Gslingers - Summer 2016

GNSLCoverMay2016.
QXP 3/11/16 6:34 AM Page US_C1
From the Editors of World of Firepower | Gunslingers | Firearms of the Old West | Summer 2016
FROM THE EDITORS OF WORLD OF FIREPOWER

GUNSLINGERS SUMMER 2016
U.S. $9.99 DISPLAY UNTIL: 6/7/16
63
7 25274 01506 1
Engaged Media Inc.
GS-1605-2-3-INSPIRE.qxp 3/6/16 10:34 PM Page 2
FRONT SIGHT
Along
for the
Ride
T
his working dog gets a rare break to take
a free ride. Now, its time to set aside your
work, and come along for the ride as we
go back to the days of the Old West to
explore the era, the people and their guns.
2 GUNSLINGERS I SUMMER 2016

GS-1605-2-3-INSPIRE.qxp 3/6/16 10:34 PM Page 3
Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images
SUMMER 2016 I GUNSLINGERS 3

GS-1605-4-5-TOC.qxp 3/9/16 11:03 PM Page 4
Summer 2016
On the Cover:
8 LESSONS FROM LENSEIGNE
Cowboy Mounted Shooting
sensation Kenda Lenseigne
discusses the fastest shooting
sport on four legs.
By Mike Searson
Special Sections:
18 NEW SHOOTIN IRONS 50 The Wire
This years hot rearms include deluxe commemoratives A boon to business and the bane of the bad men,
and new takes on some Old West favorites. the creation of the coast-to-coast telegraph system
By Steven Paul Barlow was a hard-fought step to civilizing the West.
By John McQuaid
28 TAMING OF THE WEST

56 Old West Horsepower
The taming of the West wasnt accomplished so
A look at how horses changed
much with the Winchester rie or the Bowie
life in the Old West.
knife as it was with advances in communication
By Stratten Waldt
and transportation.
30 Ride Fast, Ride Hard

Across miles of hostile territory and rugged terrain,
Pony Express riders risked death to deliver mail.
By Stratten Waldt
36 Desperate Journeys
Attacks and terrible weather were only some of the
challenges stagecoaches faced.
By Stratten Waldt
42 Steam-Powered Progress
From scaling the Rockies to battling train robbers,
establishing the railroad was a monumental task.
By John McQuaid

GS-1605-4-5-TOC.qxp 3/9/16 11:03 PM Page 5
Features: Departments:
62 THE FIRST GUNFIGHTERS GUNS 2 First Shot
The Colt Navy and the Colt Army revolvers changed
the face of combat forever.
By Bob Campbell 6 Editorial
70 THE GREATEST HANDGUN OF THE FRONTIER
The Colt Single Action Army continued to be effective
131 Closing
years after more advanced designs were introduced.
By Bob Campbell
78 THE WILD BUNCH SEARCH

A classic Western movie inspires a passionate hunt
for the guns showcased on the silver screen.
By Bob Campbell
86 HOLSTER EVOLUTION
As revolvers became handier, new holster designs
allowed for secure and easily accessible carry.
By Bob Campbell
94 PREVALENT IN POCKETS
Small top-break revolvers were favorites for portable
protection.
By Mike Searson
102 SEEKING OTHER SINGLES ON THE COVER:

Not obsolete: Single-action revolvers are still great Cowboy Mounted Shooting Champion
choices today. Kenda Lenseigne
By Steven Paul Barlow Cover Photo by Henry DeKuyper
Cover Design by
Johann Frederick Mendoza
110 REVOLVER REVIVAL
Cimarrons replica of the Smith & Wesson Schoeld
might be better than the original.
By Mike Searson
118 ANYTHING ON EARTH

Turnbulls take on the revered Model 1886 results in
a versatile rie suitable for hunting any game.
By Steven Paul Barlow
124 DOUBLE-BARREL BLASTER

Cimarrons Doc Holliday side-by-side can do it all.
By Steven Paul Barlow

GS-1605-6-7-EDIT.qxp 3/6/16 10:46 PM Page 6
Editorial
EDITORIAL
The New Doug Jeffrey

Steven Paul Barlow
Malena Jaime
Henry Z. De Kuyper
Editorial Director
Editor
Managing Editor
Senior Staff Photographer
Old West DESIGN

Eric Mendoza Art Director
Eric Knagg Design Director
CONTRIBUTORS
Bob Campbell, John McQuaid, Mike Searson,
Stratten Waldt
I appreciate tradition as much as covered wagon or perhaps a stage-
anyone. Occasionally, Ill try to step coach. In any case, were seeing ADVERTISING
Spiro Demetriadi Publisher, Outdoor Group
back to look at the big picture, to more lever-action and single-shot Gabe Frimmel Ad Sales Director
view the present with some sort of rifle designs updated for todays (714) 200-1930
gfrimmel@engagedmediainc.com
historical perspective. shooters, featuring materials like Casey Clifford Senior Account Executive
When it comes to Old West stainless steel, updated sights, (714) 200-1982
Mark Pack Senior Account Executive
firearms, especially, it can be scope rails and other provisions for (714) 200-1939
fascinating to hold an original mounting optics. Henry Repeating Charles Dorr Account Executive
(714) 200-1931
firearm and ponder the history of Arms is one company that comes John Cabral Advertising Design
the piece. I like to imagine what to mind; Uberti is looking to this Gennifer Merriday Advertising Traffic Coordinator
Kristan Beckman Advertising Traffic Coordinator
adventures its owners might have market, as well, introducing its 1885
had, and how they might have High Wall single-shot with a shorter DIRECT MARKETING GROUP
John Bartulin (866) 866-5146 ext. 2746
depended on that gun to get them barrel and scope rail. Neil Medalla (866)866-5146 ext. 2780
through safely. With a replica, too, Some of the older designs are
OPERATIONS
there can be an added appreciation even sporting laminate and, dare we Subroto Mallick Business Analytic Manager
you dont get with todays rearms. say it, synthetic stocks. Robert Short IT Manager
Harsh Srivastava Newsstand and Circulation Analyst
Wyatt Earp carried one just like So while I love historically Shailesh Khandelwal Subscriptions Manager
this, you might think. Or, Wild Bill accurate replicas, I believe many Alex Mendoza Administrative Assistant
Jeno Torres Administrative Assistant
Hickok was deadly accurate with a old gun designs have a value for Victoria Van Vlear Intern Program Manager
gun like this. todays shooters far beyond their Arvind Sidhu Prepress Manager
Historically accurate replica mere historical significance. Yes, EDITORIAL, PRODUCTION & SALES OFFICE
rearms can be important to there are legitimate roles for the 22840 Savi Ranch Parkway, Ste. 200, Yorba Linda, CA 92887
(714) 939-9991 Fax: (800) 249-7761
reenactors, cowboy-action shooters modern black guns you see every-
www.engagedmediamags.com
or those who just want one as close where, and in other gun magazines www.facebook.com/eembybeckett
to the genuine article as possible. Im not against progress.

GUNSLINGERS is published by Engaged Media Inc., LLC,
More and more, however, Im But to me, real progress is a 22840 Savi Ranch Parkway, Ste. 200, Yorba Linda, CA 92887.
2016 by Engaged Media, Inc. All rights reserved.
seeing manufacturers respond to a Turnbull 1886 with a wooden stock,
Reproduction of any material from this issue in whole
faction of the shooting community color case-hardened finish, hand or in part is strictly prohibited.
that wants modernized Old West- engraving, and updated to fire a

CUSTOMER SERVICE
style rearms for everyday use, useful modern cartridge, such as Engaged Media, Inc.
22840 Savi Ranch Parkway, Ste. 200, Yorba Linda, CA 92887
hunting, plinking and defense. the .475 Turnbull. Im saving my
Subscriptions, Address Changes, Renewals,
Sure, Marlin has continued to pennies for one. Missing or Damaged Copies
(800) 764-6278
produce its line of ne lever-action If you should happen to run into
(239) 653-0225 Foreign Inquiries
ries, which are remarkably similar me sometime while Im wandering subscriptions@engagedmediainc.com
customerservice@engagedmediainc.com
to the ones they produced so long about the woods in the rain or snow,
Back Issues: www.engagedmediamags.com
ago. And the majority of them chances are youll nd me carrying Books, Merchandise, Reprints
(800) 764-6278 Foreign (239) 653-0225
are for real-world use, not just for a lever or pump-action rie with a
Letters to Editor, New Products, or to Contribute a Story or Photo
weekend cowboys. single-action revolver strapped to my djeffrey@engagedmediainc.com
Companies like Ruger and hip. Dont cry heresy if one of those
Freedom Arms have made modern guns is made of stainless steel.
single-action revolvers for years,
geared toward those who want Steven Paul Barlow, Editor
ENGAGED MEDIA INC.
updated versions of the old designs
Nick Singh President
for hunting. Celia Merriday HR and Office Management
Gus Alonzo Circulation/Marketing Director
More companies are jumping on
Jason Mulroney Director of Content
the bandwagonthough, because Pinaki Bhattacharya Vertical Manager
Philip Trinkle Newsstand Sales Director
were talking Old West-style guns,
maybe the bandwagon would be a
This magazine is purchased by the buyer with the understanding that information
presented is from various sources from which there can be no warranty or responsi-
bility by Engaged Media Inc., as to the legality, completeness or technical accuracy.

GS_SUM16_7 2/25/16 10:35 PM Page 7
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GS-1605-8-17-MOUNTED.CX.qxp 3/8/16 11:49 PM Page 8
Lessons
from Lenseigne
Cowboy Mounted Shooting Sensation
Kenda Lenseigne Discusses the Fastest
Shooting Sport On Four Legs
I
BY
-- MIKE SEARSON
f the sport of Cowboy Mounted Shooting has a face,

it is that of Kenda Lenseigne.
She has spent most of her life on the back of a
horse, riding competitively since the age of four.
Throughout her childhood, she competed in both Western and
English riding disciplines. She was introduced to the sport of
mounted shooting in California, where she qualied for the
World Championship after only her fourth competition.
An accomplished trainer of horses and riders, she went
on to become the rst female Cowboy Mounted Shooting
Association (CMSA) World Champion, and has amassed
more trophies and titles in shooting sports than just about
any other.
Additionally, she has set 11 world records in mounted
shooting, and works with numerous manufacturers to
develop gear for the sport, as opposed to just endorsing
products. In 2015, she was inducted into the CMSA Hall
of Fame.
We sat down with Kenda to get a better understanding
of the sport and to hear her thoughts on shooting, horses
and training.

Photo by Scoop

Gunslingers: I know that you had

a background in riding before you
got into mounted shooting. What
sort of riding was that?
Kenda: You could say that I was

born on a horse, but technically,
I started riding before I was born.
When my mom was pregnant with
me, she rode all the way until she
couldnt t in the saddle anymore.
At just a few months old, and as
soon as I could hold my own head
up, I was in the saddle with her again.
At the age of two, I got my
first pony, and was riding on my
own; and [I] started competing in
Western games (Gymkhana) at
age four. As I grew, I competed in
Western and English pleasure, and
then moved to Texas after school
When banking into a turn,
to work on a cutting-horse ranch. you cant correct the horse too
much, so you need to get on
target quickly. (Photo by John
Beckett Photography)
Gunslingers: Do you still compete
in other competitions, or is it
strictly mounted shooting? to come out to a Western festival to the fact that youre dealing with
see this new sport, and ended up another brain. It takes time to build
Kenda: I have dabbled in Cowboy giving it a try while I was there. a strong partnership with a horse,
Action Shooting, and [I] also pick The rest is history, as I was hooked to convince them to work for you
up a 1911 to compete at a USPSA from the very rst shot. at high levels of speed, especially
[United States Practical Shooting when adrenaline (and gunre
Association] match here and there. Gunslingers: You qualied for the noise) enters the equation.
Mounted shooting consumes my World Championship after only
days, nights and weekends, so your fourth competition. Were you Gunslingers: I see mounted
theres not a whole lot of time left a stronger rider or shooter (or shooting competitions as being
for anything else. both) than most? more than just blanks and
balloons. Besides requiring top
Gunslingers: What made you Kenda: I was denitely a stronger shooting skills, its made even
decide to make the transition to rider, as I had not picked up a gun more difficult by being on the
mounted shooting? prior to that fateful day at the back of a moving horse. Is that a
Western festival when I was talked correct assessment?
Kenda: In 1998, I moved to into trying the sport. Handling
California to work on another rearms is a mechanical skill, Kenda: You would be absolutely
cutting-horse ranch, and by way of but riding horses is a constantly correct. From the outside, at a
a friend of a friend, I was introduced evolving skillset of balance, quick glance in, I think the fact that
to mounted shooting. I was invited technique and rhythm; plus, theres we shoot blanks at balloons does

Uberti has introduced the

Short Stroke CMS KL Pro, which
is a special Kenda Lenseigne
edition with a birds-head grip
and 3.5-inch barrel designed
specically for those involved in
Cowboy Mounted Shooting.
plant a Wild West show image

into some folks perspective. In
reality, the mounted shooting
difficulty meter is through the roof.
There are so many factors
that need to happen all at once to
shoot clean. Heres a scenario to
think about: We are shooting a
Single Action Army, one-handed,
at reactionary targets; traveling
an average [speed] of 35 MPH
through a course with multiple
turns; changing guns halfway
through the course; all the while,
managing an animal; and oh yes,
then theres the fact that we must
remain focused and accurate while
all this is happening.
Gunslingers: Wow, thats a lot to

keep going! What would you say
your fastest time is?
Kenda: My fastest time clocked

this past year was a 9.3, in a full-
size stadium arena (about the size
Single-action revolvers
were meant to be red of a football field), and all of the
one-handed so you can
hold the reins with the aforementioned fundamentals
other. (Photo by Kristen
Lynn Photography) had to happen within those
nine seconds!

Shooting on the move is difficult,

but a true master of the sport,
such as Kenda, makes it look easy.
(Photo by Ken Amorosano)
We are shooting a Single Action Army, one handed, at reactionary

targets; traveling an average [speed] of 35 MPH through a course with
multiple turns; changing guns halfway through the course; all
the while, managing an animal
Gunslingers: What is involved partnership with the horse, so they depending on temperament, take
with the training of a horse for will work for you instead of doing to the sport immediately, where
mounted shooting, beyond their own thing. others require more time. I look at
acclimating them to the noise? breeding, conformation and tem-
Gunslingers: Will any horse make perament as three basic qualities
Kenda: Training shooting horses for a good mount, or is it some- when selecting a mounted-shoot-
includes countless hours of thing on the individual level of ing horse.
pattern work to get the horses to the animal? After that, starting the horse
be responsive and efficient in their properly on gunre, and then train-
turns. As its technically a team Kenda: Each horse is individual, ing it to become an athlete and
sport, its important to build a just like people. Some horses, partner is key.

Kenda: The most popular breed in the

sport is the American Quarter Horse.
They are bred to achieve high levels of
speed and agility in a short amount of
time, sort of like a Porsche sports car!
Gunslingers: Are there any special tack

requirements or gear that is tailored more
for the sport: saddle, stirrups, bit, etc.?
Kenda: Our rule book indicates that any

style [of] saddle may be used, but there
are certain advantages of using a saddle
designed for the sport. In 2008, I was
fortunate to work with Circle Y Saddles
to collaborate on a design specically
made for mounted shooting. It includes a
forward-tilted horn to allow clearance for
the riders holsters, and a few other
design features that make it unique to
mounted shooting.
Circle Y is a 50+ year-old company
and a leader in Western saddles; it is a huge
honor to have a line of saddles that bear
my name under the brand. I also helped
create a bit line with Professionals Choice,
another leader in the equine industry,
to enable riders to get the most out of
their steering power.
Gunslingers: Is there any part of a

mounted-shooting competition that you
nd difficult or challenging or something
you could get better at?
Cowboy Mounted Shooting started with period clothing, as in SASS, but the rules have lightened up over
the years to allow for more comfortable and modern Western athletic clothing. (Photo by Scoop)
A common comment from had horses that were high-

KENDAS CREDENTIALS
horse people when I tell them strung and spooky, and ac- Some of Kendas honors include:
I am a mounted shooter is, cept the noise from the rst 2014 CMSA Overall World Champion
My horse would never accept shot. I suppose horses, like 2012 CMSA Overall National Champion
gunre noise My response is kids, will make a liar out of 2010 CMSA Overall National Champion
that, You just never know. you every chance they get! 2009 CMSA Overall World Champion
I have owned horses that 2012/2013 CMSA Western U.S. Champion
have been quiet and calm Gunslingers: Are there 2012 CMSA Winter Champion
about everything until they particular breeds that are 2011 CMSA Central U.S. Overall Champion
hear gunfire. better athletes in the sport 2010 Winner of the Bianchi Cup Celebrity Pro-Am
In contrast, I have also than others?

