News of 'Tuck', duBray & Gilbert

[Drew Hause]

Feb. 16, 1901 Sporting Life
http://library.la84.org/SportsLibrary/SportingLife/1901/VOL_36_NO_22/SL3622014.pdf

S. A. Tucker, the well-known traveler for Parker Bros., was calling on the trade in this city a few days ago. He reported au unusually good demand for guns for this time of the year and predicted that the season of 1901 would be the best the American gun makers ever experienced.

A. W. du Bray, of Parker Bros., has been traveling through the South taking his usual good orders for Parker guns. At Portsmouth, Va., he took part in a live-bird shoot and won first money in three events, killing thirty straight before he missed.

Fred Gilbert, with his Parker gun, Du Pont powder and Winchester Leader shells, made the best average on sparrows at Cincinnati, February 6, killing 93 out of 100. In the target programme on February 7 he broke 147 out of 160, an average of .918 per cent.

[Bill Murphy]

Sparrows! I could go for big plateful of those puppies, sautéed in butter.

[Destry L. Hoffard]

By 1901 the passenger pigeon was gone, so all they had for pigeons was pen raised or feral, which weren't nearly as common as they are today. English sparrows were overrunning the country by that time, this isn't the first report I've seen of them being used for shooting matches. Man they must have been tough targets, I can't even imagine. I've also heard of bats being used, quail, and blackbirds.

DLH

[Daryl Corona]

Back in the late 70's (1970's):) on the last sunday of every month, I shot at a private farm on Maryland's eastern shore where the birds used were starlings out of Barnaby traps. Talk about a challenge.

[John Dallas]

My wife's grandfather shot sparrows with a BB gun to put meat on the Depression-era dinner table