Little Sure Shot

By Sonja Harmse - Muvhimi Buffalo Safaris

September is the Game & Hunt Magazine’s month that is dedicated to the ladies in the industry, so I thought it appropriate to write a piece on a woman cited by many as the most famous female hunter of all times. Annie Oakley was born was born Phoebe Ann Moses on 13 August 1860 in Darke Country, Ohio. When she was only six, her father died of pneumonia, leaving her mother to care for her and her five siblings. Her mother remarried, but after her second husband also died suddenly, the family was left destitute, with a newborn baby to boot. The young Annie was sent to live with the Edington family, where she had to do sewing and care for younger children. An article published in 2018 by the National Women’s Museum states that “at the age of eight, she started hunting and sold the game she shot to local restaurants.” The money she earned helped provide for her poverty-stricken family.

When Annie was fifteen, she went to Cincinnati to compete in a shooting contest against an experienced marksman, Frank E. Butler. He travelled around the country to challenge people to shooting competitions. Annie shot all twenty-five shots during the competition and won, as Frank missed one. He was awed by her sharpshooting skills, and shortly thereafter started courting Annie. They married on 23 August 1876. The couple continued to tour around the country, with Frank performing as a marksman, and Annie was his assistant, holding up items for him to shoot. Occasionally she would also do some shooting and became exceedingly popular. She took on the stage name of “Oakley”, and when Frank’s shooting partner fell ill, Annie “Oakley” filled in for him. From there on she was part of the act. In March 1884, she met the Lakot Sioux leader, Sitting Bull, who was famous for defeating General Custer at the Battle of Little Bighorn. After seeing her perform, Sitting Bull bestowed the nickname “Little Sure Shot” on Annie. He considered her to be his adopted daughter.

Frank and Annie toured for a year with the Sells Brothers Circus, and then joined the Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show. Even though the couple performed as partners, it was Annie who shot to fame, so Frank decided to support his wife and opted to work as her assistant and manager. Annie would shoot through playing cards, glass balls out of the air and even shot cigarettes out of Frank’s mouth. One of her most famous tricks was shooting a target behind her back by spotting it in a mirror. The two of them stayed with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show for sixteen years and even performed for Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee n England. They also toured Italy, France, and Spain.

In 1901 Annie injured her back in a train wreck, and the couple stopped touring. Two years later, Annie engaged in a legal battle, after a Chicago newspaper reported that she was arrested for stealing and selling a man’s trousers to buy cocaine. Other newspapers followed suit and printed the story. It was discovered that a woman who used the false name Any Oakley was arrested for the crime, and the enraged real Annie sued every paper that ran the false story of the course of seven years. She successfully won fifty-four out of fifty-five cases.

At the beginning of World War I, Annie wrote to Secretary of War, Henry L Stimson, and offered to fully fund and raise a regiment of female volunteers for fight during the war. She also offered to teach them shooting skills, but neither of her offers were accepted. Annie planned to start touring again in 1922, but the couple were involved in a car accident, and it took them a full year to recover from their injuries. She did start touring again but became sick and moved back to Ohio to be closer to her family. Annie Oakley passed away on 3 November 1926, followed by her beloved husband only three weeks later. They were married for 50 years. Annie “Oakley” dedicated her career to show people around the world that women where capable of handling firearms and even out-shoot men. She was passionate about helping children and empowering women and even encouraged women to learn how to use pistols and carry them in their purses for protection. For women interested in shooting sports, Annie will forever be an iconic figure.