Exhibition Shooters- Where have they all gone?
Captain A.H. Bogardus, a New Yorker who moved to Illinois and became a market hunter in the early 1860's, was one of the first exhibition shooters of note. Skilled with the shotgun by constant shooting of game for the market and at live-pigeon matches, he got the idea of holding shooting marathons in which 200 to 500 birds were the targets. Bogardus first long score was made in 1869 shooting at 500 live pigeons (some accounts mention 605 birds) in eight hours and forty-eight minutes from a trap at twenty-one yards rise and fifty yards boundary. He used one 12-gauge, muzzle-loading shotgun and missed only 105 birds.
Not satisfied with his feat, Bogardus went on to another. In 1879 he set out to shoot hand-thrown glass balls with an English double gun using two sets of barrels, one a 12, the other a 10-gauge. He changed barrels 55 times during the session. He broke 5,500 glass balls in a time of seven hours and twenty minutes. The captain loaded for himself and missed only 356 balls. It is particularly interesting that there were only three misfires in the whole series of 5,856 shots. Later, with two 12-gauge guns, he shot at 5,000 targets in six hours and twelve minutes and missed only 156.
A big Westerner, Dr. W. F. Carver, a dentist who, like Wyatt Earps deadly friend, Doc Holiday, did more shooting than teeth pulling, maintained that anyone could bust 5,500 glass balls with a shotgun and that he, Dr. Carver, would shoot 60,000 glass balls in six days- not with a shotgun, but with a rifle. He did just that at New Haven, Connecticut, in 1885. In order to make the record, he fired 64,865 shots, missing 4,865. He repeated the show (remember, these shooting events were before large audiences) in Minneapolis, and broke 60,000 balls while firing 60,650 shots.
...the record stood for four years until, little known shooter, B. A. Bartlett, in six days shot at 64, 017 composition balls two-and-a-quarter inches in diameter. He missed only 280.
Next up were two young six-footers, Captain A. H. Hardy, of Nebraska and Ad Topperwein, of Texas. Both were expert with shotgun, rifle, and handgun. They began with a comparatively small number of targets. In 1904, Topperwein broke 3,507 two-and-a-quarter-inch clay discs without a miss. The time was two hours and ten minutes. He used one .22-caliber autoloading rifle. In 1906, Hardy clobbered 5,152 two-and-a-quarter-inch wooden balls without a miss. He used two .22-caliber repeating rifles. The next year, he shot 13,066 wooden balls without a miss.
Finally, on December 13, 1907, Topperwein did the big job. Equipped with three .22-caliber Winchester Model 1903 autoloading rifles, seven wagon loads of two-and-a-quarter-inch wooden blocks and three assistants to throw them, he shot for ten consecutive days. It was cold, and on the last two days he shot in a drizzly rain. He missed only four out of the first 50,000 targets, which was all the seven wagons carried. His assistants picked out blocks that were not broken too badly and the marathon continued. At the end of the tenth day (sixty-eight and a half hours of actual shooting time) this iron man had shot at 72, 500 targets and missed only nine. This record stood unbeaten for fifty-two years!
On October 3, 1959, Tom Frye, while on vacation (he was a Remington Field Rep.), began shooting at the traditional two-and-a-quarter-inch wooden blocks in an effort to break the old Topperwein record. In ten days, he shot at 75,250 of these targets with but four misses. In fourteen days, he shot at 100,000 targets and missed only six. The longest run was 32,860 consecutive hits! Fryes trigger finger was taped each morning and the worn-out tape replaced at noon. He started with two Remington Nylon 66 .22-caliber autoloading rifles, which are made of structural nylon and ordnance steel, and used a third when the original guns became so hot from shooting 1,000 or more shots per hour that they burned his hands. Debris from burned powder was cleaned from the guns five times during the shoot, the first cleaning after 40,000 rounds had been fired. There was not a single malfunction during the 100,000 shots!
Today, there are names such as Tom Knapp, Jerry Miculek, and Bill Oglesby. If you haven't seen the History Channel lately, each of these three fellas was featured in a superb documentary with unbelievable feats of marksmanship- complete with stop action cameras to prove the outcome of these stupendous shots!
Tom Knapp holds several world records for his feats with the 12 gauge shotgun:
World Record No. 1- Tom joined Benelli in 1993 when he set the world record with his Benelli M1 Super 90 by throwing nine standard clay targets and breaking them with individual shots in 2.3 seconds!
World Record No. 2- On July 19, 2000 Tom Knapp, with his Benelli Nova pump in one hand, threw eight clay targets in the air with his other hand and broke every one of them with individual shots in an amazing 2.1 seconds.
