Misplaced Pages

This article is written like a personal reflection, personal essay, or argumentative essay that states a Misplaced Pages editor's personal feelings or presents an original argument about a topic. Please help improve it by rewriting it in an encyclopedic style. (May 2017) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Pigeon shooting is a type of live bird wing shooting competition. Traditionally, there are two types of competition: box birds and columbaire. In box birds, the pigeons are held in a mechanical device that releases them when the shooter calls out. In columbaire, the birds are hand thrown by a person when called upon. The pigeons are bred for speed. The most common species of pigeon used in regulated shooting contests is known as a zurito (Columba oenas). In the shooting competition, large sums of money are gambled and winners can have purses exceeding US$50,000. The equipment for the sport can be specialized and purpose-built.

In the past, the sport was popular worldwide. It was primarily a sport of the upper class and was held at resort locations such as Monaco and Havana. Popular magazines have covered the sport—for example, Field & Stream and Sports Illustrated But, over time, the sport has fallen out of widespread favor due to costs, alternative shooting sports such as trap shooting, skeet shooting, and sporting clays, and animal rights activism over a blood sport. Proponents of the sport argue that live pigeons are more challenging to shoot than clay targets. Many claim that pigeon shoots are no more cruel than extermination efforts carried out in cities where feral pigeons are considered a nuisance and are often controlled using lethal methods. The United States Department of Agriculture euthanizes over 60,000 pigeons a year in response to complaints.

In the past, events used to be publicly posted. The sport still exists in pockets around the world, but generally, it is not well publicized and it is only hosted in select locations, such as private gun clubs typically by invitation only.

In the United States live pigeon shoots have been held on large privately owned ranches and plantations in the South. Usually, this is to avoid the attention of protesters inevitably attracted by the events. Animal rights activists have begun deploying drones in an attempt to disrupt live pigeon competitions. In the past, U.S. Senator Jim Inhofe held annual live pigeon shoots in Oklahoma as part of a political fundraiser. In 2015 a drone operated by an animal rights group was shot down while flying over Inhofe's fundraiser that was being held at a remote ranch. In 2017 due to protests from animal rights groups Inhofe replaced his annual live pigeon shoot with a wild dove hunt.

Venues and championships

Tournaments and competition during the beginning to mid-twentieth century were worldwide. In the 1900 Paris Olympics, live pigeon shooting was one of the events. The prize for the winner was 20,000 French Francs (more than US$82,000 in 2017), though the top four finishers agreed to split the prize money.

Early to mid-20th century

The following table shows the host cities and winners of the pigeon-shooting world championships:

