The first casino at Monaco opened in 1856 on a different site. The Hôtel de Paris Monte-Carlo opening in 1864 and the current Casino de Monte-Carlo in July 1865, with additions in 1878-79 and 1880-81.
The first Grand Prix du Casino was in 1872, won by Mr. George Lorillard, of New York.
It appears likely that a new clubhouse and the platform for the new ring was built in the late 1890s.
The ring at the Casino was in continuous use until 1960, when it was converted to a Helice (ZZ) ring. The ring was demolished in 1972. The straight-away boundary was only 21 yards.
I couldn't find the rules for Monte Carlo, but at least in the 1880s, before the platform and new ring were built, with an only 21 yard boundary and short fence, it was 5 birds at 26 meters and 7 birds at 27 meters https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll17/id/51484/rec/2
1890 American Shooting Association Rules https://archive.org/stream/fieldcovertrapsh01boga#page/458/mode/2up No limit on powder In single bird (target) shooting the rise shall be: Eighteen yards for ten-bore guns; limit 1 1/4 oz. Sixteen yards for twelve-bore guns; limit 1 1/8 oz. Fourteen yards for fourteen and sixteen bore guns; limit 1 oz. Thirteen yards for twenty-bore guns; limit 7/8 oz. Rules for Live Bird Shooting - same load limitations The rise shall be: Thirty yards for ten-bore guns. Twenty-eight yards for twelve-bore guns. Twenty-six yards for fourteen and sixteen bore guns. Twenty-five yards for twenty-bore guns.
The Art of Wing Shooting: A Practical Treatise on the Use of the Shotgun, William Bruce Leffingwell, 1895 “Rules for Live Bird Shooting” https://books.google.com/books?id=e34EmE3tkfkC&pg=PA177&vq Notting Hill Boundary 65 yd Hurlingham Boundary 90 yd
I live here in N.C. I have had the limited opportunity to shoot live birds and Helice. I can see why they call it "The sport of Kings" I recently picked up a 1906 Purdey pigeon gun. Verified by the maker as such. It does not have the matted rib but a smooth flat rib. Can anyone discuss the various types of pigeon ribs they have seen? My friend once owned a Boss pigeon gun and it had a wide flat smooth rib.
Check out the Reilly history, paragraph 75, page 90 on the Reilly line, a review of Reilly Pigeon guns. It had this to say about Monte Carlo:
The Monte Carlo pigeon shooting tournament in January of each years was regarded as a sort of unofficial world championship.*75j A well known Italian marksman pigeon shooter Giuseppe Guidicini *75k using a Reilly pigeon gun placed 2nd in the 1884 Monte Carlo pigeon shoot and won it all for the 1885 season (shot in Monaco in January 1886).
Reilly advertised his win in the London papers in January and early February 1886.*75l . . . . . . . . . .28 Jan 1886, “Sportsman”. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 Jan 1886, “Morning Post”
The following quote is from Wyman's 1888 Industrial Encyclopedia on Reilly Pigeon gun success:
At the end of the 1882 season “Holts” Calendar gave the aggregate of winnings, of which the following statement was made about Messrs. Reilly’s guns. --“Season of 1882, won at the principle shooting clubs near London – 17 Prize Cups, value £519; a Gold Medal, value £50; a silver medal and £6,148 in specie (equivalent to $750,000 today); which was nearly twice as much in prizes and specie as by guns of any other maker.” -- In the season of 1883 Messrs. Reilly were again very successful, and gentlemen shooting with their guns at Hurlingham and the Gun Club won 16 Cups, value £505, and £3,162 in specie results which again placed Reilly a very long way in front of other gunmakers. -- In the season of 1884 they headed the list of winning guns, their patrons securing cups worth £3,982, nearly £3,000 in money prizes. -- In 1885 they were also successful, 13 cups and £2,603 being the prizes won by their guns at the principal shooting clubs. -- The Grand Prix du Casino, the principle "objet d’art" of the International Meeting at Monaco was won in 1886 by Signor Guidicini, the Italian sportsman who was second the previous season. Besides the valuable trophy, estimated at 5,000 francs, the Signor won 18,250 francs, (about $200,000 today) killing 19 birds consecutively within the limited boundary, shooting with one of Messr. Reilly’s full-choke 12-bore pigeon guns, defeating seventy-four other competitors*75m
Didn't Iowa's Bob Allen win the shoot at Monte Carlo ? And a a lot of money. It was rumored Bob Brister built a house in Texas from his winnings from live bird shooting.
And of course, Marlene Dietrich has to show up just like on >>Hogan's Heroes<<.
I know that Mr. Fink & his son had um enroads in these circles. Mr. Fink had a fine collection of Dalys that he brought up to my hotel in St. Augustine many moons ago. I'll have to find the thread.
>> O.K. you 2 Daly fans who are still following this thread, after just a lovely gathering w/ Mr. Wes. Fink of Dayton, viewing 3 beautiful Daly O/Us, I think "F.A." is to be for Franz Adamy, brother of Albert Adamy, and that the serial number range of 26,XXX is that of Gebrüder Adamy and not that of Richard Schüler. And here's why: I'm away from my notes for a bit but Mr. Fink dug up a NRA publication that noted that Sloan's Sporting Goods purchased S, D, & G in the late 1920s and Gebrüder Adamy made guns for Sloan's Sporting Goods or Sloan's Sporting Goods of Conn. sourced Gebrüder Adamy for some of their examples. The above quoted example and those of Mr. Finks are separated by as few as 20 examples apart and not more than say 500. So we have 3 guns made in the 1931-1932 time period in the 26,000 - 266xx range all with "F.A." either on the left side of the lower tube or on the left side of the barrel flats. Mr. Fink has a most interesting/confusing Regent Diamond Pigeon gun that doesn't have a "F.A." stamp but is within say 50 examples of 1 of the 3 aforementioned "F.A." stamped Daly's so by default, even though I didn't see a "F.A." stamp I still contend that by default that it passed under the watchfull eye of the Boys Adamy before heading to Daly and that Gebrüder Adamy was a major player, possibly along with Richard Schüler who might have been next inline in the early 1930s, in the production of Daly examples. Anyone have any Gebrüder Adamy examples with "F.A." or "A.A." on the tubes or have a handle on the Gebrüder Adamy serial number range?<<
Re the reference to Bob Allen and his article on pigeon shooting: I stopped when scrolling down at the photo of King Faisal II of Iraq in the ad for H&H. That's an Aug 56 issue of "Guns". Something jogged my mind that Faisal wouldn't be alive much longer. Assassinated in July 58 at the age of 23. He was the last king of Iraq.
Si, es verdad, mon ami -. You have a keen ear-- and we know that French, Italian and Spanish are 3 common Romance languages, all with their roots in Latin. Part of my schooling involved Latin, being Catholic- and then High School, with 2 years of Spanish. Our teacher for that was also the German language teacher, so I picked up a few phrases and that got me interested in languages, and how English has its roots.. I speak French with a Spanish accent--My literary hero, the late Ernest Miller Hemingway, fluent in French, Spanish, Italian and the Basque tongue from Northern Spain was also a student of World history, "como asi moi"" Via con Dios-- El Zorro
I for one believe you. You have a language & acronyms all to your own. I don't know that I've heard a French Bovin with a Castellano flare?? I have heard many a Spanish Cattle with an Italian flare. My language teacher spoke 11 languages and it was a gamble, just a gamble on which one was about to come forth next.
So some of the Crème de la Crème from the gunmaking cradle of Suhl would lie with Charles Daly(maybe H.A. Lindner??? but probably not), Simson >>Monte Carlo<< and Sempert & Krieghoff's >>Monaco<<. I would be ecstatic to see a side by side comparison in >>The Ringe<< but I would hasten to wager that Daly would bubble to the top?
It has been a challenge to document the Prix winners.
This is not quite correct “Manly Sport of Pigeon Shooting” The Illustrated American March 24, 1894 http://books.google.com/books?id=tHVNAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA309&dq In the first year of the competition, 1872, this was won by Mr. George Lorillard, of New York. For the next six years Englishmen took it, and then, in 1880, Count Esterhazy won it for Austria. Italians have won it six times, Count Cuidicini carrying it off three times. This year it was won by Count Lichy, an Austrian.
The problem is that there were 2 grand prizes; the Gran Prix du Casino and the Prix de Monte Carlo AND Prix d’Ouverture and (later) Grand Poule D’Essai
Gran Prix du Casino 1882 – George Lorillard, New York 1883 – H.J. Roberts 1884 – H.R.H. Comte de Montecupo 1885 – M. De Dorlodot 1886 – S. Guidicini 1887 – Comte Salina 1888 – not recorded 1889 – V. Dicks 1890 – S. Guidicini 1891 – Count Luca Cajoli 1892 – Count Trauttsmandorff
Prix de Monte Carlo 1883 – S. Guidicini 1884 – M. Drevon 1885 – Capt. Shelley 1886 1887 – Seaton 1889 – M. Guido 1890 1891 1892 – H.J. Roberts
Sporting Life April 29, 1883 Philadelphia vs. England https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll17/id/20466/rec/2 Charles Macalester is a gentleman of leisure, a Philadelphia born and bred, and belongs to one of the oldest and wealthiest families in the city. For the last two years he has lived at his country place at Townsend’s Inlet, N.J. He has been an enthusiastic member of the Riverton Club ever since its organization and is always selected as a member of all the crack teams of the club. He has been to Europe with his gun a number of times and his taken part in several shooting contests in Monaco, where a few years ago he was awarded the Grande Prix, a work of art valued at about $2000 and an equal sum in cash. ($2000 then would be about $60,000 today) In all his single and team matches, Mr. Macalester has shot under the name of Johnson, and it is, therefore, as Johnson that he has made all his records.