World Record No. 3- In Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on October 20th, 2004 Tom Knapp set out to make history again. With his 12-ga. Benelli M2 fitted with a ComforTech stock and extended magazine tube, Tom launched ten clay targets into the air with one hand and shot all ten with individual shots in an unbelievable 2.0 seconds. You can view a video on Tom's web-site here: http://www.tomknapp.net/content/ex_shows.html
(Note: Herb Parsons could do the same thing with a pump action 12ga.- and that nearly 30 years ago! Knapp is quick to tell his audiences about his afinity for Parsons and that Herb inspired him when he was a young lad.)
Jerry Miculek is something of a freak when it comes to single action and double action revolvers. He holds 5 world records for speed shooting. Among them are: a) most shots under a second (8), b) most shots under a second (16) using two double action S&W's, c) quickest shot fired from a double action revolver using an electronic timer (.16 seconds!), and he can hit 3 separate targets, 4 times each, using two pistols in under a second! Unbelievable trigger control. To see it on TV, one would swear the guns are full automatic. To see it in person, would be heaven! Here is Jerry and Kay Miculek's web-site: http://www.bang-inc.com/
Bill Oglesby is a newcomer. I had not heard of this guy until I saw the History Channel documentary. Bill revives the old Wild West trick shots likened to such legends as Wild Bill Hickock, Buffalo Bill Cody, and others whose feats with pistols and rifles are mind-blowing. Oglesby likes to use Colt Single Action Army in .45 caliber. Not only can he split bullets in half to break two targest simultaneously, he can also split a playing card in half (set on edge!) at a distance of 20 feet! I can't even see the card at that distance, let alone hit it. Oglesby goes on to shoot two targets simultaneously with a SAA .45 in each hand. The targets are positioned at a distance of 50 feet and at 45-degree angles from the middle of his chest! As if that weren't enough, Oglesby has perfected the so called "richochet" shot. He shoots down at a flat, steel plate positioned half way to a standing target at a distance of 50 feet (usually a balloon tied to a stick). The bullet is fired from a .45 SAA, bounces off the plate and breaks the middle of the balloon! It's hard to comprehend until you see it in slow motion using stop action cameras with timers- simply amazing! You can see Bill in action at the Guns and Ammo web-site: http://www.gunsandammomag.com/video/tricks/
Today's shooters prove that with practice, practice, practice- you too, can shoot like the legends of the Old West! Now where is that old pump action shotgun of mine...?
Not satisfied with his feat, Bogardus went on to another. In 1879 he set out to shoot hand-thrown glass balls with an English double gun using two sets of barrels, one a 12, the other a 10-gauge. He changed barrels 55 times during the session. He broke 5,500 glass balls in a time of seven hours and twenty minutes. The captain loaded for himself and missed only 356 balls. It is particularly interesting that there were only three misfires in the whole series of 5,856 shots. Later, with two 12-gauge guns, he shot at 5,000 targets in six hours and twelve minutes and missed only 156.
A big Westerner, Dr. W. F. Carver, a dentist who, like Wyatt Earps deadly friend, Doc Holiday, did more shooting than teeth pulling, maintained that anyone could bust 5,500 glass balls with a shotgun and that he, Dr. Carver, would shoot 60,000 glass balls in six days- not with a shotgun, but with a rifle. He did just that at New Haven, Connecticut, in 1885. In order to make the record, he fired 64,865 shots, missing 4,865. He repeated the show (remember, these shooting events were before large audiences) in Minneapolis, and broke 60,000 balls while firing 60,650 shots.
...the record stood for four years until, little known shooter, B. A. Bartlett, in six days shot at 64, 017 composition balls two-and-a-quarter inches in diameter. He missed only 280.
Next up were two young six-footers, Captain A. H. Hardy, of Nebraska and Ad Topperwein, of Texas. Both were expert with shotgun, rifle, and handgun. They began with a comparatively small number of targets. In 1904, Topperwein broke 3,507 two-and-a-quarter-inch clay discs without a miss. The time was two hours and ten minutes. He used one .22-caliber autoloading rifle. In 1906, Hardy clobbered 5,152 two-and-a-quarter-inch wooden balls without a miss. He used two .22-caliber repeating rifles. The next year, he shot 13,066 wooden balls without a miss.
Finally, on December 13, 1907, Topperwein did the big job. Equipped with three .22-caliber Winchester Model 1903 autoloading rifles, seven wagon loads of two-and-a-quarter-inch wooden blocks and three assistants to throw them, he shot for ten consecutive days. It was cold, and on the last two days he shot in a drizzly rain. He missed only four out of the first 50,000 targets, which was all the seven wagons carried. His assistants picked out blocks that were not broken too badly and the marathon continued. At the end of the tenth day (sixty-eight and a half hours of actual shooting time) this iron man had shot at 72, 500 targets and missed only nine. This record stood unbeaten for fifty-two years!