Year	City	Country	Winner
1930	Rome	Italy	Ottavio Menicagli
1931	Monte Carlo	Monaco	Edward W. Renfro
1932	Paris	France	Alfred Elby
1933	San Sebastián	Spain	R. de Hemptiner
1934	Budapest	Hungary	Kalam Papp
1935	Brussels	Belgium	G. Carlier d'Oreigne
1936	Rome	Italy	Adriano Ciardi
1937	Vichy	France	Jules Merouze
1938	Namur	Belgium	Walter Warren
1939	Deauville	France	Guy Lamy
1940	Sanremo	Italy	Guilio Calestani
1948	Estoril	Portugal	Guilio Calestani
1949	Madrid	Spain	Clark Homer
1950	Sanremo	Italy	Umberto Sacchi
1951	Monte Carlo	Monaco	Clark Homer
1952	Estoril	Portugal	José Corado
1953	Vichy	France	The Count of Teba
1954	San Sebastián	Spain	Andrea Sessa
1955	Cairo	Egypt	Bill Isetts
1956	Rome	Italy	Enman Vafiadis
1957	Estoril	Portugal	Orlando Carvalho
1958	Vichy	France	Etienne Courbin
1959	Seville	Spain	Giovanni Bodini
1960	Milan	Italy	Carlo Giorgetti
1961	Barcelona	Spain	Francisco Bolinches
1962	Rome	Italy	Carlo Giorgetti
1963	Madrid	Spain	Don Mayfield
1964	Lisbon	Portugal	Pedro Rael Mena
1965	San Marino	San Marino	Guiseppe Aleo
1966	Mexico City	Mexico	León Bozzi
1967	Bologna	Italy	Maurizio Frosi
1968	Valencia	Spain	Juan Antonio Martín
1969	Lisbon	Portugal	Amilcare Bodini
1970	San Marino	San Marino	Rodolfo Cecconi
1971	Milan	Italy	Eduardo Jordao
1972	San Sebastián	Spain	Franco Bomaghi
1973	Buenos Aires	Argentina	José Passera
1974	Porto	Portugal	Bruno Pardini
1975	Bologna	Italy	John Tirelli
1976	Madrid	Spain	Charles Miller
1977	Buenos Aires	Argentina	Umberto Pelliciari
1978	Lisbon	Portugal	Bruno Pardini
1979	Milan	Italy	Andrea Ida
1980	Guadalajara	Mexico	Horacio Delfino
1981	Madrid	Spain	Francisco Montoro Cañete
1982	Madrid	Spain	Guiseppe Passalacqua
1983	Porto	Portugal	José Arques
1984	Montecatini Terme	Italy	Terzo Bertoni
1985	Guadalajara	Mexico	Giordano Tinti
1986	Buenos Aires	Mexico	Juan Pablo Toledo
1987	Elche	Spain	Filippo Ciccolo
1988	Lisbon	Portugal	Joaquim Guimares
1989	Guadalajara	Mexico	A. Pérez Fernández
1990	Cairo	Egypt	Pedro Díaz de la Peña
1991	Zaragoza	Spain	Osvaldo Cantori
1992	Málaga	Spain	Angiolino Bosio
1993	Vilamoura	Portugal	José M. Rodrigues
1994	Toluca	Mexico	Martín Orozco
1995	Málaga	Spain	Giovanni Rodenghi
1996	Pevidém	Portugal	José M. Rodríguez
1997	Madrid	Spain	Carlos Sainz
1998	Guadalajara	Mexico	Fuentes de María
1999	Elche	Spain	Gonzalo Salazar
2000	Andorra la Vella	Andorra	Francisco Rosich Martín

A brief list of some of the active venues in the 1950s:

• Estoril, Portugal - Match of Nations World Championship
• Monte Carlo, Monaco - Prix de Larvotto and Prix Gaston Rambaud
• Havana, Cuba - The Pan American Live Pigeon Championship, The Grand Prix
• Vichy, France - Grand Prix de Vichy
• Lebanon, Pennsylvania - Miller Memorial
• Hegins, Pennsylvania - Fred Coleman Memorial
• Deauville, France - Prix Roger Dubut
• Paris, France
• Rome, Italy
• Milan, Italy
• Madrid, Spain - Live Bird Championship
• San Remo, Italy
• Valencia, Spain
• Barcelona, Spain - Columbaire Championship
• Seville, Spain - Columbaire Championship
• Guadalajara, Mexico - Open Flyer Championship
• Mexico City, Mexico - World Live Pigeon Championship
• Cairo, Egypt - Match of Nations

In Monte Carlo: 1872 to 1960

Pigeon shooting in Monaco dates back to 1872. The ring was located behind the casino and was in continuous use with live pigeons until 1960, when robotic devices went into use. Slowly, shooting faded out of fashion, and the shooting range was demolished in 1972. After the ring was demolished, a mosaic titled "From the Earth to the Sea" ("De la Terre a la Mer") was installed by Victor Vasarely.

The popularity of pigeon shooting at Monte Carlo included creation of new types of gun stocks; the "Monte Carlo" comb.

The Olympics

Pigeon shooting was a part of the 1900 Olympic Games in Paris, but has not been included other times.

In Pennsylvania

Pigeon shooting in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania dates back to the mid-19th century. The Philadelphia Gun Club overlooking the Delaware River in Bensalem, Pennsylvania, is one of the oldest gun clubs in the United States. Founded in 1877 at the height of the Gilded Age the club opened to many socially prominent gentlemen and their ladies. In 1895 the club acquired the historic Bickley Mansion for use as a club house. The club currently has 61 members.

The club attracted many wealthy American sportsmen including several members of the Vanderbilt Family. William Kissam Vanderbilt II and Harry Payne Whitney who married Gertrude Vanderbilt in 1896 were both members. Edward Burd Grubb Jr. a former Union Army General, businessman and New Jersey politician who was appointed as United States Ambassador to Spain by Benjamin Harrison, and was a close associate of Woodrow Wilson was an early president of the club. In addition to the shooting range the club also had a boathouse on the river, and kennels for hunting dogs. Annie Oakley and her then employer, Buffalo Bill attended shoots at the Philadelphia Gun Club around the turn of the century.

