Man their are some interesting folks on this forum and you guys come up with some interesting questions .I would like to pt out the name of a very interesting book by Ted P. Yeatman titled Frank and Jesse James,The Story Behind The Legend. I am somewhat of a history buff especially around the time of the Civil War and aftermath and found this book very informative .Unfortunately as Jesse James was moved after his death twice before the last forensic investigation and buried in a wooden coffin his remains weren't in excellent shape .The report stated that the wound in his skull was made by a .44 or .45 caliber bullet but I don't recall anything about the actual gun used being mentioned. You take into consideration of the times and the people involved and you can bet there were many guns sold that were said to be this is the gun that Bob Ford used to kill Jesse. I mean I can see why so much controversy has surrounded questions like this .In this book Bob Fords brother states " Jesse turned his back and I gave my brother the wink and we drew our revolvers but he was a little quicker than me and he ( Jesse) heard us cock our revolvers and was about to turn his head when my brother fired" seeing it was a death shot I did t fire. Unfortunately he didn't say what kind of gun was used . Anyway I picked up a Hard Back copy of the book for 5 bucks in nearly new condition at a thrift store just last month.interestingly there is a picture of a Smith and Wesson American 44 caliber revolver taken from Jim Younger and it days Cole Younger had one like it with Ivory grips.