turn of the century target shooting - help please!

A

atracksler

Inactive
Hi all,

I'm trying to figure out some info about turn of the century target shooting.

My great grandfather and grandfather were both marksmen. My father had no interest in shooting, so he is no help. Both my great grandfather and grandfather have passed on...

My great grandfather won some competitions at the Paris Expo (which one, I don't really know... I assume that we are talking 1900-1910, since this is a little fuzzy) My father has 2 pocket watches that he won, but isnt sure where they are in the house, and weather or not that would help... I have always assumed that he was a pistol shooter.

I'd like to get a pistol that is something like what he would have shot. I just have no idea what that might have been. I have a coin that he shot, and it looks like a .22 for the size of the hole. I'm not sure though.

Dont know what you think that a european target shooter from 1900-1910 would have used. My great grandfather was Swiss, and he emigrated to Scotland (I'm pretty sure he was living in Scotland when he won the medals).

My grandfather was also a marksman. I have no idea what he would have shot with either. He was a pilot in the Power Squadrons in New Jersey if that is any help...

Anyway any help or direction would be appreciated.

My great Grandfather was named Hans Trachsler
My Grandfather was Jack Tracksler (Spelling got changed when he moved to the US, he thought it would be easier to spell... )

Thanks in advance, ad
 
It's interesting what that Wikipedia page says...

"At the 1900 Summer Olympics, 9 shooting events were included. Many other shooting events were featured in Paris at about the same time, but only 9 events are considered Olympic by the International Olympic Committee."

So while it doesn't look like he medaled in the Olympics, he could have easily won a commemorative medal in one of the other events.

It's also interesting that they had live pigeon shooting. Could you imagine that today?
 
If he was a German, he probably was using one of the fine single shot target pistols made at that time in Germany. These were usually falling block pistols, opened by using an underlever. They had set triggers, and custom stocks could be ordered. We rarely see those pistols over here, but it was common for shooters to have a very similar gun for indoor practice and those "parlor" pistols are seen more frequently.

The reprinted Adolf Frank catalog of 1911 shows several pistols of that type, ranging in price up to 140 marks, a high price at that time (about the same as a Colt Bisley in the same catalog). And Frank did not deal in the very top quality guns, which would have been custom made, probably in Suhl.

Those guns were the equivalent of the modern 50meter pistol (aka the "free" pistol*), though the modern ones look like something used on Star Trek.

What are the chances of finding one like he might have used? Probably slim, but keep an eye on the auction sites. You might try googling "free pistol" or "target pistol" and check out local gun shows for guns like that or people who might know about where one can be obtained. I will note that it might not be cheap, but they are not highly prized here so you might luck out.

*The guns are not given away, they are very expensive. The term "free" comes from the fact that they are free of almost all rules and limits in regard to trigger pull, grip style, etc.

Jim
 
By "Power Squadron" do you mean the USPS? If so they don't have a link with shooting sports that I know of. However captain is a lofty enough rank that he might be in the records of the district he was a member of.
If you're lucky you might find someone there who knew your grandfather.

Another place to look is shooting clubs in the area where your grandfather lived in New Jersey. The same would be true for your ggf in Scotland. You might have better luck in Scotland as there clubs are more likely to be old enough to retain records.

The NRA has been around since after the Civil War. It is possible that your gf competed in an NRA sanctioned event.

Single shot handguns were the main stay of turn of the century target shooting. Stevens was real big since they developed the .22lr. Single shots were still around after WWII. Remington had the XP100 a single shot bolt action target handgun as late as the turn of the last century. Contenders are still popular today though not as much in competition.
But just like today there would be several types of competition with different types of handguns.
You don't say when your gf competed. He would be more likely to have competed with a revolver. After the turn of the century the revolver became more popular as a target gun than the single shot in the USA. That isn't to say he could not have used another type of handgun.

One of the big differences between shooting before WWII and today is stance. While there were people that shot two handed it is much more likely that your ancestors shot in the classic one hand, torso perpendicular and weak hand on hip.

Since it's introduction the .22lr has become the dominate cartridge for target shooting. There were a bunch of rim fire cartridges that your ggf might have used.
Your gf would be more likely to use center fire rounds was well as or instead of .22lr.
 
Here the Stevens and Remington were most common single shots .For revolvers S&W was known as the finest revolver in the world. The major cartridges here were the 22 rimfire and the 44 Russian centerfire .The Russian was popular from about 1870 to 1905 when the 44Special replaced it.
European guns and cartridges might be very different.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top