Lady Big Shots

Might be hard to believe that in the days while the US was still waiting for TV and the NBA to be invented, Exhibition Shooting was a wildly popular national sport. What's been almost completely forgotten from those days is the amazing skills of the women.

Next to Annie Oakley, Elizabeth "Plinky" Servantry Topperwein, who performed shooting exhibitions with her husband, Ad, is probably the most famous.
In 1904 the Topperweins performed at the St. Louis World Fair, and later that year she became the first woman to break 100 straight at trap. Plinky went on to shoot 14 consecutive 200 straight in Alabama, and in 1916 she broke 1952 out of 2000 targets in 5 hours and 20 minutes.

That's some kinda shootin'.

Annie Oakley described Plinky as "the greatest shooter of all time."

Plinky retired in the 1920s after giving birth to her only child, and died in San Antonio, Texas in 1945.

Lillian Smith [above] joined Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show at age 15, and was known not only for her shooting skills but also for her flashy outfits ... and for being a "flirt."

Guess ya had to be there.