Silver dollars used as shooting targets

I just watched the old Western film "Winchester 73" and it made me wonder about something.

In the film, there is a rifle shooting contest where the marshall throws silver dollars into the air and the contestants shoot at them.

Does anyone here have a silver dollar that has been shot?

 

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No, But my Uncle does. He won a bet for 5 grand with his lifetime friend. His Friend told him he could not do it and that if he had he'd pay my uncle 5 grand. My uncle loaded his Revolver and shot the Morgan Dollar. right on the edge next to the cap on liberty.

Yes, my Uncle is a gun nut. He also likes to tell stories to so whether or not this is a true story or not is another question. He did however take a bullet to show me and it did appear to fit the size of the hole.

 

Not Silver Dollars willieboyd, but there is an example known of an 1890 English Half Penny counterstamped "Oakley" that supposedly was shot by Annie Oakley at one of her shows. She performed in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show which toured England in the 1890s. As the story goes, she would shoot coins thrown in the air. They were then stamped with her name and given out as souvenirs. Don't know if the story is true or not, but interesting just the same.

Brce

 

I take back all the snarky things I have ever said about you.

 

i've shot quarters and halves with a .22 before. they were taped to a target, not thrown though

 

Doug , but you're not supposed to use a shotgun with birdshot .

 

I'm not sure a hand gun would put a hole in a dollar that was thrown in the air. Probably just a dent. Am I thinking right Doug?

 

I have an Eisenhower Dollar around here somewhere that I shot. I'll admit, it took several attempts...but I got it. My friend threw it and I shot it with a 1911 Colt .45.

FYI, we did it in an old rock quarry at the base of a large cliff so there was a backstop for the bullets.

 

They make some pretty powerful handguns today , I think a .357 would definitely go through a Morgan . Though I might try it tonight with my Model 39 9mm . I imagine at over 1200 fps it would be the type of bullet that mattered most , something like a fmj and not a hollow point .

 

Sping...sping...sping...sping...sping...sping...sping...sping...sping...

 

You forgot , DUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

DUCK.....oops, too late...

 

I was just thinking if the coin was in the air, the round would send it flying and not actually put a hole in it. I'm just guessing.

 

I nailed a quarter to a tree and me and a friend shot at it from about 100 yards with my .308 the loser bought a case of beer he missed by about an inch and a half I nailed it I didn't bother to save it tho is a Remington 700 with a leupold scope

 

Is an idea to try shooting a dollar outta the air I'll have to try it round up a couple Ike's and my p228 sig

 

During a family vacation in 1984, when I was 10 years old, I visited the Buffalo Bill museum in Cody, Wyoming with my dad. Even at that age I was already collecting coins, so the one exhibit I can still remember is a display of several silver dollars shot by Buffalo Bill during his shows. They must have been shot by a large caliber round because they were totally mangled through the center and fully intact only near the rims.

Has anyone been to this museum? Since 30 years have gone by I'm not sure if it still exists or if the silver dollar exhibit is still there..

 

The one I shot...it put a big dent in it and sent it flying off away from us. I didn't hit it dead center though.

 

I haven't ever seen any Silver Dollars that have been shot, but I would love to get down to Charleston, SC and see the Hunley exhibit. They have Lt. George Dixon's $20 gold piece that he was given by his girlfriend for luck when he left to join the Civil War. He was shot and the Gold coin saved his life. He(I'm assuming) later inscribed on the reverse:
Shiloh
April 6th, 1862
My live preserver
G.E.D.

This was all a rumor until the Hunley was found and they started to go through the preservation process on it. I am pretty sure that no one knew about the inscription on the back of it. That's a cool story, until you realize he didn't cheat death the 2nd time.



http://www.hunley.org/main_index.asp?CONTENT=GOLDCOIN