Exhibition shooting
Exhibition shooting or trick shooting is a sport in which a marksman performs various feats of skill, usually using non-traditional targets. Exhibition shooting tends to stress both speed and accuracy, often with elements of danger added.
History
Exhibition shooting has a very long history. Some of the first recorded exhibition shooters were Mongol warriors, who would show off their equestrian and archery skills by shooting at targets from the back of a galloping horse. A similar cavalry game that survives today is tent pegging, a test of mounted skill with the saber.
With the advent rifling came accurate firearms, and many
exhibition shooters turned to these, forming the beginnings of western exhibition shooting. The most famous exhibition shooter is
Annie Oakley, who toured with Buffalo Bill's
- Cutting a playing card in half with a rifle bullet at long ranges
- Shooting cigarettes in half while they were held by volunteers
- Shooting a dime tossed in the air, at range of 90 feet
- Shooting long strings of targets tossed in the air; in one instance she hit 4472 out of 5000 in a single [day[1]
The "Fabulous Topperweins," a husband and wife pair, were exhibition shooters in the early to mid-20th century. "Plinky,"the women in the pair, would shoot cigarettes out of "Daddy's" mouth, or shoot buttons off of his vest. "Daddy's" closing act was to draw an Indian's head on a board with bullet holes. Together, they were amazing. In almost 50 years, there wasn't one accident.
Ed McGivern was an exhibition shooter and firearms trainer who specialized in the revolver. He still holds a number of speed shooting records (a number of which have been challenged, and some broken, by modern IPSC champion Jerry Miculek) and was known for shooting aerial targets. Common tricks included:
- Throwing a tin can in the air, and firing six shots through it before it hit the ground
- Throwing a dime into the air and shooting it
- Throwing a playing card into the air, and splitting it with a bullet[2]
Tom Frye, of Remington Arms Company holds an aerial shooting record, for shooting 2 1/4 inch cubes of wood thrown in the air. Over a period of several days, using several Remington Nylon 66 semiautomatic .22 Long Rifle rifles, he hit 100,004 of the 100,010 blocks thrown in the air.[3]
See also
References
- ^ http://www.lkwdpl.org/wihohio/oakl-ann.htm Women in History]
- ^ Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting, Ed McGivern, 1938
- ^ Van Zwoll, Wayne (2006). Hunter's Guide to Long-Range Shooting. Stackpole Books. ISBN 0811733149.
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
