I've been reading about the 1901 Palma Match, shot at Sea Girt, NJ, on Sept. 5, 1901.  On the day following that match, there was a match between the Ulster Rifle Association of Ireland and the New Jersey State Rifle Association.  

This was another 800, 900 & 1,000 yard match, 15 shots at each distance.

The Irish used "the Mannlicher rifle".  Those were 1892,93, or 95 turn bolt actions made into single shots meeting British NRA match rifle standards, 10 lbs. weight, 3 lbs. trigger pull, iron sights.  Presumably, they were chambered for the .303 British cartridge, but used match grade ammunition.

The New Jersey team used "a rifle produced by the "Remington Arms Co."  Presumably, the rifles used by the New Jersey team would meet the same standards.  Were those rifles Hepburns?  Probably in caliber .30-40 Krag?

i have one i just picked up in an old time collection that is pictured on pages 64-65 in the hepburn book.  reported to have been used at seagirt.round barrel in 30-40 krag.  tony<><

I owned one that was Shot at Sea Girt. It is in Toms book. Single trigger high power . moodyholler James Parker

My bet would be the Remington-Lee

The Krag was used in the Palma because the 1901 Palma Match rules specified that each nation's team use their country's standard military rifle with standard issue sights and standard military ammunition still in sealed packets.  That meant the Krag with Model 1898 sights.

After the American team lost the 1901 Palma Match, the Krag's rear sight was redesigned for target shooting and was named the Model 1901 sight by Army Ordnance.  That made the 1901 sight acceptable under Palma Match rules.

Even in 1901, British "Match Rifles" were pretty sophisticated.  Receiver or tang iron sights, a strict 10 lb. weight limit for the whole rifle. and a strict 3 lb trigger pull.  All were custom built, with most of the weight in the barrel. The Mannlicher actions were stripped of all the magazine components and all military accessories.  The Mannlicher design was lighter than the Mauser and was made for a rimmed case with the same rim & case head as the .303 British case.  The Mannlicher trigger was supposed to be easy to adjust to Match Rifle specs and to stay adjusted, and the action allowed the use of a one-piece stock.

Tang sights could have been placed on the butt stock.  Shooting from the back position was allowed & often used.  The match was the same rules & format as the long range matches shot at Creedmoor.

Louis Hepburn was building rifles at Remington to meet the same rules.  One of the shooters on the New Jersey team was Walter Hudson.  I don't think the Remington-Lee would have been competitive.

Marlinguy, the match in question FOLLOWED the Palma.   

Here is what the original post said:  "On the day following that match, there was a match between the Ulster Rifle Association of Ireland and the New Jersey State Rifle Association."

marlinguy wrote on Nov 30^th, 2024 at 4:59pm:


Different match, different rules, maybe different competitors. Just the same range, same distances, targets, # of shots & scoring. Held on the day after the Palma Match.  This match was between a team from the Ulster Rifle Club and a team from the New Jersey Rifle Association.  I don't know who the team members were.  But the Irish team used state-of-the-art target rifles and handloads suited to those rifles.

I learned of this match from a paragraph in David Minshall's "Research Press Digest 2024".  Only one partial sentence told about the NJRA team.  "and The Americans used a rifle produced by Remington Arms Company".  

But from 2 separate accounts of the 1901 matches at Sea Girt, I've learned that Walter Hudson was present, was a member of the NJRA, and was probably on the NJRA team.  Also present but not NJRA members were Harry Pope and W. Milton Farrow.  I don't know for sure who the Remington representative was, but there would have been one, simply good business. 

In the next part of Minshall's Digest, he reports that Louis Hepburn was present at a meeting of old-time long range shooters held in NYC on Dec. 14, 1901.  If Hepburn was in NYC in December, he might well have been at Sea Girt the previous September, maybe as the Remington rep.

Another clue comes from comparing the scores for the Palma with this "Challenge" match.  Palma shot on Sept. 5, this match on Sept. 6.  Palma scores:  Canada, 1522; America, 1494.  "Challenge" match scores: Ulster, 1620; NJRA, 1558.  Same range, same format, but the Palma was shot with military rifles & ordinary military ammunition, the "Challenge" match with target rifles and hand loaded ammunition.

marlinguy wrote on Dec 1^st, 2024 at 12:31pm:


These matches were shot at Sea Girt, New Jersey.  The range had a railway depot & was connected by rail to the east coast at least.