Bird release
Bird release: showing door
Name/Title
Bird releaseEntry/Object ID
2025.1.156Description
Bird release contraption. A metal mechanism set on a wooden baseContext
Part of the development of pigeon shooting - now clay pigeon shooting. The first traps were old top hats. The bird would be placed under the top hat, in a depression in the ground. A string attached to the top hat was "pulled" on the command, the trapper pulled the string and the hat rolled over, releasing the bird. The first pigeon shooting club was unsurprisingly called ‘The Old Hats’; founded in 1877 and meeting around North London. By 1793 traps became gradually more sophisticated and they had developed into a shallow box with a sliding lid. Now “pull” instructed the trapper to pull his string and the lid would slide off the box, freeing the bird. Reference: The Vintage Gun Journal, Issue 71, May 2025Category
Country & Rural activities