In 1928, outdoor writer and conservationist Nash Buckingham, who contributed many articles to Field and Stream, shot his famous A.H. Fox waterfowl gun, "Bo Whoop", that had been custom built in Philadelphia by gunsmith Burt Becker at the club, as a guest of the magazine's publisher. In the 1930s and 1940s, club members and guests included notables such as writer Ernest Hemingway, who also participated in live pigeon shoots in Europe and Cuba, and Canadian jazz musician Charles Biddle.

The controversy surrounding live pigeon shoots at the Philadelphia Gun Club goes back more than a century. A club member was convicted for cruelty to animals for participating in a pigeon shoot in 1887. His conviction was eventually overturned by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in 1891.

Pigeon shoots are also held at several other private gun clubs in Berks and Dauphin counties.

For more than half a century, a public pigeon shoot was held every Labor Day in Hegins, Pennsylvania. Held annually from 1934 to 1998, this live pigeon shoot, known as the Fred Coleman Memorial shoot, once drew around 10,000 people. It was finally called off in 1999 following years of protests by animal rights activists and a legal battle that ultimately went all the way to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

Current locations

• Casa de Campo, Dominican Republic
• Guadalajara, Mexico
• Spain
• Bensalem, Pennsylvania, US
• Dalmatia, Pennsylvania, US
• Hamburg, Pennsylvania, US
• Henderson, Maryland, US
• Lykens, Pennsylvania, US

Firearms and ammunition

Traditionally, live pigeon shooting guns were heavier than a regular field gun (greater than 7 pounds). Characteristics of them were longer barrels (30-inch with ventilated ribs give better sight plane), tighter chokes (full/fuller), no safety, beavertail forend, single triggers, clipped fences, a third bite, chambered for 2 3/4 inch 12 gauge shells instead of the 2 1/2-inch 12-gauge shells that were commonly used for hunting in the 19th and early 20th centuries. These extra features were in place to handle the higher pressure loads used for live pigeon competitions where the bird had to be dropped inside the ring. Today, these pigeon guns command a higher premium at auction.

Pigeons used

In Europe, a special breed of rock pigeon is used called a zurito (Columba oenas) (see stock dove). They are small, gray, and exceptionally fast. In the United States feral pigeons captured in urban areas such as New York City, where they are considered a nuisance, have been used as targets for live pigeon shoots.

Animal rights criticism

Live pigeon shooting was once the sport of aristocrats in Britain, but was largely abandoned around the turn of the 20th century and the sport was banned in the United Kingdom in 1921. Opposition to the sport in the United States began in the late 19th century. In 1887 Women’s Humane Society and American Anti-Vivisection Society founder Caroline Earle White successfully prosecuted Philadelphia Gun Club live pigeon shooter A. Nelson Lewis. Convicted of cruelty in January 1890, Lewis appealed his case all the way to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, which overturned his conviction, ruling in 1891 that live pigeon shoots are a form of hunting and that pigeons are game birds. As early as the first quarter of the 20th century, editorial pieces began decrying the sport. John Goodwin, director of animal cruelty policy with The Humane Society of the United States, has criticized pigeon shooting.

In the USA live pigeon shooting remains legal but the popularity of the sport has waned considerably since the mid-20th century. It is specifically prohibited by statute in 14 states and has been determined to violate the animal cruelty statutes of nine more. In Pennsylvania, where gun clubs have hosted pigeon shoots since before the Civil War, live pigeon shooting is specifically exempt from animal cruelty laws. A 2014 bill for banning pigeon shooting was opposed by the National Rifle Association of America. Legislators were apparently convinced and let the bill expire. In 2015, Pennsylvania Senator Patrick M. Browne re-introduced Senate Bill 715 to amend Title 18 (Crimes and Offenses) to further provide for the offense of animal cruelty.

