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Luke Walker 3/16/14 Mrs. Raymond ENGL 1102 The Evolution of Sporting Clays As I looked back into the history of my family, I noticed a trend of sportsman, and one thing that I learned in particular is that my family had been shooting sporting clays for quite a while. My dads brother, my uncle Gene Walker, is a nationally recognized sporting clays shooter and instructor. He is the man I credit with my marksman skills with a shotgun. So when I looked back into my family history it made sense that Sporting clays intrigued my interest. I was intrigued especially in creation of the sport and how it has evolved over time. The sport of skeet shooting started in the early 1800s, when wealthy aristocrats wanted to tune up on their marksman skills. The lord/ wealthy property owner would invite other wealthy folks to come hunt birds on their property. Well those of high economic and social status were not always guaranteed a spot on the hunt. The land owner did not want to invite individuals with poor marksman skills, because they did not want them to miss or wing/injure the game.(Shooting Academy). Thus Sporting Clays became a sport in which individuals could compete and hone in on key marksman skills that would help them in the field. The first object used for clay pigeons were glass ball stuffed with feathers. (Shooting Academy). There was at first no device used to throw them and were thrown by some poor chap. This was quite dangerous for this man whether it was the broken glass falling or being shot. It
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was not until the trap was invented to launch the balls. (Shooting Academy) A trap is a catapult type device that can be operated from a few yards away, making it much safer for those involved. The device was triggered by the string connected to the arm and the term Pull was coined to launch the bird. (Shooting Academy). This term is still used today. It was not long after that, it was realized that sporting clays could be consider a sport in its own right, for generally the hunt is much more consistent. This led to the explosion of the sport. Due to the popularity of the sport, not much longer after that in 1896, shooting sports were adopted in the Olympic Games in Athens (Olympic). And the appearance of the first shotgun sport, trap occurred in 1900 in Paris (Shooting). It was not until 1984 until women were allowed to completely separate from men (Shooting). Also as the times and popularity of the sport progressed so did the equipment and the technology used to produce. The first pump shogun was introduced in 1882 by Spencer Arms (Dalseide). This design allows the shooter the ability to fire more than two shells, generally 3-5 shells, before having to reload. The name comes from the motion in which one must move the forearm of the firearm to eject the shell that has been shot and insert a new shell into the chamber to be fired. But perhaps the most influential shotgun that was ever created was the Browning A5. In 1902, introduced by John M. Browning, the A-5 completely revolutionized the sport of clays and fowl hunting (Browning). Best known for being the first automatic shotgun. Its semiautomatic design allowed for the shooter to shoot one shell for each pull of the trigger, and by using a gas operated chamber to automatically and quickly reload the next shell for the shooter. This is significant because it allowed for the shooter to not have to change his field of vision and focus more on getting back on target rather than reloading. In just the first 50 years of production, 438,000 of these firearms were sold (Browning). As an owner of a Browning A-5, I
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can attest to their accuracy and quality for being so primitive into gun making technology. Although the model had undergone many changes and advancements, still sells the model A-5 to this day. Still to this day sporting clays holds to its origin by enforcing rules of strict etiquette while one is at the range. While most of these rules are posted to ensure the safety of all involved, it is a sport and like any sport it requires good courtesy and sportsmanship. Some of the basic rules are always keep you muzzle in a safe direction, never load your firearm until it is your turn to step forward in the box and shoot, and be ready to shoot when it is your turn, so you do not hold up everyone (ASCTP). No horseplay is tolerated for it could be deadly. For those who are inexperienced with the sport and may not understand all the rules, ask for it is safer for all of those involved. It is important for those who to participate to follow all of the rules because those who participate will not be slow to inform you of mistakes, most of the time it is not in a very nice manner either. Before you go to the range make sure you are very familiar with your firearm and all of the gun safety concepts (ASCTP). All division of sporting clays have a rich history and are wonderful sports to participate in. In its history technology has made a definite impact on the sport, by improving the equipment and techniques. Sporting clays is a fast growing sport and as a marksman I suggest you try it out!
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Works cited (ASCTP) "Shooting Etiquette for Trap, Skeet, and Sporting Clays."Arizona Scholastic Clay Target Program. Phoniex: 2009. "Auto-5 Semi-Automatic Shotgun." Browning. N.p.. Web. 19 Mar 2014. Dalseide, Lars. "Spencer Arms pump action shotgun made for black powder shells." (2013): n. page. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. "Shooting." (2011): n.pag. Research and Reference Service Olympic Studies Centre. Web. 19 Mar 2014. "shooting equipment and history." (Olympic). Olympic.org. Web. 19 Mar 2014. <http://www.olympic.org/shooting-equipment-and-history?tab=equipment>. "Sporting Clays Course Design." (Shooting Academy) - What is Sporting Clays? n.pag.http://www.shooting-academy.com/Services Shotgun Sporting.htmlShooting Academy. Web. 25 Feb 2014.