doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com DoPont Shooting School

In the 1916 era, Ithaca sent two guns for use by the ladies attending the DuPont Shooting school. The school was rather prominent at the time as a perusal through the Sportsman's Review will reveal. They sponsored a lot of trap shoots. One gun was a grade 6 single barrel trap gun in 20 gauge. The other was a 20 gauge grade 4 double and is illustrated here. Did any other of the other major American gun companies do this??

Looks like the AP Curtis design for a try gun. From Ithaca and, later others.

"Jack Fanning Coaching a Novice" appeared with "Trapshooting Hints by Jack Fanning" in Forest and Stream August, 1921 and looks to be a Smith, which Jack used.



See https://docs.google.com/View?id=dfg2hmx7_319dj27s2ch

Young's Pier school



Bill Murphy has alot of information about the DuPont schools, and I believe Parker Bros. contributed a number of guns.

Harriet Hammond organized the Nemours Club for women trapshooters in 1913



Mostly repeaters, but several ladies holding boxlocks. Can't tell if your gun is there.

Thank you Drew! Certainly was a different time. Silver spoons were a "big" trophy then. ITHACA was inlaid on both sides of the stock. Don't see it either. One of the sweet things may have it.

I believe the picture of the ladies was taken at the Dupont Nemours Gun Club in Delaware, not at Young's Pier. I thought that the Parker Dupont try gun, built by A.P. Curtis, was a shooting school gun, but Chris Lein, a respected researcher, thinks that it was a travelling gun used by a Dupont salesman. It's date of manufacture would allow for either. Chris has a picture of a Curtis Parker being held by Dupont salesman Jack Fanning and there is no known research material that places Fanning as an employee of the Atlantic City Shooting School, even though I think he lived in New Jersey. The known Curtis-Dupont-Parker try gun, mentioned by serial number in The Parker Story, is #5. I think the #5 refers to Curtis's numbering system, not Parker's or Dupont's. By the way, I don't know of a Parker-Dupont gun that was "donated" to Dupont. All I am aware of have a price mentioned in the Parker Brothers order books. At least one 20 gauge Dupont Parker, not a try gun, was ordered with a Parker logo on the stock like the Ithacas. The #5 Parker try gun does not have a logo. There is not enough room on the stock to inlay a logo like is inlaid on the Ithacas. I don't know how the Ithacas got to Dupont, but the #5 Parker was purchased from Parker Brothers by Dupont and shipped by Parker directly to A.P. Curtis for installation of the try stock. Bill Murphy

Mr. Stevens, who signed Walt's score card, was the manager of the Dupont Trapshooting School on Young's Pier. By the way, there are also 12 gauge Ithaca singles with A.P. Curtis try stocks. I think Walt may also have access to one of those. One I am aware of, once in a collection close to me, is a Flues grade 4. I am not sure where that gun is today.

Ah yes, Ladies with Model 1912 Winchesters- Life was, indeed, good back then--see my listing in the For sale sector- on DuPont trapshooting booklet etc-

Walter asked about other gun companies. The A H Fox Gun Company of Philadelphia sponsored the Fox Gun Club which was associated with the Philadelphia Shooting Academy run by Wm H Gough "Secretary". WHG was head of the Fox engraving department and a good shot in his own right. My period American Fields have many accounts of shoots there with notables such as "Gough, Miss L Gough, Naracom, Roll", etc. participating. Wm Gough had many Fox guns consigned to him for commission work, and possibly for use at the Academy grounds and/or to fill orders taken by him from shooters there. In addition, shoot reports (at other places) often state that the A H Fox Gun Co provided guns and silver cups etc. as shoot prizes. One name you'll see once in a while in period accounts was Harry Overbough who was a Fox factory shooter/rep similar to what "Goucho" was for Parker. Unfortunately I haven't yet found Overbough's nom de fusil but I'm doing some research on him for something else. If anyone has any info to share on Mr. Overbough, please send me a PM.

Frank Silvers

'Hank' Stevens and Neaf Apgar in 1913. At that time Neaf was using a 32" HOT Smith

http://www.la84foundation.org/SportsLibrary/SportingLife/1913/VOL_61_NO_04/SL6104017.PDF

Harriet Hammond seems a bit awkward the way she's holding that pump action. Lagopus.....