User:KennyRayTrap

Hello! I'm Kenny Ray Estes, of Pittsgrove, New Jersey. I am a self-professed historian of a sport called "Trap Shooting", where the earliest known records report of organized shooting competitions with shotguns taking place at the Cincinatti Gun Club in 1831. A few years ago, the oldest trophy known to exist surfaced from this gun club for a live pigeon shooting match that took place in 1836. In recent years written earlier reports of trap shooting matches have been found in old newpapers, of which the earliest took place near Germantown, Pa., in June 1826. The contest was open to all at $5 entrance for which shooters were entitled to six shots, at pigeons to be shot at on the wing, only one being thrown up at a time.

In the beginning, live pigeons were used as targets when they were released from a "trap" on the call of the shooter. It was also known as "shooting over the traps" and called our "Patriotic Sport." In the 1860's composition and glass balls were introduced to the sport but seemed to gather more interest in shooting exhibitions than in competition. On September 7, 1880, George Ligwosky, of Cincinnati, OH, was granted a patent for a molded and baked clay-type disk, called a "Flying Target." Though much improvements have taken place over the last 120 plus years, today's clay targets resemble the earlier version and are used in Trap, Skeet and Sporting Clay events.

My research has primarily centered on New Jersey's trapshooting history to include Annie Oakley's travels during the years she resided in Nutley, NJ. I have also compiled information on competitors, gun clubs, competitions, targets, traps and trophies throughout North America. My recent entry on Wikipedia was the result of uncovering the previously unknown Dewar Trophy, placed in competition in 1900 by John Dewar & Sons, Ltd., of Manhattan, NY. The trophy was 3 feet in height and was valued at $3,000. It should be noted that in 1906, the John Dewar Company also initiated the Royal Automobile Club Dewar Trophy, awarded to companies and individuals who show outstanding technical achievement in the UK's auto industry. In 1909 another Dewar Trophy was introduced in Great Britian for International Rifle Team competition. Yet another, Dewar Trophy for Football (Soccer) was put up by the Dewar Company in 1914, for single-elimination tournament in United States Soccer. The last three Dewar Trophies are still in competition today. I would love to learn the whereabouts of Dr. Webbers Dewar Trophy.

In 1999, I co-founded the New Jersey State Trapshooting Hall of Fame with Ken Miller, of Morganville. I have served as Secretary of the Selection Committee since that time and perform much of the research on those honored with induction.

In November 2006, I was named Interim Director of the Trapshooting Hall of Fame and Museum, located at 601 West National Road, Vandalia, Ohio. I thoroughly enjoy reseaching our history. It is my intent to follow in the footsteps of those wonderful folks who carried the torch before me, in the preservation of our trap shooting history as well as documenting and sharing it with those who are interested.

KennyRayTrap 21:19, 18 March 2007 (UTC)