Silvertip1
Active member
- Joined
- Sep 9, 2025
- Messages
- 35
When I saw that we had a Farr on our forum it stirred a memory, and thought that I would share with you a remarkable story. Today we have all kinds of equipment to enhance our shooting skills, but this is a story about the abilities of someone who had no specially made match rifle, rifle scope, range finder, dedicated spotting scope, bipod, hand loaded match ammunition, wind gauge, or anything we use today to improve accuracy; using only his natural capabilities, Farr shot his name into history. Think you can shoot?...read this.
George Farr came to the National Matches at Camp Perry in 1921 at the age of 62 to shoot the 1,000 yard Service Rifle Wimbledon match. To win the Wimbledon Cup there were 2 Possible scores of 100, one of which tied the previous years’ record and one that was 100 plus 4 bullseyes which were 36 inch black rounds. The previous year the match saw its first Possible when 21 bull’s eyes won. In the event that a Possible was made, the competitor would continue firing for record until he would finally miss a bullseye. At this point he would leave the match. These so called “shoot offs” could go on for long periods of time.
Farr brought no rifle or ammunition just a simple no frills kit…a sight micrometer and a old pair of binoculars sawed in half to use as a spotting scope. . He was a member of the Seattle Rifle and Revolver Club and the Washington Civilian Team. Shooters who did not own a rifle, like Farr, could draw a standard issue Model 1903 Springfield service rifle with iron service sights from the Ordnance detachment along with the service ammunition issued by Ordnance.
There were initially 18 entrees for the event. For some reason George started the event significantly later than the others, but after a while there were only two shooters left who were involved in the “shoot off”, and they were Farr and USMC Sgt. John Adkins, who used a heavy barreled special rifle made at Springfield Armory for the USMC shooting team. It was sighted with a Winchester telescopic sight and he fired Remington commercial match ammunition. John Adkins took his place on the line at about 2:30 that afternoon and started shooting. After 72 bulls eyes were scored it was wondered how long Adkins' string would continue. It wasn’t long before his scored his last when the 76th shot was out of the black, and he scored a 75.
While Adkins was still in the middle of his shooting string, at 4:30 PM the range officer called up an old fellow whose fellow shooters had nicknamed George Farr “Dad”. George came to the firing line that afternoon with only an educated guess for his 1,000yard elevation. His first sighter was fired at about 4:45 PM, and he scoped that shot through his sawed off half binocular. He saw the first shot was a three he used his sight micrometer to adjust the ladder slide on the 03 sight and fired his second sighter down range. This time the spotter showed a hit inside the black bullseye for a five. His first record shot followed. It was reported that George appeared to have very little concern for the traditional shooting technique, because he was shooting a string of rapid fire, and would load a clip of 5 rounds at a time instead of loading singly as was customary. Nineteen shots found the black of the 36inch bull of the 1,000 yard “C” target. At this point Adkins had finished shooting.
Farr began to shoot as quickly as he was able because the light now was starting to fade in the late afternoon sky. Reports said that the frequency of his shots was remarkable considering the range, but he did not get quick service in the pits. By now a small crowd had gathered behind him as Farr continued to put rounds down range and into the black of the bullseye. The light held fairly good until he reached his 60th shot, then the light rapidly began to fade. By the time his 65th shot had been fired, the light had gotten very bad and he began to hold down on the butts with his 66th shot, and with added elevation this only allowed him 4 more bullseyes. On his 71st shot, at dark 6:10PM, he scored a four and ended his string of 70 consecutive bullseyes. Adkins had won the match with his score of 75.
At the conclusion of the match the officials asked Farr if he would like to purchase the rifle he used that day. A price of that rifle at that time through the DCM was 41 dollars, but George did not have the money. His 70 bullseyes that year at the National Matches had already started its journey into shooting history and so impressed the competitors present that they took up a collection and purchased the rifle for him. The following year the NRA donated and ornate silver trophy to commemorate Farr’s shooting feat, known as the Farr Trophy and it is awarded to the high scoring Service Rifle shooter in the Wimbledon Cup Match.
In 1922, the 1000 yard C target was changed with the addition of a tie breaking 20 inch diameter “V” ring to end the time consuming “shoot offs” when the 20 shot Possible was reached. Due to this fact, it is George’s claim to fame that he still holds a virtually unbreakable record for the Service Rifle during the Wimbledon Match. Today Service Rifle shooters on the Wimbledon course fire a separate match—the Farr Trophy Rifle match—so that a Service Rifle shooter can no longer win both the Wimbledon and the Farr in one match.
