1898 Ithaca ad
http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/SportingLife/1898/VOL_30_NO_26/SL3026027.pdfTrap Facts from Fulford
http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/SportingLife/1898/VOL_30_NO_26/SL3026025.pdf Utica, N. Y.. March 14. Gun Editor
Sporting Life The first requisite for a successful trap shot is a good, level head and the power to govern himself if possessed of a nervous temperament: remembering at all times if one can’t control his temper he can’t control his gun. I want to see a man call "pull" twenty times, if necessary, when the traps are working badly, with" a smile on his face, and then break the target when it does fly. If a man speaks to you while shooting make the best of it; If a foreign substance or smoke blows into your eye make the best of it; If a target flies out of its natural course, or is not a fair bird, don’t shoot; if you do and miss it, offer no excuse whatever, as you will only be laughed at.
A gun with two sets of barrels, both the same length and weight, is to be recommended. Have trap set bored to shoot 70 per -cent, of load in a 30-inch circle, at 40 yards. Have field set with right barrel cylinder and left barrel modified choke. Get a gun with drop and cast-off that fits you, and one that you can hit the objects with.
The average man needs about 2 3/4 inches drop at butt, 1 1/2 inches drop at comb, 141/4 inches long, full pistol grip, weight 7 1/2 to 8 pounds. The Remington Arms Company without doubt or question produce the best and strongest gun for the money made in the world to-day.
I consider the U. M. C. shell the best. I know nothing about any powder but Schultze and believe it the best nitro powder made. For a target load use 2 3/4 to 3 drams, wadded with a split salmon No. 11 two pink-edge. No. 11 and 1 1/4 ounces No. 7 chilled shot, in 2 3/4 inch Trap or Smokeless case. For live birds use 45 to 50 grains, wadded with one split salmon No. 11. two pink-edge. No. 11, 1 1/4 ounces No. 7 and 1 3 / 16 ounces No. 6 chilled shot, in 2 3/4 inch case. You can make no mistake in using the above loads for trap shooting of the present clay. Always use a wad one size larger than the gauge of your gun: the latter is very important in any gun.
Shot traveling at the rate of 900 feet per second requires one-sixth of a second to go 50 yards, one-eighth of a second to go 40-yards, one-tenth of. a second to go 30 yards, and one-fifteenth of a second to go 20 yards. An object moving at the rate of 30 miles an hour goes 41/2 feet while the shot travels 40 yards: an object moving at the rate of 60 miles an hour goes 9 feet while the shot is traveling 4O yards; an object moving at the rate of 120 miles an hour goes 18 feet while the shot is traveling 40 yards. Therefore, in order to make a junction of your shot and target, you must learn to time the distance, move your gun just as fast as the object – no faster and no slower – and don’t stop the motion of your gun when you pull the trigger.
A great many are of the opinion that each man shoots with a different system, but such is not the case. It may be so with the poorer class of shooters, but with the best shots of America all shoot so near alike, or know where to aim, that there is one grand-standard. It often takes years to find the right place. Different men take different ways, but the result is always the same.
The position of the gun should be a free and easy one, with left arm extended so there is a slight bend at the elbow; the butt should be dropped 2 1/2 inches or more from the face, and
never, never hold your gun glued to your shoulder. A beginner should get a pair of shells known as "snaps," which have a spring in the primer hole, and it does not hurt the hammers to snap them. Placing the gun to your shoulder before a (mirror) and snapping at an object, several yards away, the instant it strikes your shoulder is almost as good practice as the real shooting. The novice should study his position, because the centre of gravity has as much to do with good shooting as anything else. Learn to get in the strongest position possible when your gun goes off - not when it starts - and always have a little force in reserve, so when you get a fast quarterer you can push the gun further in front with ease and control it’s motion.
Fulford won the 1898 Grand American Handicap at Live Birds
http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/SportingLife/1898/VOL_31_NO_02/SL3102016.pdf E. D. Fulford, the winner, needs no introduction to the shooting men of this country. He has been at the traps as a professional shot for five or six years, during which time he has won many honors. He claims an unofficial record of over 400 live birds killed without a miss. He is at present a shooting representative of the Remington Arms Co., and used a Remington hammerless gun weighing 7 3/4 lbs., 3 1/2 Schultze powder in U. M. C. Trap shells, three inches in length; 1 1/4 oz. No. 7 shot.
