GUN HANDLING IN WESTERNS.

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nachogrande

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Anyone else cringe when you see some nutty examples of gun cleaning techniques, drop em scenes, carrying a dozen lever actions in their arms at once, give me your guns boys, or my favorite, "just toss em in the back of the wagon with the rest"? I never heard any cowboy complain "hey you scratched my stock". Throw my registered magnum in the back of the wagon :eek:, YO Mama. :D
 
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Anyone else cringe when you see some nutty examples of gun cleaning techniques, drop em scenes, carrying a dozen lever actions in their arms at once, give me your guns boys, or my favorite, "just toss em in the back of the wagon with the rest"?
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YES ! and i always HOPED the guns they were tossing around were set props and not real but some look and sound real hitting the ground, wagon etc.
 
No wonder those cowboys on the big screen shot so many times at the other guys. Always loved the way they throw their bullets at the other guy, throwing the pistol forward, shooting as it reaches arms length, then pulling back even with the body and throwing another bullet. Looks like the the lady throwing the dish water out off the back porch back at the log cabin on the ranch. I have always wondered if this technique was what created the old description of guns that " would not hit the broad side of the barn" when describing group size.
 
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It's a movie so I really don't care if they throw guns around, slide them across the floor, blow them up...etc.. No one complained about stocks but you do find real guns that we're used to hammer nails.

Personally I think people turn guns into some sort of a idol. One little nick or scratch or imperfection and it's like the world just ended. To me they're tools. Scratches and dings come with the territory and unless it's damage to function I don't really care

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Yeah Arik,

Today's gun owners are prissy little twerps with oh so pretty
toys.

For a reality check they need to look at military firearms after
field use or a cop's much carried Model 10 or Model 19.

In this regard, and I hate to say it, but the modern firearms like (gulp) Glocks come off looking pretty darn good after normal field and police use.

Yesterday I had a chance to buy a "brand new" Model 14 from the 1960s with blue cleated 2-piece box, doc and tools still in their packet. I passed it because I knew I'd immediately lose $400 on it by
shooting it and using it as a regular target/range gun.
 
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"throwing" the bullet out of the guns in westerns is my personal favorite.

I'm in the crowd that says as long as it functions properly you can beat it up as much as you want. Like the old cruddy looking pickup that has a motor that runs like a dream. You can't go wrong.
 
If I'm in a western and someone is pointing their six shooter at me telling me to drop mine, I might drop it on the ground in the hopes of avoiding holes in myself. If I'm at the range and am switching guns, I probably wouldn't.

Is it a tool? Sure. But that doesn't mean I don't take care of it. "Its just a tool so it doesn't matter" doesn't make sense to me. I don't drop my skilsaw on the ground after making a cut either. Unnecessary abuse in my opinion.
 
Mexican Kerry said:
If I'm in a western and someone is pointing their six shooter at me telling me to drop mine, I might drop it on the ground in the hopes of avoiding holes in myself. If I'm at the range and am switching guns, I probably wouldn't.

Is it a tool? Sure. But that doesn't mean I don't take care of it. "Its just a tool so it doesn't matter" doesn't make sense to me. I don't drop my skilsaw on the ground after making a cut either. Unnecessary abuse in my opinion.
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Exactly! Intentional destruction is not called for but treating a gun like a fabrige egg is also kinda odd

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LittleCooner said:
No wonder those cowboys on the big screen shot so many times at the other guys. Always loved the way they throw their bullets at the other guy, throwing the pistol forward, shooting as it reaches arms length, then pulling back even with the body and throwing another bullet. Looks like the the lady throwing the dish water out off the back porch back at the log cabin on the ranch. I have always wondered if this technique was what created the old description of guns that " would not hit the broad side of the barn" when describing group size.
Click to expand...

The "gunslinging" thing always got me too, until I spent the time to figure out just what was really going on, then it made sense.

These guys are shooting single action guns that roll up in your hand when fired because of the "plow handle" grip. You have to cock the gun every time before it can be fired again. The easy way to do this is while the gun is more or less vertical, hook your thumb over the hammer and use the weight of the gun going down to effect the cocking action. Once it is level again you can aim and fire. I didn't see much aiming going on, but I'm sure that was due to the fact that every on screen cowboy is a legendary trick shot with a sixgun.
 
Just after the Civil War the Calvary out west needed carbines. The US government was gun poor and refused to order or design anything new. A cartridge gun was also needed, so the government decided to convert the Spencer carbines already in stock with a magazine cut off for single loading and a magazine full in reserve. They also converted their Sharps model 1863's to 50-70 Government cartridge. These Sharps carbines were stacked like cordwood in box cars of trains and freighted back to the armory for conversion. These then were stacked again loosely and trained back west. Not a lot of lovin for these great guns.
 
That gunslinging thing also was a result of the old cap and ball revolvers.

Many times the fired caps would fall off of the nipple when the hammer was pulled back and drop down in front of the hammer.

The solution was to point the gun in the sky, pull the hammer back and allow that primer to exit the area before the trigger was pulled again.
 
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