Making Davis Tutt Famous

[Smoke]

On July 21 1865 (160 years ago today)

JB Hicock made Davis Tutt famous in Springfield Missouri. Over a gambling debt.

The specific gun Wild Bill used has been lost to history but he was known to carry a S&W Number 2 Army Revolver at the time.

I thought Smith and Wesson fans would find that interesting.

 

[rogo123]

On July 21 1865 (160 years ago today)
View attachment 778134
JB Hicock made Davis Tutt famous in Springfield Missouri. Over a gambling debt.
View attachment 778135
The specific gun Wild Bill used has been lost to history but he was known to carry a S&W Number 2 Army Revolver at the time.
View attachment 778140
I thought Smith and Wesson fans would find that interesting.

 

[rogo123]

History says he used an 1851 Colt Navy .36 at 75 yards to kill Tutt.
Many have re created that shot and said it was possible.

 

[Smoke]

History says he used an 1851 Colt Navy .36 at 75 yards to kill Tutt.

Care to cite a 1865 source?

I've been unable to find an eyewitness account that states what kind of gun he was carrying.

FWIW I just went and read the court transcripts no specific handgun was mentioned.

I've read a couple that say it was a .44 caliber Walker Colt.

Quite a few saying. 36 calibers Navy.

I've seen one that said there's no record but that Hicock was known to carry the S&W No.2.

But I haven't found a single source that says that eyewitnesses say he was carrying a 36 caliber Colt Navy

 

[Sgt. Buzzard]

And a few months ago you reported that Wild Bill shot him at 75 yards with a 9mm. OK, it couldn't have been a nine because they didn't exist yet. By your own statements it's quite a few reports for a 36 cal. Navy Colt. Then a couple for a 44 Walker Colt and one for a Smith #2. So where are the odds?

For 16 years one of my assignments was PIO. Public information Officer. I kept a note taped to my typewriter called, "The Reporters Motto"
"Never let the facts get in the way of a good story"

Going back 160 years was the start of the Dime Novels, in particular shoot em' up Westerns.

It is reported that the gunfight took place on the town square, also that it was 75 yards wide or long. How much more interesting is the story to just say the shoot out was at 75 yards. That adds significantly to the Wild Bill legend. Which increases readership.

Personally with my thousands of dealings with the press I tend to look through the hyperbole and question the written record in newspapers. Remember the history of tomorrow is written today in the newspapers or even more questionable, the internet.

No I don't believe he killed Mr. Tutt with one shot at 75 yards. As to what gun? While I favor the Navy Colt theory I also know that many well known pistolero's had a side gig selling "their pistol" to unknowing rubes for considerable profit. These weapons then go down in questionable family history as the day great grand pa got Paladin's gun while visiting a San Francisco whorehouse.

 

[walkin' trails]

As Hickock rose to fame with Navy Sixes later on, many assume it was an 1851. I’ve also heard it was a .44, and even more specifically an 1860. Nothing I’ve read ever had any solid information. As for the S&W .32, that was the gun he was found to have been carrying the night he was murdered.

 

[Smoke]

And a few months ago you reported that Wild Bill shot him at 75 yards with a 9mm. OK, it couldn't have been a nine because they didn't exist yet.

I mean a 36 caliber wood, in fact be 9 mm in diameter or pretty close is that not correct?

By your own statements it's quite a few reports for a 36 cal. Navy Colt. Then a couple for a 44 Walker Colt and one for a Smith #2. So where are the odds?

I think quite a few historians have reported that it was a .36 caliber would be more accurate. Because, again, I can't find any official documentation that says this is what he was carrying. I can't find a single first count and account that says this is what he was carrying.

For 16 years one of my assignments was PIO. Public information Officer. I kept a note taped to my typewriter called, "The Reporters Motto"
"Never let the facts get in the way of a good story"

Going back 160 years was the start of the Dime Novels, in particular shoot em' up Westerns.

It is reported that the gunfight took place on the town square, also that it was 75 yards wide or long. How much more interesting is the story to just say the shoot out was at 75 yards. That adds significantly to the Wild Bill legend. Which increases readership.

Personally with my thousands of dealings with the press I tend to look through the hyperbole and question the written record in newspapers. Remember the history of tomorrow is written today in the newspapers or even more questionable, the internet.

And?

No I don't believe he killed Mr. Tutt with one shot at 75 yards. As to what gun? While I favor the Navy Colt theory

I'm happy for you.

I also know that many well known pistolero's had a side gig selling "their pistol" to unknowing rubes for considerable profit.

The only person that's really known for doing that was Bat Masterson and technically he wasn't lying because he would go buy the guns at a pawn shop and then carry them for a little bit and then sell them to some tourist as "his gun".