Those blanks pack enough

wallop to break a balloon
at 20 feet. (Photo by Mark
Quigley Photography)
Kenda: Any competition, in any same level of partnership with my from launching a new Kenda
discipline, is a constantly evolving new mare. signature line of SAA revolvers that
skillset. There are so many factors will be competition-ready out of
that go into competitive shooting, Gunslingers: You are sponsored the box.
and just when you think youre on by Uberti/Benelli. Are your I am confident that the new
top, something can happen at any revolvers off the shelf models guns will revolutionize the sport,
given time and humble you. Thats or are they built specially for you? as they will come with a short-
the fun part, and the part that Do you make further refinements stroke action, which provides
continues to charge my batteries. after you get them? the entire job in half the time, and
My latest challenge is that I low and wide hammer spur for
am on a new horse this year. My Kenda: I signed on with Uberti last easier one-handed pull.
horse partner of 10 years had a year, as we are working on giving A big challenge of our sport is
career-ending accident last spring, the brand a fresh new look, so to getting that hammer cocked back
so I am working on achieving that speak. We are a few months away with one hand while moving at

Fancy, but practical, Kenda

has her own signature line of
holsters with Bianchi Cowboy.
35MPH, especially if the targets years ago and I feel that it works
are close together. just right for me. THE WILD WEST
SHOW CONNECTION
Cowboy Mounted
Gunslingers: I notice you use a Gunslingers: Obviously, you Shooting, or Western mounted
birds head-grip frame. Does the were an accomplished rider from shooting, got its start in the
early to mid-1990s as a way to
birds head give you better leverage the start, but this is a shooting combine the skill at arms of
Cowboy Action Shooting with
for cocking the hammer one-handed sport, so what do you feel is your
an equestrian sport; however,
while riding, or does it simply t your strongest attribute as a shooter? it harkens back to shooting
exhibitions held at Wild West
hand better? shows over 100 years ago.
Kenda: Given the fact that I have At the close of the 19th
century, shooters would shoot
Kenda: The birds head is a great fit been riding so long, I feel that my glass balls while riding at full
gallop; modern competitors use
for my hand. As grips are a personal ability to pilot my horse to get the
blank ammunition and re at
preference, unique to each user, most out of my pattern work is my balloons for the sake of safety.
it was what I was introduced to strongest attribute.

some of the worlds best shooters

in action, but it opened a door
of opportunity.
I met Scott Carnahan of
Safariland, who set me up with a
Bianchi rig to shoot the Pro-AM,
and afterward, we developed a
plan to breathe some fresh air
into the Bianchi Cowboy brand,
creating a line of mounted-
shooting holsters, specifically
designed for my sport.
Gunslingers: What do you think

poses the biggest challenge for
someone wanting to get into the
sport of mounted shooting?
Kenda: I teach new riders on [an]

average of five days a week, and
also train horses for the sport;
I am fortunate enough to live
near Ben Avery Shooting Range,
[which] has two full-size arenas
where I can teach and practice
without hassle. (Meaning, I dont
have to worry about disturbing
Kenda trains horses and riders to compete in mounted shooting. (Photo by Ken Amorosano)
my neighbors or having the sheriff
I also feel that I am a solid mental With that kind of prize at the called every time I shoot.)
competitor. Several years back, end of the line, one can imagine With that, I would say the
I would let my nerves get the the angst sitting in the saddle with biggest challenge for most is
best of meadrenaline was my me. I took a deep breath and told finding places to practice.
Kryptonite. After studying a myself that it was only 10 targets, Whereas a CAS or Pistol shooter
mental-management program, the same balloons that I shoot at might easily find a range in any
my adrenaline is now my fuel. home, and the rest made history. given town, mounted shooters
Pressure now helps me have to locate arenas that will
achieve clarity and focus, and Gunslingers: You proved your accept gunfire noise.
thats often where the game is skills as a shooter off the horse, As America is getting smaller
won or lost. Like most competitive too, when you won the Bianchi Cup by the day, finding places to ride
shooters, I have been in the Celebrity Pro-AM in 2010. How did and shoot are becoming more
highest pressure situations, and that make you feel? and more challenging. GNSL
mental focus was the winner of
the game; for example, in 2009, Kenda: Shooting the Bianchi Cup
going into the last stage, I was 10 2
Pro-AM was a turning point in my
MORE KENDA
of a second in the lead to be the career as a professional shooter. To nd out more about Kenda and
the sport of mounted shooting, visit
first woman to ever win the World Not only was it a blast to her website at: kendalenseigne.com.
Championship overall. participate, and exciting to witness

GS_1605_17 3/7/16 3:13 AM Page 17
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GS-1605-18-19-NEW INTRO.qxp 3/2/16 1:40 AM Page 18
Shootin
This Years Hot Firearms Include

Deluxe Commemoratives and New
Takes on Old West Favorites

GS-1605-18-19-NEW INTRO.qxp 3/2/16 1:40 AM Page 19
IRON
Photo Courtesy of Navy Arms
BY STEVEN PAUL BARLOW
F
ew things can stir up your enthusiasm about
putting rounds down range like a new gun
with Old West style. This year, there are
specially engraved commemorative models
for collectors, such as this Navy Arms/Winchester 1873
that celebrates the centennial of the Buffalo Bill Center
of the West museums. Also new this year are rugged,
all-weather guns for hunters, and historically accurate
replicas for competitors and those who appreciate
Western traditions.

GS-1605-20-27-SHOT.qxp 3/3/16 11:21 PM Page 20
NEW GUNS
... The Commemorative Model 1866 'Yellow Boy' lever-

action rifle is a faithful rendition of the first Winchester.
The Model 1866 was the rst rie to carry the Winchester name. Now, 150 years
later, the company is introducing this highly engraved commemorative Model 1866.
Winchesters 150th Anniversary Commemorative Model 1873 is chambered in

.44-40, which was the original chambering for the gun that won the West.
Winchesters Model 94 became popular for its use of the .30-30 cartridge, which used
smokeless powder. Winchester chose this iconic design as one of ve to offer in a special
commemorative edition celebrating the companys 150th anniversary.
150th ANNIVERSARY
Winchester Celebrates 150 Years with Special
Edition Releases of Some of its Classic Firearms
In 2016, Winchester Repeating Herman, Conrad and John Ulrich, in the deep-relief scroll engraving and
Arms is looking back 150 years to 19th century. gold embellishments.
1866the year it introduced the rst The rifle also features a Grade The 24-inch barrel is also a full-
rie to bear the Winchester name. V/VI oil-finished, walnut straight octagon configuration and has a gold
In recognition of this milestone, the stock and a highly polished, 24-inch barrel band. The suggested retail
company is introducing ve commem- full-octagon barrel. Sights include a price is also $3,330.
orative ries in 2016, three of which blade front and a ladder-style rear. The third gun is the Commemora-
will be of special interest to those who The tang is also drilled and tapped tive Model 94 in .30-30 Winchester.
for installation of an optional tang- It too features a 24-inch, full-octagon
appreciate guns of the Old West.
mounted rear sight. The MSRP of the barrel. The sights are the traditional
Except for the caliber (.44-40),
Model 66 is $3,330. semi-buckhorn rear and a Marble
the Commemorative Model 1866
The 150th Commemorative Arms, gold-bead front sight. The stock
Yellow Boy lever-action rifle
Model 1873 is a special-issue model and forearm will have cut, spade-style
is a faithful rendition of the first
of the gun that won the West. The checkering. The MSRP is $2,670.
Winchester. However, this rifle also
gun will be offered in its original The other Winchester commemo-
features some very special touches.
.44-40 chambering. It also features ratives for 2016 will include a Model
The polished brass receiver is embel-
an oil-finished walnut stock, and a 70 bolt-action rifle and a Model 101
lished with an engraving reminiscent
silver nitride-finished receiver with over/under shotgun.
of that done by renowned brothers,

EXCELLENT CHOICES
Henry Repeating Arms Continues to Expand its
Rimre and Centerre Lever-Action Offerings
The new All-Weather lever guns color case-hardened, steel-framed Silver is a pistol-caliber rifle with a
from Henry Repeating Arms are sure ries with 20-inch and 22-inch barrels, 20-inch octagon barrel. The gun
to please those looking for hard-use respectively, for a suggested $995. features nickel plating over an
hunting arms. The metal is hard- For $1450, new engraved models with aluminum-bronze receiver.
chrome-plated, but is finished with wildlife themes are available. If you want an original-style
low gloss, so it wont spook game. Among the companys pistol- Henry, its now offered in a deluxe,
The .30-30 model ($850) features a caliber firearms are the Big Boy Steel, engraved model with brass receiver for
20-inch barrel and straight-grip, with blued steel receivers in .44 $2495, and a color case-hardened
specially coated hardwood stock. Magnum, .45 Colt and .38 Special/.357 steel receiver for $2750; both are
The .45-70 model ($950) features an Magnum; these feature 20-inch barrels. chambered in .44-40.
18.43-inch barrel and a pistol-grip Henry also offers a carbine version Henry is also introducing its
coated hardwood stock. with a 16.5-inch barrel and big-loop Freemasons Tribute Rie in .22 caliber
Also in .30-30 and .45-70 are lever ($850). For $990, the Big Boy for a suggested $1020.
The Henry Big Boy Silver features nickel plating over an

aluminum-bronze alloy receiver. Its available in .44 Magnum,
.45 Colt and .38 Special/.357 Magnum.
The Henry All-Weather Rie is available in .45-70 with pistol-grip

stock (shown), and in .30-30 with a straight-grip stock.
The Henry Big Boy Steel is available in pistol calibers with options
of a straight-stock, 20-inch barrel (shown), or with a 16.5-inch
barrel and big-loop lever.

NEW GUNS
TOP REPLICAS
Ubertis New Guns for 2016 Offer Something
for Competitors, Collectors and Hunters
This year, Uberti is introducing an .44-40 and .357 calibers, in barrel will run at $719, with the .22 going
1873 Cattleman II single-action revolver lengths of 4.75, 5.5 and 7.5 inches. Its for $609.
with an innovative retractable ring pin. available in all steel for a suggested For hunters, Uberti will produce
The ring pin is on the hammer, but it is price of $559, or with a brass trigger the 1885 High Wall Big Game in
free oating. This allows the shooter to guard and back strap for $549. .45-70 calibers, with a 22-inch round
safely carry the revolver with all six For competitors, Uberti offers barrel and checkered walnut stock. It
chambers loaded, without the fear of the new Short Stroke SASS and short- will have standard iron sights, but will
an inadvertent blow to the hammer barreled (3.5) CMS Pro models with also come equipped with a Picatinny
causing an accidental discharge. low-prole hammers featuring shorter rail for mounting optics. The MSRP
When the hammer is fully travel for faster shooting. The Short will be $1119.
cocked, and the trigger is pulled, the Stroke CMS KL Pro is a special Kenda For something a bit fancier, Uberti
sear engages the firing pin, locking it Lenseigne edition, named for the offers an engraved, 150th anniversary
in the forward position to allow the Cowboy Mounted Shooting World Model 1866 Yellow Boy flat-side
gun to fire. The revolver features a Champion. For practice, theres a short rie with a 20-inch barrel in .45
color case-hardened frame and CMS 12-shot, .22LR model for Colt. It will be offered at a suggested
walnut grips, and is available in .45, low-cost training. The centerfires retail price of $1778.
Ubertis 1873 Cattleman II revolver features a

retractable, free-oating ring pin that allows the
gun to be carried safely with all chambers loaded.
Ubertis Short Stroke CMS KL Pro with birds-head grip

is a special-edition revolver named for Cowboy
Mounted Shooting World Champion, Kenda Lenseigne.

Ubertis engraved Model Ubertis 1885 High Wall Big

1866 rie commemorates Game in .45-70 calibers,
the 150th anniversary of with Picatinny rail, should
this rie, but will be prove to be an effective
offered in the more widely hunting rie for all types of
available .45 Colt. North American big game.

NEW GUNS
The Navy Arms 1892, featuring a 20-inch barrel, will

be offered in either .44 Magnum or .45 Colt.
The Navy Arms Lightning is a pump-action

rie in .45 Colt or .357 Magnum, which will be
offered in 20- and 24-inch barrel lengths.
The Navy Arms Smith Carbine, .50-caliber, will

feature a 21 58-inch semi-octagon barrel.
The Navy Arms Parker-Hale Whitworth rie will

feature a .451-caliber hexagonal-bored barrel.
SENSATIONAL SHOOTERS
Navy Arms Adds New Models to its
Lineup of Special Old West Firearms
Capitalizing on its recent success include a display case. Only 200 of the Navy Arms will also offer a
with its Model 1873 rifle, Navy Arms hand-engraved exhibition models will Model 1892 pistol-caliber carbine to
has announced the introduction of be made. The MSRP will be $7995, be available in ones choice of .44
several new models that are sure to while the presentation model will be Magnum or .45 Colt. These will
be special. The company is taking machine engraved and sell for $3500. feature a Grade I American walnut
orders now for its exhibition and Also new from Navy Arms will be straight stock, 20-inch octagon
presentation-grade Centennial Model its Lightning Deluxe pump-action rie barrel and color case-hardened
1873 rifles, which will commemorate in .45 Colt or .357 Magnum. Available frame. A coyote killer version in
the 100th anniversary of the Buffalo with either a 20-inch or 24-inch .44 Magnum with pistol-grip stock
Bill Center of the West, which the octagon barrel, the ries will feature will also be offered. The MSRP will
Wyoming-based museums will be bone-charcoal, color case-hardened be $2500.
celebrating in 2017. receivers with Nitre Blue screws. A For black-powder enthusiasts
The rie (shown on pages 18 and special coil-spring-powered extractor and reenactors, Navy Arms is
19) will start as a newly manufactured will ensure reliable functioning. Iron introducing its versions of the Parker-
Winchester 1873 in .44-40, and will be sights are provided, but the tang is also Hale Whitworth .451-caliber rifle and
highly engraved and embellished. Each drilled and tapped for installation of an the Skirmisher Model Smith .50-
will feature a 24.25-inch octagon barrel, optional Marble Arms tang-mounted caliber Carbine. The MSRP on each
color case-hardened receivers and will peep sight. The MSRP will be $2500. will be $1500.

READY FOR ACTION

Cimarron Continues to Offer Quality
Replicas of the Old Wests Finest Firearms
This year, Cimarron is offering a Geared toward mounted-shooting com- line of powerful and strong Model 71
long list of interesting Old West replicas, petitors, it features a specially designed lever-actions in .45-70 calibers, made by
many of them geared toward Cowboy low, wide hammer for easy cocking on Pedersoli. There is the Classic ($1846)
Action Shooting competitors. Among the move. This .45 revolver is available in and fancier Premium ($1940), both with
their handguns is the Eliminator series either a blued or stainless finish. The 24-inch barrels. Now available is the
of single-actions, with Cowboy Comp MSRP is $748 for the blued models and Hogzilla Killa, which is a Model 71 with
U.S. Action Job and 25 percent shorter upward of $973 for stainless-steel 19-inch barrel and Picatinny rail that
hammer stroke. models. All of the featured guns are should be perfect for hunting in thick
The Eliminator 8 features a 4.75- made exclusively for Cimarron by Pietta. cover. Its MSRP is $1846.
inch octagon barrel and is offered in For those wanting something extra Cimarron will also be offering a
.38/.357 and .45 calibers. The MSRP will special, Cimarron is offering laser- blend of old and new, seen in their
be $779. The Eliminator C (Competition) engraved pistols in either a nickel finish Model 1883 deluxe and Model 1889
has a 4.75-inch barrel and is also avail- or old silver frame, which is a two- standard double-barrel shotguns, made
able in .38/.357 and .45 calibers. It has a tone finish where the barrel, cylinder by Daudsons Armory.
color case-hardened, pre-war frame and and grip assembly have a blued finish, The 1883 deluxe is a side-lock
checkered grips. Theres the option of while the frame is left white. Grips model with engraved side plates; the
either a standard or low-profile, wide are available in poly-ivory or walnut. 1889 is a box lock. Both will feature
hammer. The MSRP starts at $714, The revolvers, chambered in .45 Colt, single triggers. The 1883, in .410 or 12
depending on model. are available in 4.75-inch or 7.5-inch gauge, will cost a suggested $813. The
The Eliminator TS (Thunderstorm) barrels. The MSRP starts at $649. 1889 will cost $792 for the .410 and
is offered in 3.5-inch or 4.75-inch barrels. As for long guns, Cimarron offers a $618 for the 12 gauge.
Cimarrons Eliminator 8 is an
1873-style single-action revolver
with an octagon barrel.
Cimarrons engraved revolvers

will be offered in either a
nickel or two-tone nish.
Cimarron will be offering its

1889 double-barrel shotgun
in either .410 or 12 gauge.

NEW GUNS
A TAKE-ANYWHERE .22
Chiappas New Kodiak Cub, Lever-Action Takedown
is a Portable, All-Weather Rimre Carbine
For those putting together a survival pack or wanting to portability of this little gun, it is offered as a takedown
hunt small gameeven for those who just want peace of model. It quickly breaks down to a mere 25 inches to make it
mindChiappas new Kodiak Cub All-Weather LA322 might easy to put in a pack.
just be the rearm for you. This little lever-action in .22LR The gun also comes with a hooded front sight and a
features a matte, hard-chromed nish on the receiver, bolt, rear leaf sight thats adjustable for elevation. A 38-inch
hammer, barrel, lever and magazine tube, making it a truly dovetail on the receiver accepts scope rings, and the
all-weather rearm. receiver is also drilled and tapped for optional scope bases.
The stock has Chiappas soft touch coating for a It has a capacity of 15 rounds and weighs about 5.5 pounds.
comfortable, non-slip grip in all conditions. To increase the The MSRP is $809.
For those putting together a survival pack ...

Chiappas new Kodiak Cub All-Weather might be
just the firearm for you.
Chiappas Kodiak Cub has

an attractive and durable
hard-chromed nish.

CONTACTS
Winchester
winchesterguns.com
Uberti
uberti.com
Navy Arms
navyarms.com
Cimarron Firearms Co.

cimarron-rearms.com
Henry Repeating Arms

henryrepeating.com
Chiappa Firearms
chiapparearms.com
Chiappas Kodiak Cub is

easy to take down to
make this little .22
handy to bring along.

GS-1605-28-29-SHRINK.CX.qxp 3/8/16 11:56 PM Page 28
TAMING
of theWest
Image by Universal Images Group/Getty Images

GS-1605-28-29-SHRINK.qxp 3/3/16 11:30 PM Page 29
T
he taming of the West wasnt
accomplished so much with
the Winchester rifle or the
Bowie knife as it was with
advances in communication and
transportation, as depicted in this
1880s illustration from the Illinois
Central Railroad.
In this special section, we look at how
the Pony Express, stagecoaches and
the establishment of transcontinental
railroad and telegraph systems all played
a part in making the West accessible.

GS-1605-30-35-PONY 3/6/16 11:00 PM Page 30
Image by MPI/Getty

GS-1605-30-35-PONY 3/6/16 11:01 PM Page 31
Ride Fast,
Ride Hard
Across Miles of Hostile Territory and Rugged Terrain,
Pony Express Riders Risked Death to Deliver Mail
BY STRATTEN WALDT
O
n April 13, 1860, at And he had done it in
exactly 5:45 PM, a only 10 days.
rider made his way One of the most remark-
into downtown able stories to come out of
Sacramento, Calif.; he was the Old West is that of the
accompanied by tremen- Pony Express. Although it
dous fanfare, including only existed for 19 months
bands playing, bells ringing between April 1860 and
and flags waving. He bore a October 1861it was the
letter of congratulation rst great line of communi-
from President James cation between the U.S.
Buchanan to Governor John coasts. Unlike some of the
Downey of California. This other stories of the time,
rider was the first of the like those of many
Pony Express to complete gunslingers, the story of
the journey from St. Joseph, the Pony Express needs
Mo. to Sacramento. no embellishment.

