doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Percy Stanbury Question

I have seen references to this shooter in various books, but I don't know what his game was. I assume it was either trap or skeet. From what little I have read he must have been the Digweed of his day.

Percy Stanbury co-wrote at least 3 books. He won many prizes and did almost all of his shooting with a Webley and Scott 400 type side by side gun. He was a coach at the West London Shooting Grounds. The book jacket says;

"Percy Stanbury is a countryman with a lifelong experience of shooting in the field. He is also the outstanding competitive shot of his time, winner of many Open Championships, both sporting and skeet, and five times winner of High Gun International, a title keenly competed for by the best shots in England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales"

More at
http://www.thefield.co.uk/gunreviews/532716/Percy_Stanbury039s_Webley_amp_Scott.html

He was one of the best known and most highly respected shooting coaches of his age and possible since!
His main shooting style was using 'pull away' in a very quick format: he was very much against tracking the target with the gun in one's shoulder. However, he was not against using other shooting methods when appropriate.
Arguable, his methods formed the foundation on which the UK's BASC and CPSA approved shooting methods were based and have therefore been used to coach a large proportion of the UK's shooting fraternity, especially young shots.

As a point of interest, he shot with full chokes!When asked why by my friend Jack Mitchell <Who shot against him and worked with him at The West London Shooting Grounds> his answer was "it made me concentrate more"!When Jack was a young shooter, after a competition Mr Stanbury walked over and told him he had shot very well that day < but not good enough to win>.He asked Jack what he was thinking about when he was shooting? Jack replied he was thinking about Mr Stanbury and another top shooter, Mr Stanbury told him that was a mistake, he should only be thinking about the target. Either he killed the target or the target killed him! Great advice. God rest their souls!

By coincidence, I've just been reading 'Cogswell & Harrison: Two Centuries Of Gunmaking'
On page 36 there's a picture of the coaches at the West London shooting ground that includes a fully tweed clad Percy Stanbury with a shotgun broken over his arm and a big smile on his face.
Above, in the text, is a quote from Peter Page, then director of the clay pigeon shooting association, which says...
"Percy Stanbury completely dedicated to the sport of shooting, is one of the most effective coaches ever and is well renowned for his ability to impart his knowledge of shooting to other people. He has a kind word for everybody and is one of the most cheerful and unassuming sportsmen I know. "
The shooting times described him as,
"Perhaps one of the most famous shots of his era."

From what I can read about him, Richard Faulds just may be Stanbury's "replacement". Very highly spoken of as a gentleman and wonderful ambassador for the shooting sports.

SRH