Guns of the Old West Spring 2022

As this is being written, controversy is still swirling regarding the shooting that occurred on October 21, 2021, on the set of the Western-themed motion picture Rust . Tragically, the film’s cinematographer was killed and a director wounded when the lead actor and producer fired a live round of ammunition out of what was described as a “cold gun.” Right now, the big question seems to be why was live ammunition on the set to begin with? I’m not here to assess blame; there’s plenty of finger pointing going on right now. I just think we all need to reflect on the safety aspects involved in this occurrence. What leaped out at me was two violations of primary gun safety rules. The first is all guns are loaded all of the…

“ That’s the stupidest thing I ever heard!” These words were reportedly once spoken by Samuel Colt during a discussion about double-action revolvers. Sam Colt thought the double-action handguns like the “pepper boxes,” Remington-Rider and the then new Pettengill were fragile toys next to his new powerful and accurate 1860 Army and 1861 Navy revolvers, both adopted by the military. The Civil War was raging, and these were the kinds of pistols that would help the North win; not some short-barrel gun with which one couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn. No, not as long as he was alive! Sadly, however, Col. Samuel Colt passed away on January 10, 1862, possibly from pneumonia, and things began to change if ever so slowly. The double-action Remington-Rider .36-caliber percussion revolver came…

Handguns are produced for different purposes such as self-defense, formal target shooting, practical shooting competition, cowboy-action shooting, hunting and just for fun. My personal just-for-fun handguns are three .22 rimfire models. These are a vintage High Standard double-action, Double-9 revolver, a three screw model Ruger Single Six SA revolver with gorgeous Turnbull color case hardened frame and a Wilson Combat stainless steel 1911-style frame with a Colt .22 caliber conversion unit permanently installed on the Wilson frame. Two of the revolvers have had the sights removed and are used for point shooting only. All three of these .22 rimfire handguns accompany me to the Highland Pistol and Rifle Club shooting range on every outing. A Nod to the Past My lifetime friend, Sundance, recently loaned me two new “fun guns” to play with.…

The history and lore of the Old West has an abundance of thrilling gun battles, but few are as important as the Hayfield and Wagon Box fights. Fought under similar circumstances on consecutive days but about 90 miles apart, both battles were part of Chief Red Cloud’s War. Together or alone, they mark the beginning of the end of American Indian military supremacy on the Western plains. To allow for more detail, we’ll just consider the better documented Wagon Box engagement, which was fought in present day Wyoming. Red Cloud’s War As chronicled by Cyrus Townsend Brady in his 1904 book Indian Fights and Fighters, it began on the morning of August 2, 1867, six miles west of perpetually menaced Fort Philip Kearny—an outpost ostensibly guarding the Bozeman Trail to the gold…

Most of you reading this magazine know who John Wayne is. For those under 30, he’s that big actor who plays in lots of westerns and war movies you watch with dad or grandpa. Wayne was born Marion Robert Morrison in 1907 and a native of Iowa. Early on, his family moved to Southern California and settled in Glendale. It was here that he was bestowed with the nickname “Duke” by firemen at the Glendale firehouse where Marion would hang out with his huge Airedale terrier of the same name. Morrison was a promising football star in high school and college, but an injury put him out of the game. He ended up a prop man, working on movie sets, and then did some bit parts for the Fox Film Corporation.…

John Wesley Hardin is considered an American Old West outlaw, gunfighter and controversial folk hero. Hardin often got into trouble with the law from an early age. He killed his first man at the age of 15, which he claimed to be in self-defense. By the age of 17, John Wesley Hardin had killed a dozen men and had a price on his head of $1,100. Between that age and his capture in 1877 by Texas Ranger Lieutenant John B. Armstrong, who got close enough to crack Hardin over the head with the barrel of his revolver and knock him unconscious, many others on both sides of the law had faced Hardin’s Colts and came up short. By 1877, at age 24, the Texas Rangers claimed he had killed 40…