Ed McGivern
Encyclopedia
Edward McGivern (October 20, 1874 - December 12, 1957) from Lewistown, Montana
Lewistown, Montana
Lewistown is a city in and the county seat of Fergus County, Montana, United States. The population was 5,813 at the 2000 census. Lewistown is located in central Montana, the geographic center of the state, southeast of Great Falls...

, was a famous exhibition shooter, shooting instructor and author of the book Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting. McGivern also performed extensive research into the art of handgun shooting, particularly with the double action revolver
Revolver
A revolver is a repeating firearm that has a cylinder containing multiple chambers and at least one barrel for firing. The first revolver ever made was built by Elisha Collier in 1818. The percussion cap revolver was invented by Samuel Colt in 1836. This weapon became known as the Colt Paterson...

.

Book

The book Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting, first published in 1938, is still printed by Skyhorse Publishing as a reference to handgun shooters. In it McGivern covers his career from early experimenting with single action revolvers, his career in exhibition shooting, his police training, and his experiments in long range revolver shooting.

Exhibition shooting

Ed McGivern is renowned as one of the best handgunners that ever lived. His Guinness world record for "The greatest rapid-fire feat" (set on August 20, 1932 at the Lead Clube Range, South Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over...

) still stands. He emptied two revolvers in less than 2 seconds. His accomplishments include "firing two times from 15 feet five shots which could be covered by a silver half-dollar piece in 45/100 of a second". His shooting was so immense, timing machines would malfunction in attempting to record his shooting speed.

Mr. McGivern was capable of many amazing shooting feats, most of them well documented in his book. To name just a few:
  • He could break six simultaneously hand thrown clay pigeons (standard trap targets) in the air before they hit the ground.
  • He could hit a tin can hand thrown 20 ft. in the air six times before it hit the ground.
  • He could drive a tack or nail into wood by shooting it.
  • He could shoot the spots out of playing cards, or even split a playing card edge on.
  • He could shoot a dime on the fly.
  • He could shoot a revolver like a machine gun.
  • He is known as the king of Pistols.


All of these executed with either hand using a factory Smith & Wesson M&P
Smith & Wesson M&P
The Smith & Wesson Model 10, previously known as the Smith & Wesson Military & Police or the Smith & Wesson Victory Model, is a .38-caliber revolver developed from the Smith & Wesson .38 Hand Ejector Model of 1889. In production since 1899, it is a fixed-sight, six-shot handgun with a fluted...

 double action revolver (purportedly his favorite handgun).

Competition shooter Jerry Miculek
Jerry Miculek
Jerry Miculek is a speed shooter and competition shooting instructor, experienced in nearly every type of firearm made. He is renowned as one of the fastest revolver shooters in the world, emptying a five-shot revolver in 0.57 seconds in a group the size of a playing card. Miculek currently holds...

 has attempted, and broken, some of McGivern's long standing records, such as the record for 60 shots fired from 10 revolvers. Although Miculek holds a number of records, his attempt to beat McGivern's 5 shot record resulted in a time of .57 seconds. A testament to McGivern's ability was the fact that the 5 shot record was set in 1932, when McGivern was 57 years of age. Soon after that point, arthritis
Arthritis
Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....

 ended McGivern's competitive shooting career.

Long range shooting

McGivern, along with his friend Elmer Keith
Elmer Keith
Elmer Keith was an Idaho rancher, firearms enthusiast, and author. Keith was instrumental in the development of the first magnum revolver cartridge, the .357 Magnum, as well as the later .44 Magnum and .41 Magnum cartridges.-Personality and life:Keith's trademarks were his cigars, his ten-gallon...

, were instrumental in pushing the envelope in the early days of magnum revolvers. While Keith was primarily interested in hunting, McGivern was more interested in police use of the revolver. McGivern demonstrated that with proper sights and use, the .357 Magnum
.357 Magnum
The .357 S&W Magnum , or simply .357 Magnum, is a revolver cartridge created by Elmer Keith, Phillip B. Sharpe, Colonel D. B. Wesson of firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson, and Winchester. It is based upon Smith & Wesson's earlier .38 Special cartridge. The .357 Magnum cartridge was introduced in...

 could be used on man-sized targets at ranges of up to 600 yards. McGivern experimented with different types of iron sights
Iron sights
Iron sights are a system of shaped alignment markers used as a sighting device to assist in the aiming of a device such as a firearm, crossbow, or telescope, and exclude the use of optics as in telescopic sights or reflector sights...

, including peep sights, and telescopic sight
Telescopic sight
A telescopic sight, commonly called a scope, is a sighting device that is based on an optical refracting telescope. They are equipped with some form of graphic image pattern mounted in an optically appropriate position in their optical system to give an accurate aiming point...

s. His preferred type of iron sight for this use was a small diameter rear aperture and a post with a gold bead for the front.

Book by Ed McGivern

  • Ed McGivern's Book on Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting, Springfield, MA: King-Richardson, 1938. [Riling 2254]


Reference is to Ray Riling
Ray Riling
Raymond "Ray" Riling , a Philadelphia builder and arms collector, was an important arms book collector, dealer, author and publisher from the 1940s into the 1970s....

, Guns and Shooting, a Bibliography New York: Greenberg, 1950.
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