting true and killing their bird, how much more must it be with the beginner.

Next to this I would advise keeping a cool and equable temperament. Never allow yourself to be upset or put out by anything that may occur. If a miss comes, take it philosophically; we all miss at times. Don't lose your temper and blame your gun, or shells, or anything but your own want of holding straight. Note in what direction the bird was flying when you missed it, and what trap it came out of, so as to discover your weak point as soon as possible, and take measures to correct it. Never kick — it does no good; it spoils your shooting, and makes you a nuisance to others. If you keep on missing, and cannot account for it, get some one who is an old shot to stand directly behind you when you shoot, and tell you where you shoot. Strange as it may seem, he can see the direction of your gun at moment of firing better than you can. Do not, however, believe what every one tells you in that respect. Many men who are not standing in a proper position to see, or are not carefully noting the direction of your gun and the bird at the moment, will say, " You shot over or under, behind or in front of that bird." They are false prophets, and sometimes are wolves in sheep's clothing.

In shooting at a bird crossing you, as in game shooting, you must swing your gun with the bird for a moment to get the true speed, then force it ahead as far as your judgment tells you isnecessary; then pull the trigger. Thedifficulty in doing this is that you have to guard against two things: First, you may lead the bird too much or too little; secondly, in trying to lead enough, you may unconsciously pull your gun down below the proper line of flight, or raise it above, though that is rarely done. The first, however; z. <?., shooting below, is a common error, especially with birds flying from right to left.

To show how necessary swinging with and leading a bird is^ I would ask any shooter, who has not already done so, to go to a swift running, but smooth stream, get some one to put a small floating object in the water, and shoot point blank at it as it passes^ you standing, say, 35 yards from the object. Note where your shot strikes the water, and then compare in your mind the flight of a swift bluerock pigeon and the object fired at.

Chapter II

Guns and Ammunition for Pigeon Shooting — The Proper Way to Handle a Gun — Sighting.

While you are following my instructions in shooting at the floating object, it will be very instructive also to note whether, when you brought your gun to your shoulder and fired quickly, you shot over or under the object. If the former, you have a gun that is suited for pigeon shooting, the reason for which I shall explain further on.

A gun with a pull-off to the trigger of about 3 to 3^^ pounds is best, but one in which the pull-off keeps the same and -does not vary is a necessity; and yet this is not as easy to find as people generally suppose.

The question of cast-off in the stock of a gun is a most important one. When a shooter throws his gun quickly to his shoulder, pointing it at some near object, and finds, on closing his left eye and glancing with the right along the rib, that he is looking along the center, he may consider that he has a gun with the right amount of cast-off ; that is to say, the heel of the stock has a slight bend away from the body. Few guns are made with a perfectly straight stock. I have, however, advocated them for many years, and I see that gun makers are putting far less cast-off to the stocks now than formerly.

The Winchester, Burgess, and Spencer magazine, or pump guns, as they are generally called, which in the hands of such men -as Rolla O. Heikes, Ferd. V. Van Dyke, Jack Parker, Capt. B. A. Bartlett and scores of others, are doing such wonderful shooting, are all built without any cast-off whatever.

It is necessary for a pigeon shooter to have a full choked gun, especially if he intends to use the same gun in all weathers and at all distances. A modified choke, or even a cylinder, might be more useful when standing close to the traps and on a still day, but for shooting at fast birds on a windy day and at 30 yards rise, a full choke is a necessity.

Using a full choke, however, means that the greatest accuracy must be maintained with every shot, as the killing circle of No. 7 shot at 40 yards is not more than 26 inches. A bird shot at inside an imaginary 26-inch circle will be riddled, but outside that, though it may be struck with a few pellets, it is most likely to escape.

What size of shot and what charge of powder are best, are most difficult questions to answer, as almost everyone has an opinion of his own on these subjects, and these opinions vary extensively.

Small-sized shot gives you a larger killing circle, as it spreads more than large ; but it does not travel so fast to the mark, and each pellet, when it hits the pigeon, does not make such a killing wound. I have used all sizes in turn, and, after long experience, have come to the conclusion that i}4 ounces of No. 7 shot is the best for all purposes, using No. 6 in left barrel on very windy days, to escape the drift of the shot as much as possible.

