Help - Trick Shoot in Winchester 73

[Long Johns Wolf]

This might have been asked before but I cannot find the answer.
Who did the trick shoot in the 1950 movie Winchester 73? Who pierced ths stamp?
Was it Jimmy Stuart himself or some stunt person? Or was a camera effect?
Thanks for letting me know.
Long Johns Wolf

[Hambone Dave]

Great movie...not authentic but entertaining.

I don't think they would wait around filming a trick shooter all day to shoot that postage stamp.

I figure they showed the concho and stamp being thrown up in the air, Stewart snap shooting the rifle and then a scene cut to Earp holding the concho and stamp showing the camera and us folks watching that it had a hole in it. 

[Coal Creek Griff]

My understanding is that Herb Parsons did the actual shooting for the film.  The firearms museum in Cody displays the rifle he used for the film.  It has a studio token with a bullet hole in it inset into the stock and it is signed by the cast.  I have a photo of the rifle somewhere at home.  I believe it was a Winchester 71.  The tokens (filling in for the coins) were thrown into the air.  Stewart stood on a box (to achieve the camera angle) and fired a blank while Parsons stood next to him and shot the token.  Whether he shot an actual postage stamp I doubt, but the arial target shooting was authentic.

CC Griff

[Long Johns Wolf]

Thanks a bunch, CC Griff.
Long Johns Wolf

[Hedley Lamarr]

The best image I can find:

[mehavey]

Back in `67 at Ft Benning, we had a MSgt instructor who would
stand in front of an entire bleacher-full/platoon of officer candidates
and demonstrate snap-shooting skills.

Using a lowly Daisy Model 25 pump-action BB gun, he'd have
another instructor hand toss 1" washers w/ paper glued over the
hole into the air, and then repeatedly shoot through that
paper/hole.

No tricks by either tosser or shooter -- and he'd do this every class.

[Coal Creek Griff]

Here is the rifle on display at the museum in Cody.

CC Griff

[mr phil]

     That's pretty cool Griff. Thanks for posting that picture. I love that movie .

[Coal Creek Griff]

I love the movie too.  Absolute classic.

I've always been surprised by Parson's choice of gun for shooting the arial targets.  A Model 71 seems like an odd choice.

CC Griff

[Buck Stinson]

If you guys are interested in the "real" history of Winchester's 1 of 1000 and 1 of 100 model 1873's and 1876's, you should really have a copy of Edmond Lewis's book on the subject.  There is a little history about Parson's teaching Stewart and other cast members how to handle an 1873 model Winchester.  Yes, Parsons did actually shoot a hole through the coin and the postage stamp in the movie.  However, he used the Model 71 in .348 mentioned above to make those shots.  The Lewis book also mentions at length, the Steve Hannagan Report, which was sponsored jointly by Winchester and Universal Studios in 1950.  This was a nation wide search used to locate any of the original Winchester Model 1873 1 of 1000 rifles.  It is amazing, what they found.  Most of the guns listed have exceptional, detailed history.   The publicity involved in this search is historic in itself.  In that search 1 of 1000 serial number 35928 was reported by a man in Dania, Florida, who clamed he had in his possession, a rifle he had taken from a German prisoner in Yugoslavia, during WW2.  The number was checked in the factory records and found to be an original 1 of 1000 model 1873.  Extremely interesting reading.  Another gun located in the 1950 search, was serial #7282, which belonged to the famous Montana vigilante and cattleman, Granville Stuwart in 1875.  He ordered several 1 of 1000 model 73's, two of which are known guns.  I was able to shoot Granville's rifle a few years ago, which belongs to a friend here in Montana.   You'll love adding this book to your history library.

Adios,
Buck

[dusty texian]

Buck that is good advice to anyone interested in the 73/76 Winchesters. I purchased a copy as soon as it was available and could not put it down . This book gets read and re-read by me and never gets boring . The photography is great ,but my favorite part are the stories that go along with each of the rifles. Very interesting indeed.,,,,,DT

[St. George]

Returning to an earlier post about Fort Benning...

That was Army-wide at that time - at least as far as the Infantry training schools were concerned.

It was part of the Army's 'Quick Kill' program that taught snap-shooting, and they used a Daisy Model 9 without sights.

The set came with clear plastic safety goggles and ground targets as well as thrown ones  that were nothing more than washers.

After the young soldier gained some proficiency, the sights on the M14, M16 rifles and the M60 GPMG were taped off, and larger targets were engaged with appropriate Ball ammunition at normal ranges.

The idea was to eliminate wastage from the 'spray and pray' technique, and to give the soldier greater confidence in his own abilities - plus, it was great fun, so they paid attention, and really tried.

It worked...

Civilians noted this from an article in 'Shooting Times' and Daisy quickly marketed the basic program as the 'Quick Skill' program - to teach young shotgunners the basics of that sport.

Scouts Out!

[Fox Creek Kid]

[Major 2]

Thanks Kid ,  now there is coffee all over my keyboard & screen....

that is TOOOOOOOOOOOO funny !

[yahoody]

Buck, thanks for the suggestion on the book.