Fourth Corps Gallery Rifle Champion

[skio]

Picked this up in a box of stuff and have not been able to come up with an answer for this one. The box had a bunch of items from the 1880s to current. What is it for exactly for, military or civilian and date used. The word gallery has me thinking non military but the Fourth Corps has me wondering as well. Did I waste $10.00?

 

Back is stamped BB&B on the left and Bronze on the right. Pin has a C catch and opens to 90 degrees. Thanks in advance for any info.

 

Steve

 

 

 

[Allan H.]

Skio,

That is a really cool badge and if you're feeling like you wasted $10, how about if I tripled your money?

 

The gallery reference could be interpretted as small bore, and was most likely the result of demonstrated proficiency with a Winchester "Winder" rifle which was .22 caliber. I cannot imagine any entity other than the military would have a Fourth Corps either. Finally, this looks to be very high quality and the "BB&B" maker's mark confirms that it was made by a high class jeweler. Finally, it looks like the center portion of the medal came from the collar insignia worn by qualified marksmen in the 1880's to around 1900?

 

I think you've either already gotten PM's offering to buy it or you will! It is a great shooting badge!

 

Allan

[JBFloyd]

As Allan notes, "gallery" usually denotes small bore firing on an indoor range. The Fourth Corps term may refer to New York's National Guard structure. New York is the only state I know of that has used a Corps Area system, probably because of its overall size (Pennsylvania uses brigades, for example).

 

Unusual badge!

[skio]

Allan

 

Thanks for the thoughts and comments. I gotta agree that it is a cool looking badge. No PMs received as yet! :thumbsup:

 

Jeff

 

Intresting about the info you provided as well. The guy that had the box picked up most of the items in the New York and New Jersey area. Thanks!

 

Steve

[QED4]

The National and State Guards used to locate armories in the middle of cities so they would be easily accessible to the man they used them. The problem with this was that they could not have rifle practice with out hauling everybody out into the country so they had it inside the armories but used sub-caliber rifles. They were either .22s or the regular rifle with a special cartridge with a very small powder charge. Because this was done indoors on a very short range it was referred to as gallery practice. I am not sure if the term shooting gallery in carnivals comes from this or it is the other way around. This type of practice is what the award is for.

[skio]

The National and State Guards used to locate armories in the middle of cities so they would be easily accessible to the man they used them. The problem with this was that they could not have rifle practice with out hauling everybody out into the country so they had it inside the armories but used sub-caliber rifles. They were either .22s or the regular rifle with a special cartridge with a very small powder charge. Because this was done indoors on a very short range it was referred to as gallery practice. I am not sure if the term shooting gallery in carnivals comes from this or it is the other way around. This type of practice is what the award is for.

 

Many thanks for that info. Seems perfectly logical. I love this Forum!