He was 3rd in the 1900 Olympic Games Live Bird demonstration competition
“Grand Prix de Centenaire”, Live pigeon shooting II (Tir aux pigeons II) 1. MacKintosh, Donald (Australia) 22/22 pigeons 2. Villaviciosa, Pedro Marquis de (Spain) 21/22 pigeons 3. Murphy, Edgar (USA) 19/20 pigeons 4. Tavernost, A. Baron de (France) 14/15 pigeons 4. Journu, Henri (France) 14/15 pigeons 4. Ginot, A. M. (France) 14/15 pigeons Dates: 19-20 June Place: Cercle du Bois de Boulogne Participants: 166 “ce qui ne s’était jamais vu dans aucun contours tir aux pigeons.” Prizes: “Grand Prix du Centenaire” commemorative medals. Money: 1st - 5,000 francs; 2nd - 2,500 francs; 3rd - 1,500 francs; and 4th - 1,000 francs. Explanation: Miss and out.
Edgar Murphy, U.S., Bronze; Donald Mackintosh, Australia, Gold; Pedro José Pidal, Spain, Silver.
April 17, 1897 Sporting Life https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll17/id/45608 The pigeon shooting season at Monte Carlo, which has been running for some months, ended last week. It was announced that the principal winners were Signor G. Graselli, whose success in the Grand Prix brought him in $4015 (>$100,000 in today’s $s); M. Horodetzky, a Russian, who won $2600 ($65,000) in the early part of the season, and M. Journu, who shot very well all through, and is credited with $2255 ($56,400). Next to them comes the Australian Mackintosh, with $2125 ($53,000).
It is my understanding that Bob Brister made a lot of his shooting money at Columbare shoots along the Tex/Mex border. Columbare is a much harder game than box birds.
“Crit” Robinson was another regular competitor on the European Pigeon circuit
He did not compete at the First DuPont Grand Smokeless Championship Handicap Live-bird Tournament October 1895, nor the 1896, 1897 or 1898 GAH
January 9, 1897 Sporting Life “Crit” Robinson defeated Mr. Beresford, an English pigeon shot, in a 100 live bird match for $500 a side at Monte Carlo, on Jan. 5, by the score of 95 to 91.
March 6, 1897 Sporting Life “Crit” Robinson, of San Francisco, took part in the Grand Prix at Monte Carlo on Feb. 1 and 2. He was in the race up to the eleventh round and then withdrew, having lost two birds. Mr. Robinson uses an L.C. Smith gun.
July 7, 1900 Sporting Life “Shooting In Paris” Paris, June 28, 1900. “Crit” Robinson the Only American Among the Winners The finals in the pigeon shooting contests at the Cercle du Bois de Boulogne, for the Exposition grand prize, which began Monday, came off yesterday, the competition having narrowed down to 36. The results were as follows: Leon de Lunden, 21 out of 21, first; Maurice Faure, 20 out of 21 second; D. Mclntosh and C. Robinson, each 18 out of 19, tied for third. M. de Lunden is a well-known Belgian shot. In the first round A. G. Spaulding was among those who missed. “Tod” Sloan and Messrs. Wadsworth and Rogers dropped out in the next two rounds, when only four competitors were left. Mr. Robinson, a Californian, proposed dividing the whole stake of $6,000 to which the others agreed. The match has been concluded.
Live pigeon shooting I (Grand Prix de l’Exposition Universelle de 1900) (Tir aux pigeons) This appears to have been the more important event and was likely the one considered to be of “Olympic standards.” In addition, most of the “Olympic” events carried the title of an event “…de l’Exposition. ” 1. Lunden, Léon de (Belgium) - 21 pigeons of 21 2. Faure’, Maurice (France) - 20 pigeons of 21 3. MacKintosh, Donald (Australia) - 18 pigeons of 19 3. Robinson, Crittenden (USA) - 18 pigeons of 19 5. Pederzoli, J. (Italy) - 15 pigeons of 16 6. Bethune, Baron C. (France) - 14 pigeons of 15 7. J. Banwell, (Great Britain) - 12 pigeons of 13 Dates: 25 - 27 JUN Place: Cercle du Bois de Boulogne Participants: 52 Prizes: “Grand Prix de l'Exposition universelle de 1900”, silver plaques as commemorative medals for those placing, and for those with at least three killed pigeons. Money: 1st - 20,000 francs; 2nd - 50%; 10,000 francs, 3rd - 30%; 6,000 francs, 4th - 20%, 4,000 francs. “Le deuxième, le troisième, et la quatrième partageront dans la proportion suivante, les entrées du prix.” Explanation: Miss and out.
July 17, 1904 Sporting Life “Crit” Robinson, of San Francisco, won the gold medal at Grand Prix des Casinos, Aux les Baines, France, July 16, killing 16 straight live birds. He was tied by M. Bucquet, the French shot, and they divided first money, $2700, and shot off for the medal. In a second event Robinson divided first money with M. Castadere on 12 kills each.
1903 Reports from Monte Carlo, March 16, state that in the pigeon shooting events Tod Sloan, the American jockey, won the Grand Prix de Litteral, receiving $1197 and a gold medal. ($1200 = >$30,000 today)
I believe the French Franc conversion to $s pre-1900 was about 4:1 so 4000 F = $1000 which would be about $35,000 now. Not counting side bets! It went down to 5:1 right before WWI
March 2, 1894 Riverton vs. Carteret Fred Hoey - Purdey, 7# 8 oz. Charles Macalester - Purdey, 7# 5 oz. Capt. A.W. Money - Greener, 7# 8 oz. George Work - Purdey, 7# 8 oz. Edgar Murphy - Parker, 7# 6 oz. T.S. Dando - Parker, 7# 6 oz. H.Y. Dolan - Scott, 7# 8 oz. R.A. Welsh - Churchill, 7# 9 oz. Guns were limited to 8# and the loads mostly 1 1/4 oz. 3 1/4 - 3 3/4 Dr.Eq. - ouch!
Prior to 1895 the choices were mostly Scott and Greener, with a few Purdey, Smith, and Parker In 1895, Mr. Will K. Park, Gun Editor for Sporting Life began to aggressively promote American maker's guns in a series of editorials and then Smith and Parker were dominant, with some using Lefever.
Guns, loads and shooters at the 1895 DuPont Live Bird Tournament
Awesome link & it is going to take some time to sift thru it, but in skimmin' I notice that Charles Daly's wares start to show circa 1900. Any indication prior to that?
Were any of the prizes/purses as grande in the U.S. of A. as in Monte Carlo?
A match in Glendale Park, (Long Island) N.Y., in the 1880’s attracted more than 600 shooters and 30,000 spectators in one day alone. A 1898 shooting festival at that same location offered $25,000 in cash prizes. $25,000 then would be about $850,000 today
April 26, 1886 Sporting Life https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll17/id/21840/rec/1 The prospectus of the second annual tournament of the Chamberlain Cartridge Company, of Cleveland, is out. It offers $3,000 in prizes, and the money is peculiarly divided. Twelve hundred dollars in three prizes goes to the class with scores over 90, $1,000 to the 80 class, and $800 to the 70 class. All ties will be shot off in Cleveland, beginning Sept. 14, at 100 “Blue Rocks”. The contest is open, as was last season's, from April 1 to August 31, and all scores must be made at 100 Blue Rocks, Peoria Blackbirds, American clays, or Ligowsky clays.
Outing, May 2, 1886 The grounds of the Carteret Gun Club at Bergen Point, N.J., were on March 29 the scene of one of the most interesting contests at pigeon shooting of the season, the match in question being that between Mr. C. Floyd Jones, of the Carteret Club, and the well-known Irish shot “Mr. Fredericks,” of the Westminster Kennel Club. The weather was unfavorable for enjoyable sport, and as a northeaster prevailed and sent the birds from the traps lively to the left, the result was that very skillful work was necessary to obtain a good record. The match was for $1,000, at 100 birds, 28 yards rise, from five traps, with 50 yards boundary. The result of the match was the success of Mr. Floyd Jones, who killed 90 out of his hundred, while “Mr. Fredericks” only killed 82 out of his hundred. The guns used were a Scott hammerless, by Floyd Jones, weighing 7 3/4 pounds, with 4 drams of Wood powder behind 1 1/4 ounces of No. 7 shot. “Mr. Fredericks” used an underlever hammer gun, by Turner, that weighed 7 1/4 pounds, with No. 7 shot, in cartridges loaded by Purdey, of London, 3 1/2 drams of black powder behind 1 1/4 ounces of shot.
$1000 in 1885 would be about $30,000 today.
After the 1901 Anglo-American Match, J.A.R.Elliott went to Belgium and joined R.A. Welch competing in a series of pigeon matches, winning 1000 francs in one match. The purse in Namur was $40,000 = >$1,000,000 today
He also used a Model 12 at the ring. Using the trap field and shooting from the middle station at ? 19 yards
I couldn't find anything about Hemingway shooting in Monte Carlo, but don't have Hemingway's Guns: The Sporting Arms of Ernest Hemingway Steve Helsley should know There is a suggestion in this long essay that Hemingway shot pigeons in Madrid, but I couldn't find any images https://albavolunteer.org/2016/06/t...est-hemingway-and-the-spanish-civil-war/
Great effort though. I am so consumed with Pigeon shooting as it is soooooo intoxicating. But just once to travel back in time to step in the Ring on the Big Stage, wielding one of those wands would be the opportunity of ages.
Hause:
Can you do a cost comparison to todays $s on the guns that you do know that they used?
1895 Montgomery Ward & Co. Catalogue Damascus Greener Facile Princeps “made especially to our order for trap shooting” - $100 Chas. Daly Hammerless No. 120 - $100 Smith Pigeon Grade without AE - $100 Greener No. 3 Ejector - $210 Parker DH - $100 list but sold for $72. In 1895, the highest grade Parker Bros. AAHE “Pigeon Model” was $400 list; the Smith A2 $365 and A3 AE was $740.
