Annie Oakley profile by T. Logan Metesh, May 28th 2023Annie Oakley began shooting at a very young age. It was a skill she developed to feed her family while she was known as Phoebe Ann Mosey or “Moses”. Annie began hunting and shooting at age eight to support her siblings, and her widowed mom. She developed her skills and adopted the stage name Annie Oakley. She earned the nickname “Little Miss Sure Shot”, for her expert marksmanship. Rumors said that she was among the highest-paid performers in the show. Annie was known for her amazing shots, including hitting dimes mid-air, aiming through a backwards mirror, and many more. She toured the world with Buffalo Bill, performing for royalty in England and France, Italy and Germany. Annie shot even the ashes of a cigarette that was held by Kaiser Wilhem II.
Biographers claim that Annie met Frank Butler at a shooting contest when she was only 15 years old. The couple married after Annie won a shooting match against Butler. * “Annie Oakley, America’s first woman superstar, toured the U.S. and world in the late 1800s to early 20th century, demonstrating her legendary Wild West Sharp-shooting Skills.”
Tom Slater is the historian for Heritage Auctions. Annie Oakley’s favorite firearms
Annie Oakley’s sharpshooting skills were impressive on their own, but her equipment made them even better. Annie Oakley preferred to use basic, readily available firearms. She didn’t require modified guns to shoot. She enjoyed shooting her Parker Bros Double-Barrel Shotgun, which was not fancy. It was made of standard grade wood, and apart from the standard scrollwork around the locks, this was a regular gun. 2 revolver. The revolver was nickel-plated with mother-of pearl grips. However, anyone could have chosen to do the same thing on their own revolver. One of her pistols was a Stevens tip-up single-shot gold-plated with mother-of pearl grips. It had not been modified in any way. Annie didn’t want the help. Her firearms were not modified for trick-shooting, but she owned a few one-off specials. She owned one of 800 Remington Beals made between 1866-1866, but it is the only example known to bear factory engraving. Of course, many arms manufacturers saw Annie’s popularity as a way of promoting their guns, and so a number of engraved or gold-plated weapons were gifted to Annie. Some of these include Winchester Model 1892 rifles and Stevens Model 44 carbines.
Annie, a consummate performer who continued to amaze crowds despite the toll her craft was taking on her body. Annie developed repeated eye infections after a lifetime of exposure to gunpowder and smoke residue. She had used blackpowder for years before the invention of smokeless powder. Even if all the powder was smokeless, it wasn’t the same quality as we know today. Her public appearances required a lot of travel which was not without its own dangers. She had to undergo spinal surgery after a train crash in 1901, while traveling with the Wild West Show. She had to wear a brace for her leg after a car accident, in 1922. But she returned to performing in 1924, at the age 64. Her health was beginning to deteriorate by this time. Annie Oakley died in 1926, at the age 66. Her husband Frank Butler was so distraught by her death that he stopped eating. He died 18 days later from starvation.
Annie’s fame was not only for her achievements with a gun. She used it in a very different way. She was a strong advocate for women’s education and rights. She was quoted as saying, “I’d like to see all women be able to handle guns as easily as they handle babies.” During her lifetime, she is believed to have taught 15,000 women how they can shoot. Many educational shooting experiences for women use her name. What shooter would not want to be as highly regarded as Annie Oakley, after all?
T. Logan Metesh, a firearms expert and consultant, runs High Caliber History LLC. Logan has worked for the Smithsonian Institution and the National Park Service. He also spent more than a year at the NRA Museums. Logan has appeared on NRATV’s “Curator’s Corner”, and has also been a historic firearms facilitator in American Rifleman TV, among other shows. *On Thanksgiving Day, 1875, Baughman & Butler was performing in Cincinnati. Frank E. Butler (an Irish immigrant and traveling show marksman) bet $100 per side with Cincinnati hotel owner Jack Frost, that Butler would beat any local fancy shot. The hotelier set up a shooting contest between Butler and Annie, a 15-year old girl. He said, “The last person Butler expected to face was a 5-foot tall, 15-year old girl named Annie.” Butler lost both the match and bet after missing his 25th shot. He began dating Annie and they got married. They did not have any children.
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