GS-1605-30-35-PONY 3/6/16 11:01 PM Page 32
This painting, showing a Pony Express rider trying to outrun an Indian attack, is indicative of some of the dangers faced by the riders. (Image by Ed Vebell/Getty)
Mark Twain called them little bits of men, brimful of spirit,

and they included some of the most famous names of the time.
LEADING THE WAY creation of an expedient mail THE ROUTE

Though it was ultimately service between St. Joseph and The rst key to achieving
unprofitable, the Pony Express Sacramento, and in 1859, they quicker delivery times was a
enterprise helped to win federal incorporated the Leavenworth & shorter route; however, the shorter
aid for an overland postal system, Pikes Peak Express Company. route was still approximately 1,900
foreshadowing the greater impor- Their goal was a delivery time of miles long. It roughly followed the
tance of overland parcel delivery, 10 daysa number that many Oregon and California trails to Fort
which would be taken up by Wells said was impossible. Bridger, Wyo.; then, the Mormon
Fargo and later the United States Before the creation of the trail to Salt Lake City, Utah; and
Postal Service. It also contributed Pony Express, there were several nally, the Central Nevada Route
greatly to the frontier towns along ways for messages to pass from to Carson City, before crossing the
its route. coast to coast. One of the most Sierras into California.
The Pony Express was reliable optionsdelivery by ship In 1860, there were roughly
founded by three men in the late could take at least a month, while 190 Pony Express stations spaced
1850s: William Russell, Alexander stagecoaches could take at least
Majors and William Waddell. All three weeks. In comparison, the 10 ORPHANS PREFERRED
PONY EXPRESS: St. Joseph, Missouri
three were already involved in the days proposed by the founders of
to California in 10 days or less.
freighting and drayage businesses, the Pony Express were daunting. WANTED. Young, skinny, wiry fellows
not over 18, willing to risk death daily.
and they held government contracts By using shorter routes, Orphans preferred. Wages $25 per
for delivering army supplies to mounted riders and way stations, week. Apply Pony Express Stables, St.
Joseph, Missouri. (Excerpted from
the frontier. however, they were able to accom- job advertisement.)
The team proposed the plish this goal routinely.

GS-1605-30-35-PONY 3/6/16 11:01 PM Page 33
THE ONE TIME IT

DIDNT MAKE IT
Only once did a Pony Express
shipment fail to go through. The Pony
Express often rode through hostile
territory. The riders did so lightly armed,
if at all. Some carried only a single
revolver with them for defense.
The Paiute War in mid-1860 took the
lives of many Pony Express employees;
it would be the only event that ever
stopped a shipment of mail from
reaching its destination.
380-mile ride, Pony Bob was shot

through the jaw with an arrow and
lost three teeth. Nonetheless, he
reached his destination.
After the Civil War, Pony Bob
Onlookers cheer the arrival of a Pony Express rider upon completion of the rst ride into California in April, 1860. worked as a rider for the Wells
(Image by Ed Vebell/Getty)
Fargo company, and was a scout
every 10 miles along the route. This After discovering that his for the U.S. Army well into his 50s.
was about the distance an average relief rider had been killed, Cody He maintained a strong friendship
horse could travel at a full gallop performed one of the longest with Buffalo Bill, and took part in
before tiring. At every station, the nonstop rides in the history of the his diplomatic mission to negotiate
riders would take only the mail company, traveling round trip the surrender of Chief Sitting Bull
pouch with them as they switched from Red Buttes Station to Rocky in 1890.
to a new horse. The pouch would Ridge Stationa distance of 322 These young men set their
hold roughly 20 pounds of mail. miles that required 21 horses to record with Lincolns inaugural
complete. Buffalo Bill would go on address, which took just eight
THE RIDERS to become one of the most storied days to reach California.
The mounted riders, roughly figures in American history.
80 of them, were usually small Pony Bob was also well TOO MANY PROBLEMS
teenage boys, and they could cover known in his day for both loyalty Unfortunately, the story of the
approximately 180 miles in a day, and bravery. Born in England in Pony Express was destined to be a
though many rode shorter legs. 1840, he emigrated to the United short one. From the outset, the
Mark Twain called them little bits States as a teenager, and later Pony Express was not a protable
of men, brimful of spirit, and they worked as a ranch hand and venture. The creation of so many
included some of the most famous government messenger. When the way stations, all of which had to be
names of the time. Pony Express set up operations in outtted, supplied and staffed,
Chief among them was 1859, he helped with the creation was enormously expensive.
William Buffalo Bill Cody and of several way stations before
Robert Pony Bob Haslam. At the getting hired as a rider.
STEEP OBSTACLES FOR
age of 15, Cody was on his way to He is credited with the longest PONY EXPRESS
California, when he encountered ride in the companys brief history, 1. Way stations were expensive to build
and maintain.
company agents along the way and which took place near the outset 2. The general public found it too
signed on as a rider. He took part in of local Paiute hostilities. Some expensive to send mail this way.
3. The Paiute War made it dangerous.
the construction of several way of his fellow riders were so scared 4. Advent of telegraph system made
it obsolete.
stations, and was eventually trans- of the Indian threat, they refused
5. Outbreak of Civil War stalled its use.
ferred to a division in Wyoming. to take the saddle. During the

GS-1605-30-35-PONY 3/6/16 11:01 PM Page 34
patrons were the government,

newspapers, businesses and
banks. There were also reports of
riders appearing in Sacramento
with as few as several dozen
lettersnowhere near their
carrying capacity.
On top of this, the Paiute War
broke out in May 1860, shortly after
the rm began operations, and
lasted until July. Roughly 6,000
Paiute had suffered through a long
winter when a raiding party
attacked Williams Station, a Pony
Express outpost on the Carson
River. Over the following months,
seven more stations were attacked,
16 employees were killed and
nearly 150 horses were lost. This
forced the edgling enterprise to
cease operations temporarily.
PONY EXPRESS BY
THE NUMBERS
80 The approximate number of Pony

Express Riders
18 The maximum age of a rider
25 The number of dollars per week a

rider earned
180 The average number of miles a

rider could travel in one day
10 The number of miles a rider traveled

before switching horses
1,900 The number of miles covered

to make the rst delivery
to California
10 The number of days it took to

get a letter from St. Joseph
to Sacramento
This period advertisement tried to drum up business for the Pony Express. (Image by Three Lions/Getty)
322 The number of miles covered by

East of Salt Lake City, there be hauled across considerable young Bill Cody during one ride
were pre-existing overland stage distances, which was not accom- 21 The number of horses Cody used to
operations that the company plished cheaply. make his trip
could utilize, but there was no Compounding this, the Pony 19 The number of months the Pony
such infrastructure out west. Express was never widely used by Express was in business
In many places, water had to the general public. Its primary

GS-1605-30-35-PONY 3/6/16 11:01 PM Page 35
and edited by Colonel Prentiss

Ingraham, a well-known dime
novelist noted for his tendency
to embellish.
LASTING LEGACY
In spite of its shortcomings,
the Pony Express was an amazing
innovationnot only for its time,
but for any time. Until the
invention of the telegraph made
the firm obsolete, it pushed
the limits of human and animal
endurance, accomplishing feats
once said to be impossible.
Even though it operated for
less than two years, the Pony
Express still holds a place in our
imagination. We are still capti-
vated by the image of the lone,
unarmed mailman racing across
the frontier to deliver parcels in
record time.
Before the invention of the
telegraph, the Pony Express was
one of the threads that bound the
Billy Johnson was just one of about 80 riders employed by the Pony Express. (Photo by Underwood Archives/Getty) East and West. It lasted only a short
while, but it has left an indelible
On June 16, 1860, about 10 most people were still unwilling to mark on American history. GNSL
weeks after the Pony Express had pay such a sum. The owners had
begun operations, Congress hoped to gain a protable contract THE PONY EXPRESS
passed a bill that would subsidize with the Federal Government, but TIMELINE
the creation of a transcontinental this never came to pass.
1859 The Leavenworth & Pikes Peak
telegraph line. Finally, the outbreak On October 21, 1861, the Pony Express Company is formed to get mail
from St. Joseph to Sacramento.
of the Civil War in April 1861 further Express was officially terminated,
damaged business. With a major though it was not until November April 13, 1860 The rst run between
St. Joseph and Sacramento is completed;
war brewing, fewer businesses that the last letters completed the rst letter is delivered.
were interested in sending their transcontinental journey.
May to July, 1860 The Paiute Indian
expensive mail across the country. The endeavor led to the near War spells trouble for the Pony Express as
stations are attacked, employees are killed
The initial cost of Pony nancial ruin of its three founders. and horses are lost.
Express mail was prohibitively Russell and Waddell died within a
June 16, 1860 Congress passes a bill to
expensive. From the outset, the decade of its failure, and never fund the transcontinental telegraph
system, which will make the Pony
cost to send one ounce of postage wrote a word about it. Majors
Express obsolete.
across the country was ve dollars, survived long after, but he did not
April 12, 1861 The Civil War begins.
roughly $130 today. Although the compose his life story until nearly
cost dropped to as low as one the end of the 19th century. When October 21, 1861 The Pony Express
ceases operations.
dollar before operations ceased, he did, much of it was ghostwritten

GS-1605-36-41-STAGE.qxp 3/3/16 11:40 PM Page 36
Desperate
Attacks and Terrible Weather Were Only Some of the
Challenges Faced by Stagecoaches
BY STRATTEN WALDT
I
n the best of times, it Many stagecoach services
was a dangerous, bone- operated in the Old West,
jarring profession. In the and their owners constantly
worst, it could be fatal. fought over passengers,
That was the rough-and- freight and, most important,
tumble life of a stagecoach government contracts.
driver. Drivers often overcame It has become a dening
terrible weather and pitted part of the history of the Old
dirt trails. Coaches became West. Wells Fargo, a company
stuck, disabled and some- with its origins in both banking
times overturned. Horses and freight, still uses the
often came up lame. There stagecoach as its symbol.
was also the real danger of But the history of the
attacks from both bandits stagecoach doesnt begin
and American Indians. in America.

Journeys
Peter Barritt/robertharding/Getty

Although the stagecoach was the safest way of traveling

long distances, it was considered terribly uncomfortable;
a journey to be endured, not enjoyed.
Stagecoaches sometimes covered great distances through remote areas where railroads didnt reach. This photo of a stagecoach passing through Monument Valley, Ariz.,
was taken in 1905. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty)
JOURNEY ACROSS THE POND At that time in America,

THE BUTTERFIELD
The production of stage- however, stagecoaches were just OVERLAND MAIL COMPANY
coaches began in England. Today, about to enter their golden age. Even though stagecoaches
connected existing population centers
crude designs survive from the They had begun operating in the on the East Coast, nothing of the sort
13th century, though they took United States by the mid-18th existed between Missouri and California.
This all changed in 1857, when John
on a modern form sometime in century, first within New England Buttereld began the development of
an overland mail route from St. Louis to
the 1700s. and later between New York and San Francisco, by way of El Paso, Texas.
The first routes ran between Philadelphia. By 1829, Boston was After being awarded a federal
contract of $600,000 per year to carry
Edinburgh and Leith, and over the a hub of 77 stagecoach lines, U.S. mail across the country, Buttereld
next 200 years, they became a which grew to 106 by 1832. used the money to develop way stations
at regular intervals.
defining part of English culture. The first mail coaches Preparation for the line took more
than a year, but Butterelds Overland
In fact, Shakespeares plays were appeared in the late 18th century, Mail Line began operations on September
first performed at the coaching carrying both passengers and 16, 1858. Except for the brief stops at the
stations, the coaches would operate
inns dedicated to supporting this parcels, and replacing the earlier both day and night, and passengers
form of transportation. By the post riders. It was the stagecoach were expected to sleep on the move.
The journey was grueling, but it was the
1830s, the creation of railways that first opened up the American fastest option available. It would take
passengers and cargo roughly 25 days to
had spelled out the end for the West to a wider range of passen- get from St. Louis to San Francisco.
slower stagecoaches. gers, mail and cargo.

RIDING SHOTGUN
The phrase riding shotgun comes
from the term shotgun messenger
a private express messenger and guard
who oversaw valuable private shipments.
This individual was employed to protect
shipments deemed more important
than mail or passengers, including cash
or bullion, and to provide an armed
response to bandits. As their title
suggests, shotgun messengers would
often carry sawed-off shotguns; however,
they also commonly used ries.
The term did not actually enter
popular usage until 1905, when it
appeared in The Sunset Trail by Alfred
Henry Lewis. It became commonplace
to hear the term in Old West films,
including the 1939 classic Stagecoach.
By the 1950s, it was almost an
obligatory term in U.S. Westerns.
Stagecoach travel in the Old West Today, it is more commonly used to
could be an adventure, as depicted
in this painting of a stagecoach claim the passenger seat in a car.
eeing from an attack. (Image by
DEA Picture Library/Getty)
Even as the East developed a

more comprehensive rail network,
it was still exceedingly difficult to
go to or through the American
frontier. Travel by ship was expen-
sive, and could take anywhere
from three weeks to three months
to make the journey from New York
to California. Until the construction
of the Transcontinental Railroad in
1869, the stagecoach lled this
role admirably for the better part
of a century.
BUILT FOR FUNCTION

Stagecoaches were operated
by skilled drivers pulling teams of
four to six horses, and operated at
an average speed of about ve
miles per hour. Drivers would swap
Cargo was just as important as passengers to a stagecoach line. Here, a restored Wells Fargo Concord coach is being
out every 45 to 50 miles. loaded in a reenactment. (Photo by George Pickow/Getty)
Although the stagecoach was
the safest way of traveling long used stagecoach for passenger The coaches weighed more
distances, it was considered terribly services. Designed by the Abbot than a ton, and cost between $1,500
uncomfortable; a journey to be Downing Company, the Concord and $1,800 (roughly $40,000 to
endured, not enjoyed. However, this utilized leather-strap braces in place $50,000 today). They had three
all changed in 1827 with the inven- of a spring suspension, resulting in a seatsenough for nine passengers
tion of the Concord stagecoach, swinging motion instead of jostling with little legroom, though passen-
which became the most commonly passengers up and down. gers were welcome to ride on top.

Enough restored stagecoaches

still exist that some are used in
historical reenactments and
Western shows. (Photo by
gchutka/Getty)
Additionally, they earned a that stagecoaches would

THE POETRY OF THE STAGE
reputation for unmatched have been able to operate for Creeping through the valley, crawling oer the hill,
Splashing through the branches, rumbling oer the mill;
quality; a Concord, it was said, the benet of passengers Putting nervous gentlemen in a towering rage.
didnt break down, it simply and freight. What is so provoking as riding in a stage?
wore out. Even though the Pony Spinsters fair and forty, maids in youthful charms,
U.S. Mail contracts were Express is often credited with Suddenly are cast into their neighbors arms;
Children shoot like squirrels darting through a cage
especially protable for being the first fast Missouri- Isnt it delightful, riding in a stage?
stagecoach companies, and to-California mail service, Feet are interlacing, heads severely bumped,
the competition for these this is not necessarily true. Friend and foe together get their noses thumped;
Dresses act as carpetslisten to the sage;
was erce. In fact, without In September of 1858, the "Life is but a journey taken in a stage.
these government contracts, Overland Mail Company
From: Six Horses by Captain William Banning & George
it would have been unlikely began a twice weekly mail Hugh Banning (1928)

GS-1605-36-41-STAGE.CX.qxp 3/9/16 12:20 AM Page 41
STAGECOACH HISTORICAL TIMELINE

1200s 1800s Coach lines operate in England
1827 Concord stagecoach invented using leather strap braces for a more comfortable ride
1832 106 coach lines operating in Boston area
1858 Buttereld Overland Mail Company created to run between St. Louis, Mo. and
San Francisco
1866 Wells Fargo consolidates transportation providers west of Missouri
1869 Completion of the Transcontinental Railroad provides faster, more comfortable journey
between coasts
1900s Proliferation of the automobile spells the end of the stagecoach
1939 The movie Stagecoach shows the difficulties encountered by stagecoach passengers,
and makes a star out of any actor named John Wayne
Swing stations were more 1861 also created massive problems

numerous, and usually ran by a few for the industry. Confederates
bachelor stock tenders; they were would often seize coaches,
smaller and normally consisted of interrupting mail service between
nothing more than a cabin and a the two coasts, and stagecoach
corral. Here, the stagecoach driver lines were forced to engage in the
would swap out his horses for a costly practice of moving their lines
fresh team and continue the northward. This necessitated the
journey after a break of about 10 construction of new way stations
minutes; these stations were and infrastructure, which was
spaced every 12 miles or so. almost prohibitively expensive.
Home stations, on the other Ultimately, it was the invention
hand, were usually located about of the automobile in the early
50 miles apart, and were often 1900s that truly killed the stage-
run by a couple or family. These coach. Up to that point, short-
stations provided meals and haul stagecoaches had continued
overnight lodging, and often to function in areas with little
included stables, a blacksmith railroad service; but automobiles
and a telegraph station. proved to be too inexpensive and
All told, at one time, more than effective for the stagecoach to
150 stations existed between compete with.
California and Kansas. In its hey- At its best, stagecoach travel
day, the stagecoach truly was the was not very comfortable, it was
dominant form of transportation not glamorous and it was not fun.
service that ran from San between the East and West. For the average rider, the east-
Francisco to Missouri. While it to-west journey was a test of
wasnt quite as quick as the Pony REPLACED BY RAIL AND AUTO endurance. As Louis McLane,
Express famous ten-day route, it Much like the Pony Express, once the head of Wells Fargo and
regularly made the journey in 25 however, the development of new Company, said, I thought staging
days or lessno small accom- technologies spelled the end of looked very well to the lithographer,
plishment for the time. the stagecoachs glory days. but was the Devil in reality.
By 1869, the completion of the Nonetheless, the stagecoach
STOPS ALONG THE WAY Transcontinental Railroad elimi- was the first real bridge between
Stagecoach lines usually oper- nated the need for transcontinental the two coasts, and today, it
ated two types of stations along stage-coaching. occupies an important place in
their routes: swing and home. The advent of the Civil War in Americas history. GNSL

GS-1605-42-49-RAIL.qxp 3/6/16 11:12 PM Page 42

Steam-Powered
PROGRESS From Scaling the Rockies to
Battling Train Robbers,
Establishing the Railroad
was a Monumental Task
BY JOHN MCQUAID
B
uilding the countrys First
Transcontinental Railroad was
a colossal task, requiring the sweat,
blood and intense labor of thousands
of men, who worked under harsh conditions
and often died as a result. Mountains that got
in the way were chipped to size with pick and
shovel, or blasted with dynamite, forging
pathways to the West Coast.
The rail line, covering 1,776 miles and
connecting the Atlantic and Pacific coasts,
was constructed between 1863 and 1869. Men
from all walks of life worked on the railroad,
including former slaves who had become
free men after the Civil War ended. Several
thousand Chinese immigrants also tirelessly
labored through the back-breaking work
of laying track.

