Joe Bowman (marksman)

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Joe Bowman
Joe Bowman Full Body Program Shot.jpg
Celebrated sharpshooter, Hollywood consultant, firearms instructor, historian, and Old West artisan
Born(1925-04-12)April 12, 1925
DiedJune 29, 2009(2009-06-29) (aged 84)
NationalityAmerican
Other namesThe Straight Shooter
The Master of Triggernometry
OccupationBootmaker, marksman, and Western entertainer
Spouse(s)Betty (Fruge) Bowman (1954–1968, divorced); Betty Reid-Bowman
(c.1992–2009, his death)
Children2
Websitewww.joebowman.net

Joseph Lee Bowman[1] (April 12, 1925 – June 29, 2009) was an American marksman called "The Straight Shooter", considered to have been a guardian of Texas and Western frontier culture. He was also an Eagle Scout, Army soldier, and bootmaker.

Biography[]

Bowman (left) with Roy Rogers

Bowman was born in Johnson City, Tennessee, and grew up in Asheville, North Carolina.[2] He began developing firearm skills at a young age, using BB guns.[2] When he was 12 years old, his family moved to Houston, where he became an Eagle Scout and went on to graduate from Sam Houston High School in 1943.[2]

During World War II, Bowman served in the Army and saw action in France; he received three Bronze Star Medals and a Purple Heart.[3] After the war, he attended the University of Houston for two years, before opening his own boot store in Houston.[3]

After selling his store in the 1960s, Bowman became a salesman and began performing as The Straight Shooter in his spare time.[3] His gun tricks included being able to shoot an aspirin tablet at 30 paces, and being able to split a playing card edge-wise at 20 paces.[3] The guns he used included a pair of Ruger Blackhawk revolvers.[2] He went on to teach gun handling to Hollywood stars such as Robert Duvall and James Arness, and was a firearms instructor with law enforcement agencies, including the FBI.[3]

Bowman died in June 2009, while en route to his home in Houston; he had stopped overnight in Junction, Texas, returning from a convention that he had performed at in Albuquerque, New Mexico.[3] In July 2009, he was posthumously inducted into the Texas Heroes Hall of Honor at the in Bandera.[4][5] Bowman married twice, and had two children from his first marriage.[3]

References[]

  1. ^ "WWII Draft Registration Card". fold3.com. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d Grimes, William (July 5, 2009). "Joe Bowman, Sharpshooter, Dies at 84". The New York Times. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Holley, Joe (July 13, 2009). "Sharpshooter called himself the 'Master of Triggernometry'". Los Angeles Times. p. 12. Retrieved June 17, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Genie Strickland, "Frontier Times Museum announces Texas Heroes Hall of Honor", Bandera Bulletin, July 7, 2009.
  5. ^ "'Captain' Joe Bowman". frontiertimesmuseum.org. Retrieved June 17, 2020.

Further reading[]

  • Hutchcroft, Joel J. (August 2020). "Mr. Straight Shooter: Joe Bowman". Shooting Times. pp. 72, 70.

External links[]

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