Could You Out-Shoot Wild Bill? Gun Digest Revives the Old West Envelope Challenge

A frontier test of handgun skill called for six shots inside a five-inch envelope at 10 paces, with one through a one-inch stamp on the back. Gun Digest uses that story to offer two precision drills any handgun shooter can run at the range.

The short version

Gun Digest's writer starts with the legend that Wild Bill Hickok shot Davis Tutt at 75 yards in Springfield, Missouri, in 1865, then turns to a 1937 American Mercury article by Charles B. Roth. In it, Luther North says his brother, Maj. Frank North of the Pawnee Scouts, consistently beat Hickok on the envelope test, and that Hickok conceded North was better on targets while claiming he was better at hitting men. Roth's theory was that nerve, more than marksmanship, kept famous gunfighters alive.

The test lives on as the Old West Shootist's Challenge: strong hand only, 25 feet, no time limit. The writer says Bill Wilson of Wilson Combat answered his email within 30 minutes with six hits in the square and four in the stamp from a 4-inch 1911. The writer's own Single Action Army put five in the square and one in the stamp. He also describes a playing card shot in 1894 by detective William G. Baldwin with 10 hits from 52 feet.

Key points

• Envelope drill: Six shots in a 5-inch square with one through a 1-inch square on the back, strong hand only at 25 feet.
• Card drill: A playing card at 17 yards, shot two-handed for practice or strong hand only as a harder test.
• Wilson's score: Six in the envelope and four in the stamp with a compact 1911.
• Accuracy over speed: The writer uses the drill to slow down and concentrate on hits.
• Awareness: He notes Hickok was shot from behind at a Deadwood poker table in 1876 and suggests situational awareness may matter as much as marksmanship.

Bottom line

The history is partly legend, but the drills are concrete and cheap to run. Handgun shooters who want a measurable accuracy benchmark, particularly one-handed, get two ready-made targets to try.

Summary by Firearm Discounts. Read the full story at Gun Digest.