doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com A H Bogardus' book

I am enjoying a rare treat. A dear friend offered me his first edition copy of Bogardus' book Field, Cover and Trap Shooting, printed in 1874.



This book is so old that the pages are extremely brittle. especially on the edges. He just knew how much I would enjoy it and risked it's integrity by allowing me to open and read it. I am so careful not to tear or break a page that it's almost hard to enjoy it...............but I certainly am.

Has this book ever been reprinted, to anyone's knowledge?



And, the man himself........ as pictured inside the cover page.



SRH

There have been several reprints Stan, and copies are readily available.

https://www.findbookprices.com/isbn/9781332054732/

Thank you, keith. I'm going to order one and spare my friend the abuse of my reading this old original. It just scares me to death every time I open it up.

Best, SRH

Stan, It's scanned and on-line if you want to read it from your computer.

https://archive.org/details/fieldcovertrapsh00boga

To those interested in gun manufacture; including the production of Damascus and laminated steel barrels; in the era that this book was published, should refer to pages 426 -438, "How Guns are Made." Bogardus provides an excellent record of his observation following visiting the Premier Works of W.& C. Scott & Sons, Birmingham, England.

Thanks, Argo. I may do that, but will prolly get the reprint anyway, so that I can underline all the stuff that interests me and that I want to be able to go back and find easily.

I make a mess of books that belong to me. But, I enjoy them.

Best, SRH

In one of the last catalogs from the L.C. Smith Gun Co. Syracuse, N.Y. there are testimonials from various shooters. This one is from Bogardus himself.

Elkhart, Ill., May 27, 1887

L.C. Smith
Dear Sir: I have tested the two Hammerless guns that you made to my order and find them equal to any gun I have ever shot or examined. I think the fastening superior in construction to that of any gun that I have ever examined and it is my judgement that your guns will not become loose and shaky by hard usage. The guns hand and balance equal to any foreign made gun that I am familiar with. Workmanship good also.
Yours Respectfully
CAPT. A. H. BOGARDUS
Champion Wind Shot of the World.

Beans must have read that catalog. One of course might surmise that when the order came in with the name A H Bogardus on it they made absolutely certain the rotary bolt was properly fitted on that gun.

March 1875 Bogardus shot at 1000 glass balls twice at Barnum's Hippodrome, New York
https://books.google.com/books?id=jd4TAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA71

Jan. 3, 1878 Bogardus shot at 5000 glass balls in 500 minutes at Gilmore's Garden (site of the Madison Square Garden).

London, June 26 1878 he broke 1000/1037 glass balls.



He broke 5,500 glass balls out of 5,854 in New York July 13, 1878.

In 1883, Dr. W.F. Carver �The Evil Spirit of the Plains� was matched against Capt. A. H. Bogardus by the Ligowsky Clay Pigeon Co. in a 25-match series. He and Capt. Bogardus shot 100 targets each in 25 different cities, with Carver winning 19 matches, tieing three and losing three.
Bogardus shot a hammerless Scott, 7 lbs 6 oz; Carver a hammerless 12b Greener 7 lbs 12 oz.
http://minnesotatrap.com/history-in-the-making/bogardus-carver-1.htm

American Field, Chicago, Ill., Jan. 14, 1888
The Erb-Bogardus match, so long talked of, took place here Jan. 4, at 1 o'clock p. m. The shooting was at 100 live birds each, Hurlingham rules, for $250 a side (about $6,500 today). Capt. Bogardus used a twelve-bore Scott & Sons gun weighing seven pounds fourteen ounces, and shot four drams of Wood powder in the right barrel and four drams of black powder in the left barrel, using No. 7 and No. 8 shot. Mr. Erb used a Lefever twelve-bore weighing seven pounds fourteen ounces, loaded with 3 l/2 drams of King�s Quick Shot powder in both barrels and No. 7 shot.
The weather was cloudy, with the wind blowing across the traps. A stronger lot of birds could not have been had, as every bird went when the trap was sprung. There was a large crowd in attendance and a good many visitors. There was very little betting.
Captain Bogardus lost seven birds dead out of bounds and retired after shooting at 93 birds. Mr. Erb lost six dead out of bounds, which would have given him 99 out of 100, and the nineteenth bird he shot at flew away hard hit. He killed his last 64 straight, whereat Captain Bogardus gave Mr. Erb the credit of making the best run ever made by any man in the world. Captain Bogardus says he is the quickest shot he ever saw. Captain Bogardus used his second barrel 32 times, while Mr. Erb used his second barrel 17 times. The match lasted two hours and eleven minutes. The score was called at every ten birds shot at. The traps were drawn by dice. Captain Bogardus pulled for Mr. Erb and Mr. Erb pulled for Captain Bogardus.
Owing to the sad news that Captain Bogardus received, on arriving at the St. Nicholas Hotel, of the death of his beloved wife, the match was withdrawn that was to take place at the Acme feathered targets on January 5.

