George Ligowski's clay pigeon was now almost ten years old and a few other manufacturers had moved into the lucrative market with similar targets, like the Fisher Disc and the American Clay Bird, which were developed in the mid 1880's. On the National and International scene, the game of trapshooting had established for itself a solid base of enthusiasts. Perhaps the most noticeable physical aspect of change, by 1890, was in the layout of the trap field itself. The long accepted five traps and single shooting station were gone, and in an almost total reversal, were replaced by a single trap situated 16 yards in front of five shooting staions, which were placed semicircular to the rise of the target. By this time, too, the popular shooting game had also received its first totally standardized set of rules.

In the early 1890's, clay targets were to go through one more major change. Their use had spread to the many shooting clubs in Great Britain, and an Englishman named Johnathan McCassey saw an opportunity to improve on the artificial American Pigeon. Rather than use unpredictable clay, he fashioned targets with a blend of limestone and pitch and developed a target of almost perfect consistency as far as impact breakage was concerned. His manufacturing methods are still used today, and the name he gave his targets have come to our generation as a manufacturer's brand name...'Blue Rocks,' or as the new generation came to affectionately call them,..."Rocks."

EARLY “BLUE ROCK" CLAY TARGET WHICH WERE MANUFACTURED IN ENGLAND.

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