PARKER BHE TRAP GUN OR LIVE PIGEON GUN?

[Bill Burwash]

The Parker letter states that my BHE was started in Nov 1905 and completed in Feb 1906. It has 32" steel barrels with 2 3/4" chambers, F&X chokes, double triggers, ejectors, no safety, Monte Carlo comb with straight English style grip, checkered butt and weighs 7 lbs 11 oz. More details are given in the companion thread titled Parker BHE Engraving Styles.
My question is whether this gun was intended for live pigeons or clay (trap) shooting. I look forward to your comments.

[Reggie B]

Yes would be my answer. To both.

[Jim DiSpagno]

As Reggie stated, both as live bird shooting was on the decline in the US, trap shooting at clay targets was on the rise at the time this wonderful gun was made.

[Researcher]

The first Grand American Handicap at clay targets was in 1900. The last Grand American Handicap at live birds was in 1902. The International Flyer Championship was held at Kansas City 1917 to 1941. Your BHE certainly could have been used for either.

[Drew Hause]

Bill: did the letter document who originally ordered the gun? If so, we could investigate if he was a well-known shooter.

[Bill Burwash]

Originally Posted by Drew Hause

Bill: did the letter document who originally ordered the gun? If so, we could investigate if he was a well-known shooter.

The gun was made for Isaac Pitbaldo of Winnipeg Manitoba. However, the gun was sent to Marshall Wells Hardware in Duluth MN. Mr Pitbaldo must have travelled to Duluth for business, or maybe shooting, and took the gun back home.
The Parker letter says that the gun order was taken Mr Du Bray who was a senior salesman for Parker as well as a world class pigeon and trap shooter.
I'm not aware whether there was a tie between Messrs Du Bray and Pitbaldo or not.
Mr Pitbaldo was a well established lawyer and keen sportsman and a member of a waterfowling club in the famous Delta Marsh northwest of Winnipeg. He and his son were part of a group that founded Ducks Unlimited around 1937.
Thanks for volunteering to do some research.
Bill

[Reggie B]

You own an interesting Parker! Very nice!

[todd allen]

That fits the description and qualifications of a pigeon gun.
As for the Golden Age of pigeon shooting, I feel like I lived it. The vast majority of my experience has been Perazzi, but I blocked out periods that were dedicated to the Parker Brothers purpose built target guns.
During this period, I entered a few sporting clays shoots with these guns.
I was a registered AA shooter, so I would sign in into the Hunter Class as Arthur du Bray.
One particular shoot I tied with a Master Class shooter from Utah, who knew me quite well. The chatter at the clubhouse was mostly about "Who is this duBray guy?" I was shooting a 1874 250 Grade Underlifter.
There was a bunch of pointing and elbow jabbing when the gallery saw me show up with an ancient hammer gun for a shoot-off against one of our top SC shooters.
I could tell a lot of stories about shooting various dedicated competition guns from Parker against all comers in pigeon games.
It's been my experience that the single sight plane guns hold an advantage in many target games, especially with the long complicated presentations in SCs, but the SxSs hold up well in the box bird games.

[todd allen]

Originally Posted by Bill Burwash

The Parker letter states that my BHE was started in Nov 1905 and completed in Feb 1906. It has 32" steel barrels with 2 3/4" chambers, F&X chokes, double triggers, ejectors, no safety, Monte Carlo comb with straight English style grip, checkered butt and weighs 7 lbs 11 oz. More details are given in the companion thread titled Parker BHE Engraving Styles.
My question is whether this gun was intended for live pigeons or clay (trap) shooting. I look forward to your comments.

I would really love to see some pictures of this one.

[Drew Hause]

Apparently more interested in golf & curling
https://www.mhs.mb.ca/docs/people/pitblado_i.shtml

No hits in the Sporting Life archives which reported major Canadian trap shoots.

He was friends with Dan Bain, who won the The Dominion of Canada Trap Shooting Championship in Toronto in 1903

Live Pigeon competitions became much less popular in Great Britain and Canada after the 1900 Paris Olympic Games, but I couldn't find a date when they were outlawed by legislation.