harry pope

[bruce moulds]

for those who don't know, the discipline which became derigeur following the collapse of long range creedmoor shooting at the end of the 1800's was scheutzen.
this was shot at 200 yd offhand, originally usind straight black powder, followed by duplex loads. calibres ranged from 40 in the beginning, later to be overtaken by 32 and 38 due to recoil. for those who think 200 shots at a queens and leadup is hard work, consider that a big scheutzen match went 5 days, 200 shots per day for 1000 shots, plus sighters, all offhand.
they had to cast all their bullets, and carry them to a match. 32's weighed 200ish grains, and 38s weighed 255 to 330 gn, and complaints were common about taking this weight on the public transport.
usually only one case was used, recharging it with powder and a wad for each shot. projectiles were either breech seated into the rifling, or muzzle loaded.
shooters shot one round in turn with everyone else, and were busy in between shots. they often shot in a 3 piece suit with tie and hat.
big matches often had 600 entries, and 5000 spectators.
harry pope was one of the most famous of these shooters, and was famous for his barrel making and gunsmithing skills. he shot numerous possible scores on a 3 inch bull, an accuracy achievement fcass shooters of today woud be hard pressed to guarantee.
he shot 200 rounds per week in practice, on top of matches.
to quote harry on winning scores. "a good score is not made by a large number of perfect shots, but by the absence of poor ones".
i feel this is a good creed to live by in modern fcass as well.
bruce moulds