FROM JIM SHEPHERD'S "THE SHOOTING WIRE" 12-12-12
Fast-draw and precision shooting artist Bob Munden, 70, died Tuesday after suffering a heart attack. According to family members, Munden was returning home to Butte from a Missoula, Montana hospital with his wife and performance partner Becky when he began complaining of chest pains.
He was pronounced dead on arrival at St. James Healthcare in Butte.
Bob Munden in action. His abilities with any gun were amazing, but his abilities with a single-action revolver bordered on science fiction. Photo from www.bobmunden.com
Munden has been a major figure in fast-draw and precision shooting since his first foray into professional shooting at the age of eleven. Since then, he's held virtually every speed shooting title, and was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the "fastest man with a gun who ever lived."
During what his wife of fifty years calls a "incredible, memorable life together" the Mundens performed shooting exhibitions across the United States, Europe and Asia. In those shows, the pair - both champion shooters - amazed crowds whether demonstrating fast-draw with blanks or making amazing shots with live ammunition. Despite health problems, Munden performed live-ammunition exhibitions in California and Kansas as recently as 2011.
Munden also appeared on many television shows, from Ripley's Believe It or Not to longstanding appearances on Shooting USA and Shooting USA's Impossible Shots. His affiliation with Shooting USA founder Jim Scoutten began
Shooting USA's Jim Scoutten says Munden was "an amazing talent, who never failed to make the shot- no matter how unlikely the shot may have appeared."
But Scoutten says that's not the only reason Munden was so liked. "He was a showman who loved what he did, and that came across whenever and wherever he was."
But there's no debating his ability to pull off seemingly impossible shots, whether making repeated hits on targets at ranges in excess of 300 yard- with a Smith & Wesson snub-nosed J-frame to splitting a playing card in two - after he tossed it into the air. When he appeared on Stan Lee's "Superhumans" Munden drew a gun and shot a pair of balloons spaced six feet apart with two shots that -without the help of super slow motion technology- were virtually indistinguishable from a single show.
He was also renowned for his methods of customizing his favorite firearm - the single action .45 caliber revolver.
Munden is survived by his wife Becky, his daughters Natalie and Mitzi; grandson Levi, granddaughter Kaycee, his mother; three brothers and a sister; nieces, nephews, friends and millions of fans.
According to Bob's wishes his remains will be cremated. A memorial and celebration of life is to be scheduled "during warmer weather in 2013" but a small event for local neighbors and friends will take place in Butte in the near future. Information about both events will be posted at bobmunden.com and the official fan page. www.Facebook.com/BobMundenFanPage
His amazing shots will live forever in video, but the shooting sports are diminished by the loss.
--Jim Shepherd
Fast-draw and precision shooting artist Bob Munden, 70, died Tuesday after suffering a heart attack. According to family members, Munden was returning home to Butte from a Missoula, Montana hospital with his wife and performance partner Becky when he began complaining of chest pains.
He was pronounced dead on arrival at St. James Healthcare in Butte.
Bob Munden in action. His abilities with any gun were amazing, but his abilities with a single-action revolver bordered on science fiction. Photo from www.bobmunden.com
Munden has been a major figure in fast-draw and precision shooting since his first foray into professional shooting at the age of eleven. Since then, he's held virtually every speed shooting title, and was recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the "fastest man with a gun who ever lived."
During what his wife of fifty years calls a "incredible, memorable life together" the Mundens performed shooting exhibitions across the United States, Europe and Asia. In those shows, the pair - both champion shooters - amazed crowds whether demonstrating fast-draw with blanks or making amazing shots with live ammunition. Despite health problems, Munden performed live-ammunition exhibitions in California and Kansas as recently as 2011.
Munden also appeared on many television shows, from Ripley's Believe It or Not to longstanding appearances on Shooting USA and Shooting USA's Impossible Shots. His affiliation with Shooting USA founder Jim Scoutten began
Shooting USA's Jim Scoutten says Munden was "an amazing talent, who never failed to make the shot- no matter how unlikely the shot may have appeared."
But Scoutten says that's not the only reason Munden was so liked. "He was a showman who loved what he did, and that came across whenever and wherever he was."
But there's no debating his ability to pull off seemingly impossible shots, whether making repeated hits on targets at ranges in excess of 300 yard- with a Smith & Wesson snub-nosed J-frame to splitting a playing card in two - after he tossed it into the air. When he appeared on Stan Lee's "Superhumans" Munden drew a gun and shot a pair of balloons spaced six feet apart with two shots that -without the help of super slow motion technology- were virtually indistinguishable from a single show.
He was also renowned for his methods of customizing his favorite firearm - the single action .45 caliber revolver.
Munden is survived by his wife Becky, his daughters Natalie and Mitzi; grandson Levi, granddaughter Kaycee, his mother; three brothers and a sister; nieces, nephews, friends and millions of fans.
According to Bob's wishes his remains will be cremated. A memorial and celebration of life is to be scheduled "during warmer weather in 2013" but a small event for local neighbors and friends will take place in Butte in the near future. Information about both events will be posted at bobmunden.com and the official fan page. www.Facebook.com/BobMundenFanPage
His amazing shots will live forever in video, but the shooting sports are diminished by the loss.
--Jim Shepherd
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