Trapshooting History!!!
Trapshooting was devised in England in the latter part of the 18th century by hunters who had been deprived of their sport by the encroachment of private landowners on public property. Originally, live birds were used. These were placed in traps in the ground and released at a signal from the shooter. The sport derives its name from these early traps. As the supply of birds diminished with restrictions on hunting grounds and the increased use of firearms, experiments were made with inanimate targets and devices for hurling them into the air. A glass ball was introduced by Charles Portlock of Boston, Mass., in 1866. Clay targets also were used in the 1860's, but these proved too hard to break. In 1880 an Englishman named McCaskey created a target made of river silt and pitch that had just the breaking quality desired by trapshooters. Basically the same composition is used today.