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Join Date: Nov 2008
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Here is a report of the match:
December 13, 1888, The Decatur Weekly Republican, Decatur, Illinois, “Nearly 300 local sportsmen and visitors assembled at the base ball park yesterday afternoon to witness the championship shooting contest between two noted amateur experts with the shotgun - L. S. Carter, of Hammond, Ill., and James R. Stice, the all-round shot of Jacksonville, Ill. At the Cincinnati tournament last September Mr. Carter against 27 competitors won the American Field Wing cup, valued at $350, the winner to hold it until lost in a contest. Mr. Stice challenged Carter for a contest and $50 a side. It was accepted and yesterday the battle, which was sufficiently sharp to be quite exciting, came off at the park. Dr. Henry, of Jacksonville, was the scorer, William Limberge, of the Cincinnati Commercial-Gazette, marked the flight of the birds from the traps, and W. A. Heninger, of Chicago, served as referee. The five ground traps were set at a distance of 30 yards, or 90 feet, from the shooter, and in the traps were placed live pigeons by small boys engaged for that purpose. The traps were thrown open at the word ‘pull,’ by means of ropes the ends of which were pulled by the contestant not shooting, one trap being opened at a time. When the pigeon rose from the trap to fly away it was the business of the shooter with leveled gun in hand to kill it before it flew over the fence, each man to have two shots at each bird and no more. If the bird fell inside the fence, 80 yards away, then the referee called it a ‘dead bird’ for the shooter. If it got away it was called a ‘no bird’ and it was a point against the shooter. Each man had a chance to kill fifty birds, the score being 43 to 42 in favor of Stice, whose victory was the occasion of much jollifying on the part of his Jacksonville and Decatur friends. THE SCORE. Stice - 10111111111111110111111111111011101100011111111111 - 43; Carter - 01110111111011111111111110110111111101111110111011 - 42. It was the judgment of competent parties that Mr. Carter fired too quick. In nearly every instance he banged away at the first upward movement of the bird, and fired the second load after it was plain that the bird was winged. He killed nearly every bird. Mr. Stice was more deliberate and saved his ammunition when he saw that his bird would be sure to drop. He missed three birds in succession, mainly because each was a dark bird. He did it when he was one point ahead, two misses giving Carter the lead by one point. Stice used a Parker hammerless gun, weight 7 pounds 14 ounces. Carter shot with a Smith gun, weight 7 pounds 8 ounces. The prize cup is a silver beauty. It is in a satin-lined case, and is appropriately engraved with figures of marksmen at the base. It is to be a bone of contention among all amateur sportsmen, any one of whom in any part of the country can challenge the winner. Charles Budd, of Des Moines, Iowa, has already challenged Mr. Stice to shoot for the cup, the contest to come off in February. Mr. Stice has taken part in the four Chamberlain tournaments at Cleveland, Ohio, winning first money twice, second money once, and dividing first money at the meeting last summer. He is an expert at double and single birds, ground and plunge traps, all distances, live or inanimate birds, and is noted as an all-round shot, honest and upright in all contests, no matter how much is at stake. In 1886 he won the American champion cup at Chicago, against a big field, but subsequently he lost the cup to Charles Budd, who is now after the American Field cup.”
The question is, was Stice really shooting the first Parker hammerless gun?
April 23, 1887, American Field, “TRAP AT MERIDEN. April 8 being Fast Day, the Parker Gun Club of this city opened the season by giving a largely attended shoot on its Crown Street club grounds.......The shoot was a success every way......All makes of guns were used - the new Parker hammerless, the new Winchester repeater, the Spencer repeater, Colt hammerless and several others.....I noticed also that Lieut. Geo. E. Albee of the U.S.A., also Messrs. Waite and Potter used the new Winchester repeating shotgun, which will be put on the market next month.....”
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08-09-2017, 09:00 AM
Chuck?
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