Railroad workers in South Dakota

relax during some down time.
(Photo by John C.H. Grabill/Getty)
Ten Pinkerton agents were waiting for the
Reno Gang, and opened fire when the gang
attempted to board the express car.
Many Native American tribes East establish an invaluable link to from east to west was no longer
were angered by the white mans the Wild West. such a long, difficult journey. Those
ever-growing expansion into tribal Consumer goods, professional who never would have dared to
territories. Railroad workers services and mail could be carried venture west before the railroad,
also had to deal with attacks by at much faster speeds via the no longer found the journey so
American Indian Braves trying to railroad than by horse-drawn daunting. The Wild West didnt
stop the loss of their ancestral wagons. For the faint of heart, seem so wild anymore.
lands to western expansion. trains offered a safer, more
Once the railroad was comfortable way to explore the BOOM TOWNS
completed, train robbers became untamed American West. Several boom towns sprung
a new concern. These were With the Transcontinental up in the West during the expan-
volatile and exciting times in Railroad came new townscenters sion of the railroad. Depots were
Americas history. of commerce. Midwestern rail placed about 20 miles apart to
yards became distribution hubs provide trains with needed water
BRIDGING THE GAP for rugged cowboys bringing their and coal. Telegraph stations were
The invention of the steam- cattle to satisfy customers on the also located at train depots.
driven locomotive, and the estab- East Coast eager for fresh beef. The railroad expansion required
lishment of the Transcontinental As the rail lines expanded, the tons of timber to lay track, and
Railroad, helped America in the West seemed to shrink. Getting water to power the steam engines.

GS-1605-42-49-RAIL.CX.qxp 3/9/16 1:31 AM Page 45
This wooden viaduct near Dale

Creek, Wyo., was built by the Union
Pacic Railroad. It was later
replaced with a steel structure.
(Photo by Henry Guttmann/Getty)
GUNS OF THE
RAILROAD COPS
The Pinkerton detectives carried
various rearms while protecting the
Transcontinental Railroad. In 1874,
Pinkerton detectives Louis Lull and John
Boyle ran into the Younger Gang in
Roscoe, Mo. Detective Lull carried a
British-made, Trantor .43-caliber pistol
with a 5 78-inch barrel, and a concealed
No. 2 Smith & Wesson revolver. At the
end of the gunght, John Younger and
Louis Lull were both dead.
Another preferred rearm of the
Pinkerton Detectives was the .31-caliber
small-frame dragoon with a ve-shot
cylinder. It was concealable and proved
effective in a shootout conned to a
train car.
Popular arms for lawmen of the
day ranged from Colt and Remington
revolvers, Henry carbines and the
Winchester lever-actions rifles that
followed. It was even reported that
Allan Pinkerton carried a sawed-off
double-barrel shotgun.
Omaha Station (Nebraska) of the Union Pacic in 1870.
(Photo by Hulton Archives/Getty)

Building the railroad required

the sweat, blood and intense labor
of thousands of men, who worked
under harsh conditions and often
died as a result.
A train stops near Weber Canyon on its

way to the Golden Spike celebration,
marking the completion of the
Transcontinental Railroad in 1869.
(Photo by Archive Photos/Getty)
Therefore, rail lines needed to be during their down time, which The buildings were often made
located relatively close to sources created opportunities for entre- of nothing more than wood or
of water, coal and timber. The preneurs to help them squander canvas, and were often temporary
discovery of coal, gold, silver and their hard-earned coins. structures that could be packed up
gems would often dictate where It was Samuel Bowles, editor of and moved to follow the railroad
rail lines would branch off. the Springeld, Mass., newspaper as it advanced. Living conditions
The Republican, who rst used were less than sanitary.
HELL ON WHEELS the term Hell on Wheels after he Trainloads of migrant workers
Whenever towns sprang up observed the railroad town of North came to these towns looking to land
overnight, there was bound to be Platte, Neb. The town consisted of jobs laying track and working the cut.
trouble. Lawlessness and anarchy gambling houses, saloons, brothels Large amounts of money changed
ran rampant through these rail- and dance hallsall of which hands in these often lawless towns,
road-driven urban areas. Railroad served to entertain railroad workers, creating an environment where
workers needed a way to let loose miners and traders. criminals could cash in on robbing

DEMISE OF THE RENO GANG

On October 6, 1866, the Reno Gang carried out the rst moving-train robbery in the U.S.,
making off with over $10,000 from the Ohio and Mississippi train in Jackson County, Ind.
Pinkerton was called on to investigate the robbery.
Although train robberies had previously taken place aboard locomotives stopped at
train depots or shipping yards, robbing moving trains was unprecedented. This new method
caught on quickly due to the scant law enforcement in the Old West.
The Reno Gangs train-robbing career came to an end on July 9, 1868, when the gang
attempted to rob an O & M train at the Shields watering station near Brownstown, Ind. Ten
Pinkerton agents were waiting for the Reno Gang, and opened re when the gang attempted
to board the express car. One was captured; three others were wounded, but ed.
William and Simeon Reno were captured by Pinkertons detectives that same month.
Frank Reno and Charlie Anderson ed to Canada, but were captured and turned over to
the Pinkertons.
Six other Reno members had been previously lynched by mobs in two separate
incidents. On December 11, 1868, the four remaining Reno gang members were taken from
the jail in New Albany by a lynch mob.
The mob cut the telegraph lines and overpowered Chuck Whitten, who was guarding
outside. The vigilantes then beat and shot the sheriff, who had refused to surrender the
keys to the jail. His wife turned over the keys after her husband took a bullet in the arm.
All four men were hanged, ending their outlaw careers.
Ready for the rails, a path is cleared for the laying of tracks during construction of the Transcontinental Railroad.
(Photo by Omikron/Getty)
trains and railroad men. Justice was marksman, known to be fearless. train-robbing career in history.
likely meted out through the barrel He joined brothers Tom and Sam One of the most famous train
of a smoking peacemaker or the Ketchum in what became known as robbers was Jesse James, who had
bloody edge of a bowie knife. the Ketchum Gang, notorious for formerly served for the Confederate
robbing trains in New Mexico. Army during the Civil War. He was
ROBBERY ON THE RAILS In 1898, Kilpatrick joined trained in guerrilla warfare and had
The railroad had its problems, another band of outlaws, known experience disrupting trains.
too, with outlaws trying to make a as the Wild Bunch. The gang James first train robbery took
quick buck. One of the most noto- consisted of leader Butch Cassidy, place on July 21, 1873, in Adair,
rious train robbers of the Old West Harry Longabaugh (The Iowa. Dressed in Ku Klux Klan
was Ben Kilpatrick. Sundance Kid), Harvey Logan, garb, he and his gang derailed a
Standing at 6 feet 2 inches George Curry, William Carver, Elza Rock Island train by loosening
tall, Kilpatrick earned the name, Lay and Bob Meeks. The Wild a section of track and yanking it
The Tall Texan. He was a deadly Bunch had the most successful away as the train approached.

The Wild Bunch, shown in 1901: (Standing, left) William Carver and Harvey Logan (Kid Curry). Seated (from left) are Harry Longabaugh (The Sundance Kid); Ben Kilpatrick
(The Tall Texan); Robert Leroy Parker (Butch Cassidy). All of these notorious train robbers were eventually shot and killed. (Photo by Print Collector/Getty)
This resulted in the death of the Men like Jesse James and some of the most notorious out-
trains engineer. James and his Ben Kilpatrick made it necessary laws of the Old West.
brother Frank then robbed the for the railroad companies to The agency was formed
train at gunpoint, making off with equip trains with armed men who by Allan Pinkerton, who had been
about $3,000. would protect passengers and born in Glasgow, Scotland and
On January 31, 1874, James valuable cargo. immigrated to America in 1842.
robbed another train in Missouri. He worked as a barrel maker, a
Jesse and his gang rode into Gads LAWMEN ON THE RAILS deputy sheriff and a special
Hill wearing Ku Klux Klan masks; The Pinkerton Detective agent for the U.S. Post Office.
they stopped the train by lighting Agency was subsequently hired Around 1850, Pinkerton
a bonre near the station platform, to protect railroad interests. formed Pinkertons National
and forcing one gang member to Pinkerton detectives were Detective Agency. The motto of
stand on the tracks holding a red responsible for bringing down his agency was, We never sleep.
signal lamp.
As the train neared the station, RAILROADS IN THE OUTLAWS SIGHTS
1850 Pinkerton National Detective Agency founded; eventually hired to track
the conductor jumped off to inves-
down train robbers
tigate. He was taken prisoner, and
October 6, 1866 Reno gang commits rst peacetime robbery of a moving train in the U.S.
the train was switched to a siding. December 11, 1868 Last four members of the Reno gang are lynched
The Jesse James Gang boarded the May 10, 1869 The First Transcontinental Railroad in the U.S. is completed
train, raided the mail express car, July 21, 1873 Jesse James robs train in Iowa, his rst since the Civil War
and then robbed the passengers of June 2, 1899 The Wild Bunch, with Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, rob their last train
their valuables.

Union Pacic Railroad

workers lay track near
Laramie, Wyo., in 1868.
(Photo by Omikron/Getty)
To drive this point home, the down the tracks, helped to shrink towns that sprang up along
agencys symbol featured an the West. The railroad made it the Transcontinental Railroad.
unblinking eye. possible to haul multitudes of Train-robbing outlaws murdered
Pinkertons agents provided people and goods across the citizens and lawmen assigned to
President-elect Abraham Lincoln continental United States. protect the rail lines.
protection as he traveled to But this innovation came at a Trains carved a bloody path
Washington, D.C., to be sworn in. steep price. through the American Frontier,
He also served under Union Men died laying track. and laid the groundwork for
General George McClellan as People were murdered in the bringing civilization to the Wild
Chief of Intelligence during the lawless wood-and-canvas boom West. GNSL
Civil War.
Eventually, Pinkerton agents
were hired to protect trains, which HE NEVER CAUGHT JESSE
The Pinkerton Agency became famous for its pursuit of train robbers like Butch
often carried large quantities of Cassidys Wild Bunch, The Younger Gang and the Dalton Brothersbut Pinkerton was never
able to capture Jesse James.
cash and gold, brought on by a The Pinkertons were hired on by the Adams Express Company to capture the James
booming western economy. The Gang after they robbed a train in Gads Hill, Mo. Pinkerton sent Detective Joe Whicher to Clay
County to investigate. Detective Whicher went to the James homestead against the advice
sparsely populated West gave of a former sheriff and was found murdered the next day.
outlaws plenty of places to stop In January of 1875, Allan Pinkerton sent detectives, accompanied by sympathetic
locals, to the James homestead, which resulted in a botched raid. Jesse and Frank James
trains in remote areas. were not captured, and tragedy struck when an incendiary device malfunctioned and
exploded in the house. Jesses eight-year-old half-brother, Archie, was killed, and his
mother, Zerelda, was injured.
CIVILIZATION AT A PRICE Pinkerton suffered extreme criticism for the raid at the James farm, causing him to
give up on the case. Pinkerton died in 1884, just two years after Jesse James was shot in
Theres no doubt the steam- the back by Robert Ford. Pinkertons sons, William and Robert, took over the agency,
belching locomotive, chugging which continued with successful growth.

GS-1605-50-55-TELEGRAPH 3/7/16 2:14 AM Page 50
Photo by Tetra Images/Getty
THE WIRE A Boon to Business and the Bane of the Bad Men, the
Creation of the Coast-To-Coast Telegraph System Was
a Hard-Fought Step to Civilizing the West

S
BY JOHN MCQUAID
ending a telegraph message across the country

in 1862 must have seemed miraculously easy.
Building the transcontinental telegraph system
just a year earlier, and across a vast wilderness,
was at times so difficult, it seemed a miracle would be
needed to complete it.

In the late 1890s, Marconis invention of a

practical, long-range wireless telegraph
phased out the stringing of wires across
long distances. (Image by Stock
Montage/Getty Images)
TAKING THE LONG WAY Telegraph workers put up these hard-working men got the
The telegraph systems anywhere between three to eight job done.
rst obstacles were the endless miles of line per day. But Mother
stretches of rugged terrain that had Nature didnt always cooperate. SOURCING TIMBER
to be crossed through the Great Rain storms, high winds and The Great Plains werent a
Plains and over the towering Rocky extreme temperatures made it very good source of timber, which
and Sierra Nevada mountain difficult for men to dig holes, drop was needed to make telegraph
ranges. Remember, the transconti- in telegraph poles and string poles. Procuring the telegraph
nental railroad had not been built at telegraph wire. poles for the route would involve
this time. Suppliesglass insulators Installing telegraph poles in hauling timber in wagons from
and telegraph wirehad to be a blistering-hot desert certainly Carson City, Nev., to Salt Lake
shipped the long way to the West hampered work crews; neverthe- City; the journey was 600 miles
Coast, and then, moved by horse- less, the prospect of spending a in length.
drawn freight wagons to the bone-chilling winter in the wilder- James Street, representing the
construction crews working their ness spurred the men to complete Overland Telegraph Company,
way east. Provisioning the workers the job all the more quickly. It solved the problem by forging an
was also a major concern. was a daunting challenge, but agreement with Brigham Young to

INDIAN RELATIONS VIA TELEGRAPH

James Street of the Overland Telegraph Company made it a point to meet with Native
American chiefs after negotiating a timber deal with Brigham Young and the Mormons.
His goal was to establish good will with the chiefs, and explain to them the purpose of the
telegraph. He met up with Sho-Kup, the chief of the Shoshone Indians, who also had great
inuence over other tribes, such as the Goshutes and Paiutes.
Street ended up inviting Sho-Kup on a trip to San Francisco via stagecoach. Yet, when
Sho-Kup arrived in Carson City, he wanted to go back home and check on his sick wife.
An interpreter explained to Sho-Kup how the telegraph worked, prompting him to call
it, We-ente-mo-ke-te-bope, meaning, wire-rope express. He was told that when the
telegraph was nished, he could speak to his wife all the way from San Francisco. But
Sho-Kup could not grasp the idea that he could communicate across a distance of 300 miles.
Sho-Kup looked at the telegraph like it was an animal, asking to know what it fed
on. He was told that it ate lightningwhich Sho-Kup also didnt believe. Sho-kup dug in
his heels, refusing to go to San Francisco to meet with Overland Telegraphs President
Horace Carpentier.
Fortunately, a compromise was reached, and the two men spoke to each other via
telegraph. Sho-Kup sent a message to Carpentier, ensuring him that his Indians would not
trouble the telegraph, and that he was a friend of the white man.
Once Carpentier received this message, he sent several friendly replies to Sho-Kup.
Carpentier also sent several gifts to the chief. The importance of having friendly relations
with the tribes was well understood.
have his Mormon workers provide

a large amount of timber to cover
that section of the route.
During the Civil War, labor and
supplies were in high demand for
the war effort, and the telegraph
line was dismantled and rerouted
due to political pressure.
UNWELCOME CHANGE
The invention of the telegraph
wasnt welcomed by everyone in
the Westnamely by notorious
outlaw Jesse James. During the
Civil War, he conducted guerrilla
operations under the leadership
Samuel Morses single-wire telegraph system was used to send messages using his Morse Code. (Image by Stock
of William Quantrill. Montage/Getty)

Members of the U.S. Military Telegraph

Corps set up communications at
Wilcox Landing, Va., in 1864.
(Photo by Buyenlarge/Getty)
His Bushwhackers attacked telegraph. His telegraph lines ran That same evening, Overlands
quickly and viciously, going after from Omaha, Neb., to Salt Lake president, Horace Carpentier, sent
Union supply wagons, camps and City. Meanwhile, James Gamble message to President Abraham
trains. They burned bridges and worked on the western end, super- Lincoln announcing the comple-
also cut telegraph lines. vising the installation of lines from tion of the telegraph to California.
Later, outlaw Joe Walker San Francisco to Salt Lake City.
teamed up with Butch Cassidy and The Pacic Telegraph Company PUT TO PRACTICE
Elza Lay for the Castle Gate robbery. finished the eastern portion of The invention of the telegraph
While Cassidy and Lay were robbing the line on October 18, 1861. The allowed speedy communication
the mine office, Walker was busy western section wasnt as long, over hundreds of miles. If a U.S.
cutting the telegraph lines near but covered rougher terrain. Marshall or Pinkerton detective
Helper, Utah, so that authorities The Overland Telegraph obtained intelligence on a wanted
couldnt raise an alarm. Company took on this task, gang of outlaws, he could go to the
Native Americans would also completing it on October 24, 1861. nearest telegraph station, transmit
cause disturbances, sometimes
rustling cattle intended to feed
A WISE BUSINESS DECISION
work crews. At times, crews were The Overland Telegraph Company decided to play it smart and meet with the Native
American tribes whose land the telegraph lines crossed. They hired Native American
murdered, and isolated stations
workers, mainly to herd stock, and often paid them in clothing and supplies, which
were terrorized. seemed to satisfy them.
The Native American workers were happy to stay away from the telegraph lines
following an incident where a worker with bare hands and feet received an electrical shock
COAST-TO-COAST COMMUNICATION while helping another worker handle copper line.
By and large, it did not appear that Native Americans regularly damaged the
Western Union General Agent telegraph lines. There are, however, exceptions. For example, Sweetwater Station was
attacked by Sioux warriors, leading to a fight that lasted several days.
Edward Creighton supervised the
When the Sioux initially attacked, the telegraph operator promptly notied the
labor force that worked on the nearest fort for military assistance. The Sioux cut the telegraph lines after the message was
sent, in an attempt to stop Sweetwater Station from obtaining assistance.
eastern end of the transcontinental