The amount of the powder charge in a 12-bore gun of jj4 pounds weight should never be less than 42 grains (or three drams), nor more than 50 grains of E. C, or its equivalent in other nitro powders. No absolute rule can be laid down, as different guns behave so differently with various charges. Some guns shoot a closer pattern with 45 or 50 grains than they do with 42 ; some recoil very much with the higher charge, while others dc not.

The chamber of a gun is bored, as a general rule, to take a 2^-inch shell; but this- length is too short to contain a proper charge for pigeon shooting, if properly wadded, and leave sufficient margin for a good turn-over, or crimp, which, with all nitro powders, is of vital importance.

A shell should always have ^-inch of turn-over, and should be crimped down hard on to the wad over the shot. A 2j4^-inch shell is the most useful length.

There is a matter of the very greatest importance that I should like to urge upon all pigeon shooters, old, experienced hands as well as the young beginners ; that is, care in handling a loaded gun. At all good clubs there are rules regarding this, which are in the right direction, but they do not go far enough. Year after

K l6 PIGEON SHOOTING

year the most deplorable accidents occur, which could be so easilyavoided; and they seem rather to increase in number than diminish. The most prolific source of these accidents is from improperly closing the gun after the cartridge has been inserted. I never attend a shoot that I do not, once or more during the day, see a man close the action of a loaded gun with the muzzle pointing directly toward some person or another, usually toward the man who has gone out to place a bird in the trap. A gun is always likely to go off when being closed; and this may happen from various causes, about which I shall write later. Therefore, in closing your gun, be very careful how you do it ; and especially be careful where it is pointing at that moment. The usual way of closing a gun is to raise the barrels to the stock with the left hand; but the right and safe way is to raise the stock to the barrels with the right hand.

In the first instance the muzzle is usually pointing breast high at the moment of closing; in the second, the muzzle will be found to be pointing toward the ground about three yards in front of the shooter's feet. This precaution, however, is not sufficient. I once saw an accident which terminated fatally for the shooter, and I have seen the same thing happen a good many times when no fatal result has followed ; but that was providential, and the opposite might well have been the case. It happened in this way: The shooter, an old sportsman, both in the field and at the trap, went to the mark, placed his shells in the gun and closed it. As he did so one barrel was discharged. The force of the explosion caused him to let the gun drop, when the other barrel was discharged, shooting him through the head. This was caused by the jar as the butt of the gun came in contact with the ground, and it being the heaviest part of the gun, fell fastest and brought the gun into an almost perpendicular position.

I advise pigeon shooters to make these rules: First, never to snap your gun shut, but close it gently; secondly, lift the stock up to the barrels, and not the barrels to the stock; thirdly, while closing your gun after putting in shells, hold it firmly, so that if one barrel should explode, the gun will not fall out of your hands.

I would here mention that a common cause of guns being discharged when being closed, is when shells are being used that

GUNS AND AMMUNITION I 7

have been reloaded and the fresh primer has not been driven completely home. I have myself seen three shells out of about one dozen used by a shooter explode in one day, and on looking at the Test of his shells I found several more primers projecting; the shooters present declined to risk their lives by allowing this careless shooter to use his ammunition.

Another cause of accidental discharges is the firing pin Temaining slightly projecting beyond the breech piece ; this pin coming in contact with the primer on the next cartridge as the gun is closed, causing it to explode; or the second barrel may jar ofif from the gun being roughly closed ; or a piece of grit or some foreign substance may have got between the striker and the primer.

I have already mentioned swing and lead. Every shooter should study to get both to perfection, and nothing but practice will do it. As the gun is thrown to the shoulder, instinctively the shooter moves or swings the muzzle, to keep pace with the flight of the object at which he is shooting; but if he does no more, when he pulls the trigger his shot will pass behind the bird. He therefore must make the muzzle, pass ahead of the bird at the moment of firing, and he must take care that in pulling the trigger he does not stop his swing.

Much has been written in books and newspapers on swing versus lead. To my mind every good shot, instinctively, though perhaps without being aware of it, is doing both every time he shoots a crossing bird.

