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HomeVintage Gunners Cup 2021

2021 Vintage Gunner's Cup
Hausmann's Hidden Hollow
Friendsville, Pennsylvania
Sept. 15 - 18

Several LCSCA Members wore Edwardian-era ensembles during the Vintage Gunners Cup. From left are Jim Stahl, Idella deFernelmont, Annie Jarden and Executive Director Frank Finch.

Bagpipe and drum music added to the period atmosphere are the Vintage Gunners Cup.

By John Brownell

Hausmann’s Hidden Hollow near Friendsville, Pennsylvania, hosted the 22nd Vintage Gunners Cup World Side by Side Championship and Exhibition on Sept. 15 – 18. LCSCA exhibited at the event and members participated in the shooting competitions.
Many fine guns were displayed by prestigious vendors and craftsmen capable of repairing, maintaining or building firearms also had exhibits in the vendor tents. Visitors could purchase a “new” old gun, fine sporting art or literature pertaining to the hunting and shooting sports, or just browse the displays of L.C. Smith, Fox, Parker, Lefever and the German Gun Collectors associations. Several million dollars of the finest guns every made – American English French, Belgian, German, Spanish, Italian – were on display, many of them for sale. Looking for the shotgun of your dreams? You could most likely find it here.

About 125 participants continued the tradition of previous vintager events by dressing in the style of the Edwardian Period. An air of elegance surrounded the group dressed in tweeds and neckties, long skirts and bustles. It truly is something to see! The ladies enjoyed an afternoon tea while the men were out on the course, shooting fine old guns that work as well today as they did 130 years ago.

Hausmann’s is well-known for catering to the side-by-side crowd, with an event each June and now for the second time hosting the Vintage Gunners Cup. There are three separate courses to shoot: small gauge (24, 28, 32 and .410), mid-gauge (16 and 20), and large gauge (10 and 12).

The Shooting Is a Lot Like Hunting
These courses approximate grouse or woodcock hunting more than any other sporting clays course I know of. Most targets are spread among the wooded sections of the hilly landscape, with trees and brush blockings sections of the clay target’s flight path, just like the real thing, with short windows of opportunity that need quick action by the shooter. Challenging targets, but not impossible! A round of 50 targets in each gauge range, hammer or hammerless, was just the right amount, allowing one to shoot the course and still have time for the vendor tents.

The Fox Collectors sponsored a Field Gun Event, for guns weighing under 6 pounds 13 ounces. From the 5-Stand, 10 true pairs were attempted. Fox awarded the top five Fox shooters cash awards from fees collected for the event and gave the remaining funds to a charity.
Fox faced off with Parker on the 5-Stand for the Fox-Parker Challenge. The five-member teams were selected by scores recorded on one of the 50-bird courses. The top two shooters were automatically selected and the other three were selected by lottery, from tickets given to Fox and Parker shooters as they recorded their qualifying scores. This arrangement gave shooters who may not have scored high an opportunity to shoot for their team. One hundred-twenty-five targets were thrown for each team, with Parking winning with a score of 89 and Fox scoring 84. Congratulations to Team Parker, for winning a close match!

L.C. Smith Members Win Awards
Side games included Long Bird, Mad Jack and Pigeon Ring. The Mad Jack event was won by Tom Snyder Jr., who made it to station 12. Kenny Waite won the Pump Gun Challenge fund-raiser.
In addition to Tom and Kenny, LCSCA members won several awards. Annie Jardin won the Ladies High Overall after a shoot-off on the 5-Stand. Jent Mitchell won second place in the 10 gauge hammer with 40/50. David DeFernelmont won the 16 gauge hammerless event with 41/50.
Dave DeFernelmont won the 10 gauge hammerless with 45/50 and the 12 gauge hammerless with 45/50.  He also placed second in 20 gauge hammer with 34/50, and he won the Super Senior Trophy for the main event with a 60/80.

For the rifle shooters, there were tests of skill with Stopping Rifles and Stalking Rifles of single barrel, double barrel, lever action, bolt action, combination drilling or over-under configuration. You could hear the shots they fired a long way off on another part of the course.

The Friday evening Cocktail Party was prefaced by a pair of Bag Pipers, who played many beautiful songs. Most importantly, they played “Amazing Grace” as a tribute to those Vintagers who have passed away in the last year. It was a very touching moment that moistened many eyes. Many of the exhibition’s many awards were also presented during the evening.
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