1906 William Read & Sons Catalogue “Highest Quality” Westley Richards with single trigger - $595 W.W. Greener G70 “Imperial” - $500 W&C Scott “Premier” - $375 W&C Scott “Imperial Premier” - price on application Purdey - 89 pounds 5 shillings sterling - about $446 Joseph Lang & Son “Highest Quality” sidelock ejector - 65 guineas Parker Bros. AAHE - net price of $318.75 Lefever Optimus - $280 Remington Special - $750 = about $25,000 today
L.C. Smith Monogram AE - $365 L.C. Smith A-2 - $390 L.C. Smith A-3 - $740
And even happier when this gent corrects his post re: The correct spelling of his surname- it is Hemingway, NOT Hemmingway. He first shot for money and prizes in Europe circa 1931- and won his Browning Superposed 12 bore-- 28" barrels, ventilated rib, double triggers, choked M&F--But Ernest shot and won that prize with his "Numero Uno" escopeta- a 1928 mfg. field grade M12 full choke, solid rib barrel-- later on, when he became the "Rey Del Mundo Escritor" and had some bucks (mainly due to wife No. 2- Pauline Pfeiffer- he started to accumulate other quality guns, mostly used but well cared for, and in 12 gauge. He was a solid customer of A&F-- some of his known firearms still exist today. El Zorro
Raimey: that is Roger de Barbarin of France who won the Clay trap shooting (Ball-trap) Tir au Fusil de Chasse demonstration at the 1900 Paris Olympics
From left: Roger de Barbarin, France, Gold; René Guyot, Belgium, Silver; and Count Clary Justinien, France, Bronze. The three tied at 17x20. How the shoot-off was conducted is unknown.
There were 2 Live Bird events:
A preliminary miss and out “Grand Prix de Centenaire”, Tir aux pigeons 1. MacKintosh, Donald (Australia) 22/22 pigeons 2. Villaviciosa, Pedro Marquis de (Spain) 21/22 pigeons 3. Murphy, Edgar (USA) 19/20 pigeons
Edgar Murphy, U.S., Bronze; Donald Mackintosh, Australia, Gold; Pedro José Pidal, Spain, Silver.
Pedro Pidal y Bernaldo de Quirós, the first Marquis de Villaviciosa de Asturias, was a well-known European shooter of that period. He won at least five Spanish championships. Several months prior to the 1900 Olympics, using the pseudonym “Count O’Brien”, Pidal won the Grand Prix de Monte Carlo against Donald MacKintosh (AUS) and Crittenden Robinson (USA) among others in the field of 98 shooters
Grand Prix de l’Exposition Universelle de 1900 Tir aux pigeons This appears to have been the more important event and was likely the one considered to be of “Olympic standards.” In addition, most of the “Olympic” events carried the title of an event “…de l’Exposition.” 1. Lunden, Léon de (Belgium) 21 pigeons of 21 2. Faure’, Maurice (France) 20 pigeons of 21 3. MacKintosh, Donald (Australia) 18 pigeons of 19
Grand Prix de l’Exposition au Tir aux Pigeons, Cercle du Bois de Boulogne Maurice Faure’, Léon de Lunden, Donald Mackintosh (with a Greener hammer gun)
https://ictsa.ie/results (In 1900) Donald Mackintosh was travelling around the Continent on a circuit that embraced France, Belgium, Spain, and Italy. In some ways, he was unusual for a sportsman, in that he was an educated man who wrote poetry, but the most astonishing fact about him was that he was completely blind in the left eye. That June, accompanied by his wife, he happened to be in Paris for the Paris Exhibition pigeon shooting. Earlier on the same tour he had been successful in the Grand Prix du Casino at Monte Carlo, one of the most prestigious events of all. Mackintosh was, in a sense, a casualty of the confusion that marred the Paris Games. Acclaimed in his prime as the finest shot in the world, he went to Paris for a day of live pigeon shooting organised by the Paris Exhibition for June 25. Like many competitors in an assortment of sports, he did not realise that he was involved in the Olympic Games. He won one event, the Prix Centenaire de Paris, and tied for third in another, the Grand Prix de l'Exposition. In both events Mackintosh shot at live birds, killing 22 pigeons from 22 shots for his victory and 18 pigeons for his third place. He collected more than 7500 francs (£300) and a medal to add to his vast assembly of trophies, and headed off to shoot in other parts of the Continent.
Just as a sidenote, Springer is building a modern sidelock with frame & sidelocks in a Gesteck from a Ferlach source, demibloc with tubes from an Italian supplier that will be proofed for steel shot and will have a super hard surface treatment. Cost: 32,0000 €.
Wonder if the Amerikaner Ben Gallagher, and also Val Browning might have competed in the early 1930's?? Their fotos and details are found in "Hemingway's Guns"" and apparently Hemingway competed, and won first prize-- held in Spain, not France, his new Browning Superposed?? RWTF
Raimey, I noticed these two measurements immediately as well, especially since Vladimir Mittrovsky was not a particularly tall man. But obviously it worked very well!
Raimey, I would say Herr Götzel also has a Springer shotgun, just like Count Czernin and Count Mittrowsky... the photo may have been an acknowledgement/advertisement for Springer.
Another shot of the Austrian Empire who used Springer guns was Otto Czernin (born as Otto Rudolf Theobald Ottokar Maria Graf Czernin von und zu Chudenitz in Bohemia)
In 1932 he sent a Foto-postcard to Springer:
Hochw. Herrn Kommerzialrat Springer
Wien Graben 10
Gerade in dem Grand Poule d’Essai mit 29/30 Zweiter. Die alte Hammerless war wieder fabelhaft + ein grosser Erfolg. Freue mich Ihnen dies mitteilen zu können. Ich hatte anerkannt schwere Tauben & machte noch nie in einem Preis eine so lange Serie. Viele Grüsse + W.heil Otto Czernin
In English:
Most Reverend Mr. Kommerzialrat Springer
Vienna Graben 10
Just finished second in the Grand Poule d'Essai with 29/30. The old Hammerless was again fabulous + a great success. Pleased to be able to tell you this. I had recognised heavy pigeons & never made such a long series in a prize. Many greetings + W.heil Otto Czernin
Thank you for that image Wolfgang. It clearly shows the pigeon release controller was in the sunken pill-box.
I edited the beginning of this thread with my belief, of which I have no definitive proof, that some time after 1898 (by the dated illustrations in magazines) and 1901 (by a dated postcard) that a new clubhouse, platform and pigeon ring were constructed. This would be the old clubhouse and ring
This is a General Plan dated 1879 which unfortunately does not show the extension of the casino complex toward the cliff/bay nor the original clubhouse/pigeon ring
A small image but it does show the elevated walkway over the Monaco Train Station (finished in 1868) tracks below the casino and Grande Terrasse, with the clubhouse and ring below
It is striking that there seem to have been virtually no safety regulations at the time. If you look at how the shotguns are handled and are not broken in photos, it is unimaginable for today's times. Here a picture of Count Czernin after winning (he shot 15/15, the second 14/15):
Wonder if the Amerikaner Ben Gallagher, and also Val Browning might have competed in the early 1930's?? Their fotos and details are found in "Hemingway's Guns"" and apparently Hemingway competed, and won first prize-- held in Spain, not France, his new Browning Superposed?? RWTF
>>https://www.[censored - come on man!].com/shotguns/guns/the-browning-ernest-hemingway-left-behind-in-paris.html<<
>>There were at least two Browning Superposeds in Ernest Hemingway’s life. One of them was a very early model that may have come indirectly from Val Browning, the son of John Browning, the genius who designed the gun. However, neither its serial number nor its fate are yet known. However, the second B25 − as the Superposed is still known in Europe − is a standard–grade 12-gauge field gun, Serial No. 19532, with double triggers and 28-inch barrels (both choked Full) with a ventilated rib. It was made in Belgium and sold to Master Mart, a retailer in Fremont, Nebraska, on 26 October 1949 for $195.20. After that, we don’t know how, when or where Ernest Hemingway acquired the gun, whether new or second-hand, or what he accomplished with it, but we know where it is today and how it got there.
From 1956 on, Browning No. 19532 belonged to a man named Claude Decobert, who joined the fabled Hôtel Ritz, in Paris, as a 16-year-old bellboy just after the Second World War. Decobert quickly was promoted to barman, a position he then held for 40 years, until Mohamed al-Fayed bought the hotel in 1987. Ernest Hemingway and bartenders usually got on famously, but in this case the relationship grew far beyond “I’ll have another!” and “Coming right up, Mr. Hemingway, sir.”
Hemingway Idaho, fall 1939—a shirtsleeves day of duck hunting on Silver Creek. EH is just 40 years old but already a celebrated author. His gun is a first-generation example of the groundbreaking new over/under from Browning. EH said he’d won it from an American named Ben Gallagher in a live-bird tournament in France. Since it’s an early Superposed, and since Gallagher was close to Val Browning, whose father designed the Superposed, it’s possible the prize gun was donated by Browning himself. By 1958, when EH returned to Idaho after a 10-year absence, this gun had disappeared. Lloyd Arnold/John F. Kennedy Library
Hemingway knew and loved Paris, visited the city often, and frequently stayed − lived, in fact − at the Ritz, sometimes for many weeks. Hemingway’s legendary, if not mythic, “liberation” of Paris, on 25 August 1944, ended when he and his band of French and American irregulars sped down the Champs Élysées in their jeeps, turned left up to the grand old hotel, and Hemingway ran in to order martinis and lodging for everyone.