Another point on which much difference of opinion has been ■expressed among shooters is, Should one shoot with one or two eyes open? A man may think he shuts one eye, while in reality he is keeping both wide open. He thinks he shuts one, because, when he puts his gun to his shoulder, as if in the act of aiming, he finds, in order to look along the rib, he closes one eye; but when he has to watch the motion of a bird flying in the air, or an animal running on the ground, he keeps both eyes wide open, and wishes sometimes that he had an extra pair of eyes. Anyhow, study to shoot with both eyes open, to their fullest extent.

If you take your gun in your hand, fix both eyes on some object, throw the gun to your shoulder pointing at the object.

then close the left eye and look along the rib, — you will find that you are pointing as truly at the object as though you had shut one eye at first ; and had the gun been loaded, and had you pulled the trigger at the moment you threw the gun to your shoulder, you would assuredly have hit the mark. I am, of course, supposing that the gun you are handling is one that suits you as to length of stock, bend, cast-off, etc.

Another point on which shooters disagree, is as to whether shooting at inanimate targets spoils a man's shooting at live birds.

In my opinion, a man can learn a great deal from inanimate bird shooting ; though, perhaps, shooting too often at them may make him slow at live birds. This is because no ordinary shooter breaks a clay pigeon thrown from a strong trap, until it has traveled about 25 yards from the trap, which, if he is standing 16 yards from it, makes the target 41 yards away before he shoots. The reason of this is, the clay bird travels fastest as it leaves the trap, but gets slower at 30 yards away from it; exactly the opposite is the case with live birds, which fly slowest at moment of starting, and acquire speed as they get their full power of flight.

It is desirable to shoot a live bird as soon as possible after it leaves the trap ; the more so as then you have more time in which to use the second barrel; while with the clay pigeon you should wait till it has attained a distance of 25 yards before shooting. A man can, however, as I said before, learn very much from target shooting, especially if he has them thrown with that object. For instance, few men can swing on to their birds equally well to left and right; but by persistent practice at clay birds thrown first left and then right, at a sharp angle across you, you can overcome your weak point.

This you can do, especially if you stand 20 yards to the right or left of the trap, and 16 yards in rear of it, and have the targets thrown so as to pass, say, 30 yards across your front, or from that to 40 yards. You will find this difficult shooting, and without swing and lead you cannot hit them. Again, some people are bad shots at rising birds. They can have the targets thrown upward at different angles, find out the cause of missing and practice at their weak point. Others are weak at incomers.

GUNS AND AMMUNITION I9

Nothing is easier than to have a trap throw birds back at you and passing over your head, by taking your position, say, 45 yards behind the trap and thus secure the desired practice.

Beginners, especially, are apt to be very slow in using the second barrel ; but by practicing at clay targets, that can be easily overcome, and the second barrel used quickly.

In all this practice, however, care must be taken to have the targets thrown far enough, never less than 46 to 50 yards from the trap, or more, otherwise the practice will be too easy, and will not be good practice for shooting live birds.

*

Chapter III. Field Shooting and Pigeon Shooting Compared

So far, I have written what I thought might be useful to a novice in trap shooting, and 1 hope that some of the hints I have given may be of use. Almost anyone may become a good shot at the traps who will take the trouble to practice and study his weak points and correct them.

It is really far easier to become a good pigeon shot than to become a good game shot; but anyone who is expert at one ought, in time, to acquire skill with the other.

But there is a wide difference between the two sports. In field shooting a man cannot study his position ; he is probably moving along at the moment the game rises; his right foot may be in front of his left, or the opposite ; he may at the moment be standing squarely to the direction the bird is flying, or he may have to turn round to shoot ; he may have one foot on a rock, and the other eighteen inches lower; and so on. And as to the bird. In place of coming out of a trap at a set distance in front of him, and then flying over level ground, with a good background it may rise under his feet, or 40 yards away to the right, left, or rear of him and the background, which always more or less affects a shooter's aim, is likely to vary with every shot.