More on Bogardus, Dr. Carver, and Annie Oakley
http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1962/3/1962_3_26_print.shtml

Bogardus and his sons operated several glass ball shooting galleries
https://www.trapshooters.com/threads/bogardus-talks-clay-targets.414561/

Bogardus glass balls & traps
https://www.traphof.org/artifacts/history-of-glass-target-balls

http://www.targetballs.com/storyVault_3.php

A friend loaned me a copy of that book--I think it's the same one--years ago. One thing I remember from it was the very accurate observation Bogardus made regarding the massive changes in habitat that were taking place back then, as the prairie was being converted to farm land. He remarked that in Illinois, the result was an increasing population of quail and a decreasing population of prairie chickens.

Too bad they've now mostly lost the quail as well.

Found another link with some interesting illustrations
http://findinglincolnillinois.com/hotels-eating.html

From "Buffalo Bill's Wild West", 1884



His H&R

http://insideflipside.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1684&zenid=..

Dr. Carver owned Bogardus in head to head matchups.

This is cool! An undated ad from �Breeder and Sportsman�



As PRIZE WINNERS we challenge any other make of Gun to make a showing like the fallowing. All Previous Records Broken.
Never before were 100 live pigeons killed straight in a similar match, under same conditions, until the L. C. SMITH GUN was made and did it. In the hands of Mr. Al Bandle, of the firm of Bandle Arms Co., Cincinnati, Ohio, this wonderful score was made.
Capt. A. H. Bogardus scoring with a 12-gauge L. C. Smith in the match against Handle, the very high score of 95. A remarkable score with a 12-guage.
OFFICIAL SCORE Made in the match at 100 live pigeons, Hurlingham rules, barring gauge of gun, between Capt. A. H. Bogardus of Elkhart, Ill.,and Al Bandle, of Cincinnati, Ohio, on Independent Gun Club grounds, Cincinnati, Ohio, Christmas Day, December 25,1888; AL BANDLE, 10-gauge L.C. Smith
S. A. TUCKER, Meriden, Conn., Referee. A. C. DICK, Cincinnati, O., Trap Puller. ED. TAYLOR, Cincinnati, O., Official Scorer. H. BOGARDUS, Elkhart, Ill., Trap Announcer. CAPT. A. H. BOGARDUS, 12-gauge L. C. Smith gun.

Report in Sporting Life Jan. 9, 1889
http://library.la84.org/SportsLibrary/SportingLife/1889/VOL_12_NO_14/SL1214007.pdf


Outing: Sport, Adventure, Travel, Fiction 1889 p. 568
http://books.google.com/books?id=1BugAAAAMAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s
Al. Bandle, of Cincinnati, on Christmas Day defeated the famous shot, Captain A. H. Bogardus, by killing 100 live birds straight to the captain's equally remarkable record of 95.
Bogardus shot a 12-gauge L.C. Smith gun, hammerless, 7 lbs. 12 oz. weight and shot 4 drams American wood powder in his first barrel, 1 1/4 oz. No. 8 shot in first and 1 1/4 oz. No. 7 in second, backed up with 3 1/4 drams Laflin & Rand �Orange Lightning� powder.
Bandle shot the same make of gun, 10 gauge, and used, first barrel, four drams wood powder, second, four drams Laflin & Rand �F.F.F. extra� powder, No. 7 shot.