Anybody ever see a target where you shot a noose off a hanging dummy?

[Begle1]

One of those great cliches in Westerns is where the sharpshooter saves his partner by shooting through the noose during the hanging.

Anybody ever see a target that replicated this shot?

In my head I'm imagining a wooden gallows arm, and a bit of cheap rope with a ~3" wide, ~12" long piece of steel on the end.

And then a straw dummy lightly hooked into the steel. Designed such that when the steel gets shot the dummy drops. So to reset the target you just gotta rehang the dummy.

Make it a huge penalty if you hit the dummy.

If somebody hits the rope, just pull more down, no big deal.

[Abilene]

Travis County Regulators did similar 25 years ago.  We started with pistols but it was probably 6 feet away.  It was a thin rope but it usually took several hits to cut it. It's been a while but I think maybe you could blast it with the shotgun if you had to.  We had extra short lengths of rope already cut.  It was okay.  Once.   

[Begle1]

So they were shooting through actual rope?

That sounds fun too. That could be the entire stage, just shoot through the rope.

If you don't get through the rope with pistols and rifle, the shotgun will definitely get through it, but a single pellet in the dummy and you're out. 

[Cap'n Redneck]

Yep; I've once shot a stage based on your first outline, where you had to hit a small steel plate with the rifle in order to make the dummy drop to the ground from the gallows.

As I recall the steel plate was inserted in the middle of about 3 feet of rope, to minimize the chance of lead splatter or low shots hitting the dummy.

[Coffinmaker]

  Begle1

NO!!  Just NO!!  Been there.  Done that.  About 20 some years ago.  The reset time is just horrendous.  Said reset time stops posse progress DEAD.  It's a cutesie idea but in practice, it SUCKS.

[Trailrider]

Been a looong time, but we had one at the match at Durango. IIRC, I used a Spencer carbine .56-56, and it took me a couple of shots to hit the rope.

[Begle1]

Begle1

NO!!  Just NO!!  Been there.  Done that.  About 20 some years ago.  The reset time is just horrendous.  Said reset time stops posse progress DEAD.  It's a cutesie idea but in practice, it SUCKS.

My posse is 10 guys on a good day so we can afford longer reset times. We commonly do things like clay throwers and Texas stars.

[Tascosa Joe]

We used a piece of tow chain.  Fairly difficult to hit but there is no reset.

[Earl Brasse]

About 30 years ago at Winter Range there was a Posse Shoot that was in a similar vein.

There was a gallows with a rope with a weighted bag at the end,
the bag was on the trap door of the gallows,
The trap door was held up by a 4x4 post,

The posse shot lever action (pistol caliber) rifles at the post until the trapdoor would drop the bag,
 (I think the post was set in a hole so it was stable & wouldn't fall)

Then the Posse would shoot the now swinging rope to cut it dropping the bag to the ground.

With a full large Posse it was over before anyone had to reload.

The die-hards were when only 6 or so Posse members showed up instead of the full 24 or so.
I watched them reload twice if I remember right. 

With good help the reset was pretty quick, pre-cut posts & the rope had pre-made loops for quick-links.

I haven't even seen a Posse shoot in many years. (lots of reasons the died out)

If you are going to have any rope shooting you might want to advertise it early, most folks don't have their guns or eyeball dialed in that tight.