Hemingway was in his 50s during Decobert’s early tenure at the Ritz, and increasingly aware that his best days were behind him. Hemingway “used to come into the bar regularly, mostly to be alone,” Decobert told the literary journal Frank in 1998. But “he never drank a lot in the bar and we never saw him drunk. Everyone thinks of him as a big and brash man, but with me he was always friendly, even tender.” Especially as he aged, Hemingway was at his best with people to whom he had nothing to prove, and the younger they were, the more comfortably and genuinely he could play his “Papa” role as a mentor.
Conversations that began at the hotel’s Little Bar − Hemingway was confident in Parisian French; Decobert knew just enough English to take cocktail orders − about travel, hunting, boxing, fishing and life in general sometimes continued elsewhere when Claude went off duty. (In addition to being a celebrated hotelier, Charles Ritz was also a renowned angler, and he taught young “Claudie” to fly-fish. To Papa Hemingway, Ritz was “Charlie.” The Little Bar was re-named the Hemingway Bar.) One day, Decobert said, Hemingway showed him 12 guns that he had in his room, and asked: “Claude, if you could have one of these, which would you pick?” Decobert, who was neither a shooter nor a hunter, hesitated and then chose “the canardiėre, a long rifle [sic] used specially for shooting wild ducks.”
B 25 Browning 12-gauge Superposed No. 19532, the “canardiėre” (duck gun) that Ernest Hemingway presented to young Claude Decobert at the Hôtel Ritz, Paris, in 1956. Its serial number dates the gun’s manufacture to 1949. Anne Decobert
Before Hemingway checked out of the Ritz that time, Decobert said, he returned to the bar and handed over the gun − Browning No. 19532 − in a brown case.
“This is for you,” Hemingway told him.
“But, Claude, there are conditions. This is a symbol of the battles you’ll face in your life. Because as you grow older you’ll have to fight for your life. All the time.
“Claude, never give it away or sell it. You should save it and preserve it as something precious. Each time you have a problem, a worry, anything difficult that needs to be resolved, you’ll have to do battle. And this gun will be the symbol of your personal war.”
The short letter that Decobert received with the gun (signed “from his old friend and fellow hunter Ernest Hemingway, Fait à Paris, Lu et approuvé” − written in Paris, read and approved) is dated 9 December 1956. Two weeks earlier, when Hemingway had arrived from Madrid, the Ritz staff had presented to him two trunks full of his notebooks that had been stored at the hotel since the 1920s.
Decobert told Frank that Hemingway later took him to Chalo, the Paris gunshop, to have the Browning’s stock shortened and the trigger pull lightened, and that half a dozen times he shot boxed pigeons with Hemingway at Issy-les-Molineaux, on the southwestern edge of Paris, near the old aerodrome where the city heliport is today and where the 1924 Olympic trap-shooting events were held. Decobert recalled stopping at the Hôtel George V to pick up Gary Cooper to shoot with them, but “Mr. Cooper wasn’t all that much fun. He kept to himself and didn’t say too much.”
Faithful to his old friend’s instructions, Claude Decobert has never sold or given away the Browning. When, with the help of another Ritz barman − Alain Duquesnes, who in turn had been mentored by Claude − we tracked him down, in 2015, M. Decobert was genial and helpful. Through his daughter Anne he sent us photographs of No. 19532. The gun continues to be a symbol for him of necessary struggles, of the sort of determination that allowed Santiago to capture the giant marlin in The Old Man and the Sea, which earned Hemingway a Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and contributed to his Nobel Prize for Literature a year later. It’s likely that Hemingway was working on the book at the Ritz while his friendship with Claude was forming.
Decobert ended his Frank interview with Hemingway’s suicide: “When he died in 1961, I wasn’t at all surprised. I knew why he ended up the way he did, by removing himself from life.
“He’d come into the bar and we’d talk, but it wasn’t the same. The last two years of his life there was no more fight. And when the fight was over there was no more life. I remember the last time he came in to say goodbye. There was nothing at all left. He said he had no more creative ideas in him. I understood by looking at him. I knew that his time was over. I knew that he was very sick. He had become a common man and he didn’t want to be a common man.”
From the revised, expanded second edition of “Hemingway’s Guns,” Lyons Press, 2016, by Silvio Calabi, Steve Helsley & Roger Sanger. The book is available on Amazon at https://goo.gl/g9l51a
A chapter from the first edition of Hemingway’s Guns titled “The Winchester Model 21 Shotguns” was previously published on Shotgun Life at http://bit.ly/2m4GPoU<<
Ed is correct regarding Grace Kelly “Hollywood Today” newspaper article March 21, 1957 Princess Grace Kelly is spear heading a movement in Monaco to ban the annual live-pigeon-shooting contest. “I attended one; it wasn't a pleasant experience.”
May 6, 1960 NO MORE PIGEON SHOOTS IN MONACO —PRINCESS GRACE MONTE CARLO. Monaco OTP —Princess Grace Wednesday succeeded in putting an end to the killing of pigeons for sport in Monte Carlo. Her husband, Prince Rainier ordered the Monte Carlo casino to discontinue the lire pigeon shoots it has been holding for 60 years. Court sources said the princess, former actress Grace Kelly, has been pleading with Rainier to stop the killing of an estimated 30.000 pigeons each season and that he gave in to her wishes.
And the Casino paid the price reportedly losing 60% of betting income https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,834421,00.html
I thought it was common knowledge that Princess Grace was the reason for the pigeon shoots at Monaco being stopped. Just another example of a man allowing a new wife to exert too much influence. I could say more on this, but will refrain.
I thought it was common knowledge that Princess Grace was the reason for the pigeon shoots at Monaco being stopped. Just another example of a man allowing a new wife to exert too much influence. I could say more on this, but will refrain.
Just a sidenote on all those who are against us and just like current legislation where if the opposition takes one item away, they always, ALWAYS(as history has repeatedly demonstrated) return to delete something else from our lifestyle, Duck hunting in Argentina has been closed for the last month of the season. Environmental activist, for want of a better term, convinced the government that too many ducks were being slaughtered, so the government closed the season. And the probability is pretty high that Duck hunting will be closed for good in Argentina. The farmers care nothing from the Duck hunting, but they do get monies from Dove Hunters, so that will more than likely survive. I'll be glad to construct a lone thread just for the topic if anyone has interest. Not a political, etc. type thread, but just informational.
Strange, as Grace Kelly came from Philadelphia, her father was a bricklayer- and the live bird shoots at the elusive Philadelphia Gun Club may have been the impetus of her wanting to see that "cruel sporting event" shitcanned. Well she got her wish, indirectly confirming my Grandfather's firm believe that "Women have no business in the things men enjoy--shooting pool, pheasants, playing poker and especially- politics-- Kinder, Kuchen und Kirch!!! RWTF
“Curiously, one of the traditional championship pigeon shooting places seems likely soon to stop the sport. Prince Ranier of Monaco has asked that the sport, introduced by his gun- enthusiast ancestor, Prince Charles 111, be halted as a "wedding present" from Greek financier Aristoteles Socrates Onassis who controls the casino of Monte Carlo. Prince Charles began live-bird shooting at Monte Carlo”
I doubt Onassis filled out many computer forms. Lol.
He bankrolled the casino. Seems to have held controlling interest.
Upon further reading, it sounds like Onassis was at odds with Prince Ranier. Monaco diluted his shares in the casino in the early 1960s down to 33%. and then brought him out for a huge profit shortly there after.
Ranier wanted Monaco to be accessible to all, and Onassis preferred only the rich.
Weird dynamic, but a sign of the times, post WWll.
I wonder where the Grace Kelley story got started?
I find the Prince vs Onassis story more understandable. What monarch would want him as his partner?
But it sounds so crazy to call him >> Father of Logic<< >>Father of Western Ideas<< Onassis....... I guess one had to be crazy to accomplish what he did. His name covered all bases with Onassis being the money component.
re: identifying guns used. From c. 1895 - about 1902 most of the U.S. sporting magazines included the guns, powder and shells used by competitors. Thereafter, figuring out the guns used depends on finding advertisements connecting the shooter with the gun
Walter Ewing (individual Gold) and George Beattie (individual Silver) at the 1908 Olympic Games
Looks like the Austro-Hungarian nationalist were wielding a Springer with an Anson & Deeley Body action platform Monte Carlo 1908, possibly with Kilby tubes????
Does anyone(Drew??) know if there is/was an English published version?
Wolfgang's contribution being a plat of the Pigeon shooting ground in Monte Carlo. Out of a book about the shooting ground in Heiligendamm, Germany which was founded in 1857.
Wolfgang's plat is the only that I've seen Raimey.
I've been working on Monte Carlo pigeon shooting for a long time, and glad to share some of the information. And yes, Steve's thread seemed to be a good starting place.
The puller's 'pill-box' next to the walk-way looks to have been replaced some time after the 1920s
2 pill boxes
1 box
No box. Possibly the fella under the shade in the middle of the image was the puller
Lásló Graf Szápáry with Stumpy Peckinpah Lumniczer
Lásló Graf Szápáry was a member of the Hungarian shooting team, together with Dr. Lumnicer (3x Worldchampion) who recruited him, Shot once 398/400 in Vienna!) & Pista Strassburger & Others.
Later Lásló Graf Szápáry was several times (14x) the Austrian champion in clay pigeon shooting. One of the best shooters of his time. There several texts about him & his exploits, about the great time of hunting in Austria and he is described there in great detail. On his Honeymoon went to Monte Carlo with his bride & not money in his pockets. After winning there, he and his new bride spent a wonderful time there best hotel, enjoying the all the creature comforts. The prize money was mighty hefty at the time.... He purchased a pair of 20G Springers when leaving school. Later he acquired a Springer Family Springer 12 Bore, Nr. 2 of a pair. The later bought the Nr. 2 of the pair from another family member. These were his hunting guns for a long time.
There is still live pigeon shooting carried on today. I thought it telling and interesting what the famous shooter of the sport, Cyril Adams said to me one day while I was visiting him at his home in Houston. I do not remember his exact words as it was 20 years ago, but we were talking about shooting Helice and Cyril said that Helice was the toughest/most difficult shooting sport of them all including live pigeon shooting.
