Unfortunately, for those with a passion for shooting in general but neither the time, funds nor inclination to dedicate themselves to a particular discipline, trying to compete is a waste of time.
The Adams Cup is a different deal entirely. To start with, you have to shoot it with a side-by-side. That means the serious competitors, with their custom-fitted modern over & under guns have to step out of their comfort zone. It also means that game shooters can compete with their usual game gun.
The targets engaged at the Adams Cup are many and varied, again meaning that the one-discipline specialist is not at an undue advantage over the gifted generalist. These handicaps make the challenge more open and interesting.
The cup is named for Cyril Adams, multi-championship winning live-pigeon trap and Helice shooter, author, gunmaker and student of English guns and competitive pigeon shooting. Cyril, of Huston, Texas, is now in his eighth decade and still competing.
The competition requires each shooter to tackle: 42 modified Skeet targets, 25 Ball Trap targets, 50 5-Stand targets, 10 Helice targets and 10 Bogardus ‘Glass’ Ball targets. By doing so, he will have tried his hand at a wide range of the historical replacements for live pigeon shooting which featured in competitions over the last century and a half. To win, you have to be a bit of an all-round good shot.
In 2019, the American Shooting Centre, in Houston, hosted the nineteenth annual Adams Cup. The cup itself is a silver cup on a wooden stand, with an engraved plaque. The winner this year was Cory Kruse, who shot with a borrowed Charles Lancaster 'wrist-breaker'.
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