THE BIRTH OF RAPID COMMUNICATION

Samuel Morse and other inventors worked on creating the telegraph, which was
invented between the 1830s and 1840s, and revolutionized the communications industry.
It worked by transmitting electrical signals over wires from one station to another.
Morse also invented a code for communicating by telegraph, appropriately named, Morse
Code. The code assigned a series of dots and dashesshort and long signalsto represent
each letter of the alphabet. This allowed for the transmission of messages across telegraph
lines. The original Morse Code printed code on tape, and a trained Morse Code operator could
transmit 40 to 50 words a minute.
In 1844, Morse sent the rst telegraph message from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore.
The telegraph caught on quickly, and by 1866, one was transmitted across the Atlantic
Ocean, connecting the U.S. and Europe.
Dispatching trains by telegraph began in 1851, with telegraph lines usually running along
the railroad right of way. By 1861, the transcontinental telegraph was completed.
In this 1880 drawing, Texas cattle

herders practice their revolver
marksmanship skills by ring
at telegraph insulators. (Image by
Universal History Archive/Getty)
the information to his superiors and

request additional manpower, if
needed. Backup could board the
next train and be en route a lot
quicker than horseback.
The telegraph also provided
the railroad industry with valuable
quick-time data. For example, a
train stopping at a depot could
have a telegraph waiting for the
engineer to warn him of broken
tracks ahead or a derailed train.
This would avoid a potential
derailment or collision with the
disabled locomotive.
Important messages could be
carried more quickly than via the
With a steady hand on the key, a telegraph operator often relayed important messages for the military,
Pony Express. Meanwhile, military law enforcement and business. (Photo by Super Stock/Getty)
outposts could call for additional
assistance or requisition supplies. distances sped up the process of it was a modern marvel. High-
taming the Wild West. With the speed communication signicantly
MAKING CONNECTIONS completion of the telegraph, helped forge the West from a
The transcontinental people in California didnt have to lawless territory to a place where
telegraph systems ability to feel isolated from the rest of the law and order would become the
communicate quickly over great country. Like the steam locomotive, norm. GNSL

GS-1605-56-61-HORSES.qxp 3/2/16 1:59 AM Page 56
Old West
HORSEPO W
A Look at How One Animal
Changed Life in the Old West

O WER
M
BY STRATTEN WALDT
ore than anything else, it was the horse that

shaped the history of the American West.
All of the enduring cultural symbolsfrom
stagecoaches to the Pony Express, and
cowboys to lawmenwere defined by the animal.
Horses played a major role in both the development
and everyday life of the Old West. They shaped its culture
and the way people were able to interact with the land.
Photo by Peopleimages.com/Getty

It was difficult to travel almost any distance in a reasonable

amount of time The horse was the only solution.
Horses were needed not

only for transportation,
but also for work around
the homestead, such
as plowing elds. (Photo
by Buyenlarge/Getty)
HORSES REINTRODUCED Although domesticated horses American settlers started to move

Spanish explorers and rst made it to the North American westward, horses already had a
missionaries first brought horses mainland in 1519 with the arrival of long and storied history in what
over to the New World. These Hernn Corts, it was not until the would come to be known as the
horses were primarily Spanish end of the 16th century that they frontier. With the distances
and North African breeds, but were brought north of Mexico in between major hubs being so vast,
many escaped shortly after they greater numbers. At that point, the the horse took on even greater
were brought to the American local Native American populations importance in the West than it did
West in the early 1500s. quickly adopted the practice of in the cities back east.
Interestingly, horses had domestication. They found horses Horses were work animals,
actually originated in North to be incredibly useful as a form of sources of transportation and,
America, but they had gone extinct transportation and as travois when all else failed, they were
roughly 10,000 years before. In a haulers; they also used horses in sustenance. They defined the
sense, the escape of those Spanish battle, trade and bison hunting. frontier. Its conquest would not
horses was a homecoming. Needless to say, by the time have been possible without them.

The horse was such a part of everyday life in the West that
it was even used for entertainment and sport, such as in
rodeo competitions. (Photo by H. Armstrong
Roberts/Getty)
They also played a key role 1900-mile journey into 10-mile

in the lives of the rst American legs, and rode their horses at a THE WESTS MOST
FAMOUS HORSES
settlers heading west from gallop from station to station. Possibly the most famous horse of the
Independence, Mo. Although the The riders would change horses Old West was Comanche. A former army
horse, Comanche was the sole survivor of
wagon trains often used oxen to at each stop, taking only their General George Custers ill-fated conflict
mailbags with them. with the assorted Native American tribes
pull their belongings, horses also
at the Battle of Little Bighorn. Though
played a part. severely wounded, the horse was found two
The horse was vital to the GETTING THERE MEANT HORSES days later by a burial party investigating the
site of the battle. He lived for another 13
Pony Express, which used the Like the Pony Express, horses years, until 1891.
Traveller was an American Saddlebred,
animals as the main method of made stagecoaches a dening and was known for being General Robert E.
transportation from St. Joseph, Lees horse before, during and after the Civil
feature of the Old West. Athough
War. He was also known for being difficult to
Mo. to Sacramento, Calif. The their time transporting mail was frightena valuable quality for an army
horse. Traveller outlived Lee by several
Pony Express pushed their relatively shortonly lasting from months, though he developed lockjaw in the
horses in a way unlike any other. 1858 to about 1869 the stage- summer of 1871 after stepping on a rusty nail.
The company broke up the nearly coach became the de facto form

The cavalry horse was an

integral part of U.S. military
operations throughout the
19th century, as depicted in
this modern reenactment.
(Photo by Karen Bleier/Getty)
of transportation in the territories, great cavalry charge during the

FAST GETAWAYS,
particularly where rail lines had not Spanish-American War, the U.S.
SPEEDY CHASES
yet reached. cavalry and their horses played a Of course, horses were also
used by outlaws, and by the lawmen
Stagecoaches usually oper- key role in the westward expansion in charge of tracking them down.
ated with teams of four or six of the United States. In 1832, Everyone from Jesse James to Billy the
Kid used horses as a speedy escape
horses, and they were famous for Congress formed the United from the sites of stagecoach, bank
operating way stations along their States Mounted Ranger Battalion and train robberies. Of course, U.S.
marshals like Wyatt Earp and Wild Bill
established routes. This is where to keep the Santa Fe Trail open Hickok also used them to give chase.
The U.S. Marshal program was
we get the term stagecoach and to protect settlers along the established in 1789 as a way to
fromthe word refers to the banks of the Mississippi River. represent the Federal Governments
interests at the local level. While
distance between each stopping In 1836, Congress established they initially existed in the cities and
point, where horses would be the 2nd Cavalry Regiment of towns of eastern states, as the U.S.
moved westward, so did the U.S.
swapped out for fresh teams. Dragoons to combat the growing Marshals. In fact, in many areas of
the Old West, the U.S. Marshals were
Native American threat. These the only kind of law available.
CAVALRY HORSES dragoons would also serve in the The marshals had an incredibly
dangerous job; 103 deputies were
The U.S. Cavalry was in its war with Mexico from 1846 to 1847. killed between 1872 and 1896 in the
prime when it operated in service They would, of course, ght in Oklahoma territory alone. It was due
to horses that they were able to keep
of the western territories. Before virtually every campaign during people safe.
Theodore Roosevelt led the last the Civil War in the 1860s.

Even after railroads were

established, horse-drawn
wagons were necessary to
haul freight to the many
remote areas of the West.
(Photo by Charles Phelps
Cushing/ClassicStock/Getty)
The dragoons would play a possible to ship cattle directly The image of the cowboy,
key role in every conict with from the range to the slaughter however, survived with the
Native Americans after the Civil house. As millions began to creation of various rodeo shows.
War, as settlers encroached more settle in the territories, fences It is this image, more than any
and more on what had long been restricted grazing land, bit by bit, other, that is associated with the
tribal land. These conicts did not until the heyday of the cowboy idea of America.
end until 1924. came to a close. The horse was present in
The role of the horse in every- every aspect of frontier life, from
FROM HORSEPOWER day life was further diminished the glamorous to the mundane.
TO MOTOR POWER with the widespread adoption of It was used to fight wars, to move
Less glamorous, perhaps, personal automobiles. They were mail and to move people. And
but as important as any of its faster, more reliable, required less when Wild West shows became
other uses, the horse was a key maintenance in many ways, and popular, it was used to entertain.
form of daily transportation they could go further distances The horse defined the history of
for many people. Before the without stopping. the West itself. GNSL
invention of the automobile, it
was difficult to travel almost
any distance in a reasonable
THE COWBOYS ESSENTIAL HORSES
amount of time. For a country For cowboys, horses were the only things that allowed them to do their jobs. In the early
with an abundance of land, the 19th century, pioneers heading west relied on the Colonial Hill Quarter Horse, which was
known to be a hardy and willing animal. When these horses were bred with feral mustangs
horse was the only solution. and various breeds used by local tribes, the resulting crossbreeds showed a natural instinct
for working with cattle, as well as a high level of endurance.
By the early 20th century,
From 1866 to 1888, more than nine million head of cattle, driven by more than 40,000
technological advances had cowboys, would make their way from Texas to the rail yards of Kansas, according to Martin
W. Sandler in Galloping Across the U.S.A.: Horses in American Life.
reduced the Wests dependence They would leave from these railyards to feed a growing nationand the rest of the
on horses. The development world. In its heyday, the beef industry was so large that more than 1.3 million miles were
dedicated to cattle raising44 percent of all the land in the United States. It was the horse
of additional branching rail that allowed the cowboys to handle this daunting task.
networks in the 1880s made it

GS-1605-62-69-GUNFIGHT.CX.qxp 3/9/16 2:14 AM Page 62
The First
GUNFIGHTERS
GUNS The Colt Navy and Colt Army Revolvers

Changed the Face of Combat Forever

GS-1605-62-69-GUNFIGHT.qxp 3/3/16 11:52 PM Page 63
TEXT AND PHOTOS BY BOB CAMPBELL
C
olts revolver changed
the world of rearms.
Sam Colts genius
gave us a powerful,
reliable and portable repeating
rearm. Many believe that
Colts revolver made the
westward movement possible,
and safer for American
soldiers, drovers and settlers.
A man alone was a formidable This modern replica of the
Colt Navy is well balanced
adversary if armed with a and accurate.
six-shot Colt revolver.

These Colt revolvers

shaped the world
to come. They
were reliable, hit
hard and often
saved the users life.
The under-barrel loading lever

was used to seat the lead ball
and compress the powder charge.
Note the hammer is at half cock.
THE EARLY COLTS than with any other handgun ever revolver with a ve-shot cylinder in
The Colt did not quite hit in common use. The answer to .31 caliber, the Baby Dragoon was
the ground running, and it went the problem was the Colt Walker Colts rst pocket pistol. Colt was
through various renditions before .44-caliber revolver and, later, the turning toward the standard of
becoming the reliable handgun it scaled down Colt Dragoon. pocket, belt and holster pistols,
would eventually be known as. Robust, powerful and accu- widely adopted later. Colt now had
The rst Colt, the Paterson, rate well beyond 100 yards, the a hideout revolver and a revolver
was not as robust as later revolvers. .44-caliber Colt Dragoon was a useful for mounted men to carry in
The .36-caliber ball was effective tremendous revolver. These pommel holstersbut the belt
in close-range combat, as it revolvers were not handguns you pistol was yet to come.
expanded when it struck an wished to carry on your belt, but
adversary (particularly if striking they did the job. They were well COLT 1851 NAVY
bone). The soft-lead ball was suited for deliberate re at long In 1851, Colt introduced the
far less effective at ranges past range, but not for rapid handling fastest-handling, most balanced
50 yards. at a personal-defense range. and, some say, loveliest Colt yet
Since ghting Indians and In 1849, Colt brought out produced. The Colt 1851 Navy
mounted bandits was common at another revolver that proved handgun, known thereafter as the
the time, long-range effect was immensely popular as a hideout: Navy Colt, was light, fast to action
more important with the rst Colt the Colt Baby Dragoon. A miniature and hit hard at close range.

The Colt Navy was perfectly balanced and This could be dangerous, and could put
possessed a natural point few revolvers the revolver out of action at the worst
could claim. It could be carried in the pants, possible time. Finally, the cylinder was
in a tightly woven sash or a cavalry holster. capped with a percussion cap for ignition,
The Colt Navy featured a loading lever thus earning these handguns the name,
mounted under the barrel. To load the cap and ball revolvers.
revolver, the action was rst placed at half To sight the revolver, a simple front
cock. Powder was poured into the cylinders bead was supplied. The rear sight con-
one at a time; then, the lever was used to sisted of a notch in the hammer. While
seat a ball. rudimentary, the sights were superior to
To seal the chamber, a type of wad those of most pistols of the day. The
would be placed under the ball, or some revolvers typically fired several inches to a
kind of grease was used. This prevented foot high at combat ranges of 15 yards.
ash res, which occurred when the re With this sight regulation, the handgun
from one chamber ignited the black could be counted effective at ranges of
powder charge in the next chamber. approximately 100 yards.
STARTER KIT IS
RECCOMMENDED
Firing replica revolvers is fun, but must be
done safely. One of the best investments
is the Rydon Corporation Revolver Starter
Kit. Available for either .36 or .44-caliber
revolvers, these kits include a powder
ask, balls, wads and a nipple wrench.
This kit is highly recommended for rst-
time shooters. Rydon also offers a special
xture that allows a cylinder to be loaded
with six balls at a time. Wild Bill Hickok
never had it so easy.
When the hammer is cocked on

this Navy replica, the rear of the
hammer acts as a rear sight.
Note nipple on the chamber for
placement of a percussion cap.

This is the Traditions

Firearms 1860 Army replica.
It was gured that a handgun at the lower body. Pyrodex powder and Hornady balls.
should be useful in shooting an The Colt Navy may arguably Both Pietta and Uberti offer good-
enemys horse, and it was no mean be called the rst gunghters gun. quality replicas of the original Colt
feat to hit a horse at 100 yards with For black-powder fans, the Colt Navy revolvers.
the Colt revolver. At closer range, Navy is a joy to re and use: Recoil The handle ts most hands,
sighting was accomplished using is light, there is plenty of smoke, and the natural point is as good as
only the front sight, and by aiming and it is economical to use with the old shooters claimed. The
Colt Navy had one shortcoming,
however, and that was power.
At longer ranges, the .36 ball was
ineffective. At short range, against
Indian war horses, the Colt Navy
was less than ideal.
THE COLT ARMY

The Colt Navy continued to be
popular well past the cartridge-
revolver era; however, a more
The Uberti replica closely copies the powerful revolver was introduced
original Colt-style octagon barrel.
in 1860: The Colt Army.

The Colt Army .44 features a round

barrel, long grip and rebated cylinder.
Wild Bill Hickock

THE COLT NAVY: WILD BILLS GUN
was said to fire off Wild Bill Hickok carried a brace of Navy Colt revolvers long after the
introduction of cartridge revolvers. The efficiency of the former in fast handling
his revolvers regularly and easy accuracy cannot be overrated. The Colts efficiency was proven in the
hands of Western gunmen and in cavalry engagements during the Civil War.
and check their The .36 Navy was regarded as the more durable of the two Colt revolvers.
The .44 Army, period literature claimed, shot loose more often than the .36
charges. Navy. This is understandable as the Colt Army shoehorned a heavy powder
charge and ball into a .36 frame.
The Colt Army was almost as powerful as the much larger Colt Dragoon
revolver. The Colt Army featured an elongated grip frame that fit large hands,
The Colt Army featured a rebated and gave the user a stable grip for long-range use. Sight regulation was similar to
the Colt Navy, with the ball usually striking eight inches high at 15 yards.
cylinder; the front of the cylinder was These Colt revolvers shaped the world to come. They were reliable, hit hard and
enlarged to accommodate a .457-inch often saved the users life. However, caution is advised when ring modern replicas.
Even the best of the Western gunfighters sometimes had problems with
ball. The frame was notched to allow black powder and cap-and-ball revolvers. This was evidenced by one particular
this cylinder to be used with what fight that occurred between two men, Littlefield and Watson. As reported by the
late Colonel Charles Askins (Texans, Guns and History ), Watson fired first and
was basically a Colt Navy frame.
missed at a range of a few feet. When Littlefield fired, however, two chambers
Colt preserved the fast handling and went off at oncecausing him to miss as well. Littlefield grabbed another
balance of the Colt Navy while taking revolver, which misfired as Watson was still firing back at him. Finally, Littlefield
returned to his first gun and managed to fire it, hitting Watson in the heart.
power to a different level. Needless to say, when it comes to fighting gear, one can understand why
During the Civil War, the Colt Army Hickok was said to fire off his revolvers regularly and check their charges.
earned its reputation as a man-stopper.

The Colt Army is nearly

identical to the Colt Navy Its soft-lead ball expanded with authority.
in terms of particulars.
At long range, a portion of this effect was
retained, and the Colt Army proved a
formidable revolver.
BOTH SHOOT WELL

I have fired both of these revolvers
extensively, using high-quality Uberti
replicas. Accuracy hovers at around three
to four inches at 25 yards, with careful
loading practices. However, using greater
care, I have occasionally experienced a
2.5-inch group with the .44.
Both guns are plenty powerful:
The .36 Navy is capable of over 1,000
FPS with the heaviest loads. In the .44
revolver, over 900 FPS is possible. These
were formidable fighting handguns.
COLT OPEN TOP

After converting many cap-and-ball
revolvers to cartridge-ring handguns,
Colt introduced the Open Top revolver.
This is a true cartridge-ring revolver
based upon the cap-and-ball frame.
Uberti replicated this Colt in good
detail and excellent nish with its Open
Top revolver. Originally chambered for the
.44 Colt, modern replicas are chambered in
.45 Colt.
COLT NAVY AND COLT

ARMY REPLICAS
Shooting results using Hodgdon Pyrodex powder
and Hornady round balls:
.36 Navy
Charge Velocity
20 grains 650 fps
25 grains 1050 fps
.44 Army
Charge Velocity
25 grains 670 fps
30 grains 790 fps
35 grains 897 fps
40 grains 944 fps

A pleasing, well-balanced revolver averaged about a 3 - Today, replicas from

revolver, the Open Top isnt as inch group at 25 yards, striking such companies as Traditions
strong as the later Single Action two inches above the point of aim Firearms are well made of good
Army. This revolver used a sighting with the Black Hills 250-grain material, and offer an enjoyable
notch on the barrel, near the Cowboy load. shooting experience. Needless
cylinder, and the same brass bead to say, they are well worth their
as the Colt Navy. In its original REPLICAS ARE GOOD price. GNSL
form, this revolver shot high. OPTIONS
The modern Uberti replica Most of us will never fire the
was well regulated for Hornady original Colt Navy and Colt Army
250-grain Cowboy loads. Breaking revolvers. These revolvers were SOURCES
about 750 FPS, this load is both an important part of firearms uberti.com
traditionsrearms.com
clean-burning and pleasant to development and history. We will rydoncorp.com
fire. Meanwhile, the Open Top not see their like again.
A handful of caps and .44-caliber balls.
The six-shot loader certainly makes life easier.