Indeed there is & invitation only as far as the U.S. of A. And I have shot with some of the Best Box Bird shooters of South America & they still travel to I think it is Europe to shoot Box Birds.
The high listing of shooting regulations for shooting pigeons?? I love to shoot barn pigeons, but have never shot pigeons in any competition, nor probably never will. I did own and shoot a optioned 12 L.C. Smith 3E that was set up in the late 1920's (my guess anyway) for a Philadelphia sportsman named Charles Backstrand (head Fred of Armstrong Cork and Tile (Linoleum Flooring) and he may have been a member of the Philadelphia Gun Club-- back in the day. I shoot barn pigeons on area dairy farms, mainly with my M12's, that's as close as I get-sharpens my eyes for the coming waterfowling seasons. I surmise you have the 2nd. edition, as do I, of Hemingway's Guns--Just for "funzies" of all his guns over the years whose whereabouts are known, pick one each: rifle, handgun. shotgun once owned and shot by "Don Ernesto" that you could own and use, free and clear, yet today--OK- here's my picks-- Shotgun- the 12 gauge Beretta O/U with the case and his Cuban residence marked thereon- Rifle-- the G&H custom 30-06, and if possible, the Heiser case and also the scope and case and the G&H mount- Pistol-- either of the 2 Colt Match Target Woodsman pistols- the 4& 1/2" long barrel or the 6" barreled one-- Not ever gonna happen, but a feller can dream, right?? RWTF
Dr. Drew, as long as we are recalling the past, how about recapping what you can find about the 1902 Grand American at Live Birds, the last Grand American where live birds were shot.
If y'all guys don't have Cyril's trap pigeon shooting book, you should. It is a gold mine for those of us interested in the history of pigeon shooting.
There is a chapter on Reilly's involvement in making Pigeon guns in the Reilly line which he first advertised in 1868. Since Cyril Adams is mentioned (and shortly before he died, he wrote a testimonial about that history), here are two of Cyril Adam's Reilly Pigeon guns which were sold a couple of years ago. In the 1880's Reilly emphasized Hurlingham weight, flat ribs, low profile hammers, Whitworth Steel barrels on his pigeon guns in his advertisements.
Oh, I am on it.... . Come on Hause, I just know you are a Browning aficionado.....
The perseverance comes with line by line on the Rules. You know since Google/Amazon now sales the text, access to Google Books is heavily restricted. Just another account of >>we are going to do something free for you<<.......
FN did have a “special pour for aux pigeons” model. The pic above shows a forend that was only made 1903-1904. I have a browning collection but that pigeon model gun has not been available to me yet. Thanks for posting,that Voss guy was Count Victor Eugen Felix Voß-Schönau. He evidently was into tennis, auto racing and chasing married chics on cruise ships also, very flamboyant character.
FN did have a “special pour for aux pigeons” model. The pic above shows a forend that was only made 1903-1904. I have a browning collection but that pigeon model gun has not been available to me yet. Thanks for posting,that Voss guy was Count Victor Eugen Felix Voß-Schönau. He evidently was into tennis, auto racing and chasing married chics on cruise ships also, very flamboyant character.
Lásló Graf SzápáryIcentre) with Stumpy Peckinpah Lumniczer on the left & German European Champion Dr. Rudolf Sack(prior to the 2nd Great War) on the right. He wielded a Merkel O/U and was the Poster Boy for the advertising of Merkel.
And too the Box Pigeons experts I have shot with beat the fact that the gun needs to be held almost vertical into us. So that pose looks a bit foreign to me?
Interesting. I see that Mr. Seaton was employing a Reilly C.F.(Central Fire??) as well as Mr. Cowan, then a Mr. Turner attempted with a Reilly but the >>C.F.<< was omitted? So what might >>C.F.<< denote?
Again, just skimmin' but it appears the smokepoles were hammer/hahn versions as per the adverts( I acknowledge the Scott >>Monte Carlo<<)??? About what year did the Pigeon Thrashers transition and find favour with the A&D Body action or H&H sidelock?
I'll assume "C-F" means center-fire, this 10 years after it took over the market, showing the conservative nature of the UK gun business. Here are two ads from 1882 for Reilly...left from Websters guide which mentions several times "central-fire" and right from Grace's which mentions Reilly Pigeon guns.
A summary of the guns used at Hurlingham in 1897 from Experts On Guns and Shooting, 1900 Churchill and Purdey the most common; oddly no Scotts and few Greeners. In 1897, Webley amalgamated with W & C Scott & Sons
1. Jeder Teilnehmer, der überführt wird, bei einem der Schlessen absichtlich eine Taube gefehlt zu haben, kann von der weiteren Teilnahme am Schlessen augeschlossen werdern.
2. Kaliber 10 ist das grösste zulässige Kaliber. Als Normalkaliber für die Berechnung derEntfernung ist Kaliber 12 angenommen. Kaliber 10 steht 1 m zurück, Kaliber 16 steht 1 m vor. Kleinete Kaliber als 16 erhalten keine besondere Vorgabe. Als stäkste zulässige Schrotladunge gelten: für Kaliber 10 = 42 g für Kaliber 12 = 36 g für Kaliber 16 = 30 g
Gröbere Schrotnummern als Nr. 5 Englisch(etwa 2 3/4 mm) sind nicht zugelassen.
3. Der Raum, innerhalb dessen die Taube fallen muss, um als getroffen zu gelten, wird durch eine Barrière begrenzt......
In the U.S. the transition to hammerless pigeon guns was well established by 1895, but American manufactured guns were a distinct minority. That changed within the year, and after the DuPont Pigeon Championship of 1895.
At the Riverton Handicap March 8, 1895 only one of the 15 competitors used an American made gun https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll17/id/54954 “It may be interesting to some to note the guns and loads used, and we give it below. It was a lamentable fact that of the 15 guns used only one American make was represented. This was a special pigeon gun of the Parker Brothers' manufacture, and was a beautiful weapon in every way, and was owned by Mr. Post, whose score of 93 on a hard lot of birds did not show that the shooting power was lacking.” “All the guns were 12 gauge, and it was noticeable that not a full pistol-grip stock was among the number, and most of them were the straight-grip ‘pigeon gun’ model, nine being of this description, and six of the half-grip style. All were of the hammerless pattern excepting two; Mr. Welch and Mr. Robbing using hammer guns.” Following is the make of guns and loads used: Capt. A.W. Money - Greener, 7 1/2 pounds. George Work - Purdey, 7 1/2 pounds. Post - Parker pigeon gun (AAH introduced in 1894)), 7 11-16 pounds. Jim Jones - Scott, 7 3-16 pounds. John B. Ellison - Scott, 7 1/4 pounds. Fred Moore - Purdey, 7 7-16 pounds. Leonard - Westley Richards, 7 1/2 pounds. Mott - Crown grade Greener, 7 2-16 pounds. J.S. Robbins - Greener hammer gun, 7 1/2 pounds. R. Welch - Purdey hammer gun, 7 1/2 pounds Downing - Scott, 7 6-16 pounds. J.K. Palmer – Francotte, 7 1/2 pounds. Edwards - Scott Premier, 7 pounds. J. Wolstencroft - Greener, 6 15-16 pounds. Eckert - Scott Premier, 7 1/4 pounds. Shells were 45 - 49 grains (3 1/4 - 3 1/2 drams) smokeless powder and 1 1/4 oz. shot. Capt. Money (2nd in the 1894 GAH) and George Work (3rd in the 1893 GAH) tied at 94 killed.
mc asked if Scott made pigeon guns. Apparently in 1882 he billed his hammerless "triplex action" Patent 761 as a pigeon gun action. Here are two ads from an 1882 London exposition, one for Scott, and one for Holland&Holland, advertising the Scott action on H&H guns (which he either bought from Scott or made himself paying Scott patent royalties), both touting them as pigeon guns:
Here is my 16 bore 27583 (1886) using the Triplex Action. There is a "Patent Action" stamp on it. Although most Reilly Pigeon guns from this tine were hammer guns with low profile hammers, this still fits what Reilly was advertising as a "pigeon gun" at the time - flat file cut rib, 30" Whitworth Compressed Steel barrels originally choked full and full, side clips. The only thing is the weight 6lbs 11oz..but that is still pretty heavy for a Reilly 16 bore if it were meant to be used only as a game gun. And it has a safety.
Scott made h&h shotguns up to around 1890 actually my question was about how many gunmakers used Scott actions and barrels to make there pigeon guns I do own a 1892 Scott Monte Carlo b bar action side lock no crystal cocking indicators.this pigeon information is a great addition to this site .
Article in The Humane Review 1904 states that, at least in 1883, the Rules were those of Hurlingham. Keep in mind the boundary of the ring (which may have not been constructed until late 1890s) was only 21 yards straight-away from the traps. It also discusses cutting the tail feathers of the pigeons https://books.google.com/books?id=IycKAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA324&lpg
1. Fadini 2. Cassiari 3. Baggio 4. Fadini in the ring; note 1 'pill-box' 5. Sarossi 6. I think is G. Harrison (GB - all the others are Italian) with the older "ready" position 7. Buttafava
I have read of Pepe before. Being 12 at the time the article was written, and already an avid dove shooter, it is entirely possible that I read it at the time it was published. Dad subscribed to Sports Illustrated.
"Whether live pigeon shooting will spread much beyond its present habitat (it took more than 100 years to reach Texas from Spain) is a question that the laws of the State of Texas will probably decide in the end. "There is no Texas law against this type of pigeon shooting," says one gunner, "but there is definitely a law against gambling, and gambling is a big part of any shoot."
