This classic pigeon trap was developed by Charles Parker, owner of Parker Brothers Gun Company in the 1870s. His sales manager was Charles DuBray who fought Indians with General Custer. The picture on the left shows the trap closed and the photo on the right show the trap sprung, forcing the pigeon to fly.

This famous Parker trade card shows Parker Plunge Traps in use. The puller is Charles Parker and the gunner is Charles DuBray.  

This black pigeon trap was used to release live pigeons in early pigeon shoots. This particular trap can be seen in the Hall of Fame. 

This green pigeon trap was used to release live pigeons in early pigeon shoots. Probably used in the Pennsylvania coal region. 

This red pigeon trap was used to release live pigeons in early pigeon shoots. Probably used in the Pennsylvania coal region. 

This yellow pigeon trap was used to release live pigeons in early pigeon shoots. Probably used in the Pennsylvania coal region. This is a remarkable example of a live pigeon trap. 

This well used pigeon trap was used to release live pigeons in early pigeon shoots. Probably used in the Pennsylvania coal region as it came out of Pennsylvania.  

A very rare pigeon trap made in 1881 by J. J. King of New York. Patent May 10, 1881. All metal construction with hinged sides & top. Heavy wooden base is peppered with shot. A leather strap pulls the trap back to collapse and free the bird. 

This trap is mentioned in TRAPSHOOTING --The Patriotic Sport. It was a ground trap. According to the book, Hill also invented a sparrow trap.   The Patriotic Sport states: "The Hill trap, invented by W. Hill, of Indianapolis, Ind., who also invented the trap used in sparrow shooting is installed at the Hill Top Gun club, of Austerlitz, Ky., and also the Cincinnati Gun Club's grounds in Rosedale, KY., and is considered the best trap made."  The trap was patented by William T. Hill, on 20 May 1890.

Photographs courtesy of Linda Wyatt. Reproducing this reader owned photograph is not allowed without permission of the Trapshooting Hall of Fame.

This trap is dated 1877 and was manufactured for Capt. A. H. Bogardus, a Hall of Fame inductee. The trap would be the prize of any collector. The Hall of Fame is fortunate to have two of these early Bogardus glass ball traps, including the one shown below. It is probably the best Bogardus trap in the world. 

This trap was manufactured around 1880 for the use of throwing glass target balls. Probably made in England. Very similar to the 1877 Bogardus trap. However, it could very easily be a variant of the original Bogardus trap. 

This target ball thrower has no markings but is similar to traps made by Captain Bogardus for his patented glass target balls. This is a great example of an early glass ball trap.  

This target ball thrower has no markings but is similar to traps made by Captain Bogardus for his patented glass target balls. The trap swivels on a wooden base, its movement controlled by hand lines attached to the wooden cross piece.  

'M. E. Card Patd May 78', American, circa 1880, cast iron construction. This is the earliest of the Card Glass Ball Traps, and probably the rarest. The W. H. Cruttenden Company of Cazenovia, NY were the manufacturers. 

Card Rotating Trap, Latest Improved Model, Single Cup. This trap dates back into the 1880's and was used to throw glass target balls. The W. H. Cruttenden Company of Cazenovia, NY were the manufacturers. 

The Stock and Morris Glass Ball Trap is extremely rare  was made in 1879 at the height of glass ball shooting in the United States.  This trap never gained any popularity.  

The Mole Glass Ball Doubles Trap is extremely rare and was made in 1882 at the height of glass ball shooting in the United States.  

This trap was manufactured in 1902 by the Chamberlin Cartridge Company. It was used for the throwing of small, black composition "rifle" balls. You can see one in the cup. 

This trap is extremely rare. It was made in 1882 when George Ligowsky developed the first clay target. It appears that the target holder has been replaced on this trap. It is the very first clay target trap.  

This trap was produced by the Cleveland Target Company in 1886 and manufactured with several improvements in the following years. The first of the "Blue Rock" traps it would evolve into the Extension Spring and Compression Spring traps of the same name. The "Blue Rock" trap was advertised and sold by several agents such as the Atlantic Ammunition Co., H. C. Squires, of NYC, W. R. Schaefer & Son, Boston, MA, C. E. Willard & Co., of Chicago, IL, J. C. Grubb & Co., of Philadelphia, and E. C. Meacham Arms Co., of St. Louis, MO.  The first  "Blue Rock Pigeon" target was produced in black regulation size and was designed so one shot pellet could knock the top out of it. It was adopted by the New York and Illinois Sportsmen's Associations for their shoots.  

This trap was manufactured by the Western Cartridge Company around 1909. It was later replaced in the late 1920s by another Western Practice Trap. 

The Empire Target Company of New York produced this solid looking trap in 1899. The company was formed in 1893 and first produced the Empire Amateur and Empire Expert traps in 1894 . A 1895 Montgomery Ward advertisement listed the Amateur Trap weighing 12 lbs. for $4.50 and the Expert Trap selling for $6.50 with a weight of 26 lbs. The Empire Electric Puller, complete for five traps sold for $25.00. The Empire Target Company also had a well equipped factory in Elizabeth, N.J. The company went out of business in October 1908.

