...Shooting while on Horseback...
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that's nothing: my dad had me doing that when I was 5. of course it was a wooden rocking horse with a BB gun. LOL. that's got to be one steady horse and of hell of a marksman. thanks for sharing. lee
Probably shouldn't try that on most horses! You could try it on Trigger who is now stuffed. Unfortunately he is stuffed in the rearing position so the footing may be difficult.
Watchdog
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Halt mein bier und schau dir das an!
(Hold my beer and watch this!)
This is obviously the "before" photo.
No wonder they lost the war.
One horse is saying to the other "geez, I got a cousin running at Ascot...and we're here doin this. Bummer."
One horse is saying to the other "geez, I got a cousin running at Ascot...and we're here doin this. Bummer."
Halt mein bier und schau dir das an!
(Hold my beer and watch this!)
This is obviously the "before" photo.
I want to see the photo that was taken after he fired the shot!
Watchdog
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Picture the horse galloping merrily away with the shooter, whose foot is caught in the stirrup, screaming loudly as his essentials are being scraped off by the rough ground.
Picture, also, the other soldier relaxing contentedly astride his own mount, grinning widely as he drinks the beer he was asked to hold.
OP
ParadiseRoad
Member
...he who drinks the beer...laughs last...
Ivan the Butcher
Member
My brother has a Tennessee Walker that was steady enough during gunfire, but nobody practices offhand anymore! (personally, my balance would cause me to fall way before I pulled the trigger.)
Ivan
Ivan
Wer das Bier trinkt, lacht zuletzt! (Or something like that)
amazingflapjack
US Veteran
He'd make a mighty nice silhouette from the other side...
I can barely hit anything anymore with both feet on the ground!
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I watched some "trainer'' do something similar, using blanks, while demonstrating a horse at a sale. However, he didn't have the muzzle over the horse's ears. My first reaction was to wonder what he'd given the horse before going in the ring and how I could get some for a couple of our critters.
We did have a couple of nags that would walk up rather closely behind me and watch my long range prone practice.
We did have a couple of nags that would walk up rather closely behind me and watch my long range prone practice.
I wouldn't ever think about standing up like that and shooting. I have had horses that I could shoot off of but I would always turn the horse sideways and not shoot straight over their head. Larry
Big Cholla
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I found in my first year of cowboying that I could shoot off any horse.....once! I wised up real quick and from then on did my mule deer hunting with my horse safely picketed off with a strong halter and rope to a stout tree. ..... 
Texas Star
US Veteran
Note the sabers hanging down on the other side. For closer work!
I've read that shooting a pistol from a horse and getting hits is difficult.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6UmKsqz6aQ[/ame]
Sir Winston Churchill, then a young cavalry Lt.,was in the British charge of the 21st Lancers at Omdurman, Sudan, in 1898.
He'd injured his sword arm while playing polo and used a Mauser C-96 7.63mm pistol in lieu of the sword.
They were ambushed from a ditch and Churchill fired all ten shots as they plowed through swarms of Dervishes. He wrote in 1930 ("My Early Life") that the pistol did well by him. I think he got three certain kills, a few wounds, and a couple "doubtful".
One Dervish had run up to hamstring Churchill's horse with a sword. He was extremely close. Most were!
Here's that scene from the 1972 movie, "Young Winston." Note how quickly the line of cavalry wheels into the charge after seeing Dervishes. I think I recall the real Winston mentioning having to sheath his sword at a gallop before drawing the Mauser. The movie probably got that scene very close to what it really was.
I've read that shooting a pistol from a horse and getting hits is difficult.
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6UmKsqz6aQ[/ame]
Sir Winston Churchill, then a young cavalry Lt.,was in the British charge of the 21st Lancers at Omdurman, Sudan, in 1898.
He'd injured his sword arm while playing polo and used a Mauser C-96 7.63mm pistol in lieu of the sword.
They were ambushed from a ditch and Churchill fired all ten shots as they plowed through swarms of Dervishes. He wrote in 1930 ("My Early Life") that the pistol did well by him. I think he got three certain kills, a few wounds, and a couple "doubtful".
One Dervish had run up to hamstring Churchill's horse with a sword. He was extremely close. Most were!
Here's that scene from the 1972 movie, "Young Winston." Note how quickly the line of cavalry wheels into the charge after seeing Dervishes. I think I recall the real Winston mentioning having to sheath his sword at a gallop before drawing the Mauser. The movie probably got that scene very close to what it really was.
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I learned woods skills from an old gent who'd served in the Cavalry pre & during WWI. Posted in Texas (IIRC, Fort Hood). He stated that they had a mounted combat course they had to do twice. Once with saber, once with sidearm at some degree of speed.
One of his stories was about a newbie Lt fresh out of West Point. He did very well on his saber pass. However, during the sidearm pass, he put a bullet into the back of his mounts head. The horse dropped on the spot, the Lt briefly joined the Air Corps. Knocked out on impact, he spent several days in sick bay before regaining consciousness. The Post CO visited, told him how glad they were that he survived and could return to duty when the MD cleared him. Just before he left he told him they were stopping his pay to reimburse the QM for his mount.
Watching the video above, I kinda doubt the Brits slowed their charge to a pace that allowed the Dervishes to not get trampled. OTOH, you can only get so realistic.
One of his stories was about a newbie Lt fresh out of West Point. He did very well on his saber pass. However, during the sidearm pass, he put a bullet into the back of his mounts head. The horse dropped on the spot, the Lt briefly joined the Air Corps. Knocked out on impact, he spent several days in sick bay before regaining consciousness. The Post CO visited, told him how glad they were that he survived and could return to duty when the MD cleared him. Just before he left he told him they were stopping his pay to reimburse the QM for his mount.