On October 3, 1959, Tom Frye, while on vacation (he was a Remington Field Rep.), began shooting at the traditional two-and-a-quarter-inch wooden blocks in an effort to break the old Topperwein record. In ten days, he shot at 75,250 of these targets with but four misses. In fourteen days, he shot at 100,000 targets and missed only six. The longest run was 32,860 consecutive hits! Fryes trigger finger was taped each morning and the worn-out tape replaced at noon. He started with two Remington Nylon 66 .22-caliber autoloading rifles, which are made of structural nylon and ordnance steel, and used a third when the original guns became so hot from shooting 1,000 or more shots per hour that they burned his hands. Debris from burned powder was cleaned from the guns five times during the shoot, the first cleaning after 40,000 rounds had been fired. There was not a single malfunction during the 100,000 shots!
Today, there are names such as Tom Knapp, Jerry Miculek, and Bill Oglesby. If you haven't seen the History Channel lately, each of these three fellas was featured in a superb documentary with unbelievable feats of marksmanship- complete with stop action cameras to prove the outcome of these stupendous shots!
Tom Knapp holds several world records for his feats with the 12 gauge shotgun:
World Record No. 1- Tom joined Benelli in 1993 when he set the world record with his Benelli M1 Super 90 by throwing nine standard clay targets and breaking them with individual shots in 2.3 seconds!
World Record No. 2- On July 19, 2000 Tom Knapp, with his Benelli Nova pump in one hand, threw eight clay targets in the air with his other hand and broke every one of them with individual shots in an amazing 2.1 seconds.
World Record No. 3- In Murfreesboro, Tennessee, on October 20th, 2004 Tom Knapp set out to make history again. With his 12-ga. Benelli M2 fitted with a ComforTech stock and extended magazine tube, Tom launched ten clay targets into the air with one hand and shot all ten with individual shots in an unbelievable 2.0 seconds. You can view a video on Tom's web-site here: http://www.tomknapp.net/content/ex_shows.html
(Note: Herb Parsons could do the same thing with a pump action 12ga.- and that nearly 30 years ago! Knapp is quick to tell his audiences about his afinity for Parsons and that Herb inspired him when he was a young lad.)
Jerry Miculek is something of a freak when it comes to single action and double action revolvers. He holds 5 world records for speed shooting. Among them are: a) most shots under a second (8), b) most shots under a second (16) using two double action S&W's, c) quickest shot fired from a double action revolver using an electronic timer (.16 seconds!), and he can hit 3 separate targets, 4 times each, using two pistols in under a second! Unbelievable trigger control. To see it on TV, one would swear the guns are full automatic. To see it in person, would be heaven! Here is Jerry and Kay Miculek's web-site: http://www.bang-inc.com/
Bill Oglesby is a newcomer. I had not heard of this guy until I saw the History Channel documentary. Bill revives the old Wild West trick shots likened to such legends as Wild Bill Hickock, Buffalo Bill Cody, and others whose feats with pistols and rifles are mind-blowing. Oglesby likes to use Colt Single Action Army in .45 caliber. Not only can he split bullets in half to break two targest simultaneously, he can also split a playing card in half (set on edge!) at a distance of 20 feet! I can't even see the card at that distance, let alone hit it. Oglesby goes on to shoot two targets simultaneously with a SAA .45 in each hand. The targets are positioned at a distance of 50 feet and at 45-degree angles from the middle of his chest! As if that weren't enough, Oglesby has perfected the so called "richochet" shot. He shoots down at a flat, steel plate positioned half way to a standing target at a distance of 50 feet (usually a balloon tied to a stick). The bullet is fired from a .45 SAA, bounces off the plate and breaks the middle of the balloon! It's hard to comprehend until you see it in slow motion using stop action cameras with timers- simply amazing! You can see Bill in action at the Guns and Ammo web-site: http://www.gunsandammomag.com/video/tricks/
Today's shooters prove that with practice, practice, practice- you too, can shoot like the legends of the Old West! Now where is that old pump action shotgun of mine...?
posted by Troy M. Stirman | 4:58 PM
2 Comments:
Well, Troy. . .I didn't know you had a real, live, loaded blog until I saw your new pic on Sarah's comments. . .I need to hook you up with my brother. He goes to shooting matches about three times a month and has won several prizes recently.
I must say, as attractive as your new photo is. . .and as many issues of Outdoor Life, Field and STream, and American Rifleman as I have read (out of desperation while in Daddy's truck), you are way out of my league with your firearm information. I can handle one--certainly well enough to satisfy Daddy AND to know not to leave it laying on a TOILET (????).
My wife's father, now deceased, saw Ad Topperwein shoot in San Antonio, at an airport runway. He delighted in Ad's patter, and amazing accuracy.
It is humbling to see the Masters show us what CAN be done, if we want to tackle it badly enough.
Funny thing though...the only trick shooter that I ever saw who had shot a man was 1., a combat veteran from WWII, and Bill Jordan, who had taken out both Japanese in caves and bad guys in hostile police confrontations.
Guns are not a threat to the peaceful, but to those who would take what you have, including your life. Bill Jordan told me, 'If you sleep well at night, you can thank the NRA..'
Well said, Bill...and until we meet again,
so long pardner.
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