PIGEON MATCH AT EPSOM.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XVI, Issue 5398, 6 March 1879, Page 2

PIGEON MATCH AT EPSOM.

A PIOEOS-MATCH, m Which a great , . interest, monetary and ot h Pr '- a of centred, took place in the Was GWynne's Albert Hotel, vested PP °£ ite contesting partie» were Mr r; u Anckl.ndand Mr. Henderson. offZi f o£ both crack shots. They had mot- k r kat °. year, at Pokeno, and Mr Bish™ w but Mr. Henderson's backers we r e 0f 3 n VI - Ct ? r ' that it was only through want of confF,}"" 0 on his part that he was then defeaWi ce they willingly accepted the offer of * aafi match for £50. Irrespective of tL there was a good deal of money posi» f i ' the event. The drenching rain wlffin? the forenoon led many to believe that fi a matoh would be postponed, but all considered, there was a verv e'oml ance, and after some discussion it w j " cided to carry out tbe match. Fort-,, de " the weather took U p, £nd match to be fired m comfort. The h,l e the whole were much better than 01 age, although it was difficult to ert 4TeN them to rise from the trap. Itw of think, be worth while for some person t Wa a couple of sets of spring traps for m,tSS et of this kind, in order to do away with^if 8 inconvenience which now arises in _ the birds to get them to fly. Th» f°B was watched with keen interest betting was about even, Bishon h ■ slightly in favour, although the men shewed great confidence in their The shooting on tither side could considered excellent, although Mr B h shot with his usual coolness. He' fi p 22 birds and Henderson at 21, but tl«> ™ was then over, for had Henderson kin every bird after with his first barrel hp not have tied Bishop, even if the lltt t, ? missed every one. Bishop was two instances. His seventh and twelfth h A which were scored as misses Ml i J beyond the boundary. Bishop 'fired muzzle-loading gun, and Henderson with breech-loader. Mr. S. Morrin official a puller, and Major Jackson aud Mr W t Marks as umpires. The competitors W close company up to the twelfth bird when Henderson led by -two points, but after that his score fell off and the match was ston De d when it was, as already stated, impossible to beat or tie with his opponent. The score* Bishop 202220020200122212222°—m Henderson. 222020200021200002210—2j The victory for Mr. Bishop was a moat pronounced one, and he was warmly congra tulated by his friends. The conditions of the match, we may add, were 25 birds a side 25 yards rise, and SO yards boundary. ' A second match was then fired between Mr. Edward Perkins and another Waikato gentleman, Mr. Hall. It was for £10 a side and the rise and boundary were the same A in the first match. In this instance the Waikato representative carried off the honours, the scores being :— Hall 2002002-6 0202010-b A third match between Mr. Hall and Mr Perkins, the former firing for Mr. Hay, an*, other Waikato gentleman who was prevented by business from being present, was then fired, and resulted in another victory for Waikato. An all-comers match was then arranged, and was fired off after luncheon, and this brought the meeting to a close. We may add that Mr. Gwynne had provided an excellent Inncheon at the Albert Hotel. It was thoroughly appreciated and heartily dijcussed by the gentlemen present at the pigeon match.