GS-1605-70-77-GREATEST.qxp 3/2/16 2:11 AM Page 70
The Greatest
of the Frontier

t HANDGUN The Colt Single Action Army Continued to be Effective

Years After More Advanced Designs Were Introduced
T
he Colt Single Action Army
revolver has long been the
strong right hand of good
men and the Devils right
hand of the bad. The Colt has been
involved in many Western gunghts,
but there is much more to the story.
When exploring dangerous
spots in the Middle East prior to
World War I (and prior to being
called, Lawrence of Arabia), T.E.
Lawrence packed a Colt SAA.
It saved his life more than once.

During the Philippine-American

War, the bolo knife (above left)
was a terrible weapon used by
the Moros. Meanwhile, a good
SAA .45 would be preferable
to the .38-caliber double-
action revolver.
Douglas MacArthur put the him and a friend for two weeks. do everything right, own the best
Colt SAA to good use in Mexico in at As a child, I enjoyed Western gear and still lose.
least three separate gunghts; as movies and novels. But only when I It was a harsh world. The Colt
late as 1952, the Colt SAA was still began studying Western history SAA can be regarded as the most
the Generals favorite handgun. and period journals did I nd a aw memorable and capable handgun
Elmer Keith, the Dean of American in the land depicted. As exciting of the period, and is not a handgun
Handgunners, often experimented as the West was, the land and the to be taken lightly today. The
and hunted with the Colt. He wrote people were rugged, harsh and Colts reputation was such that it
of his camp being destroyed, and unforgiving. The tools, accouter- transcended generational, national
most of his gear getting lost, during ments and gear of the drovers, and cultural lines. The hardy and
an extended foray into the moun- workers, miners and explorers had reliable Colt was preferred by
tains. A Colt Single Action Army fed to be reliable. However, one could Western lawmen, British officers

This modern Pietta revolver,

offered by Traditions,
is among the best shooters
the author has ever used.
The clean lines of a SAA

cannot be matched by
any other revolver.
and professional gunmen, for

decades. It also saw use in some HOW STRONG WAS THE .45 COLT CARTRIDGE?
The original loading for the .45 Colt included a 40-grain charge of black powder and a
of the bloodiest foreign wars ever 250-grain bullet, though there were other variants. The adoption of the .45-caliber Schoeld
fought by the United States. and its short .45-caliber cartridge resulted in a lower power level, as the Army issued the
shorter Schoeld cartridge for use in both Colt and Smith & Wesson revolvers.
Since smokeless powder generates more pressure, modern cartridge cases feature a solid
THE PHILIPPINES head type, while older cartridge cases are called, balloon head. By using Modern Starline
brass and 37 grains of FFG powder under an Oregon Trail 250-grain hard-cast bullet, one can
The Colt .45 arguably saved achieve 870 feet per second.
However, my revolver is a 4 -inch barrel version; with the 7 -inch cavalry gun, the
the day during the Philippine- norm should be closer to 900 FPS. A few years ago, a friend found a number of balloon-head
American War, but one cannot cases and loaded them with 40 grains of black powder; his load exhibited a solid 1,000 FPS in
his 7 -inch barrel Uberti revolver.
help believe its reputation was The 30-grain FFG load in Starline brass, under the Oregon Trail bullet, breaks about 800
FPSstill a decent defense load. The .45 Colt was easily among the most powerful military
tarnished by the Colt 1892 .38-
handgun cartridges ever issued.
caliber revolver.

The Colt SAA is about as light

as the double-action, four-
inch-barrel revolver (below).
The Colt SAA survived

long after the introduction
of tactically superior
handguns ....
The Army wanted a double-action, duty. Fortunately, many were kept The war stretched on until
swing-out-cylinder revolver and felt in storage, along with a good the final decisive battle at Bud
the .38 would get the job done. supply of ammunition. Most of Bagask in 1913. The arrival of the
However, the .38 emphatically did the revolvers had their barrels Springfield .30-06 rifle offered an
not get the job done, and good shortened from 7 to 5 inches, advantage, while the Winchester
men died after putting a cylinder of and were recrowned before they 1897 shotgun was a tremendous
.38s into dedicated adversaries. were sent to the Pacific; new front harrow. Also used were double-
After ghting our own aboriginal sights were also added. action, .45-caliber revolvers and
warriors for hundreds of years, it General John Pershing said of privately purchased Smith &
can be said the Army should have the Moros, They are absolutely Wesson .44 revolvers.
known better. fearless, and once committed to The Colt 1911 .45 automatic,
At this point, the Colt Single combat, they count death as a designed as a result of action in
Action Army was called back to mere incident. the Philippines, arrived in the later

OLD COLT KEEPS ON GOING

During the past 40 years, I have
owned a handful of Colt Single Action
Army revolvers and many more clones.
One of my favorite shooters is a 4 -
inch-barrel version manufactured in
1899. This revolver has been shot and
handled often, and admired even more.
Recently, this Colt developed
a problem with cylinder rotation.
Although it would fire, it needed a
little budge to get the cylinder into
battery. I replaced the original hand
and handspring with a new part
from Brownells.
While one would think a Colt would
last more than 116 years, I gave them a
pass this time and kept shooting.
happy Americans willing to pay a

premium for swag.
This problem also led to the
formation of the United States
Border Patrol. The situation esca-
lated to the point that, during one
well-documented year along the
border, the U.S. Border Patrol was
involved in a gunght every 17 days.
In these skirmishes, the Winchester
.351 automatic rie and automatic
shotguns were preferred.
This is Tom Threepersons badge. (Photo Courtesy of Autry Museum) The Colt SAA, carried by many
border patrolmen, was nally
stages of the war. However, the over the cowboy rifles. outdated. Some border patrolmen
Colt Single Action Army was the Nonetheless, in period images, carried Colt 1917 revolvers or Colt
sidearm treasured by most, and it the Colt can often be seen in every 1911 automatics, while others used
was the preferred handgun during holster. After the Mexican Smith & Wesson double-action
this jungle campaign. Revolution, another war, every revolvers. The bandits often used
bit as deadly, pitted American the cowboy guns.
BATTLES ALONG THE BORDER and Mexican gunners against As one border patrolman
While the Colt was working its each other. noted, the smugglers had a good
way through the carnage in the A new class of bandit came thing going; they were making
Philippines, another war in North across the border, just as raids of plenty of money and were not
America kept the Colt going for 20 Mexican bandits had come across going to let the U.S. Government
years past its prime, as writer the border to steal cattle. These stop them. This attitude resulted in
Thomas Ferguson said. new bandits, however, were thriving several battles along the border.
The Mexican Revolution due to the Volstead Act, known A known lawman of the time,
called for many Colt revolvers more famously as Prohibition. Tom Threepersons, carried a Colt
and Winchester lever-action rifles. In Mexico, the Volstead Act SAA with a tall front sight, which
The Mauser rie was well meant that bandits could make a he had custom made. Contrary to
respected, and as Emiliano Zapata good living smuggling liquor across the myth of point shooting or
reported, [it] had an advantage the border. They were greeted by instinctive shooting, the surviving

lawmen sought every advantage Lucky. Frank Hamer was a Texas

COWBOY-ACTION
during the gunghts of this time: Ranger who served in other law-
SHOOTING AMMO
They used their sights (at least the enforcement positions during his When ring the older Colts and
modern replicas, there is no need to stress
front sight), aimed carefully and life; in fact, while working for the old steel or modern steel. The Black Hills
placed their re accurately. Texas prison system, he brought Ammunition cowboy-action load uses a
250-grain bullet that is hard enough to limit
Threepersons designed one of the Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow to leading. Average velocity is 750 to 780 FPS,
rst holsters that could be con- justice. Pietta now offers an ideal for Single Action Shooting Society
(SASS) matches. These loads are accurate
cealed under a covering garment, engraved revolver that is about as and burn cleanwhich is all one can ask for.
rather than be carried on a wide close to Old Lucky as mortals
gun belt. can nd. handguns. For example, a rock-
Another famous lawman There are many reasons why solid base-pin alignment offers
of this era carried an engraved Colt the Colt SAA survived long after the good accuracy. While parts of the
revolver, which he called, Old introduction of tactically superior Single Action may break after
Even when compared

to the 1911 .45 auto, the
SAA delivers when an
accurate hard-hitting
rst shot is required.
This country will
develop in time. But
not until the ground
is soaked in misery
and blood.
Walter Reed

many years of hard use, it doesnt modern shooter an excellent tool

go out of time easily. The pistol also for reenactment, cowboy-action
THE SWITCH TO A BRASS
FRONT SIGHT
features the best natural balance and recreational shooting. Some years ago, I read that Tom
point of any handgun ever made. One version, offered by Threepersons had a custom front sight
added to his SAA. Today, the Sure Hit brass
The Single Action Army was Traditions, features a transfer-bar
front sight offers rapid sight acquisition and
the greatest gun on the frontier, system. This allows one to carry a brilliantly fast hit. I added this well-made
and remains a great handgun, six cartridges rather than the five brass sight to my Pietta with excellent
results. Sure Hit sights are available from
appreciated by many. dictated by the old system. Slick Magic Guns at slickmagicguns.com.
Another version is entirely stain-
COLT REPLICAS less steel. The older guns are
Today, Colt is no longer the great in a historical sense, and usefulness, sometimes when
only maker of the Single Action the modern Pietta revolvers are hiking or traveling, I carry the SAA
Army. Pietta revolvers give the excellent shooters. As for their on my hipjust in case. GNSL
To load the SAA, the

hammer is placed at
half cock, and the
loading gate opened.

GS-1605-78-85-WILD.qxp 3/4/16 1:15 AM Page 78
THE
Wild
BUNCH
SEARCH
A Classic Western Movie Inspires
a Passionate Hunt for the Guns
Showcased on the Silver Screen The Wild Bunch only
managed to get away
with washers in the
moviebut the guns
used are now worth a
stful of dollars.

PHOTO BY HULTON ARCHIVE/ GETTY IMAGES

N
ot long ago, I watched
the classic cinematic
western The Wild Bunch
(1969)again.
The movie made quite an
impression on me as a youngster.
Perhaps my interest in cowboy
guns and shooting began there.
Watching this inspired me. After
some thought, I decided that
every rearm in my home did not
have to be assigned a particular
job or chore; therefore, I thought
it would be good to have a Wild
Bunch collection.

These .45 handguns were

reliable and effective,
and established much of the
reputation of the 1911.
Cimarron has done an excellent

job with the Wild Bunch 1911.
THE SEARCH STARTS HERE It is easy to pay several thousand rule book, and while I gave due
The collection Id amass would dollars for an authentic version, consideration to their rules, I did
include a period-authentic 1911 .45, so I decided that a good-quality not exactly abide by every single
a good lever-action rie and a replica would be just fine, fitting dot and dash. These rearms were
short-barrel shotgun. (By short with the rest of the firearms, primarily intended for my own
barrel, I mean the riot gun length as well. enjoyment, but one day, I hope to
of 18 to 20 inches.) As many of you know, the shoot in the real competition.
Not wanting to make some- Single Action Shooting Society Meanwhile, I am busting caps on
thing easy too difficult, I rst looked not only sanctions Cowboy my own and with my family.
over my own collection of 1911 Action Shooting events, but also
handguns, all of which were 1911A1 Wild Bunch Action Shooting THE WILD BUNCH .45
handgunsthis is what we call the competitions, in which Wild Cimarron of Fredericksburg,
1911 today. The pre-World War I Bunch-style firearms are used. Texas, is well known for offering
1911 was a little different, however. I studied the competitions quality cowboy guns and period

For most of the hunt, the author was more concerned with nding movie-correct, rather than CAS-correct, rearms.
reproductions of famous rearms. mainspring housing is flat. The

An importer, Cimarron orders hammer, slide-lock safety, slide lock LIKING THE LONG BARREL
During the making of this feature, the
handguns made to a specic type, and sights are period-authentic; photographer never grew tired of hearing,
including the nish, barrel length the slide is marked with period- Lets Go! Toward the end, I realized one
must have a good SAA revolver for a
and caliber. Cimarron decided to style markings, including the
personal (versus competition-oriented)
offer a reproduction of the typical patent date and U.S. Property. Wild Bunch collection. The Traditions 1873
revolver was chosen in the traditional
1911, from 1911 to 1918 period. The improvements to the 1911,
caliber, but with a different twist. For
The Cimarron Wild Bunch which were codified into the some time, I have owned the 4 -inch
pistol features a frame without the 1911A1, were in place by 1929. Gunghters Gun, exclusively.
The new Traditions is a 7 -inch
semi-circular relief cuts behind the The Wild Bunch would have barrel revolver, and both handling and
trigger guard one might be familiar carried handguns like the Cimarron. balance are excellent. The long revolver
points like a nger. I have taken deer with
with. This is correct for a Wild These .45 handguns were reliable less, and I nd the 7 -inch barrel to be a
Bunch-era pistol, however. The and effective, and established great eld gun. I can see why those in the
eld once clung to this revolver.
trigger is of a long type, and the much of the reputation of the 1911.

Tradition Performance Firearms

offers a well-made 1873 revolver,
with 7.5-inch barrel in .45 Colt.
The author nds it well suited
to all-around single-action
shooting. The holster is from
Circle Bar T, Marty Overstreet.
My collection of three working Wild Bunch firearms has

been a complete joy to gather, and firing them more so.
We have the perfect authentic the Black Hills 230-grain JHP and my These holsters are good examples
pistol for Wild Bunch competition. own hand loads, using the Magnus of craftsmanship that anyone from
The Wild Bunch .45 exhibited a 200-grain lead SWC. Reliability 1913 forward would enjoy using to
smooth trigger compression of makes for greater versatility. carry the 1911.
4.5 pounds.
Accuracy standards for the A HOLSTER FOR THE 1911 THE RIFLE
original 1911 were generous. The Just any holster would never Wild Bunch rules for Cowboy
requirement was a five-shot, do for this pistol. The Wild Bunch Action Shooting state that a
five-inch group at 25 yards. The holster is from Rocking K Saddlery. period-correct, lever-action rifle
modern Cimarron pistol will group Period-authentic, well-crafted in .40 caliber or larger is needed
five rounds into three inches with of excellent-quality leather and for official competition. While
Black Hills 230-grain FMJ loads featuring a proper safety strap, acceptable, the movie depicted
it is a bit tighter than the original this is a ne addition to the kit. many Winchester 94 .30-30
handgun. I obtained half a dozen However, the Wild Bunch also rifles, and my guns are movie
Brownells, seven-round 1911 used military rigs. I purchased a guns intended for fun.
magazines to make certain the flap-style holster from World War My collection already included
Cimarron ran smoothly. Supply, and it is an excellent a nice Winchester 1894, made in
Incidentally, the pistol runs well rendition of a cavalry holster from 1911, in .32 Winchester Special;
with the Black Hills 185-grain JHP, the Mexican excursion period. though a great rie, the thrill of the

The Cimarron Wild Bunch

pistol sports interesting
markings, including
Cimarrons own logo.
THE WILD BUNCH, THE MOVIE

The Wild Bunch movie was released in
1969 and starred William Holden, Ernest
Borgnine, Robert Ryan, Edmond OBrien,
Warren Oates and Ben Johnson.
Set in 1913, it follows a gang of
outlaws at the end of the Old West era.
They ee bounty hunters into Mexico,
where they take a job with a Mexican
General to rob a U.S. Army train carrying
weapons. The movie was famous for its
gunght scenes, which were extremely
violent for lms of the time.
Gun enthusiasts loved the movie for
the many period weapons depicted.
hunt pushed me to look further.

I also own a Rossi lever-action rie
in .357 Magnum that gets red
and used a lot. As a go-anywhere,
do-anything rie, the Rossi cannot
be beat. Since the movie also
depicts a few Model 92s, the Rossi
serves as a good stand-in. Finally,
I also own a Winchester 1892 in The barrel cover is
turned, and the loading
.32-20, but it falls short of the Wild gate locked open, to
load the 1860 rie.
Bunch official caliber requirements.

The Wild Bunch .45 is an

affordable handgun with
many recommended features.
However, it isnt all about what The Henry rie has a charm high-quality, period-correct repro-
was in the movie. CAS/Wild Bunch unequaled by any other. The maga- duction sling from ssrearms.com,
match rules mandate use of a rie zine is loaded by locking the spring- which I added to the kit.
made between 1860 and 1899, in a loaded indent into the end of the
caliber of .40 or more. This was my magazine tube (after twisting the THE SHOTGUN
chance to jump on a rie I had cover to one side), and then loading The Wild Bunch ensemble
desired for some time. Ubertis 10 .44-40 cartridges. After the rie is would not be complete without a
replica of the Henry rie is a beau- loaded, the loading tab moves to shotgun. And what else would one
tiful combination of wood, steel, the rear as the rie is red. use but the Winchester 1897
brass and craftsmanship. Feeding, extraction and shotgun? Designed by John Moses
The rie is a lever action with ejection are smooth, and the rie is Browning, the Winchester 97 was
an under-the-barrel, tubular maga- surprisingly accurate. Using the an improvement over the Model
zine, and is the rst of the breed. Black Hills cowboy-action load, 93. The Winchester 97 features a
Very successful, the Henry rie led three-shot groups of two to 2.5 robust and reliable design, with
to the creation of the Winchester inches were common at 50 yards. much to recommend.
1866. Originally chambered in the The balance of the octagon barrel Using an exposed hammer
.44 Henry, the modern Uberti is is excellent, though different from and slide action, the 97 will fire
chambered for the .44-40 WCF later ries. with every shuck of the action,
cartridge. (Caution: Use only The Uberti Henry is my official as there is no disconnectthe
cowboy-action loads; this action Wild Bunch rie. Smooth, accurate hammer simply rides down with
cannot take heavy loads, unlike the and a joy to own, the Henry is a great the bolt. This can make for inter-
Winchester 1892 rie.) Wild Bunch gun. I was lucky to nd a esting range practice.

