shanneba
Professional
When Wilbur and Orville Wright traveled from Ohio to Kitty Hawk at North Carolina’s Outer Banks in September of 1900 for their first season of experimental flights, they carried along two noteworthy pieces of equipment: a bulky tripod camera and a .22-caliber rifle. With the camera they captured our most historic images on the birth of flight. The rifle they used both for hunting and competitive tests of marksmanship.
"With the assistance of forensic firearms examiners, I conducted a physical analysis of the targets and a surviving photograph of Orville Wright holding the brothers’ rifle in 1911. We determined that the firearm was an inexpensive .22-caliber Marlin repeating rifle available for a few dollars at the time in a Sears Roebuck catalog. We also confirmed that the targets’ holes were made by such a rifle. From notations on the targets we established that Orville was the superior marksman, prevailing on two days, while Wilbur and Furnas each won on the other days."
www.ssusa.org
"With the assistance of forensic firearms examiners, I conducted a physical analysis of the targets and a surviving photograph of Orville Wright holding the brothers’ rifle in 1911. We determined that the firearm was an inexpensive .22-caliber Marlin repeating rifle available for a few dollars at the time in a Sears Roebuck catalog. We also confirmed that the targets’ holes were made by such a rifle. From notations on the targets we established that Orville was the superior marksman, prevailing on two days, while Wilbur and Furnas each won on the other days."
An NRA Shooting Sports Journal | Wright Brothers At Kitty Hawk: Hunters And Marksmen
You’ll never guess which Wright brother was the best shot! With their .22-cal. Marlin rifle, the aviation pioneers not only spent downtime at Kitty Hawk engaging in impromptu marksmanship contests, they also used it to hunt to feed themselves at the beginning of their experiments in flight at...
