TRAPHOUSE CONSTRUCTION IN 1889

I was doing a bit of research today and thought I'd share a bit of history that had nothing to do with the subject of my research.

Hoping most of you will enjoy this old picture.

 

Is it called a 'Trap-house' because that looks like a 'trap-door' in the picture over the hole in the ground .... or does 'Trap' come from live bird shooting, the birds being held in a trap ?????

It must be why everyone wants to call everything 'Skeet' shooting, because shooting Trap does not make sense.

 

Actually, I don't recall them being called a trap-house in those days. Originally traps were hidden from shooters by means of a screen. The screen hid the traps and the pull cords so the shooter did not know which the trap was being sprung. This type trap was not an automatic angle trap and trap boys ran out and loaded 3 or 5 traps for the one shooter at the score (before squad shooting).

Then came the pit with wooden backboards to protect the trapper who sat in the pit and loaded the trap and changed the angles after each shot. The rules were changed to mandate the thickness of the boards to better protect the trappers.

The earliest concrete traphouse I have in my files was in 1907.

In 1919 referees at the New York Athletic Club tournament were stationed in the traphouse and relayed "dead" or "lost" back to the shooters through a speaking tube with a megaphone. The thought was that the referee would be able to see the tiniest piece broken from a target. Back then they had a scorer and judge stationed behind the shooters.

In 1924 a gun club in Texas had built circular traphouses on their grounds.

And you are correct that Trap came from the live bird days when they were released from traps. Also, while pigeons were used almost exclusively in live bird shooting, on occasion other birds were used. They were : snowbirds, blackbirds, quail, starlings, crows and sparrows. In 1897 the Championship Sparrow Shoot of Western Pennsylvania was held.

And in 1905 the Sparrow Championship of the United States was held in Crawfordsville, Indiana.

 

The starling championship would be fun. Since I was a kid, I've been taught to shoot every starling I saw.

Starlings are filthy.

English sparrows too. Wood sparrows...no.

 

There were two major the reasons why English sparrows were used. First was due to the often unavailability of pigeons and second due to the destruction to crops.

Here are a couple matches from the 1800s where snowbirds were used. Captain Adam H. Bogardus shot a match against James Ward, Canada's champion in terrible snowy weather as I recall. Mr. Ward won the match but you can see that the scores were not high. I should mention that Mr. Ward was one of several great one-armed shooters.

SNOW BIRDS​

James Ward, of Toronto, beat Captain A. H. Bogardus, the champion shot of the United States in a match at 100 snow birds held in Toronto, on Friday, December 22, 1871. Ward scored 66 to Bogardus’ 65.
[ THE BROOKLYN EAGLE, December 28, 1871, page 4 ]

THEY USED SNOW BIRDS
How Ed Taylor Won a Match a Few Years Ago.​

Cincinnati sportsmen have lately been having some sparrow shoots and it recalls a match which Old Reliable shot nearly fifteen years ago with Sam Tyrrell, of Chicago. The match was at 50 snow birds, which by the way, are far more difficult marks than the sparrows, and was shot one cold and windy winter’s day on the outskirts of the city named. Tyrrell, who has since died, was a very wealthy man, and for some reason was not popular with the majority of shooters, but just the same he was a good shot, and the men were very evenly matched. On the contrary Old Reliable was very popular with the shooters, and for that reason everybody was backing him, but when they learned that he was coming out to shoot snow birds with No. 8 shot they all threw up their hands in despair, thinking that Taylor had taken leave of his senses. The latter, however, was a thinker of the old school; he had noticed the hard wind which was blowing, and had not figured without his host. Bird after bird was sprung, and as regularly as they took wing fell back dead; the eights were small enough to make a close pattern, and large enough not to be affected by the wind. Tyrrell had not thought of the wind, and had loaded with No. 12 shot. These drifted from two to three feet, and at the end of 30 shots, while Taylor had a straight score, Tyrrell had not killed a half dozen birds, and withdrew in disgust.
[ SPORTING LIFE, September 28, 1895, page 17 ]

Regarding sparrow shooting, William T. Hill, of Indianapolis, Indiana invented and was granted a patent for his live bird ground trap. The W. T. Hill trap was used for pigeons and sparrows and I believe the traps were of two different sizes. Here is his patent granted on May 20, 1890. The trap is very well built made of galvanized metal with brass hinges and gear arrangement for opening the three triangle sides.





Enjoy Our History

 

Thank you KRE for sharing all of our sports history with us here!! This WT Hill trap is fascinating to me!

We need to have an English Starling shoot! This import has taken over our country and hard on our native species of song birds!

HAP

 

And for those of you who enjoy learning about the many areas of trap shooting's history, here is the above W. T. Hill sparrow trap.

The base is a 9" square and it stands approximately 9 1/2" high. You'll see the little trap door where trappers insert the sparrows.

There must be other traps in personal collections but this is the only one I am aware of.