If Texas objects, the gunners can continue to cross the border and shoot in Nuevo Laredo or a number of other Mexican towns. Everyone gambles in Mexico, the tequila is cheaper down there—and someone is always hungry for no-longer-live pigeons."
My how the times ( and Sports Illustrated) have changed, and not necessarily for the better .........
Simson Modell Monte Carlo recently acquired by a fellow collector. The adornment is by Gottlieb Ortlepp, a local contract engraver that worked for Simson.
Sporting Life. John L. Lequin, secretary of the Interstate Association, writes us under date of Feb. 25, 1898 as follows: “We have received inquiries from most all directions recently from a number of shooters who are probably desirous of entering the Grand American Handicap next month, concerning the weight of guns, and whether the handhold and recoil pad will be counted as a part of the gun when weighed. The subject has been placed before the Tournament Committee of the association, which committee has decided that the guns will be weighed naked.” (The "recoil boot" and hand guard were not part of the total weight)
The Baker Gun Quarterly, Volume 5, No. 3, May 1900 had an article on the weight of Trap/Pigeon guns used by Capt. A.W. Money (8 pounds - Money used a Greener, Smith, and Parker), C.W. Budd (7 pounds 14 ounce Parker), H.D. Bates (winner of the 1900 GAH at Live Birds; 7 pounds 13 ounce Parker), R.O. Heikes (7 pounds 15 ounce Parker but after the GAH at Live Birds he went back to his Remington hammerless and won the 1900 [1st] GAH at Targets), J.S. Fanning (7 pounds 15 ounce Smith), W.R. Crosby (7 pounds 12 ounce Baker), and Col. A.G. Courtney (7 pounds 14 ounce Remington CEO).
SO the pigeon ring platform was probably constructed at the same time as the train station below the casino (1868) which would fit the first Grand Prix du Casino in 1872. From the illustrations and images however the clubhouse, pigeon release control, and walkway were clearly rebuilt at some point prior to 1900.
Interesting article in the June 17, 1911 Sporting Life regarding the upcoming 1912 Olympic Games On the subject of the shooting rules to govern the Olympic games, an interesting communication from Mr. Edward Banks, the noted du Pont man, is appended: Wilmington, Del., December 9. Editor Sporting Life I have noticed from time to time brief notices of the plan to take a team of amateurs to Stockholm, Sweden, to attend the Olympic Games next year. So far, however, I have failed to see any special reference to the conditions that will govern trap shooting contests at the above meeting, and it has occurred to me that probably it will be of interest, not only to those who are thinking of crossing the water to fight for trap shooting honors in behalf of the United States, but also for those who are compelled through business or other reasons to stay at home, to know just what the conditions are under which those competing for the individual and team championships will have to shoot. On the other side of the Atlantic they know next to nothing of automatic traps, and the Sergeant System is a stranger to them. They have five firing points in a straight line, five yards apart, just as we used to have them years ago. Instead of having only one trap in the pit at each firing point they have what might be called a battery of three traps, so that, say, for instance, if a man at No. 1 position calls "Pull" and a target breaks in a trap, he can call “Pull” again immediately and get another trap from the battery of three at that point. In other words, there are 15 traps instead of five, as we used to have them, i.e. they have three at each firing point instead of one. The main point for intending competitors to bear in mind is not so much the fact that the targets are thrown fully 60 yards, which is further than they are in this country, but the most important feature of all, namely, that all competitors must adopt the “gun below the elbow” style of shooting. This looks like going back almost, as it were, to the principles of the Middle Ages, but as a matter of fact, in England and on the Continent of Europe, trap shooting is looked upon not so much as a recreation in itself and a sport to be pursued as we do over here, but rather as practice for game shooting, so that the “field position” has been selected to prevail in the Olympic contests to be held at Stockholm next year. In a copy of the Sporting Goods Review, published in London, England, on October 10, last, there is a little over two columns of notice given to the booklet recently gotten out by the du Pont Company entitled “The Sport Alluring”, which is criticised quite favorably in, an editorial way, and in which, when comparing trap shooting conditions in England and on the Continent with the conditions prevailing here, particularly with reference to the Olympic contests next year, the Sporting Goods Review makes the following notation: The conditions of the Olympic competitions at Stockholm are, in the main, those usually adopted in England, there being 15 traps to the five marks, but a point which is of considerable importance, and will need careful attention by the competitors of all nations, is that the “gun below the elbow” position is insisted upon. Game shooters, on first taking up clay bird shooting, invariably decry the “gun at the shoulder” position. If they continue to take part in competitions they end by adopting it, because there is no doubt at all about its advantage when conditions are “known traps” and what might be called the “flushing point” of the bird can be covered. It is my impression that this “gun below the elbow” idea in connection with these competitions is something new, and that no such restriction prevailed when Walter Ewing, of Montreal, Canada, went over to England three years ago (1908 London Olympic Games) and won the Individual championship for his native country, the Dominion of Canada. I have written Mr. Ewing asking him to advise you by mail as to what the conditions were when he shot for and won the championship at the Olympic Games in England. Yours truly, EDWARD BANKS.
Jay Graham, Individual and Team Gold
Live action (the first minute) from the Stockholm Olympics, courtesy of Swedish Olympian Hakan Dahlby documenting the "ready" position
Gerald Merlin, UK, at the 1908 Olympics. Obviously posed but likely his fully mounted "ready" position, and stance very similar to today's trapshooters
I am curious about the "locked leg" stance used by so many of the 19th century pigeon shooters from the pictures and photos. Why is this? Is it still used?
Good observation Gene. I think it was primarily a British thing, that Capt. Money got over
Albert William Money, Arthur Corbin Gould, Pigeon Shooting: With instructions for beginners and suggestions for those who participate in the sport of pigeon shooting, 1896 http://books.google.com/books?id=qkEEAAAAYAAJ In the course of the last twenty-five years, I have met and known intimately most of the best known trap shots. I am one who believes that the longer I live the more I can learn, and that other people's opinions are always worth considering, and perhaps adopting, if, on careful consideration they are found to be based on facts and good judgment. Stand with the left foot thrown forward, the body upright, and the feet slightly apart; in fact, very much in the attitude of a boxer. The higher the gun is held, the quicker you will get your aim on the bird; therefore, hold it as nearly up to the shoulder as you can, the left hand well extended, but not to its full length, or you will be hampered in shooting a bird coming straight toward you. Take care that there is nothing stiff or rigid about your body, arms, legs or head; grasp the gun very firmly with both hands.
His "ready" position
I believe this is him shooting inanimate targets; an "open" stance with slight bend to the left knee
Fred Gilbert's "ready" position. He left Hunter Arms after the 1899 GAH for a Parker, but the gun sure looks to be a sidelock
George Roll with a Remington Hammerless
Dr. Williamson with a Cashmore
BTW October 19, 1895 "Sporting Life" Dr. J.L. Williamson, of Milwaukee, Wis., has just purchased a new gun of more than ordinary proportions. The Doctor was quite taken with Carver's Cashmore gun, having long barrels and shooting a big load in a 3 1/4 inch shell; but desiring to give the American gunmakers a chance he ordered a gun from the Lefever Arms Company, of Syracuse, N. Y. but at the same time rather doubted their ability to make such a weapon as he desired. However, the gun was furnished and Dr. Williamson killed 79 out of 80 live birds on one trial, and 74 out of 75 targets, part being doubles. The gun is a Lefever, 12-gauge, weighing 8 1/4 pounds, 32-inch barrels, and chambered for a 3 1/4 inch shell, and guaranteed to stand 4 1/2 Drams of “E.C.” powder, which is the amount of powder which he uses. (1 1/4 oz. with 3 1/2 Dram “Schultze” was about 12,000 psi. “Schultze” pressures were somewhat lower than “E.C.”) Dr Williamson did not compete in the 1896 GAH at Live Birds, but held the “E.C.” Cup that year; his gun was not listed https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll17/id/47243/rec/7 https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll17/id/46882/rec/5 He used a Cashmore with 1 1/4 oz. 3 1/2 Drams DuPont Bulk at the 1897 GAH at Live Birds, and was one of 5 competitors with 24 kills https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll17/id/45852/rec/4 https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll17/id/46498/rec/3 And at the 1898 GAH https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll17/id/45659/rec/12 He participated in the 1900 GAH at Live Birds with his Cashmore but used 3 3/4 Drams DuPont Bulk https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll17/id/42953
Baron Raoul de Vriere, former secretary of the Belgian embassy in Washington, won the Grand Prix in pigeon shooting of 1897 in Paris. He shoot from a Brancquaert shotgun. https://wp.me/p461yQ-jj www.shotguncollector.com
In the words of the late Ernest Heminway- a live pigeon shooter himself, when referring to Marlene Dietrich-- "The Kraut". I believe Ernesto shot many good scores in Cuba- often using his Model 12- my kinda shooter.. RWTF
Came across this report. The Grand Prix du Casino 1898 was won by Mr. Curling using a Brancquaert https://books.google.com/books?id=EkkhAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA179&lpg I can't read the exact amount of the winnings, but it was > $4000 which would be > $132,000 today.
Outing, 1898 https://books.google.com/books?id=D2I-AAAAYAAJ&pg=PA94&lpg The big trap event, the Grand Prix, excited an unusual amount of interest, and for the first time since 1889 the coveted prize has been won by an Englishman. Out of 139 entries, only 37 were in at the end of the third round, which speaks volumes for the speed and shot carrying powers of the famous blue-rocks. The winner, Mr. Curling, killed twelve straight, using a gun by Branequart [sic], of Brussels, and “Schultze” powder. His winnings consisted of 21,340 fr. and an objet d’art in the form of a costly tea service. Signor Asti-Cesari and Marquis Saragua divided second and third, 19,900 fr. “Dr. Pascal,” fourth, took 5,100 fr.