Was he lying?

 

[StrawHat]

Zerelda James also bought and sold numerous handguns claiming they belonged to her son, Jesse.

A little research will turn up more information.

Kevin

 

[THE PILGRIM]

When Geronimo took the Train to DC for Teddy’s inauguration,
At every stop, he sold Buttons which he cut from his coat.
Then sewed on more buttons between stops.

 

[Dan W. Cady]

I mean a 36 caliber wood, in fact be 9 mm in diameter or pretty close is that not correct?


I think quite a few historians have reported that it was a .36 caliber would be more accurate. Because, again, I can't find any official documentation that says this is what he was carrying. I can't find a single first count and account that says this is what he was carrying.

And?

I'm happy for you.

The only person that's really known for doing that was Bat Masterson and technically he wasn't lying because he would go buy the guns at a pawn shop and then carry them for a little bit and then sell them to some tourist as "his gun".

Was he lying?

The 1851 Navy Colt shot a .375-.380 diameter Ball or Bullet considerably larger than 9mm (.355).

 

[Smoke]

The 1851 Navy Colt shot a .375-.380 diameter Ball or Bullet considerably larger than 9mm (.355).

Thanks for squaring that away.

 

[Smoke]

When Geronimo took the Train to DC for Teddy’s inauguration,
At every stop, he sold Buttons which he cut from his coat.
Then sewed on more buttons between stops.

Again, was he lying?

 

[Smoke]

Zerelda James also bought and sold numerous handguns claiming they belonged to her son, Jesse.

A little research will turn up more information.

Kevin

Did I say Bartholomew Masterson was the only one that was doing it or the only one that was really known for doing that?

 

[Smoke]

 

[Leslie Sapp]

I've read a couple that say it was a .44 caliber Walker Colt

I don't know about the originals, but back when I had young eyes, my Armi San Marco Walker replica would cut little 3 shot cloverleafs at 45-50 steps. The weight, sight radius, and the tiny rear sight make it one of the more accurate handguns I own. I have no doubt an expert shot could reliably make head shots at 75 yards. It's entirely possible.

Of course, it's also entirely possible that Wild Bill slung off a hurried shot while diving behind the nearest horse trough, and just happened to hit Ol' Davis square between the eyes!

 

[Eddie Southgate]

I mean a 36 caliber wood, in fact be 9 mm in diameter or pretty close is that not correct?


I think quite a few historians have reported that it was a .36 caliber would be more accurate. Because, again, I can't find any official documentation that says this is what he was carrying. I can't find a single first count and account that says this is what he was carrying.

And?

I'm happy for you.

The only person that's really known for doing that was Bat Masterson and technically he wasn't lying because he would go buy the guns at a pawn shop and then carry them for a little bit and then sell them to some tourist as "his gun".

Was he lying?

A Colt .36 Navy was what he was well known for carrying , two in a sash . The .36 is actually a .37 caliber as all I have ever owned took a .375 projectile. That is quite a bit bigger than the 9mm at .355-.356 . Also , would is not spelled "wood" .

 

[Smoke]

Of course, it's also entirely possible that Wild Bill slung off a hurried shot while diving behind the nearest horse trough, and just happened to hit Ol' Davis square between the eyes!

Nobody really knew who Wild Bill was at that point.

The whole thing started because Tutt had beaten Hickok at cards and Hickok couldn't cover his losses.

Based on my reading of the subject Wild Bill didn't really have a great reputation in Springfield at the time. So why would all the witnesses and all the witnesses that testified at the inquest lie about it to make Hicock look like a hero?

 

[ISCS Yoda]

Just for the record, and to keep it short and sweet, Bill O'Neal's "Encyclopedia of Western Gunfighters" does not mention Hickok's guns, and the newest book on the subject, Bryan Burrough's,The Gunfighters, does not mention them, either. I also have a copy of Triggernometry which I cannot locate, but in Age of the Gunfighters by Joseph Rosa, we find the following on page 174:

"Some writers have claimed that he shot Tutt with a .44 Colt Dragoon.... Others alleged that the pistol was a .32 caliber Smith & Wesson No. 2 Army Revolver. The actual weapon was a .36 caliber Colt's Navy pistol."

He goes on to point out that a picture from the time shows Wild Bill with a brace of such pistols, which does tend to prove the point, or at least make it certainly appear to prove the point.

(c) 1995 1983 University of Oklahoma Press






(c) 1983 University of Oklahoma Press


(c) 2025 Penguin Random House



I have many hobbies. This is one of them. If I start discussing any of the details above with respect to Tutt and Hickock, or Hickock's history, I'll be at it all day.