See also

• Clay pigeon shooting
• Trap shooting
• List of medalists at the European Shotgun Championships (European Championships of Pigeon Shooting from 1929 to 1954)
• Pigeon racing at the 1900 Summer Olympics

References

1. ^ "Pennsylvania clings to pigeon shoots that have nearly vanished nationwide". PhillyVoice. 5 June 2017. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
2. Mooallem, Jon (15 October 2006). "Pigeon Wars". Archived from the original on 1 October 2017. Retrieved 6 January 2019 – via NYTimes.com.
3. "San Antonio Express from San Antonio, Texas on February 11, 1965 · Page 55". Newspapers.com. Archived from the original on 2020-09-20. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
4. "Broxton Bridge Plantation Ehrhardt South Carolina Pheasant & Pigeon TowerShoots". broxtonbridge.com. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
5. ^ "Sen. Inhofe to end controversial pigeon shoot fundraiser in Oklahoma". 23 August 2017. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
6. ^ "Enemy drone shot down over Inhofe fundraiser - the Washington Post". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2019-10-10. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
7. Gibson, Megan. "9 Really Strange Sports That Are No Longer in the Olympics". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Archived from the original on 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
8. "euros to dollars - Google Search". www.google.com. Archived from the original on 2020-12-08. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
9. "Live Pigeon Shooting at the Olympics". www.topendsports.com. Archived from the original on 2020-11-08. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
10. "Real Federación Española de Tiro a Vuelo, LXII Campeonato de Europa, pp. 26-27". Archived from the original on 2020-12-08. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
11. ^ "Holt's Auctioneers". auctions.holtsauctioneers.com. Archived from the original on 2020-09-27. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
12. "Shotgunning Mastery: Rudy Etchen's Records". www.joeletchenguns.com. Archived from the original on 2020-09-25. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
13. "Le sporting club de Vichy - Vichy Destinations". Vichy Destinations (in French). Archived from the original on 2020-09-29. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
14. "Lebanon Daily News from Lebanon, Pennsylvania on September 2, 1958 · Page 10". Newspapers.com. Archived from the original on 2020-09-20. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
15. ^ "Maryland says no to pigeon shoots · A Humane Nation". A Humane Nation. 16 May 2018. Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
16. ^ Sanger, Silvio Calabi, Steve Helsley & Roger. "The Browning Ernest Hemingway Left Behind in Paris". Shotgun Life. Archived from the original on 13 April 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
17. "Club de Tiro Somontes". www.clubdetirosomontes.com. Archived from the original on 2020-10-25. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
18. "Las armas del Rey Alfonso XIII salen a subasta - Stock Armas". Stock Armas (in European Spanish). 2014-12-12. Archived from the original on 2020-09-29. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
19. MURRAY, JOHN (1892-01-01). THE HANDBOOK FOR TRAVELLERS IN SPAIN. Archived from the original on 2020-12-08. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
20. Pathé, British. "San Remo Pigeon Shooting On Sleeve As Sam Remo Pigeon Shooting". www.britishpathe.com. Archived from the original on 2018-06-12. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
21. Inc, Nielsen Business Media (1967-02-04). Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on 2020-12-08. Retrieved 2021-10-08. {{cite book}}: |last= has generic name (help)
22. Lear, Edward (1911-01-01). Later Letters of Edward Lear: to Chichester Fortescue (Lord Carlingford), Lady Waldegrave and Others. Duffield. ISBN 9780836966176. Archived from the original on 2020-12-08. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
23. Luis, Juan (2016-01-12). "Marítimo de Valencia: El tiro de pichón". Marítimo de Valencia. Archived from the original on 2020-02-18. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
24. "Activistas protestan en Valencia contra el campeonato de tiro de palomas - Qué.es". Qué.es (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
25. "A World Champion After Just Two Years". tribunedigital-mcall. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
26. Brister, Bob (2008). Shotgunning: The Art and the Science. Skyhorse Publishing. p. 267. ISBN 978-1602393271. Archived from the original on 2020-12-08. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
27. Field & Stream. 1982-07-01. Archived from the original on 2020-12-08. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
28. Barnes, Duncan. "A Border Pigeon Shoot". SI.com. Archived from the original on 2017-02-01. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