Respectfully Submitted - Silvertip1.
George Farr came to the National Matches at Camp Perry in 1921 at the age of 62 to shoot the 1,000 yard Service Rifle Wimbledon match. To win the Wimbledon Cup there were 2 Possible scores of 100, one of which tied the previous years’ record and one that was 100 plus 4 bullseyes which were 36 inch black rounds. The previous year the match saw its first Possible when 21 bull’s eyes won. In the event that a Possible was made, the competitor would continue firing for record until he would finally miss a bullseye. At this point he would leave the match. These so called “shoot offs” could go on for long periods of time.
Farr brought no rifle or ammunition just a simple no frills kit…a sight micrometer and a old pair of binoculars sawed in half to use as a spotting scope. . He was a member of the Seattle Rifle and Revolver Club and the Washington Civilian Team. Shooters who did not own a rifle, like Farr, could draw a standard issue Model 1903 Springfield service rifle with iron service sights from the Ordnance detachment along with the service ammunition issued by Ordnance.
There were initially 18 entrees for the event. For some reason George started the event significantly later than the others, but after a while there were only two shooters left who were involved in the “shoot off”, and they were Farr and USMC Sgt. John Adkins, who used a heavy barreled special rifle made at Springfield Armory for the USMC shooting team. It was sighted with a Winchester telescopic sight and he fired Remington commercial match ammunition. John Adkins took his place on the line at about 2:30 that afternoon and started shooting. After 72 bulls eyes were scored it was wondered how long Adkins' string would continue. It wasn’t long before his scored his last when the 76th shot was out of the black, and he scored a 75.
While Adkins was still in the middle of his shooting string, at 4:30 PM the range officer called up an old fellow whose fellow shooters had nicknamed George Farr “Dad”. George came to the firing line that afternoon with only an educated guess for his 1,000yard elevation. His first sighter was fired at about 4:45 PM, and he scoped that shot through his sawed off half binocular. He saw the first shot was a three he used his sight micrometer to adjust the ladder slide on the 03 sight and fired his second sighter down range. This time the spotter showed a hit inside the black bullseye for a five. His first record shot followed. It was reported that George appeared to have very little concern for the traditional shooting technique, because he was shooting a string of rapid fire, and would load a clip of 5 rounds at a time instead of loading singly as was customary. Nineteen shots found the black of the 36inch bull of the 1,000 yard “C” target. At this point Adkins had finished shooting.
Farr began to shoot as quickly as he was able because the light now was starting to fade in the late afternoon sky. Reports said that the frequency of his shots was remarkable considering the range, but he did not get quick service in the pits. By now a small crowd had gathered behind him as Farr continued to put rounds down range and into the black of the bullseye. The light held fairly good until he reached his 60th shot, then the light rapidly began to fade. By the time his 65th shot had been fired, the light had gotten very bad and he began to hold down on the butts with his 66th shot, and with added elevation this only allowed him 4 more bullseyes. On his 71st shot, at dark 6:10PM, he scored a four and ended his string of 70 consecutive bullseyes. Adkins had won the match with his score of 75.
At the conclusion of the match the officials asked Farr if he would like to purchase the rifle he used that day. A price of that rifle at that time through the DCM was 41 dollars, but George did not have the money. His 70 bullseyes that year at the National Matches had already started its journey into shooting history and so impressed the competitors present that they took up a collection and purchased the rifle for him. The following year the NRA donated and ornate silver trophy to commemorate Farr’s shooting feat, known as the Farr Trophy and it is awarded to the high scoring Service Rifle shooter in the Wimbledon Cup Match.
In 1922, the 1000 yard C target was changed with the addition of a tie breaking 20 inch diameter “V” ring to end the time consuming “shoot offs” when the 20 shot Possible was reached. Due to this fact, it is George’s claim to fame that he still holds a virtually unbreakable record for the Service Rifle during the Wimbledon Match. Today Service Rifle shooters on the Wimbledon course fire a separate match—the Farr Trophy Rifle match—so that a Service Rifle shooter can no longer win both the Wimbledon and the Farr in one match.
Respectfully Submitted - Silvertip1.
