Welcome to right now’s Photo of the Day! Right here’s one thing that tells the actual story behind these Wild West present theatrics – one among Annie Oakley’s private smoothbore Smith & Wesson New Mannequin No. 3 revolvers, shipped on to “A. Oakley” on June 14, 1895. Whereas most people bear in mind her because the sharpshooting star of Buffalo Invoice’s Wild West Present, this gun reveals the sensible aspect of placing on a protected efficiency.
The manufacturing facility letter tells us every little thing we have to find out about why this revolver exists. Smith & Wesson configured it with a 6½-inch smoothbore barrel, German silver bead entrance sight, and adjustable rear sight with a large “U” notch – good for throwing shot patterns reasonably than single bullets. By 1895, Oakley was already world well-known, having wowed European royalty and earned Sitting Bull’s legendary nickname “Little Miss Certain Shot.”
The smoothbore setup wasn’t about making the pictures simpler – it was about preserving everybody alive. Exhibition shooters discovered the laborious manner that stable bullets had a nasty behavior of touring a lot farther than meant. Buffalo Invoice himself bought a brutal lesson in 1883 when he needed to pay for greenhouse injury a block and a half away from his Brooklyn efficiency. Small shot hundreds misplaced vitality quick, making indoor performances and crowd security manageable.
This revolver isn’t simply in regards to the Annie Oakley provenance – it represents the evolution of exhibition taking pictures. These legendary feats we examine weren’t parlor tips with clean cartridges. Oakley was placing actual projectiles on track, simply good sufficient to make use of shot as a substitute of stable bullets when performing for paying clients.
Most of our POTDs make the most of photographs from our associates at Rock Island Auction Company, the premier firearms public sale in america. Take a while to browse their current auctions – who is aware of, perhaps you’ll discover a piece of historical past to take dwelling!
“A. Oakley Smoothbore Smith & Wesson New Mannequin No. 3 Revolver.” Rock Island Public sale, www.rockislandauction.com/element/4095/82/a-oakley-smoothbore-smith-wesson-new-model-no-3-revolver. Accessed 12 Aug. 2025.
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