Much of the mechanism of the Winchester 1987

shotgun is exposed as the action works.
The 97 was used heavily in modern dual-operating rod shot- controllable, and these loads
the West, but also at war. The guns are smoother and more exhibit a highly efficient pattern
Winchester 12-gauge shotgun was practical, but, then again, this is to about 15 yards.
the most trusted stopper during the the Wild Bunch shotgun.
Philippine campaign. It was used in With practice, the old ALMOST COMPLETE
Mexico, in World War I, World War II Winchester is brilliantly fast. My collection of three working
and, nally, in Vietnam. Frankly, I have never handled a Wild Bunch firearms has been a
The Winchester has been shotgun with better balance. As complete joy to gather, and firing
used in cinema, in epics as diverse Wild Bunch matches require bird- them more so. Now, I just need a
as The Wild Bunch to Captain shot of size No. 6 or smaller, I ran well-worn Single Action Army to
America. It is an iconic shotgun a good quantity of Fiocchi bird- complete the set.
with much appeal. shot through the Winchester. Now, let me see if my favorite
While reproductions of the 97 After 50 shells, I was having too movie is on this weekend. GNSL
exist, I was able to obtain an much fun.
original model, in good condition, The trigger may be held CONTACT
for a fair price. I had the barrel down, and the shotgun will fire Cimarron
cimarron-rearms.com
shortened to 18.5 inches, and the every time the bolt is racked Uberti
uberti.com
result is a shotgun that is fast- unlike modern shotguns. Firing it Traditions
tradtionsrearms.com
handling and well-balanced. that way is fun, if not accurate. Rocking K Saddlery
rockingksaddlery.com
Today, I would not be reluctant to I also fired a few of Fiocchis World War Supply
worldwarsupply.com
use this shotgun as a house gun high-quality, reduced-power Circle Bar T Leatherworks
circlebar-t.com
or defense gun. Truth be told, the buckshot loads. The shotgun is

GS-1605-86-93-HOLSTER.qxp 3/2/16 2:20 AM Page 86
Holster
Evolution
As Revolvers Became Handier, New Holster Designs
Allowed for Secure and Easily Accessible Carry
I
n the Old West, holsters were a diverse lot. One could
nd belt holsters, pocket holsters, shoulder holsters,
leather-lined pocket holsters, vest-pocket holsters,
cross-draw holsters, holsters suspended from a swivel,
holsters tucked into a boot and holsters that attached
to suspenders.
Movie and cinema depictions have shown a
different type of holster, and while some have strived for
authenticity, others have not. The Hollywood holster is a
form all its own. My research is extensive and ongoing;
cabalistic footnotes cover the men that sweated pearls
over these holsters.

This cross-draw holster is offered

by Jeffrey Custom Leather. Note
the tooling and excellent stitching.

Old West Reproductions offers

this belt slide in the period style.
It is well made, and a good
choice for modern shooters.
BEFORE BELT HOLSTERS Their effective ranges were just carried a pair of revolvers and a
Even if not an expert, the study beyond those of the saber. This type smaller knife.
of holsters can be fascinating. of holster was in use until after the The Colt Paterson revolver
The basics of holster history and Civil War. However, a period report became more important than the
broad design trends are discernible. mentions well-known Westerner saber or the rie in fast-paced
The precursor to the modern John Slaughter using a pommel mounted engagements. At the
holster belt was the sword belt. holster much later. time, ries had been carried in
For the most part, intlock and The invention of reliable slings, while the saber was carried
caplock pistols of the smaller repeating rearmsparticularly on a belt. New means were later
variety were carried in the pocket the revolverended the age of developed to not only deploy the
or stuck in a tightly woven sash. steel. A relatively compact revolver revolver, but also protect its load of
Military horse pistols were could take the place of the saber. powder and the percussion caps
carried in pommel holsters, which As rearms became more reliable, that ignited the powder.
generally carried a matched pair of edged weapons became smaller. The observation must be
handguns on each side of the Many ghting men, who once made that certain holsters were
saddle. In this case, handguns were carried the Bowie knife to back up associated with time periods and
drawn and red on horseback. their single-shot horse pistol, now eras rather than with specic arms.

This Jeffrey Custom Leather Lawman is

a highly developed Threepersons-style
holster. Note the faultless stitching, as
well as the application of a lost art: the
basket weave.
The magnicently large Colt was worn on the left hip and cross-
Walker was a difficult rearm to drawn. The pistol was drawn with ACCOMMODATING
SPARE AMMO
holster. It remained a pommel- a twisted wrist and brought for- Research indicates that holster
holster rearm. ward in the Cavalry draw. belts followed military designs until well
after the Civil War. A great change came
During the Civil War, mounted with the buffalo hunter. These men
BELT-HOLSTER EVOLUTION soldiers carried a brace of three,
needed belts that carried cartridges.
With the advent of the cartridge-firing
The Colt 1851 Navy was one four or even more revolvers. These handgun, designs emerged that allowed
spare ammunition to be carried on the
of the rst truly handy revolvers. were worn in the belt, in holsters belt. Some were made to carry shotgun
A very important revolver, the Colt and in pommel holsters; some shells, rifle cartridges and pistol
cartridges, as well.
Navy combined fast handling and were carried in saddle bags. This continued in modern times
(well into the 1970s), with peace officers
modest weight with good power. After the full-ap cavalry
carrying up to 24 spare cartridges in belt
Arguably the rst gunghters gun, holster, there seems to have been loops. For example, New Jersey State
Patrol officers once carried staggered
the Colt Navy remained popular little development. This holster rows of cartridges above a drop holster
for decades. covered the cylinder, which was for the .38 Special revolver.
The Westerner certainly carried
During the Civil War, most the intent, but the draw angle and spare ammunition on his belt. There
might have been a few rie cartridges
Cavalry pistols were worn on the speed of the draw were given
mixed with the revolver cartridges.
right hip, butt forward. The saber seemingly little consideration.

Military horse pistols were

carried in pommel holsters.
These holsters generally carried
a matched pair of handguns on
each side of the saddle.
This Keith holster, by Ted
Blocker holsters, is among
the nest all-around outdoor
holsters, and is one of the
last true Western designs.
The military flap holster draw. Most of these holsters were

remained in use well after the deep, offering little chance of GETTING THE HAMMER
THONG JUST RIGHT
Civil War and until the present a speedy draw when needed. For those with limited knowledge of
day. Although the holster was These holsters were modified or hammer thongs, be aware the thong
needs to be a bit longer than the tip of the
reconfigured to accommodate a discarded, and eventually, saddle hammer. When in use, it is twisted until it
ts just over the hammer. The tension
conventional draw alignment, makers began to offer suitable caused by twisting the leather thong
and though some modern military holsters for interested individuals. keeps it snugly in place, allowing it to be
released easily and quickly. Folks often let
holsters feature a removable ap, Just the same, many who the thong loop loosely over the hammer,
the original military-style ap worked in town and wore suits getting poor retention; or they pull it too
tightly, making it difficult to remove and
holster remains recognizable as continued to carry their revolvers in draw the revolver. Practice makes perfect.
the primogenitor of the type. pockets or tightly woven sashes.
Often, those who carried These holsters were similar to the A variation that gained some
revolvers cut the flap off of the pommel, yet without the skirting or favor was the half-ap holster,
full-flap holster to afford a proper bag, and with an added belt loop. which featured a cut-down design.

Made by cobblers and saddle

makers, the Kansas, Mexican and
Denver Loop holsters were all
named after important hubs in
Western cattle drives. These
towns were sources of supply
and commerce for the men of the
Old West.
The western photography of
George Catlin, Frederic Remington
and Charles M. Russell remain an
excellent source of information on
holsters. The details of the various
loop-type holsters can be noted in
their work. The surviving holsters,
seen in museums, also offer good
insight into the type of holsters
used during this era.
However, the fast-draw design
(the Hollywood holster) cannot be
found in museums, as it was
clearly invented by the cinema.
A true holsters primary duty
was to keep the revolver secure
when the wearer was on horse-
back. However, some of the
Hollywood holsters practically
bury the revolver in their body.
Others show the gun butt high
Legends in Leather offers
the Judge, which features a enough to have allowed for a
modern design executed in
the Western style. It is worth reasonably fast drawgiven a
every penny of the price.
quick jerk of the gun butt.
The ap still covered the cylinder maintained security by keeping

of the revolver, but it was much the handgun below the holster POST-WAR TENSIONS
After the Civil War, many former
smaller than the military type. opening or mouth. soldiers left for the West, particularly
former Confederates. This set the pace
The introduction of cartridge The next step resulted in the
for hard-fought conflictsa result of
revolvers, with their greater resist- Kansas Loop and Mexican Loop post-war animosity.
For example, the ght between the
ance to moisture and corrosion, designs. The original was made by Earps and outlaw cowboys was colored by
gave the makers more freedom in looping leather back over the political affiliation. The Earps were former
Union solders and Republicans, while
design. Other holsters, such as the holster and around the back to the cowboy factions were Democrats.
The West may have been a melting pot,
Slim Jim, gained in popularity. attach to the front of the holster.
but it was also a boiling pot at times.
The Slim Jim holster was simple The design allowed the holster to Many of these men kept their revolvers
when they left the service, or obtained
and held a handgun fairly securely. be removed from the belt without new revolvers as surplus.
When made of bridle leather, unbuckling. Another design, the In such tense post-war times, holster
designs evolved to ensure pistols could
these holsters did not conform to Denver Loop, was more tightly be both secure and easily accessible.
the handgun very well; rather, they molded than the other scabbards.

Rocking K Saddlerys rendition

of the Western shoulder holster
is well executed. This maker
may be counted on for
authentic and durable gear.
Unlike the Hollywood they were not used by civilians. automatic, still existdefinitely an
Buscadero design, a high-riding The military holster would ride low, excellent design that was ahead
holster would not have flapped as it was designed to stay out of of its time.)
around the users lower body. the way of the rie. (Some beauti- Some working holsters fea-
Tie-downs existed for military fully made thigh holsters, made tured a hammer thong for secu-
holsters, but evidence suggests circa 1916 for the Webley .455 rity. As holsters progressed in

A Western-style holster with basket

weave, suede leather and border
tooling adds to pride of ownership.
The custom features of the holsters required some effort to

Tom Threepersons holster, which raise and clear the handgun. The
appeared after World War II, were skeleton-style holster solved this
among the rst designed speci- problem. Its open design had a plug
cally for peace officers carrying at the bottom, where the muzzle of
handguns underneath suit coats. the revolver t for stability.
During the 1930s, Elmer Keith The retention element was a
designed a holster that was among piece of spring steel covered by
the last of the true Western holsters. leather backing. This was an
Still a ne design for outdoor use, expensive holster, only purchased
the Keith holster is offered by Ted by those with extra funds. Rocking
Blocker holsters. K Saddlery offers an excellent
period-authentic version with
SHOULDER HOLSTERS faultless execution. When hiking,
Among the most interesting this holster keeps the handgun
of all Western holsters was the out of the way; but it also offers a
shoulder holster. While various fast draw for those that practice.
types were offered, shoulder Western leather is an impor-
holsters were more expensive than tant consideration for modern
belt holsters due to the handiwork CAS matches. For hiking and
involved. The shoulder holster was range use, these holsters remain a
concealed beneath a coat or good choice. Many of the holster
duster, offering excellent access makers, such as Jeffrey Custom
when the user was seated, as at Leather, Legends in Leather and
the poker table. Rocking K Saddlery, offer gear for
The shoulder holster became modern shooters as well. A
most popular around the late Western-style holster with basket
1870s. More concealed than a weave, suede leather and border
cross-draw, and more comfortable tooling adds to the pride of
if properly adjusted, the shoulder ownership. In many ways, these
holster was an investment in life- holsters have it all. GNSL
saving advantage. The simple
version was suspended from a
SOURCES
design, the top of the holster loop that went around the users
tedblockerholsters.com
was cut down to facilitate access, arm, while a stabilizing strap went rockingksaddlery.com
45maker.com
and the holster was fitted tightly around the chest. legendsinleather.com
to the body. Hammer keepers Although these holsters were jeffreycustomleather.com
oldwesternreproductions.com
became more common during comfortable, they were not as fast circlebar-t.com
the 1890s. as many would have desired; the

GS-1605-94-101-CENTURY.qxp 3/6/16 11:27 PM Page 94
Prevalent in
POCKETS
Small Top-Break Revolvers Were
Favorites for Portable Protection
The evolution of the Iver Johnson Safety

Automatic: (from left to right) Third Model
Safety Automatic Hammerless Bicycle Gun
32; Second Model Safety Automatic
Hammerless 32; First Model 38 Safety
Automatic with hammer; Third Model
Safety Automatic Hammerless 38.
W
TEXT AND PHOTOS BY MIKE SEARSON
e have all heard it pockets, holsters and nightstand

more than once. drawers of those in the West on a
The Colt Single grander scale than the Colt SAA:
Action Army revolver The top-break pocket revolver.
was the gun that won the West. To understand their appeal, as
However, there was another well as some of their drawbacks,
revolver design that was much lets rst look at how they operate,
more prevalent in the 19th century, and then delve into Smith &
and which found its way into the Wesson and Iver Johnson models.

Short-barreled revolvers,
such as this Third Model Safety
Automatic Hammerless 32
from Iver Johnson, were called
Bicycle Guns.
HOW THEY WORK loading gate where rounds or occur at a microscopic level in
Top-break revolvers have a empty brass cases are loaded and the latch, which will eventually
hinged frame located below and unloaded one at a time. weaken over time.
forward of the cylinder. The lock is The downside of a top-break Luckily, these old revolvers
located at the base of the rear revolver is the design is substan- were designed with low-pressure,
sight, above and rearward of tially weaker than a solid-frame black-powder rounds in mind.
the cylinder. revolver and cannot handle high-
Raising the lock and pushing pressure rounds. SMITH & WESSON
the barrel downward gives access In order to function properly, First developed by Smith &
to the rear of the cylinder for these revolvers have a little play Wesson, and released as their
loading and unloading. Many top- in the top latch. Therefore, every Second Model, or Model 2, in
break revolvers use an extractor in time a top-break revolver is fired, 1876, the original version was a
conjunction with this movement, compression of the metal will single-action, five-shot revolver
which pushes the cartridges or
empty brass rearward, so they
OFFICIAL USE
may fall from the cylinder or be
Smith & Wessons rst model single-action, top-break revolver in 38 S&W was adopted by
removed by hand. the city of Baltimore, and remained in service as late as 1917. These revolvers are marked Balto
City Police.
New rounds can be loaded into The third model, or variant of the Smith & Wesson Double Action Model 2 in 38 S&W,
the cylinder, and subsequently, the proved popular with police departments of the era and was used by many. Some departments
had their markings applied at the factory, such as the Baltimore Police Department (Balto or
barrel is rotated upward to lock BPD); Fall River, Mass., Police Department (FRP"); Cleveland Police Department (CPD);
and the Peruvian Military, which displayed the countrys crest.
closed and be ready to re.
The American Express Co. purchased several hundred for their guards; these are marked
This action allows the revolver AM.EX. Co. on the back strap.
Approximately 100 third models of the Safety Hammerless 38 revolver were sent to the
to be loaded more quickly than U.S. Army for possible adoption in the late 19th century. These revolvers are marked US on the
solid-frame revolvers, like the Colt side plate, and are worth many times the value of even the most pristine top-break revolver of
the time period.
Single Action Army, which use a

Smith & Wesson New

Departure in 32 caliber
made for a handy,
hideout pocket pistol.
TOP-BREAKS IN HISTORY
Colonel Rex Applegate carried a 2-inch
Smith & Wesson Safety Hammerless in
a shoulder holster; he used it to defend
himself from a machete-wielding
assailant while in Mexico in the 1940s.
chambered in 38 S&W. The com- in 38 S&W; but, a smaller version
Leon Czolgosz used an Iver Johnson
pany made over 220,000 of these was offered in another new caliber Safety Automatic to assassinate
revolvers between 1876 and 1911. at the time: 32 S&W. President William McKinley in 1901
with a shot to the stomach. Despite the
The first version sports a In 1887, Smith & Wesson small caliber, the president died eight
days later, as the result of an infection
full-length under lug, and is com- offered a newer version that incor-
that had spread from the wound.
monly known today as the Baby porated a grip safety known as
Russian, due to its similarity to The New Departure or The Safety In 1912, Floyd Allen used a Smith &
Wesson Perfected revolver in a daring
the companys iconic and much Hammerless, and unofficially, escape from the Carroll County
Courthouse in Hillsville, Va., on March
larger Model 3, made for the the Lemon Squeezer. This safety 14, 1912, in which ve people were killed
Russian military. measure was added to address and seven were wounded.
Perhaps the most commonly concerns of pocket carry, and to

encountered Model 2 single-action prevent accidental discharge. The
is the Second variant; the rarest design proved popular enough that company had moved on to swing-
appears to be the Third variant, the Safety Hammerless was pro- out cylinders a few years prior
which sported a trigger guard. duced as late as 1940, while the grip with its Hand Ejector Models.
In nearly thirty years of collecting safety reappeared on the Model 40 In actuality, the design
these pistols and combing gun J-frame in the 1960s. resulted from an incident where
shows, pawn shops, gun shops, Smith & Wessons final a criminal attempted to grab a
antique stores and online auctions, top-break pocket revolver looks policemans revolver and, in doing
I have only seen one of the Third like a transitional piece to the so, opened the top-break, dumping
Models in person. swing-out cylinder, incorporating the ammunition.
Four years after the release of a side-plate latch in addition to Smith & Wesson responded
the Model 2 single-action, Smith & the top-break latch. Dubbed the by incorporating the side-plate
Wesson unveiled a double-action Smith & Wesson Perfected, this latch, intended to be used in con-
version with the same dimensions piece was not transitional, as the junction with the top-break latch.

