San Antonio Schuetzen Verein;

Families of shooters would depart from their homes by buggy or horse-drawn ambulance in the early morning or even the day before, so the men folk would have time to adjust and blacken their sights and get everything set for the Sunday contests which always began at 1 p.m. Banners flew over the rifle range, and a keg of beer was always rolled up close to the firing line just as practice commenced. The beer steadied the shooters’ nerves, the Germans would explain with a twinkle in their eyes. A good marksman would quaff a stein of beer every time he left the firing line. Children frolicked behind the ready line, and ladies with their men sang old songs, and wildflowers picked from the fields were made into garlands and draped around the necks of the champions.
 
Such outings were held almost every Sunday, except during the hunting season. Nic Lovece and his orchestra played for the club’s dances that followed. Dues of active shooting members were 75 cents a month. Passive members, who went along for the ride and the beer, paid only 50 cents a month. Throughout its long history, the club resisted change as much as it could. “The old way is the best way, that’s why we stick to it,” members would say. It took many years for single-shot breech-loaders such as Ballard, Winchester, Remington and Stevens to replace the old muzzle-loaders. Each member had his individual stall at a long table in the clubhouse where he prepared his own ammunition. The first clubhouse was on Austin Street, the next one was on Powderhouse Hill, but in time the city cemetery was built there and shooting was often interrupted by funeral processions; so the club moved to River Avenue on nine acres of ground.
Back in 1898 on the Mahncke Park site, Dr. Adolph Herff, now the oldest living member of the club, and I.N. Rothwell were trying to set some shooting records and were doing just fine until two black-tailed deer walked across the firing line. Everyone got so excited that nobody got a shot off at the animals and they escaped unscathed into a nearby mesquite thicket. A German custom religiously held to throughout the 62 year life of the Schützen Verein was the King Shoot on Pentecost, the seventh Sunday after Easter, or “Whitsuntide” to the Germans. The man who scores the most perfect bull’s eye on Whitsuntide was proclaimed champion of champions or “King Shot” for a year. The second best shooter was “Knight Shot.”

What a great story/article and it reads like the history of the German settlers and their shooting out here in Adelaide South Australia. The Adelaide Black Powder and Muzzle Loading Club still uses an original metal target from the era. At a recent shoot (8th August) the following rifles were shot in the competition : 1 x Aydt, 2 x Ballards, 2 x Win Low Walls, 1 x Hepburn, 1 x Rolling Block, 1 x 44 1/2, 1 Springfield Trapdoor, 1 x Martini Cadet, 1 X Large frame Martini Enfield, 1 x Swiss Style Military Muzzle Loader and several English style Muzzle Loaders. Great fun was had by all and 12 shots each were fired 

830singleshot wrote on Aug 12^th, 2020 at 11:37pm:


Scott, thanks for posting that link. Very interesting to read there were 70 clubs within a 50-mile radius of New Braunfels before 1914.

That is a great series of posts, Bob. I thank you, and here's an attaboy for your generous sharing.

Thanks Scott. I enjoyed the article. And Bob for posting the pictures.

I'm glad you guys have enjoyed this.  What we have now is just a remnant of what once was but I'm very proud of it and glad to be a part of insuring the legacy continues.
Most of the rest of the states have been unaware of the long history of Schuetzen in Texas.