Hi:
Just viewed a film "Wild Bill's Guns Come Back To Deadwood" on You tube. Deadwood Citizens purchased from a California Auction House Wild Bill Hickok's Guns ?
The two revolvers shown was a converted C&B Revolver and a S&W B/T revolver.
IIRC (?) Wild Bill used a pair of Colt .36 Navy Revolvers ??
According to the article, the Deadwood museum purchased the guns to bring back for the museum collection. They are documented by letters from his family.
Apparently there were two gunsmiths in the day that converted cap and ball revolvers by removing the rear of the cylinder and adding a section that would accept cartridges. Many shooters were transitioning over to cartridge revolvers around this time.
His other two guns (the well known 1851 Colt Navies) are at the Gene Autry Museum in LA and the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, WY.
I’ve read where people say WBH used conversions. Yet those who camped with him in Deadwood said he fired his percussion Colts every morning then reloaded them. I’ve never heard of actual conversions of his known to exist and would like to see these.
Hickock’s engraved ‘51 Navy is perhaps the centerpiece of the Autry gun exhibits. But they only have one of them. I think the mate is lost, but correct me if I’m wrong about that.
Wild Bill Guns
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