VOL. XVII. N0.26
NOVEMBER 26, 1949
Entered a* Kvona-clui matter. June I. 1833. at the
at Raleigh. North Carolina, under the Act ot March 3. 1878
Modern Turkey Shoots
The modern version of Ibis sporting event
is greatly different from what it wais in the
days of long ago.
large square board some forty
yards away.
The eager marksman steps to the
judge’s table, slaps the mahogany
with a dollar bill and takes his
stand. Me has one shell and he in¬
tends to put all the shot into the
target. He hopes some of them will
perforate the part of the card
where the lines cross because that
is the winning spot.
So he carefully draws a bead and
blasts away. As he gives way to a
succeeding contestant, his target
is removed and a fresh one put in
its place. This goes on until the
"stick" is completed. The "stick"
is any given number of contestants,
usually ten or twelve, and they are
competing for the turkey prize.
Interest runs high when the
judging begins. A gunner whose
card looks like a sheet of Braille
may lose to another who placed
only two or three pellets, but one
of which spanged mighty close to
center. And so it goes.
But bird or no. one doesn’t go
hungry. The more up-to-date af¬
fairs provide hot cofTee. sand¬
wiches. cakes, cigarettes, bottled
drinks, etc., and this part at least
is an improvement over the old-
time way of hauling in the lunch¬
time victuals in a sack or surrep¬
titiously taking nourishment from
a jug on the dark side of a bush. Not
that such nourishment is no longer
taken by participants, but nowa¬
days it comes in pretty bottles and
the consumer is a "Man of Dis¬
tinction.”
Meat prices being what they are.
you latter-day Daniel Boones' may
as well get in on the fun and while
you’re about it, take along the little
woman. From a standpoint of un¬
predictability. women and shot¬
guns have so much in common
she’ll probably win the bird, take
it by the wing and proudly lead it
IF YOU'RE a man with a gun and
a dollar, chances are good that
sometime around Thanksgiving
you'll find yourself at one of the
modern turkey shoots which are
popping out like shell-waddin’ all
around the state.
For benefit of the uninitiated, a
turkey shoot is a contest of skill in
marksmanship. The prize of
course, is a young, well-developed
turkey-hen or occasionally, a gob¬
bler which is neither. That part de¬
pends on the turkey market in your
particular locality.
Now in the old days, a turkey
shoot was exactly that. The con¬
testants either shot or shot at a live
turkey which was well concealed
behind a log or tree with just
enough freedom to permit a neck
stretch for an occasional look
around.
The contestant, armed with a
rific and permitted one shot, took
a stand some fifteen or twenty
yards away. And he held this po¬
sition until the turkey stretched
his neck for a quick glance at his
surroundings. He was then sup¬
posed to neatly decapitate said
turkey just below the ears.
That was real sport and the
rifleman who could aim, fire and
score fresh meat during the split-
second opportunity was well en¬
titled to his prize.
When those folks, who look after
the welfare of animals, organized,
however, they took a dim view of
the sport; and while they didn’t
exactly say so, it was implied that
the world would be better olT if the
contestants shot at each other.
So now we have a modern ver¬
sion of the good, old-fashioned
sport of turkey shooting.
At a modern turkey shoot the
shotgun has replaced the muzzle-
loader of yesteryear and the turkey
has been relegated to the relative
THE STATE. NOVEMBER 26. 1949
By THOMAS B. moohi:
obscurity of being the grand prize
and drawing card. The air is filled
with such terms as "full choke”
"modified choke," "poly-choke"
and so on. Where the turkey used
to be stationed there is now a
small, white card about four inches
square with lines drawn diagon¬
ally from corner to corner. The
lines cross in the exact center of
the card. The card is tacked to a
