Group to Creedmoor Marksman 1st Lieutenant William N. Bavier 7th Regiment, New York State National Guard

[kanemono]

1st Lieutenant William N. Bavier was born on April 26, 1875. He was a member of the New York State National Guard from before 1882 to 1916. Bavier was a member of the N.Y.S.N.G. shooting team and participated in a number of matches at the Creedmoor, New York Rifle range. He received a medal for “Champion Marksman’s Match” on October 11, 1892. Bavier was the Secretary of the National Ice Company and President of the Knickerbocker Ice Company in 1909. He died at New Rochelle, New York on October 24, 1926.

 

Throughout recorded history tales abound about the fantastic shots taken by some of the early pioneers of this country, like Daniel Boone and Davy Crockett. The incredible shot taken by Billy Dixon during the battle at Adobe Walls in the Texas panhandle in June 1874 is one that many consider to be the greatest ever made. Using a Sharps “Big 50” .50 caliber buffalo rifle, Dixon took careful aim, fired, and struck a hostile Indian sitting on horseback at an estimated distance of 1,538 yards 9/10ths of a mile away! It may seem hard to imagine now, but in the late 1800s and early 1900s, before baseball became the “national sport”, organized target matches were the most popular sport in this country. Probably the most famous long range precision match ever held, and the one that made the term “Creedmoor” famous, was the Long Range Black Powder match that took place between the United States and Ireland on the NRA’s newly established shooting facility built on the site of the “Creed” farm in upstate New York in 1874. The land around this area reminded many who saw it of the “moorland” in Great Britain hence the term “Creedmoor”. Thousands of spectators came to watch long range rifle matches held on “Creed’s Moor”, a range built by the NRA with funds from the New York state legislature in 1872,

[doyler]

Dick

 

another fantastic group.  The engraving on the medals is exceptional.

[gunnertwo]

Beautiful shooting group! Rare, early and historic, thanks for the "Bring & Brag".

 

G2