This trap (circa 1933), was manufactured by the Chamberlin Cartridge Company, Findley, Ohio for Remington. It is an exact duplicate of the Chamberlin No.4 trap. Remington purchased the Chamberlin Cartridge Company in 1933. 

The 1892 model of the Chamberlin Cartridge and Target Company Expert Trap received it's patent on March 1, 1892. 

This trap is of German origin and has two stacked arms with two handles for target release. Very unusual. 

The Remington Leggett Trap was developed by the Chamberlin Cartridge Company. When Remington purchased Chamberlin, the traps was called the Model 41 and was used in the 1942 Grand American. The trap is huge and solid. It is also auto angling. 

The two hand traps shown below are for small black recreational targets (about 2¾ inches) and regulation clay targets. The Midget hand trap came with the Winchester Junior Trapshooting outfit and the Standard hand trap was to be used for regulation targets. They were both manufactured about 1919 and 1920. 

This hand trap resembles the Winchester hand trap. It was manufactured by the Allison-Faulkner Corporation of Auburn, Indiana. It was designed to throw small black clay targets which were very popular during the 1920's and 1930's. 

This hand trap was manufactured by the Western Cartridge Company, East Alton, Illinois. It can be found in Western advertising literature in the early 1930's and was designed to throw regulation size clay targets. It threw the target about 40 yards. It is a variant of the regular Western Hand Trap.  

This hand trap certainly was made between 1915 and 1920. Marlin made almost identical hand traps (the "Front Loader" and the "Breech Loader") in the same time period. The name of the manufacturer is not on the trap. 

These hand traps, with their original boxes, were manufactured by the Western Cartridge Company, East Alton, Illinois and Remington. They can be found in company advertising literature in the early 1930's and was designed to throw regulation size clay targets. They threw the target about 40-60 yards, depending on the thrower. Regulation clay targets were used with these trap. 

This hand trap is very similar to the Melco hand trap but it is of all wood construction. No manufacture or literature is available on this very interesting trap.  

This trap machine is the real workhorse of most gun clubs in all states. It is the Western Electric Trap. Used exclusively for decades (developed in the late 1940's), it is slowly being replaced by the automatic traps. Probably 75% of all gun clubs still use this Western Electric Trap. These traps are set by "trappers or setters" one target at a time. They also will throw very good doubles targets.  

This trap was made by Ad Topperwein to throw two targets at once. He bolted two Western Hand Traps together. These traps were never sold over the counter. He obviously used this trap in his shooting exhibitions. 

The Rimco Hand Trap is a simple, practical and efficient apparatus for throwing all standard makes of clay targets. It was manufactured by the Rock Island Manufacturing Company (RIMCO) of Rock Island, Illinois around 1916. The trap weighs about 7 pounds, is very compact and easily fits in a suit case or traveling bag. It cost $6.00. It is fully cocked. 

Somewhat similar to the Rimco Hand Trap, the DuPont Hand Trap weighs about 6 pounds and was manufactured by the E. L DuPont De Nemours Powder Company of Wilmington, Delaware. The cost was four dollars (two dollars cheaper than the Rimco Trap). Company advertising states that the trap is not a toy but a thoroughly practical apparatus for throwing clay targets by hand. It is scientifically constructed to give the greatest strength and power with minimum weight. This trap came on the market around June of 1915. DuPont also made another very similar hand trap called the Mitchell.  

This miniature trap and skeet shooting machine was manufactured by the Black Products Company of Chicago. They also produced small black targets to be used with this trap. Larger Black Diamond traps were used in 5 of the first 8 Grand American Tournaments at Vandalia. 

This trap, (circa 1940) was designed to throw small, black “mosquito" miniature clay targets. It was manufactured by the Routledge Manufacturing Company of Monroe, Michigan. It is a model 14. The company made several different models of this trap. Remington made two guns to be used with the trap. The model 5105B bolt action smooth bore rife and the model 121 SB smooth bore pump shotgun with a "Routledge Bore”. 

The Remington “Wonder” Trap was developed around 1948 and used for both skeet and trapshooting. The club could also purchase an optional electric skeet release for the trap. Using it for trap, any angle could be used by placing the target on the arm at various places.  In 1955 the trap cost about $255.00. 

The small aluminum trap called the Bob White threw small 2¾ inches black recreational targets made by the company. Circa 1940s  

This is the newer version of the 1909 Western Practice Trap. The trap first appeared in Western literature in the late 1920s. 

This small pistol type thrower is dated in the teens, so it was probably used for composition target balls. There is some doubt whether this was a target trap.  

No, this is not a rug beater. This hand trap, produced in 1915 by Marlin, is very rare today and highly sought by collectors. Note it's construction. It is very different from the later hand traps made by Western, Winchester, Federal and a host of other companies. It is one of the first hand held traps. This trap is called the "front end loader" by collectors. A second trap by Marlin, very similar, but much larger, was called the "breech loader" and loaded from the back of the target platform.