PROLOGUE 
     
    
   
   
    
     Since man first realized that projectiles, 
     
     properly aimed and thrown, could be used to stop 
     
     moving objects, his basic desire for survival was 
     
     enhanced by the variety of flying wildlife available, 
     
     and success measured in direct relationship to his 
     
     ability to score a hit, be it with a stone used in the 
     
     ancient sling or, with the advent of gunpowder, the 
     
     modern shotshell. 
     
    
   
   
    
     The skills required to hit a moving target 
     
     developed with the passing centuries, and the use of 
     
     firearms advanced, from the basic search for food, 
     
     into a confrontation pitting man against nature, and 
     
     in more recent years against himself, in shooting 
     
     contests using moving targets designed to provide the 
     
     ultimate test of ability. 
     
    
   
   
    
     Birds have remained the basic challenge, and the 
     
     hunting instincts in gunning enthusiasts run as strong 
     
     today as at any time in history...but a new target 
     
     evolved over the past two centuries to compliment the 
     
     bird--a small disc of clay composition that has the 
     
     aerodynamics to be thrown straight and true, yet, like 
     
     its winged counterpart, be subject to variations in 
     
     wind velocity and currents. A target that, following 
     
     a shot, may disintegrate into a cloud of black dust, 
     
     be chipped, or fly on untouched, depending on the 
     
     accuracy of the shot charge directed toward it. A 
     
     target that has tested the skill of gunning sportsmen 
     
     around the world for over a hundred years...an 
     
     artificial bird called a "Clay Pigeon." 
     
    
   
   
    
     Prince Edward Island has always been a resting 
     
     point for the annual migration of wildfowl on the 
     
     Atlantic Flyway, and this abundance of birdlife has 
     
     developed generations of skilled, and dedicated, 
     
     shotgun enthusiasts. It is only natural that many of 
     
     these Island outdoorsmen would compliment, and 
     
     enhance, their skills by competing against themselves, 
     
     and each other, with the clay target.