29. "نادى الصيد المصرى". egyptianshootingclub.net (in Arabic). Archived from the original on 2019-07-15. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
30. "Monaco: an extraordinary history of unusual sports". Monte Carlo Legend. Archived from the original on 2020-02-21. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
31. "History of Art: Victor Vasarely". www.all-art.org. Archived from the original on 2020-01-23. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
32. Simpson, Layne (2005-02-24). Layne Simpson's Shooter's Handbook: 600 Questions Answered. Krause Publications. ISBN 0873499395.
33. Malesky, Kee (28 July 2012). "Live Pigeon Shooting And Other Odd Olympic Games". NPR. Archived from the original on 2016-12-08. Retrieved 2020-05-17.
34. "Digital Collections: Club House, Philadelphia Gun Club, Formerly Bickley Mansion". Free Library of Philadelphia. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
35. ^ "Gun Club's Pigeon Shoots Ruffles Feathers". www.all-creatures.org. Archived from the original on 5 January 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
36. "The Story Of Bo-Whoop". www.digitaleditionsonline.com. Archived from the original on 5 January 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
37. "Hemingway Pigeon Shoot 1942". app.tt.se. Archived from the original on 5 January 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
38. ^ "Did HSUS & Humane Pennsylvania sacrifice pigeons to NRA demand?". Animals 24-7. 7 September 2017. Archived from the original on 6 January 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
39. "Shooting at Casa de Campo". Case de Campo. Archived from the original on 2018-12-14. Retrieved 2017-01-23.
40. "25th Annual Pigeon Shooting Tournament". Case de Campo. 9 May 2012. Archived from the original on 4 July 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2017.
41. Brister, Bob (1982). "My Search for Supergun". Field & Stream. July 1982: 78. Archived from the original on 2020-12-16. Retrieved 2021-10-08.
42. "Pigeon Shooting Competition in Spain". federacioncazacv.com. 2017-01-23. Archived from the original on 2019-01-14. Retrieved 2017-01-23.
43. ^ "Biggest pigeon shoots in years follow Pennsylvania cruelty law exemption". Animals 24-7. 8 June 2018. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
44. "Pigeon shoots––that HSUS said it stopped––continue in Maryland". Animals 24-7. 23 January 2018. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
45. "doublegunshop.com The Quest for Quality - British game gun or British rifle". www.doublegunshop.com. Archived from the original on 2017-02-01. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
46. "Concealed Third Fastener". www.hallowellco.com. Archived from the original on 2017-06-12. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
47. "Wing Shooting and the Pigeon Ring". www.joeletchenguns.com. Archived from the original on 2017-10-15. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
48. Gardiner, Gavin (2010). "Going, going, gun!" (PDF). Shooting Gazette: 76–81. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2016-09-29. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
49. Montague, Andrew (16 August 2000). Successful Shotgun Shooting. ISBN 9781461702702. Archived from the original on 16 December 2020. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
50. Montague, Andrew (2000). Successful Shotgun Shooting. The Derrydale Press. p. 98. ISBN 1568331649.
51. Fanelli, James (27 July 2008). "THEY SHOOT PIGEONS, DON'T THEY?". Archived from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
52. "PIGEON SHOOTING AT ITS WORST » 3 Mar 1928 » The Spectator Archive". The Spectator Archive. Archived from the original on 2016-03-13. Retrieved 2017-01-20.
53. LAKANA (2014-08-01). "Animal rights advocates fighting to end live pigeon shoots". WFMZ. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-25.
54. SHARK (2008-10-19), Cruel, Cowardly Pigeon Shooters Exposed!!!, archived from the original on 2017-02-05, retrieved 2017-01-25
55. "Teresa Leo - Pigeon Shoot". ccat.sas.upenn.edu. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
56. "H.B. 1750: Ending Dog, Cat, and Pigeon Killing [2013-14]". Archived from the original on 2015-09-07. Retrieved 2015-08-09.
57. Bill White (Oct 25, 2014). "Pigeon shoot bill got buried by frightened PA legislators". The Morning Call. Archived from the original on September 6, 2015. Retrieved August 9, 2015.
58. "Bill Information - Senate Bill 715; Regular Session 2015-2016". The official website for the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Archived from the original on 5 January 2019. Retrieved 6 January 2019.
59. Browne, Patrick. "Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda". Pennsylvania State Senate. Pennsylvania State Senate. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 11 November 2015.
60. President, Wayne Pacelle; CEO; States, The Humane Society of the United (2014-06-30). "Live Pigeon Shoots: The Shame of Pennsylvania". The Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-20.

• Shotgun shooting sports
• Animal welfare and rights legislation in the United States
• Columbidae