SHOOTING.

Globe, Volume XXI, Issue 1677, 5 July 1879, Page 3

SHOOTING.

DB W F. CARVEB, THE CHAMPION RIFLE SHOT, AT HENDON. [Prom “ The Field,”] Tuesday last was not a tempting day for any out-door sport, and if it bad not been that our imagination (and may we add our credulity ?) bad been excited by the reports of Dr. Carver’s skill at breaking glass balls with a rifle, the fireside would hare proved too tempting. Here in England the using as a shot gun a rifle carrying a single ball, and hitting a moving object with it, is a thing the mind does not grasp at first. Given the most convenient position, any amount of time to align the eight, and a stationary object of considerable size, and under all these favourable circumstances a few men can occasionally make their string of seven bullseyes. With the exception of the running deer at Wimbledon, the shooting at a moving object with a rifla is a thing un-

known. A few crack game shots, by dint of enormous practice, have succeeded in so educating the hand to obey the eye that, with a shot gun which gives a killing circle of 30 inches, they will, within reasonable distance, hit a moving object nineteen out of twenty times. Reduce the killing circle to 20 inches, and the effect would probably bo to reduce the hits by one half. What then will be thought of a man using a rifle as a shot gun, and consequently reducing his killing circle to the size of the bullet, who, without aligning the sights, but simply by marvellous obedience of hand to eye, hit a moving object eighteen times out of twenty 1

Dr. Carver, who performs this wonderful feat, was born at Saratoga Springe, New York, in the year 1840. Four years later his parents moved to the far Western States, end shortly afterwards the little colony was attacked by Indians, who murdered Mrs Carver and her daughter, and carried into captivity the boy, who was to be in after years dreaded by them as the 11 evil spirit.” He remained some twelve years with his captors, and, living the free, wild life of the plains, the boy developed into a man of exceptional physique. Dr. Carver stands fift 2in, but his proportions are so admirable that he does not look bis height. He possesses a pleasing countenance and auburn hair, and, what is uncommon with us as the characteristic of a rifle shot, his eyes are brown. His education as a shot began with the bow and arrow, with which weapon he attained great skill ; and subsequently, when he became the happy possessor of a rifle, his extraordinary " gifts ” began to develops, and, having escaped from the Indians, he for many years led the free life of a prairie hunter. He shoots with the left arm fully extended, and with both eyes open, and has accomplished some wonderful feats, not only of skill, but of endurance—to wit, the breaking 5500 glass balls with the rifle in 7 hours 30£ min

Now for what we saw him do at Hendon on Tuesday, though the weather was so atrocious that it was hardly a fair test of what he is really capable of. He began with the attempt to break 75 balls out of 100, the balls being thrown up into the air by his black servant, a merry looking nigger named Jem. In spite of wind and snow, he broke 89 out of 100. He then fired to break 60 balls against time, the balls being thrown up as before ; the 50 were smashed in 1 min. 52 sec. I This may appear incredible to those who have not seen a Winchester repeating rifle, and the marvellous way in which Dr. Carver manipulates it. The Winchester is a “ magazine ” rifle, the magazine consisting of a false barrel underneath the true barrel. The cartridges are inserted through a slot at the side of the breach, and shoved up the false barrel, which holds sixteen cartridges. After being fired, the trigger guard acts as a lever, and when thrown forward ejects the empty cartridge case, cooks the gun, and places another cartridge in position. Dr, Carver can discharge the sixteen cartridges in five minutes. The doctor next essayed at glass balls thrown fifty or sixty yards from him, and broke 5 out of 6. He then shot at pennies thrown up, hitting on the average 13 out of 16. The wind, which was very strong, constantly turned the pennies edgeways towards him, rendering the shots extremely difficult. He then essayed at halfpennies, and hit 11 out of 13 shot at 1 But perhaps the prettiest feat was breaking two balls thrown up simultaneously by two men, breaking the first to his right, and turning round and breaking the second. Most of the above shots were made when the objects were rising or just on the turn, but one of his feats is to remain “ at the ready ” until the ball is falling, and then break it. The black servant throws glass balls at him, which the doctor breaks when they get about two yards from the muzzle of the rifle. In these shots the bullets must go within about a foot of Jem’s head, but he appears to have the moat perfect confidence in hie master’s skill snd nerve. We understand that Dr. Carver is also a great expert with the larryat, throwing it from the back of a mustang he has brought over with him. From the back of this horse, using a shot gun, he breaks glass balls with almost perfect certainty while going at full gallop. We understand that the Crystal Palace Company has entered into an arrangement for Dr. Carver to give an exhibition of his great skill in the Palace grounds, sothat the public will have an opportunity of judging for themselves of the merits of this most marvellous shot.