Enjoy Our History

 

Looking at the picture I thought damn that looks like Hap on the end holding the shotgun but then I came to senses. I mean Hap would only have been 10 or 11 when that picture was taken. Another thing you guys be careful, Hap will probably make a successful showing at the Grand so be careful betting purses as he still puts up a good score quite often.

 

Very interesting stuff Ken. It amazes me you have even found one to take pictures of. Where do you find this stuff?

Now, who caught the sparrows? Probably a lot more barns in those days. They would roost on our mow ropes, under the wooden eaves, and low maple tree branches at night, but I bet catching them was tedious work.

Hap must be the little guy behind the guy kneeling?

 

Rosey said :

"Very interesting stuff Ken. It amazes me you have even found one to take pictures of. Where do you find this stuff?"

Rosey,
I have a few files laying around relating to our shooting history. The W. T. Hill trap above is my own. I gave some history about this trap to its owner several years ago. I believe she picked it up for about $25 in an antique store. The only information she gave me to go on was a date on the partial tag. When she sent pictures I told her it was a W. T. Hill pigeon trap. The size was not referenced with a ruler in the picture so I assumed she had a pigeon trap. She didn't want to sell it but since she lived about 40 miles from Sparta, I convinced her to bring it out during the Grand American Handicap tournament to display for a couple hours.

I happened to see her coming through the front door with something in her hand. Then I realized it due to its smallness, that it was a sparrow trap. I could not believe it.

She did not want to part with it because she said it's a topic of conversation sitting on her coffee table. Everyone wants to know what it is and have offered guesses such as those old toasters.

Some years later she wanted to sell it. So, during the GAH, I met her halfway between her home and the Grand and gave her several hundred dollars. My plan was to donate it and other pigeon traps to the Trapshooting Hall of Fame for a display to help visitors learn about the earliest days of trap shooting with live birds.

"Now, who caught the sparrows?"

Boys, Girls, Men and Women. Most of the birds (pigeons) were netted but occasionally hunters just shot them from their roost. This was back when the huge flocks of pigeons (miles wide and miles long in flight) roosted in large numbers. They would take them away in wagon loads, prepare them to be shipped to the city restaurants. And there are stories written of chicks being sold as quail and sparrows as reed-birds. One guy dyed sparrows feathers in brilliant colors and sold them as tropical birds.

All birds caught for trapshooting were netted.

Here's a report of Mr. Hill catching sparrows for the Annual Sparrow Shoot at Indianapolis.



Now, who shot the sparrows?

Many of the big named shooters shot sparrows. Rolla Heikes, Wm. R. Crosby, Homer Clark Sr., Charles "Sparrow" Young, and even the notable baseball player Sandy McPherson to name a few.

Enjoy Our History

 

Twaz me, I merely looked older than my young years Bobby! Handle back then was, DA Fezunt Reaper. Yeah guys, play all the cash, baby needs sum new shoes too! My scores? Feast or famine and I've dined on crow many a time, tastes kinda sorta like chikin? Is the dove slayer gonna be there, hopefully!

HAP

 

I'm going to miss you this year at the Grand getting some back trouble fixed that came up suddenly. Shot well although I know I don't need to tell you that. Good luck and I'll see you in Tucson.

 

Hope you get that back problem fixed soon! We'll see you in Tucson and bring your AAA game too!!

HAP

 

Hap, I guess everyone's going to miss you this year. Any chance our friend from northern Arizona will be going back to the Grand?

 

Bobby, he just had his shootin side eye operated on today, cataracts! Already had the other done some time back and it worked out great as I know this one will also! He told me he'd be ready for next years Grand now he can see good again just today! He's tough to deal with when he's in shape as you know and I'm really tickled for his return!

HAP

 

Hap, Really glad he got the cataracts taken care of. Sort of double edged sword, good for him and his vision not so good for the other competitors. By the way isn't it time to break into that stash and purchase one of the new adjustable everything trap guns? You know you are supposed to stay up with all the new technology that's always being offered.

 

LOL, nah, just the reverse Bobby. I'm seriously thinking of breaking out my old plain barreled squirrel gun for some singles and caps shooting, may even try a few dbls too.

Keepin up with the Jones reminds me of the money we once shot for and the shotguns used? We shot for purses of 10 grand or more using a 300 dollar shotgun. Today's keeping up with gun trends that costs more than a new car and shootin for trinkets? Nah, this ol man is goin out in a different way and not following the crowd.

HAP

 

Okay, I'll let it rest for now but when we get to Tucson I'll have the crew there with me and we can take a crack at making you a modern thinker over a few beers. Although it seems you've always made more sense when I've had a few beers so maybe you'll bring us around to your way of thinking.

 

Bobby, since you're a real trap shooter, I'd never attempt to change your mind, even after a few brewskies! I'm sure looking forward to you and the crew being there for moral support for ol Tom & me, much appreciated my friend!! At that time, I'll splain the gun change.

Harem Cramdfull

 

HB

Great pictures again!
LS could be in that picture but that really tall guy on the left. Hmmmm I wonder who that is......