The conversion for French Francs to U.S. Dollars in 1900 was about 5/1. 21,340 fr. = about $4,268
Drew, That gun predates by 7 years the year(1905) that Brancquaert was supposed to have been in business, if the sources I read were correct. Regards, Sandlapper
Drew, Thank you very much for the catalog and price info you provided in this thread. I would have had no other way to obtain this information. Just out of curiosity, when do you think Brancquaert started having guns built in his name, and do any of these descriptions mention chopper lump bbls. being provided on the #5 hammer model, because my gun has them?
Clay Pigeon Stand - Baltic Games in Malmö, Sweden in Mid 1914. Very interesting that will all going on with the 1st Major Disagreement in Europe that Games were still on....
The Germans give that they didn't make a 1st place showing(not sure if it was overall or some individual between Clay Pigeon, Rifle, whatever) but they bemoaned that the stands had very high cover, limiting the time of exposure of the Clay and that they Clay Birds had to be thrown very high which coupled with a strong headwind made very difficult shooting.
The Swedes with the home advantage took 1st Place I believe.
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-2WxZ8Zj/0/1361dd3a/S/0708-Monte-Carlo-Le-Casino-et-le-Tir-aux-Pigeons_fullWidth-S.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-9hsgZfW/0/829bf553/S/TO-1961-Le-tir-au-pigeon-de-Monte-Carlo--S.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-vDZB9Cg/0/bd9aaaa1/L/1894%20Monte%20Carlo-L.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-n2L7Rtb/0/b9e00982/L/Monte%20Carlo%2012-L.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-pDC9RFQ/0/c704d226/L/Monte%20Carlo%2021-L.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-KTrCD7h/0/3e13d1fe/L/Monte%20Carlo%20c.%201920-L.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-RNv2VW9/0/f9cef15d/L/Monte%20Carlo%20Full%20Size-L.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-NjTt54W/0/4dc7443a/M/The%20Monte%20Carlo%20Story%20Marlene%20Diederich-M.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-dwJkX3D/0/b8265e9e/M/Marlene%20Dietrich%20Monte%20Carlo%202-M.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-RBGL4Bp/0/cd6756e6/M/Schultze%201898-M.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-fZdVvhd/0/8521c618/L/Monte%20Carlo%2010-L.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-C95vTbH/0/38e8099e/L/Monte%20Carlo%2031-L.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-q7jnbd7/0/ccfc29ac/M/1893%20WCScott%20Monte%20Carlo-M.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-gwc822g/0/d3667768/L/Greener%20Monte%20Carlo%201896-L.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-4gXN6Rw/0/65629ab9/L/Jules%20Alexandre%20Grün%20Monte%20Carlo-L.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-dVxPWTq/0/8c29fe3e/L/Baschieri%20e%20Pellagri-L.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-J3RJF6D/0/50aadf3e/X2/Le%20Tir%201905-X2.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-cLQCqjn/0/879a04cc/L/Monte%20Carlo%201902%20c-L.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-HrQJZJc/0/eda54682/M/The%20Graphic%201894%20-%20Ring-M.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-cmrhqkC/0/e7c2ace3/M/Monaco_Le_Tir_aux_Pigeons_Les_principaux_tireurs-M.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-m7vqtqX/0/815004f3/S/Monte%20Carlo%207-S.jpg)
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/vWy3GX0.png)
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/T30E3e6.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-3rCKCSb/0/10a53e9a/L/Athol-Purdey-Pigeon-Shooting-at-Monte-Carlo%281%29-L.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-MTPQ3wJ/0/c18ebba5/XL/1905%20Monte%20Carlo-XL.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-CHJg6Fw/0/6b51820e/L/monaco-monte-carlo-le-tir-aux-pigeons-et-le-casino-vus-de-la-mer-L.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-jQKvHMx/0/ea32624c/XL/1898%20Monte%20Carlo-XL.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-78SRFsD/0/acefd48d/L/Duivenschieten%20te%20Monte-Carlo-L.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-F9b6xQJ/0/8c3fe148/L/SIMSON_Monte-Carlo-Katlg-L.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-sMLjCrm/0/cda29b83/L/Woodward%27s%20Pigeon%20Gun-L.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-gHq5s8z/0/aaadd679/M/Monte%20Carlo%20Guns%208-1956-M.png)
![[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]](https://i.postimg.cc/Bn12qg3y/Pigeon-trophy-1.jpg)
![[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]](https://i.postimg.cc/wT2MN45Z/Pair-Scott-Pigeon-guns.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-WM9sxrd/0/682ed427/L/Rudolfo%20Guglielmi%20%28Valentino%29%201913-L.png)
![[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]](https://i.postimg.cc/sgyh5ZZH/Pigeon-traps.jpg)
![[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]](https://i.postimg.cc/RZdNKSfc/Monte-Carlo-B.jpg)
![[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]](https://i.postimg.cc/fThP0DMW/Reilly-and-Boswell-Pigeon-guns.jpg)
![[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]](https://i.postimg.cc/3xPBvZTM/Pigeon-guns-3.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-krCFZbB/0/d2c35b6a/L/Illustrated%20London%20News%201-21-1911%20-%20Copy-L.png)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/1f/9e/xOO4cg4g_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/56/1a/Gvs1ppn5_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-nJkNKG3/0/23729ed5/L/Monte%20Carlo%20Sporting%20Life%202-14-1891-L.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-GL2gcJH/0/078d65a5/XL/J.%20Roberts%201883-XL.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Trap-Skeet/Olympics-1901-Match/i-HSzBfq5/0/2b10b3cc/M/1900%202-M.jpg)
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/GuXlk9i.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-hzzL7mF/0/56e65378/L/Tod%20Sloan%20at%20the%20Traps%20-%20Enhanced-L.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-NPGzMjW/0/e0073a0c/XL/Grand%20Prix%20de%20Casino%20Sporting%20Life%202-13-1889-XL.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-6FWQgJP/0/789fd63e/XL/Winners%20Grand%20Prix%20du%20Casino%20Sporting%20Life%203-9-1912-XL.png)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/77/3f/HnqIMpnh_t.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Trap-Skeet/Trap/i-NdJ4bfV/0/bd591810/XL/TG%206%201895%20DuPont%20Tournament-XL.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Shooters/Historic-Shooters/i-34bQWcS/0/7dbc5861/M/Hemingway%2C%20Martha%20Gellhorn%2C%20and%20Elicio%20Arguelles%20%201942-M.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Shooters/Historic-Shooters/i-3hXqK6p/0/6b180ed8/M/Hemingway%20with%20Homer%20Clark%202-28-46-M.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Shooters/Historic-Shooters/i-STb5z23/0/afc198c8/M/Hemingway%20Club%20de%20Cazadores%20del%20Cerro%2C%20Rancho%20Boyeros%2C%20Cuba.-M.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Shooters/Historic-Shooters/i-M7VmnWT/0/a9732a61/S/Hemingway%20Cuba%201941-S.png)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/49/e3/yilIVobg_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Trap-Skeet/Olympics-1901-Match/i-9sz5RFg/0/a7ef2ab5/M/1900%207%20OlympiaTrap-M.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Trap-Skeet/Olympics-1901-Match/i-vdKJHgd/0/510b363f/S/1900%204%20Grand%20Prix%20de%20l%20Exposition%20au%20Tir%20aux%20Pigeons%2C%20Cercle%20du%20Bois%20de%20Boulogne%3B-S.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Trap-Skeet/Olympics-1901-Match/i-PQr8Mft/0/f27da172/XL/1900%206%20Donald%20Mackintosh%207-XL.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Trap-Skeet/Olympics-1901-Match/i-NnVTG3Z/0/a91ce530/M/Donald%20Mackintosh%20Guns-M.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Trap-Skeet/Olympics-1901-Match/i-kPWjwqv/0/b5509249/L/Leon%20de%20Lunden-L.jpg)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/4e/ad/thvVzBaQ_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/d2/48/geXnvpDL_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/b1/7b/t2cLN788_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]](https://i.postimg.cc/2SKFNV12/Czernin-Postkarte-01kl.jpg)
![[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]](https://i.postimg.cc/kMHn8CRL/Czernin-Postkarte-02kl.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-3n7QvbK/0/d52082ac/L/Monte_Carlo_Casino_1879-L.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-vkWcr7P/0/0c674986/M/Monte%20Carlo%201890s-M.jpg)
![[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]](https://i.postimg.cc/SQZrc6dd/Czernin-MC.jpg)
![[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]](https://i.postimg.cc/3Jwt3RBb/Paris1900-01-kl.jpg)
![[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]](https://i.postimg.cc/Fkm9rd7y/Tir-Pigeons-Paris1900-02-kl.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Trap-Skeet/Olympics-1901-Match/i-TJKWL2M/0/e107b8db/XL/Le%20Prix%20du%20Centenaire%201900-XL.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Trap-Skeet/Olympics-1901-Match/i-Rp4j9f8/0/9ce461e7/M/London1908Olympics-M.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Trap-Skeet/Olympics-1901-Match/i-tNqmHSC/0/3dd8dd55/M/Screenshot%202020-12-17%2015.30.03-M.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-rm532HV/0/97353d90/M/Punch%201882-M.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Trap-Skeet/Olympics-1901-Match/i-qr8zRVz/0/0c33732e/M/1900%20Olympics-M.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-3FD6pJL/0/79af3aad/M/The%20Bystander%201-20-1909-M.png)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/e6/7f/Z5oP4k12_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/3d/34/HmJH3mjE_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Trap-Skeet/Olympics-1901-Match/i-t7Rhtjk/0/3bb71fb5/M/Donald%20Mackintosh%205-M.jpg)
![[Linked Image from i697.photobucket.com]](http://i697.photobucket.com/albums/vv337/ellenbrs/German%20Trade%20Guns/4ab826fc-687b-46a1-aff4-82c9a5ef1ed3_zps7fe10fac.jpg)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/aa/67/2eg5SoDc_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/ac/2e/IHzvZH4C_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/b9/7d/tRMTo4Np_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/66/f6/L4ZPZfcY_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-KTrCD7h/0/3e13d1fe/M/Monte%20Carlo%20c.%201920-M.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-RNv2VW9/0/f9cef15d/M/Monte%20Carlo%20Full%20Size-M.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Trap-Skeet/Parker/i-sMSfnSf/0/a24ff176/M/Breeder%20and%20Sportsman%209-7-1889%20Parker-M.png)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/a9/36/gDjReFbg_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/7b/c2/gAFStmgw_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/31/c3/7DtYg3Z5_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/a3/e4/nQqfTN9Z_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-vPDN5Hr/0/3b4b7a34/L/Slportsman%27s%20Yearbook%201880-L.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-ZHGjGB6/0/80c5561f/L/Greener%20Modern%20Shotguns%201888-L.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-6JP4pJq/0/7c7416a3/L/Screenshot%20%281083%29-L.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-FF9QGRC/0/11b17299/S/Monte%20Carlo%201906-S.png)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/bd/6b/9axvElHH_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/4f/95/qHQ20T8l_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/e2/13/1znNbZdT_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/76/e8/947jo7Tg_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/21/f3/RvnDx5GX_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/38/43/p5tShViM_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/ed/b3/ZYuTzWPN_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/b2/0f/5iFJz0mt_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/34/59/cpr71XYo_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/9s4Zini.png)
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/FwEOdm0.png)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/5c/5e/oluW3aah_t.jpg)
) and thanks for your perseverance.