Watching the video above, I kinda doubt the Brits slowed their charge to a pace that allowed the Dervishes to not get trampled. OTOH, you can only get so realistic.
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usmc2427765
US Veteran
What I really want to see is that next frame when the horse gets the full effect of the muzzle blast from that 8MM Mauser. If you notice, the end of the barrel is directly over its head.
It's been my experience that you can shoot from any horse one time.
Never tried it myself but I have observed others on a couple of occasions. Both involved large rifles fired pretty much between the horse's ears. Both events ended in lumpy heads and long walks home. And no elk were harmed in the process
Broke Hoss
Member
Aw, you can shoot of any horse....once.
I've never shot off a horse. I do have a old Marlin 1895 that did. There was a local saddle club that dressed western and did trips into the woods with
cook gear, guns, ect. The previous owner of my 1895 touched it off over his horses head. He ended up on the ground. Swapped him a Rossi Puma 357. He blamed it on blast of 45/70. I not a horsemen but I'm smart enough to know not to shoot over a horses head.
cook gear, guns, ect. The previous owner of my 1895 touched it off over his horses head. He ended up on the ground. Swapped him a Rossi Puma 357. He blamed it on blast of 45/70. I not a horsemen but I'm smart enough to know not to shoot over a horses head.
Big Cholla
Member
An interesting bon mot about the subject of shooting off horse's backs; My father-in-law was a bonafied U.S. Army Cavalryman. He joined the Army at the age of 15 in 1930. He was promptly shipped to a Texas Army Training Post where he went thru Basic and then Advanced Cavalry training. While he was there the Army Veterinarians were experimenting with deafening horses to see if they would be more reliable while in battle. In about a year of study the consensus was that when the horses could hear they soon learned the meaning of the bugled commands. The horses also stayed much more a tune to their world of friends, both riders and other horses. While it took a little bit of time to train the hearing horses to allow shooting off their backs, the time was well spent in obtaining a better adjusted horse and a more accomplished Cavalryman.
When I was raising horses, my FIL and I spent hours discussing horse training methods, both the modern method as I knew it and the Army Cavalry methods as best he remembered. When the U.S. Army Cavalry unit he was in was disbanded, my FIL elected to move to the U.S. Army Air Force. He retired with 30 yrs. and then elected to stay and work as a civilian in the aircraft repair shops. The last airplane he worked on was a F-105. In his military career he went from horses to F-105s......
When I was raising horses, my FIL and I spent hours discussing horse training methods, both the modern method as I knew it and the Army Cavalry methods as best he remembered. When the U.S. Army Cavalry unit he was in was disbanded, my FIL elected to move to the U.S. Army Air Force. He retired with 30 yrs. and then elected to stay and work as a civilian in the aircraft repair shops. The last airplane he worked on was a F-105. In his military career he went from horses to F-105s......
keith44spl
Member
Ever good horse I ever owned, I schooled to tolerate gun fire.
Wither it be in the saddle or from the ground.
(never shot over their head, always turn'd em to shoot to their side)
.
SASS even has mounted shooting........Using Black Powder Blank Cartridges
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWSvIbzJzas[/ame]
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO5B8zR7F3c[/ame]
.
Wither it be in the saddle or from the ground.
(never shot over their head, always turn'd em to shoot to their side)
.
SASS even has mounted shooting........Using Black Powder Blank Cartridges
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWSvIbzJzas[/ame]
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YO5B8zR7F3c[/ame]
.
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S&WsRsweet
Member
man that makes me wish they had smart phones with video capability back then .That is one of those hey man watch this moments .His sidekick probably told that story for years and years.I got my horsemanship merit badge when I was a boy scout .As far as I know I'm the only scout to get his badge by ridding a horse backwards .I went to saddle up and my pants split .Our teacher was this good looking lady and we being young teens were all smitten.I mean a girl in ridding boots with a crop what's hotter than that.my pants split and I trying not to let her see somehow ended up in the saddle backwards and that dang horse took off .The instructor was trying to catch the reins to no avail .We went around that arena three times .The only thing I had ever driven was a tractor and my grandpas international pickup .Every time around I was hollering where's the dang clutch hanging on for dear life .The other scouts were falling down laughing .Those guys still tell that story and laugh and laugh at least I can laugh about it but I ain't ridden a horse since .
I'm not a horse person; how did he get into a standing position on the horses back?
armenius
US Veteran
A famous old story of the SC Lowcountry was about a "Northerner" who came to visit a plantation for an old time traditional deer drive with dogs and horses.As he was given a horse to ride he asked the old black groom
" Can I shoot off this horse?". The old groom replied politely," yessuh". The drive commenced and shortly the Yankee saw a buck jump nearby and when he fired the first barrel the horse bucked and ran and fortunately the rider fell in a soft mud hole. When he gathered his ride he returned to the stables and found the groom - "I thought you told me I could shoot off this horse !", to which the groom replied "yessuh you kin suh ,you just can't shoot on 'em "!
" Can I shoot off this horse?". The old groom replied politely," yessuh". The drive commenced and shortly the Yankee saw a buck jump nearby and when he fired the first barrel the horse bucked and ran and fortunately the rider fell in a soft mud hole. When he gathered his ride he returned to the stables and found the groom - "I thought you told me I could shoot off this horse !", to which the groom replied "yessuh you kin suh ,you just can't shoot on 'em "!
Wrangler Rich
US Veteran
Tex, what's the scoop on the OH 6-A?
WR
WR
Dyerbill
Member
And people wonder how they lost the war
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