Accuracy of Gunfights of the Old West

McBear

McBear

Member
Joined
Mar 27, 2012
Messages
515
Reaction score
158
Location
Central Kentucky
What is the truth about old west gunfights? Do film makers lie to make the story better? Did pulp fiction writers embellish the tales of the west to sell forests of books? Did the newspapers of the day play fast and loose with the facts to out sell their competitors? [that would never happen today :-)]

The Truth About Gunfights in the Old West

But the more important question...In one hundred years, after westerns are 250 years past what will our descendents be watching and reading? Romanticized accounts of drive-by shootings, or drone strikes and car-bombs? SWAT? Who will stand out as the Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp and Wild Bill Hickok in THEIR popularized historical non fiction?
 
Last edited:
Register to hide this ad
Romanticized accounts of drive-by shootings, or drone strikes and car-bombs? SWAT? Who will stand out as the Bat Masterson, Wyatt Earp and Wild Bill Hickok in THEIR popularized historical nonfiction?
Click to expand...

Hopefully no one, as a society we’ve glamorized war and reveled in violence for too long. I pray those who come after us will break that cycle..
 
Like many others I studied most the historical accounts as best I could. I think it was a super rare deal for two opponents to actualy square off and walk down each other on agreeded to equal terms. Most people are more concerned in liveing through a advent rather than haveing bragging rights to being a lone survivor from a shoot out and being a "hero".
Now there was a "code duello" a couple hundred years ago. Actualy, I doubt there was many of those either. Just lately on another site I referred to a incident I read about abe lincoln. Some short fiesty type challanged abe to a duel. That gave abe the right of choice of weapons. Abe said okay. Post mauls in 6ft of water! Most normal people want a edge. No one gets a edge in a walkdown even fair gunfight, except maybe practicing a lot before hand. I think we can agree that even the best aint always the best when things happen under stress.
Kind of reminds me a story my dad told me about when he was young. Dad went duck hunting with a old german friend. They were sitting in the skiff some ducks were comeing in and Gus says you vait untill I tell you! Now vait, vaaait, VAIT! Blewey, blewy!---NOW!
 
Probably the most accurate depiction of an old west "gunfight" was in a made for TV movie "El Diablo", with Anthony Edwards and Lou Gosset Jr. Edwards' character, a dime novelist, who's trying to live the wild west, witnesses Gosset gun down a known bad guy. He's shocked. "You shot him in the back!" he whines. Gosset replies, "His back was to me."
 
Movies that depict the story accurately (or as close to accurately as can be determined) are called documentaries. Most documentaries aren't entertaining to the average viewer.

I once read a comment from Kevin Costner about the scene in "Open Range" where he fires 14 shots from one six-shot SA revolver without reloading. He said they knew it was unrealistic, but they didn't want to interrupt the continuity of the scene by having him reload or going for another gun.

That's Hollywierd...truth and accuracy are inconveniences! But the movies are entertaining, as long as you don't expect them to be historically correct or accurate.
 
Watch any Steven Seagal movie (if you can) 5 guys with full auto weapons can't hit him. He can take any one of them out with a single shot or if no gun, one blow with his hand.:D

You mean this isn't real???
 
In my opinion, the gunfights from the old wild west was overly glamorized. The good guys weren't totally good and the bad guys weren't totally bad. One of the most well known gunfighters of the old west is believed to have owned numerous saloons, faro concessions, and bawdy houses in the town that he and his brothers lived in, at the same time they were sworn lawmen.
 
Martimus said:
In my opinion, the gunfights from the old wild west was overly glamorized. The good guys weren't totally good and the bad guys weren't totally bad. One of the most well known gunfighters of the old west is believed to have owned numerous saloons, faro concessions, and bawdy houses in the town that he and his brothers lived in, at the same time they were sworn lawmen.
Click to expand...

And some people referred to them as "The Fighting Pimps".
 
In Paul Newman's movie The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, an outlaw rides into town to kill the judge. The judge is hiding in the hay loft of a barn, While the outlaw is challenging the judge to come out and fight, the judge calmly shoots the outlaw in the back with a buffalo gun. Sounds like a fair fight to me.
 
Then there is the character portrayed by James Colburn in Waterhole #3 who calmly steps behind his horse and pulls his rifle from the scabbard when confronted by an adversary in the classic stance in the middle of the street. He just shoots him and leaves him laying on the ground. But my favorite is the shoot out in the closing scene of Open Range when the two protagonists are face-to-face in the bar sitting on the floor. They both empty their guns at about 5 feet and neither one hits the other. Jim
 
Who wants to watch reloading anyway? It's boring. They don't show sleeping alone, feeding their horse, reading a book, or sitting on the pot. Just because they didn't show it, doesn't mean it didn't happen. You want excitement, not daily drudgery.
 
I can tell you having read alot about gunfighters, most of those like John Wesley Hardin and Billy the Kid were nothing more than cold blooded killers plain and simple. It took decades for historians to finally get away from the high noon showdown. Only once did something remotely closely like that happen and that was Wild Bill Hickok vs Dave Tutt and both men shot practically at the same and Wild Bill hit him from 75 yards (documented) away. The rest were pretty much nothing like a fair fight as most people were shot in the back or from ambush. The Dime Store novel gave even people then an unrealistic view of the west, but back east that's what the people wanted in those days.
 
jdb3 said:
Then there is the character portrayed by James Colburn in Waterhole #3 who calmly steps behind his horse and pulls his rifle from the scabbard when confronted by an adversary in the classic stance in the middle of the street. He just shoots him and leaves him laying on the ground. ....
Click to expand...
Overall I didn't like that movie much, but that one scene is one of my all time favorites. Coburn solves his problem the way it should have been solved, and the way it probably often was.
 
Wild Bill Hickock was suffering from vision problems in his last years and I suspect many of the others didn't have 20/20 either. Also I wonder how much most of them practiced. I read during one spell as a Sheriff Hickock
would firing his cap and ball pistols in the morning, then reload so he started each day with fresh loads. Store bought ammunition was rather hard to come by in the more remote areas, and probably carefully hoarded "just in case". So much of what we know is based on the writing s of Ned Buntline who was not noted for his veracity, and Hickock could tell a tall tale or two.
 
BLACKHAWKNJ said:
Wild Bill Hickock was suffering from vision problems in his last years and I suspect many of the others didn't have 20/20 either. Also I wonder how much most of them practiced. I read during one spell as a Sheriff Hickock
would firing his cap and ball pistols in the morning, then reload so he started each day with fresh loads. Store bought ammunition was rather hard to come by in the more remote areas, and probably carefully hoarded "just in case". So much of what we know is based on the writing s of Ned Buntline who was not noted for his veracity, and Hickock could tell a tall tale or two.
Click to expand...

In some accounts I've read Wild Bill's .36's were still cap & ball. Other articles say they were
cartridge conversions. Anyone know for sure?
 
Also, the cowboys and lawmen didn't carry their guns in the silly holsters that hung down to the knee. The holsters then were all either waist high or cross draw. (John Wayne carried correctly, Little Joe Cartwright carried like a pimp.)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

D
Wyatt Earp Shares His Experiences
Replies
1
Views
998
robertrwalsh
robertrwalsh

Latest posts

Back
Top