In field shooting, too, most game flushes within 25 yards of the shooter, and as the sportsman is probably shooting with either a modified choke or a cylinder gun, he not only has a closer view of the game, but also has a much larger killing circle. Then again, with game, it is not necessary to center your bird every time to score a kill; a bird which falls dead 50 or 60 yards from you is gathered, and counts a kill ; but this would be a miss in pigeon shooting, with a short, low boundary, as is usually employed. Then again, most game birds are very tender, and fall if struck with only a few pellets; whereas the bluerock pigeon is a marvel of pluck and endurance, and will continue its flight while there is a breath left in its body.

FIELD SHOOTING 21

In pigeon shooting the question of nerves play an important part. A man standing at the score, with a number of people watching his shot, and perhaps laying bets on the result, is, without his knowing it, likely to be affected by an over wish to kill, which makes him shoot perhaps a little quicker or a little slower than he would have done had he been walking on the hillside and a bird had sprung 28 or 30 yards ahead of him. He would look upon the bird flushed on the hillside as a long shot, and would shoot in a quick, determined manner, giving his bird as little chance as possible, at the same time not over hurrying or being in the least bit jumpy. But a pigeon rising from a trap would be further away from the shooter when shot at, and would probably be flying faster, consequently a much longer lead would be necessary for a successful shot.

A man must be prepared to shoot game in any position, at any angle, at varying distances, with no two shots alike, with body bent or upright, on the side of a hill or on the level, in brush or in the open. One day he may be wearing a thick, warm coat, on another a thin one ; whereas a pigeon shot studies always to wear the same coat. The game shot may have his pockets loaded with game or shells so as to pull on his arms ; a pigeon shot would despair of doing any good work under such conditions. A pigeon shot, has, or ought to have, every bit of his mind concentrated on the shot he is about to take ; a game shot is probably watching his dog or his companion, or perhaps at the moment he flushes a bird, is smoking his pipe or thinking of something else.

Pigeon shooting and game shooting are so different that you cannot make them alike. To be a first class pigeon shot, a man must have nerves like iron ; no weak point about him. He must be able to concentrate all his thoughts and energies on the work he is doing. Good luck or bad luck must make no difference with him ; he must not be easily cast down or easily elated. Nothing brings out the points of a man's character more than pigeon shooting. If he has a weak spot, it is sure, sooner or later, to come to the front. The niggardly man, the selfish man, the bad tempered kicker, and above all, the crooked man will surely come to grief. The crooked man had better leave the sport alone, as he will soon be found out and be known for what he is. But the nervy, high principled, whole souled, hearty, jolly fellow, who can give and take, and enjoy life and good fellowship, and be a good fellow amongst good fellows, will iind few ways of enjoying his leisure time more than in competing with others like himself at the traps.

No man lives that enjoys game shooting more than I, and few have had more opportunities of enjoying it. But I long ago learned that one cannot shoot game with a crowd; man is a gregarious creature, likes companionship, and plenty of it, therefore the company of fellow-shooters makes pigeon shooting appeal to many. Besides, the season for game shooting is short, and often one is unable to devote the necessary time to it, whereas, an afternoon's shoot at your favorite club takes little time and requires no preparation. Then, too, many men are not physically fitted for game shooting. Bad health, advanced years, stoutness, lameness, and many such causes, incapacitate a man from game shooting who would otherwise be devoted to it. To such I say, try pigeon shooting ; give it a good, thorough trial.

In your early efforts don't be discouraged if at first it seems too hard; it only wants practice. Make it a sport, and not an art; try, to help your neighbor to succeed. In sweepstake shooting, always be willing to divide with another man, whether you think you can beat him or not, when he or you are left in it alone. Never watch for an unfair advantage over any adversary, and if it offers, don't take it. If a dispute arises, leave the decision to any unbiased brother sportsman, and then cheerfully abide by his decision. Nothing destroys sport so much as greed and hoggishness. If I could have my way, I would make it a rule in every club that where a tie had occurred, between any two men in a shoot, either of them could insist upon his right to divide. Many clubs have been broken up by the hoggishness of one or two good shots insisting upon winning everything for themselves. This has led to class shooting ; but this, while very useful where there are a great number of entries, as in a tournament, for instance, and among a certain class of shooters, never could be adopted in first-class clubs.