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/2b/72/VjSaawuI_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/c0/b6/mYP0VhUL_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/c5/88/FORNiyCW_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from jpgbox.com]](https://www.jpgbox.com/jpg/70075_800x600.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-LCM9WHt/0/b67ae6cd/L/Experts%20On%20Guns%20%26%20Shooting%2C%201900-L.png)
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/0IZL5yB.png)
![[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]](https://i.imgur.com/taR4PZK.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-rn6qtFF/0/04361f7e/L/Chimay-Villégiature_Ardennes_%28Belgique%29_-L.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-dKvXjJ9/0/a832bc52/L/Chapionnat%20du%20Monde%201937-L.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-8x8F6QV/0/41d47c6d/L/Palermo%2C%20Italy%2C%20from%20L%27Illustrazione%20Italiana%2C%20January%207%2C%201877.-L.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-NFQdzTf/0/3d33d4fa/L/Tir%20aux%20Piegeons%20de%20Vittel-L.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-N7RT4Tp/0/fb4d5c0c/M/Lancaster%20Pigeon%20Gun-M.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-z2Fk6jm/0/b01f38c0/M/Lancaster%20Highest%20Qualtiy-M.png)
![[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]](https://i.postimg.cc/HkxXTCRC/Tir-Pigeons-Paris1900-02.jpg)
![[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]](https://i.postimg.cc/FsfhvWpB/Tir-Pigeons-Paris1900-03.jpg)
![[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]](https://i.postimg.cc/1tfyzvPX/Tir-Pigeons-Dames.jpg)
![[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]](https://i.postimg.cc/wB5wmzqb/GP-MC-1920.jpg)
![[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]](https://i.postimg.cc/tR8Fpfy1/Mont-Carlo-Ad1902.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-G8WmhbV/0/21898546/L/Tir-Pigeons-1920%20-%20Copy-L.jpg)
![[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]](https://i.postimg.cc/RZj8KRwN/Azzo-Cacciari-e-la-Coppa-vinta-a-Montecarlo-207x300.jpg)
![[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]](https://i.postimg.cc/xjt4tYKr/Copertina-La-Stampa-Sportiva-28-marzo-1909-202x300.jpg)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/84/85/zX1MGxO3_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/a2/71/XfyTI2WX_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/a2/6e/VWKxUyHe_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/e6/05/xJyc2dNn_t.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-RXLDrCx/0/23576341/L/ASA%20Rules%204-5-1890%20Sporting%20Life-L.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-5bc6cqm/0/f9bd68a6/M/Live%20Bird%20Rules-M.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-jWnFpnQ/0/eef594b3/M/Monte%20Carlo%20ring-M.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-GTWwz3Q/0/5d69664b/S/The%20Illustrated%20London%20News%202-4-1911-S.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-8BN5ZPZ/0/690d7055/S/Journal%20De%20Monaco%202-6-1883-S.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-9s6QJbp/0/4f7f2f39/S/Rules%20of%20the%20Prairie%20Shooting%20Club%20of%20Chicago%2C%201874-S.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-STFWsJf/0/0c594053/L/Kirkwood%20Bros.%201903-L.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-Kj6ksn3/0/97431c8e/L/Hx%204%20Frost-L.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Trap-Skeet/Olympics-1901-Match/i-3VSXPxh/0/e90abc22/L/Jay%20Graham%201912%20Olympics%2014-L.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Trap-Skeet/Olympics-1901-Match/i-6NhGQLn/0/458648ee/L/Gerald%20Merlin%20UK%201908%20Olympics-L.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Trap-Skeet/Olympics-1901-Match/i-BhVbPs6/0/75e34a2e/S/1908-london-olympic-games-S.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Shooters/Trapshooting/i-kXmPcQV/0/2d0f4daf/M/TG%2015%20Capt.%20Money-M.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Shooters/Trapshooting/i-4LwkQ3W/0/8449c5f2/L/M%2017%20Capt.%20Money%202-L.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Shooting/Shooting/i-pVGFgxM/0/1d8d412b/L/1895%20DuPont%20Tournament%201%20-%20Copy-L.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Shooting/Shooting/i-pGcbb8z/0/b7a5e3a1/L/1895%20DuPont%20Tournament%202%20-%20Copy-L.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Shooting/Shooting/i-6ttKckN/0/b33a1c20/L/M%2013%201896%20GAH-L.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Shooters/Historic-Shooters/i-tZSPX7j/0/6046273b/S/King%20George%20V%201907-S.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Shooters/Historic-Shooters/i-r3tshNr/0/c24275be/S/King%20George%20V%20after%201910-S.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Shooters/Historic-Shooters/i-5xHsznc/0/eb5a5629/M/M%2012%20%20BrewerInPosition-M.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Shooters/Historic-Shooters/i-MchvZC3/0/61428f68/M/H%20%201%20Leffingwell-M.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-3rCKCSb/0/10a53e9a/M/Athol-Purdey-Pigeon-Shooting-at-Monte-Carlo%281%29-M.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Shooters/Historic-Shooters/i-WwL6sHS/0/660de0db/M/Fred%20Coleman%20pre-1900-M.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Shooters/Trapshooting/i-GmFPfpk/0/0ccc8701/M/Fred%20Gilbert%201-1901%20Outdoor%20Life-M.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Shooters/Trapshooting/i-BvPGKRh/0/edcb155c/M/George%20Roll%201-1910%20Outdoor%20Life-M.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Shooters/Trapshooting/i-sf49sms/0/60048746/M/Dr.%20Williamson%201-1901%20Outdoor%20Life-M.png)
![[Linked Image from shotguncollector.files.wordpress.com]](https://shotguncollector.files.wordpress.com/2022/12/monaco_1926_tir_aux_pigeons_...agence_rol_btv1b53157262k_1.jpeg)
![[Linked Image from shotguncollector.files.wordpress.com]](https://shotguncollector.files.wordpress.com/2022/12/monaco_1926_tir_aux_pigeons_...agence_rol_btv1b531572631_1.jpeg)
![[Linked Image from shotguncollector.files.wordpress.com]](https://shotguncollector.files.wordpress.com/2022/12/monaco_janvier_1926_tir_aux_...agence_rol_btv1b531572614_1.jpeg)
![[Linked Image from shotguncollector.files.wordpress.com]](https://shotguncollector.files.wordpress.com/2022/12/le_sport_universel_illustrd0b9__bpt6k6579959v_163.jpeg)
![[Linked Image from shotguncollector.files.wordpress.com]](https://shotguncollector.files.wordpress.com/2022/12/le_sport_universel_illustrd0b9__bpt6k6578140p_14.jpeg)
![[Linked Image from shotguncollector.files.wordpress.com]](https://shotguncollector.files.wordpress.com/2022/12/le_sport_universel_illustrd0b9__bpt6k6580057d_303.jpeg)
![[Linked Image from shotguncollector.files.wordpress.com]](https://shotguncollector.files.wordpress.com/2022/12/s-l1600.jpg)
![[Linked Image from shotguncollector.files.wordpress.com]](https://shotguncollector.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/6395.jpg)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-6FWQgJP/0/789fd63e/L/Winners%20Grand%20Prix%20du%20Casino%20Sporting%20Life%203-9-1912-L.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-RDQZT82/0/302fdfdd/L/Screenshot%20%281719%29-L.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-VgmbGwb/0/b3c9aed2/L/Manufacture%20d%27Armes%20de%20Luxe%2C%20L.%20Brancquaert%201-L.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-KbD828W/0/d16b27de/L/Manufacture%20d%27Armes%20de%20Luxe%2C%20L.%20Brancquaert%202-L.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-wVKV5tg/0/646d1bb3/L/Manufacture%20d%27Armes%20de%20Luxe%2C%20L.%20Brancquaert%203-L.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-PgzFSDD/0/7f689198/L/Manufacture%20d%27Armes%20de%20Luxe%2C%20L.%20Brancquaert%204-L.png)
![[Linked Image from photos.smugmug.com]](https://photos.smugmug.com/Monte-Carlo/i-K6Kc3Nx/0/87d88088/L/Arms%20%26%20Explosives%208-1-1901-L.png)
![[Linked Image from thumbs2.imgbox.com]](https://thumbs2.imgbox.com/9d/bc/LuXPhylH_t.jpg)