EDITOR'S PREFACE.
The literature pertaining to field sports is represented by many volumes, but, singular to state, there is no work devoted to the great and constantly increasing sport of pigeon shooting. As editor of a sportsman's journal, the writer some time ago perceived the dearth of literature on this subject, and for a long time sought to secure the service of one who could, from practical experience, give the much called for information. This was a difficult task, for those who had made an intelligent study of pigeon shooting were very few, and most of those had confined their practice to a limited field.
When Capt. A. W. Money came to America to engage in a business here which was closely connected with the field and trap shooting, the writer learned of his remarkable experience as a pigeon shooter, both -in Europe and America, and it seemed that no one was so well qualified to write upon the subject of pigeon shooting as Capt. Money.
It required considerable persuasion to induce this veteran to wield his pen, but he finally consented, and a series of papers were published in the columns of Shooting and Fishing. These papers met with a flattering reception; veteran pigeon shooters were astonished at their thoroughness and the amount of practical information they contained; the novices by perusing them were able to raise themselves to the ranks of experts. The issues containing these papers soon became exhausted ; then followed urgent requests that they be published in book form, and these requests became so numerous that Capt. Money was induced to revise the papers. By his emendation we feel that the volume herewith presented is replete with practical information, which will serve as a valuable guide to all who wish to acquire proficiency in pigeon shooting.
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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 believes 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, 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.
