The Other Cowboy Revolvers

[LostintheOzone]

Fun fact,

The U S Army protected the ownership of the Springfield Single Shot Rifle and the Colt Model P the way the current military protects the M16 and probably the M1911. All sales were to the Army and very limited sales to the general public.

Kevin

Colt manufactured some 1911's for the civilian market beginning in 1912.

I Have This Old Gun: Colt Commercial Model 1911 | An Official Journal Of The NRA

That's my understanding of commercial sales for Schofield and Colt revolvers. Just the opposite was the situation for Winchester lever rifles. The only Winchester model I know of (showing my ignorance here) made for the Army was the model 95. I'm not sure the US Army ever adopted it however after the Spanish American war. There are some US marked 95's but most went to foreign militaries. I think the Krag–Jørgensen rifle came along about that time and became the official military rifle.

So with that, if you were a civilian on the frontier you likely had a Winchester of some sort, instead of a Colt or Schofield.

 

[Pisgah]

The one I crave hasn't been mentioned, the Merwin & Hulbert. Arguably the superior of the usual bunch mentioned.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

The one I crave hasn't been mentioned, the Merwin & Hulbert. Arguably the superior of the usual bunch mentioned.

Go look above! I mentioned it!

Some additional fun remarks:

Tombstone was about 35 miles from where I lived when I was in HS. Bisbee about 20. I never knew Wyatt Earp.

And you would be very old if you had, record-setting old, maybe!

Little known facts about the old west and cowboys. Not every person out west was a cowboy. There were very few cowboys

The term "cowboy" comes from the Spanish "vaquero", meaning someone who manages cattle (vaca) on horseback along with the fact that the term in English is very old; the English used it to describe "boys" tending cattle in the 18th century.

Heck, it's easier to look it up than reach back into my shriveling memory:

The Etymology of Cowboy | Alta Language Services

© Copyright 2023 ALTA Language Services

Side note. Saying that there were not many cowboys is a tricky statement - in the so-called Old West between 1865 and 1900 there were probably 35,000 or more. They came from everywhere and probably 15% or more (25%?) were black and another 15% were Mexican.

But they were not gunfighters. As a rule, they were not outlaws. But in a movie or TV show, well, that's a horse of a different color donchano!!!!

I suppose I should have used green as an homage to the green horse in the Wizard of Oz.....oh, well!

 

[.357magger]

I've always wanted a Schofield, one of these days!

To stay within the thread theme...you might want to "wrangle a bit of horse trading" to secure yourself one.

They're very well fitted (surprised me anyway) and a delight to handle and shoot. Mine is pretty darn accurate too with a variety of 45 Colt loads moving around 750-900 fps.

 

[ISCS Yoda]

GypsmJim: The picture of your Bearcat piqued my interest. I had been looking for one a few years ago and saw one in the rack at my LGS. When I inquired about it he brought out the original box and papers. Also included in the deal was a pair of sambars and a holster. For 300 bucks I figured the extra grips were probably worth more than the gun itself.

A little unworldly weirdness here.

Some years ago I saw a nice, practically NIB Bearcat in the glass case at my LGS. I knew I had to have it. No box and papers but I didn't care because it was stunning. Store owner says to me that he might have something special to go with that gun and goes to his safe. He comes back with a pair of sambars and for only $75.00 more I took them home and you can see them on my gun.

How did this happen twice?

 

[Grayfox]

In response to a couple of questions I've gotten, both of my guns in the OP are Uberti clones. The 1875 is marked Uberti while the Schofield is marked and sold by Navy Arms.

 

[bananaman]

I had a Ruger Vaquero stainless 5.5 Bisley. Needed money for something else and sold it.
Of course it was missed.
Bought a new model Blackhawk Colt/ ACP . Need oversize stocks to work for me. Love the ACP's low recoil but really like Colt loads. Bob

 

[BSA1]

FYI. A piece of True West trivia.

One of the reason the Trail Drivers (do not call them Cowboys) didn't carry a handgun is because the boss wouldn't allow it. Cattle while on a drive to Kansas in that cash poor era were more valuable than the life a Trail Herder.

Another piece of True West trivia.

The Trail Herders were mostly teenagers. You know imagine the 15, 16, 17 year olds today that can hardly drive a car and are hooked on computers making a long drive on horseback pushing cattle in often the extreme weather conditions and no medical care if they got sick. So it is understandable how a group of teenagers got rowdy after being paid off at the end of drive and enjoying liquor and women for the first time in their lives.

 

[Venom6]

In the early '90s (1990's!) I fled the big city and wound up on a remote ranch in NE Oregon. It was 100 miles to the nearest traffic light in any direction. No electricity, no hot water. No wild Indians either, but plenty of coyotes, porcupines (the local timber company paid a bounty for them), rattlesnakes, hawks and eagles after the chickens and ducks. So I got Ruger Bearcats for my wife and two children (8 and 10 yrs old).