They also incorporated the trigger guard

as an integral part of the frame, as opposed
to a separate piece attached by screws.
The result was, undoubtedly, the stur-
diest pocket top-break revolver of all time.
As top-breaks were declining to the swing-
out cylinder, this model was dropped from
manufacture in 1920.
IVER JOHNSON
Smith & Wessons success inspired a
slew of imitators, such as Forehand & The ultimate top break: S&W
Wadsworth, Hopkins & Allen, Osgood Perfected Model with top and
side latch for the belt and
Revolvers, Manhattan Firearms, Meriden suspenders kind of shooter.
Firearms and many others from overseas

that were blatant counterfeits. Yet, one
company stood out from the rest of the DATING THE S&W TOP-BREAKS
pack, as they made innovations that had S&W 32 DOUBLE-ACTION TOP-BREAK REVOLVERS
1st Model: Serial numbers 1-30 manufactured in 1880
longer implications in handgun develop- 2nd Model: Serial numbers 31-22142 manufactured from 1880 to 1882
3rd Model: Serial numbers 22173-43405 manufactured from 1882 to 1883
ment: a company started by a Norwegian
4th Model: Serial numbers 43406-282999 manufactured from 1883 to 1909
bicycle engineer named Iver Johnson. 5th Model: Serial numbers 283000-327461 manufactured from 1909 to 1919
The Iver Johnson Arms & Cycle Works S&W 32 DOUBLE-ACTION SAFETY HAMMERLESS REVOLVERS
was founded in 1871 in Fitchburg, Mass. 1st Model: Serial numbers 91417 manufactured from 1888 to 1902
2nd Model: Serial numbers 91418-170000 manufactured from 1902 to 1909
Originally, the company focused more on 3rd Model: Serial numbers 170001-242981 manufactured from 1909 to 1937
producing bicycles than rearms.
S&W 38 SINGLE-ACTION REVOLVERS
Prior to the death of founder Iver 1st Model: Serial numbers 1-25548 manufactured from 1876 to 1877
Johnson in 1895, the company produced a 3rd Model: Serial numbers 1-28197 manufactured from 1891 to 1911
new revolver, known as the Safety Auto-
S&W 38 DOUBLE-ACTION TOP-BREAK REVOLVERS
matic, which is perhaps their most iconic 1st Model: Serial numbers 1-4000 manufactured in 1880
top-break.
3rd Model: Serial numbers 119001-322700 manufactured from 1884 to 1895
The Safety Automatic closely resembles 4thModel: Serial numbers 322701-539000 manufactured from 1895 to 1909
Smith & Wesson top-breaks of the same Perfected: 1-59400, 09-1920 manufactured from 1909 to 1920
time period, with the exception that it made
S&W 38 DOUBLE-ACTION SAFETY HAMMERLESS REVOLVERS
use of a transfer-bar safety. 1st Model: Serial numbers 1-5250 manufactured in 1887
A transfer bar rests between the
3rd Model Serial numbers 42484-116002 manufactured from 1890 to 1898
hammer and cylinder in order to prevent the 4th Model: Serial numbers 116003-220000 manufactured from 1898 to 1907
revolver from discharging when dropped.

This action allows the revolver to be loaded

more quickly than solid-frame revolvers, like
the Colt Single Action Army.
further and incorporated a safety Many of these old revolvers

button on the trigger. The revolver were manufactured prior to 1898,
was incapable of being red unless which officially classies them as
this smaller button was depressed antique rearms meaning they
while squeezing the trigger. This is can be sold over the counter, across
similar to the trigger mechanism state lines or via Internet auctions,
on the modern Glock pistols. without having to go through the
In their last version of the Federal Firearms License (FFL)
top-break revolvers, Iver Johnson process or completion of an ATF
made perhaps the largest techno- Form 4473. Individual states and
logical jump of any firearms cities may have further restrictions
company of the era by switching on the transfer of these revolvers,
to coiled springs, as opposed but under federal law, they are not
to flat ones. They removed the even considered to be rearms.
trigger safety, as well. For the collector, condition is
everything. The majority of top-
COLLECTING TOP-BREAK break pocket revolvers were
POCKET REVOLVERS nished in nickel, giving blued
In 2016, no firearms company versions a slight premium. Barrel
produces a top-break pocket lengths can affect value, as most
revolver. The small, black- were designed with two to four-inch
powder-era rounds are deemed barrels. Extremely short barrels
The revolver will only fire when woefully unsuitable for modern (also known as bicycle guns), or
the trigger is fully depressed to self-defense, and they were not barrels longer than four inches, will
the rear. Bill Ruger famously exactly ideal for target work. demand higher prices.
incorporated the transfer bar in However, if you know The majority of these revolvers
his 1973 versions of the Ruger where to look, there are close are not in proper working condition.
Blackhawk and Single Six, and to a centurys worth of these Some will sport freewheeling
later, in the companys Vaquero revolvers floating out there in gun cylinders; others will have broken or
series of revolvers. shops, antique stores and other worn-down ring pins. Most will
Innovation did not end with places. They represent a very have lost their nish or will have
the transfer bar; Iver Johnson affordable and interesting way to broken grips and buggered screws.
produced a Hammerless version, collect Old West firearms that
with an internal hammer that saw use in the pockets, purses,
WHATS IN A NAME?
allows for ease of draw or to re cash drawers and cigar boxes of Iver Johnsons Safety Automatic is
not a semi-automatic or automatic pistol,
from a pocket if need be. The countless lawmen, outlaws, store
despite the name. The safety refers to the
hammer was internal, rendering it a keepers, bank tellers and every transfer bar, and the automatic refers to
the method of extraction and ejection in
true double-action only revolver. other sort between the 1870s the top-break mechanism.
Later versions went a step and 1940s.

Model 2 S&W Double Actions

can be found in a variety of
barrel lengths. The 6-inch
revolver (top) is a rarity.
However, the first model of Iver

Johnson revolvers featured free-
wheeling cylinders, as did a few
other manufacturers; therefore,
one must not always assume
these are broken.
Very few gunsmiths will work
on these revolvers, and spare parts
can be impossible to nd. It is not
uncommon for collectors to buy IVER JOHNSON DATES OF MANUFACTURE
multiple broken variants in order to STANDARD MODELS WITH AN EXTERNAL HAMMER
1st Model: Manufactured from 1894 to 1895; these models have a freewheeling cylinder.
assemble one working gun from the 2nd Model: Manufactured from 1896 to 1908
parts they have. Renishing is also a 3rd Model: Manufactured from 1909 to 1941; these were built with coil springs.
wasted effort, as the cost to strip SAFETY AUTOMATIC HAMMERLESS MODELS

1st Model: Manufactured from 1895 to 1896; these models have a freewheeling cylinder.
old nickel, prepare the rearm for 2nd Model: Manufactured from 1897 to 1908; these incorporated a safety on the trigger face.
re-plating, as well as the actual 3rd Model (or New Model): Manufactured from 1909 to 1941; these had no safety on the trigger
and were built with coil springs.
plating process, will likely cost more

[The grip safety] was added

to address concerns of
pocket carry, and to prevent
accidental discharge.
than the price of the revolver meaning an ATF Form 4473 is determined by the serial number of
stripping it of its collector value. required for a local purchase; the revolver in question. With other
the revolvers can only be legally manufacturers, it is a complete
DATING THE TOP-BREAKS shipped to the holder of an FFL or crap-shoot: many of them have
For revolvers manufactured a Curio & Relic license (03 FFL). long been out of business, or have
after 1898 but prior to 1966, the When it comes to Smith & missing or poorly kept records. It
antique firearm definition does Wesson, the company kept metic- is safe to say, if a barrel sports a
not apply; these top-breaks are ulous records as to when each patent date of later than 1898, it is
classified as curios or relics, model was manufactured, which is not an antique. GNSL

GS-1605-102-109-SINGLE.CX.qxp 3/9/16 2:30 AM Page 102
Photo by Steven Paul Barlow
Seeking
Other Singles
Single Action Revolvers Are Still Great
Choices Today
BY STEVEN PAUL BARLOW
O
utdated, obsolete, old-fashioned
these are some of the terms
used to describe single-action
revolvers, mostly by those
who have limited their experiences with
firearms to plastic-framed semi-autos with
high-capacity magazines.
But modern single-action revolvers
continue to be effective, useful and popular,
and they are a good choice for a number of
tasks where a handgun is appropriate.

GS-1605-102-109-SINGLE.qxp 3/6/16 11:35 PM Page 104
THE SINGLE-ACTION HERITAGE though, is that most modern me address their shortcomings:
While there are replicas of single-actions have some sort of First, theres the capacity issue.
many old single-action designs on transfer-bar safety that allows you Most single-actions have a six-
the market, most modern single- to carry the gun safely with all round cylinder. Some pocket
action revolvers descend from the chambers loaded. The original revolvers, such as the rimfire guns
Colt Single Action Army (the single-action design featured a from North American Arms, and
Model P of 1873) and the later xed ring pin on the hammer. An some revolvers that chamber
Colt Flattop Target Model of 1890, inadvertent blow to the hammer large cartridges, such as the
which featured an adjustable could cause the ring pin to strike Freedom Arms Model 83 in .454
rear sight and a replaceable the cartridge primer, causing an Casull, have a capacity of just ve.
front blade. accidental discharge. For this This alone wouldnt be much
Modern single-actions most reason, it was recommended to of a disadvantage, except single-
often have adjustable sights, and carry such guns with the hammer actions are slower to reload than
many feature beefed up frames that lowered over an empty chamber. both double-action revolvers with
allow them to handle powerful swing-out cylinders and semi-auto
hunting cartridges. Many are also SOME LIMITATIONS pistols with detachable magazines.
available in stainless steel to make Before you get the idea that Most modern single-actions
them more corrosion resistant. Im advocating the use of single- must be loaded, one cartridge at
One of the biggest differences, actions over all other handguns, let a time, through the loading gate;
In a defensive
situation, I would opt
for my Ruger Vaquero
in .45 Colt ... over a
tiny .380 auto
The transfer-bar safety on Ruger

single-actions allows you to carry them
safely with all cylinders loaded, unlike SAA
clones with xed, hammer-mounted ring
pins. (Photo Courtesy of Ruger)
The North American Arms

mini revolver in .22LR is a
well-made, ve-shot handgun
that represents the pocket-sized
end of single-action revolvers.
(Photo Courtesy of NAA)
the empties must also be removed, are available. For those after big aeld with shotshells loaded in the
one at a time, by punching them out game, single-actions have been rst two chambers, followed by a
with the spring-loaded ejector rod. chambered for powerful car- couple of lead semiwadcutters,
tridges, such as: .41 Magnum, .44 followed by some factory-loaded
MORE PLUSES THAN MINUSES Magnum, .45 Colt +P, .454 Casull, semi-jacketed hollow points.
Law enforcement and military .480 Ruger, .475 Linebaugh and Single-actions are more
units cant overlook such draw- .500 Wyoming Express. streamlined, often weighing less
backs when there are better options Single-actions are reliable with than double-actions of the same
for combat sidearms. But dont a wide variety of ammo. Theyre not caliber. Their grips are smaller
believe for a minute that single- nicky about bullet conguration or great for those with average to
actions are only good for Cowboy cartridges varying in overall length. small handscompared to the
Action Shooting competitions. Ive often carried single-actions large grips on many double-action
For hunters, single-action
revolvers are a logical choice. SCOPED SINGLE-ACTIONS
The Ruger Super Blackhawk in .44 Magnum is a gun Ive owned for years. Its very
They are accurate and easy to accurate, but Ive always wondered how well it would shoot if my old eyes could see better
shoot with their short, single- at longer distances. With this in mind, I went out and bought a second one: a Hunter model
with integral grooves for mounting the included Ruger scope rings.
action trigger pulls. They point That scoped Super Blackhawk Hunter has become one of my favorite single-actions
naturally, most have good sights, for hunting. Mounting the scope was easy with the Ruger system. Special adaptors are
available for other single-actions that dont have integral rails or other provisions to mount
and they are available in a variety scopes. Edge Custom, Inc. is one company that makes scope mounts for a number of
revolversmost of which dont involve gunsmithing.
of barrel lengths. Longer barrels Keep in mind, the scope you choose must be an intermediate or extended eye-relief
provide a better sight radius, and model; this way, you can sight through the scope when your revolver is extended at
arms length.
help to get more velocity out of a Scopes do make handguns heavier and more unwieldly. Bandolier-style holsters are
chosen cartridge. often a better bet for carrying them. Every slight jitter and shake seems amplified when
shooting a scoped handgun, but shooting from a resta tree branch, shooting stick, etc.
For small-game hunters, rim- is recommended anyway.
re models in .22LR and .22 WMR

The Freedom Arms Model 83,

offered in Premier and Field
grade versions, is perhaps
the nest single-action
production revolver on the
market that is available in
powerful calibers. (Photo
Courtesy of Freedom Arms)
Single-actions, such as these

from Freedom Arms, make
great eld companions for
hunting, pest control and
defense. (Photo Courtesy
of Freedom Arms)
revolvers and large autos with

double-stack magazines.
Single-actions are excellent
for new shooters, who are more
likely to learn the discipline of
deliberate shots because they have
to manually cock the hammer for
each shot. Youre not going to spray
and pray with a single-action. The
geometry of the grip allows the
gun to slightly roll in the hand upon
firing, which makes it easier to
ADVANTAGES OF
SINGLE-ACTIONS
1. Many shoot powerful cartridges useful
to hunters.
2. Reliable and not nicky about ammo
selection.
3. Easy to remove cylinder for cleaning,
maintenance and inspection.
4. Tend to point naturally.
5. Grip conguration allows for better
recoil management.
6. Excellent for beginners who learn
deliberate, disciplined shooting, as they
must manually cock the hammer for
each shot.

Modern single-action
revolvers continue to be
effective, useful and
popular, and they are a
good choice for a number
of tasks where a handgun
is appropriate.
The traditional grip conguration

of single-actions allows for good
recoil management; the gun
will tend to roll in the hand,
as the barrel rises upon ring.
(Photo Courtesy of Ruger)
manage the recoil of stout loads. my ability to reload it quickly, As most civilian defensive
They make excellent eld and more concerned about my shootings usually result in very
guns. When Im wandering the ability to make accurate hits. few rounds fired, mental attitude
woods, not concerned about Because I spend a lot of time in and composure under pressure
concealment, its a single-action remote areas, defensive shooting are more important than the
revolver that I often choose. With distances could be longer than number of bullets in your gun.
the right loads, Im ready to bag statistical averages; I need to know The need to manually cock
small game for the cook pot; I can get hits at distance. a single-action for each shot is
dispatch varmints and rabid If I was still a uniformed a training issue. With practice,
animals; hunt deer or bear; or police officer, admittedly, I would its no longer an issue. Watch
defend myself against most favor carrying something such cowboy-action shooters and
realistic threatsnot those found as a Glock 21 service pistol in see how quickly they engage
in Hollywood fantasies. .45 ACP. But lets be honest here: multiple targets.
The cylinder of a single-action The average pistol-permit
is easily removed for cleaning holder isnt carrying a Glock 21. SINGLE-ACTION OPTIONS
and inspection. Many opt for convenience, and There are many good choices
choose to carry subcompact .380 if a modern single-action revolver
SINGLE-ACTIONS FOR DEFENSE autos. In a defensive situation, is in your future.
When I carry a single-action I would opt for my Ruger Vaquero
revolver, I dont feel vulnerable or in .45 Colt (which shoots NORTH AMERICAN ARMS
handicapped. With a defensive well) over a tiny .380 auto Among pocket guns, there are
arm, Im less concerned about the (which also wouldnt have a few more concealable than the
number of bullets in the gun or high capacity). North American Arms revolvers.

Ruger single-actions are

available in a number of
calibers and barrel lengths,
some with Bisley grip frames
(center) and some in stainless
steel (top). (Photo Courtesy
of Ruger)
These well-made, five-shot minis

are available in .22LR or .22WMR,
in a number of barrel lengths and
grip congurations. Recently, I
tested one of NAAs Sidewinder
models, which came with both
.22LR and .22WMR cylinders, and I
found it remarkably accurate.
Among their revolver lineup is a MAGNUM RESEARCH
model (1860-3) nicknamed The The company known for making the massive Desert Eagle
Earl, which has Old West styling. semi-auto also makes large single-action revolvers. Normally, if you
want ammo compatibility between your long gun and your pistol, you
FREEDOM ARMS choose a carbine that fires a pistol cartridge.
At the other extreme of the The BFR from Magnum Research is unusual in that it is available
power scale are the revolvers of in models that fire rifle cartridges, such as the .45-70 and .30-30.
Freedom Arms. These are top- The big single-actions are also available for a wide range of powerful
quality handguns. They are avail- pistol calibers.
able in Premier and field-grade
versions, in a number of calibers STURM, RUGER AND CO.
up to such powerhouses as .454 Years ago, Ruger started the resurgence in single-actions with such
Casull and .50 Wyoming Express. models as the Single Six rimre, Blackhawk and Super Blackhawk.

This Ruger Super Blackhawk

Hunter belongs to the author;
it features integral slots on the
barrel that have been designed
to accept the included Ruger
scope rings. It provides a
simple, secure way to mount
a scope.
SOURCES
North American Arms
northamericanarms.com
Sturm, Ruger & Co.
ruger.com
Freedom Arms
freedomarms.com
Magnum Research
magnumresearch.com
Edge Custom, Inc. (Scope
Mounts)
edgecustom.com
Even their Vaquero, developed I have been a big fan of the delicate balance between
with cowboy-action shooters Ruger revolvers for many years, tradition and innovation.
in mind, features modern and I own several of their Every once in a while, Im
updates like a transfer-bar single-actions. They are well- tempted to get rid of all my
safety and coil-spring ring built, durable and offer a good other handguns and just
mechanism. value for the cost. collect single-action revolvers.
The Single Six is available I probably wont go to that
in a convertible model, with two AFFINITY FOR SINGLES extreme, but if I did, I have no
cylinders: one for .22LR and one Single-action revolvers doubt Id still have the tools
for .22WMR. The Blackhawk is arent going away any time necessary to meet all of my
also available as a two-cylinder soon, especially if companies handgun needs. In the mean-
convertible in .357/9mm or .45 like these continue to offer time, Ill continue to seek other
Colt/.45 ACP. great new models that maintain singles. GNSL

GS-1605-110-117-SCHOFIELD.CX.qxp 3/9/16 2:39 AM Page 110
Revolver
Revival
Cimarrons Replica of the
Smith & Wesson Schoeld
Might Be Better than
the Original
Some historians speculate that if the 7th

Cavalry Regiment at Little Bighorn would
have been armed with Schoeld revolvers
in lieu of Colts, rapid reloading could have
turned the tide of that battle in their favor.

GS-1605-110-117-SCHOFIELD 3/7/16 2:51 AM Page 111
TEXT AND PHOTOS BY MIKE SEARSON
S
choeld Kid, that's what they
call me.
Why, you from Schoeld?
No, it's on account of my
Schoeld Model Smith & Wesson pistol.
Those lines in the opening scene of 1992s
Unforgiven, starring Clint Eastwood, made
the Smith & Wesson Model 3 Schoeld
immensely popular for a new generation
of fans.
With rare original models selling in the
thousands (when they can even be found),
shooters had to turn to replica manufacturers in
order to whet their appetites for one. I recently
sampled a model courtesy of Cimarron Firearms,
and it proved why these revolvers have become
so popular with shooters.

Cimarron's reproduction
Schoeld dwarfs the Colt SAA.
SCHOFIELDS IN ACTION HISTORY OF THE SCHOFIELD

The Schoeld saw service In 1870, the U.S. Army issued the Smith & Wesson Model 3 as the first cartridge-firing
revolver in the U.S. arsenal. It was chambered in 44 S&W American, a forerunner to the
from the American Indian Wars to modern 44 Special round. By 1873, the Army had adopted the Colt Model 1873 (Single
as late as the Spanish-American Action Army), chambered in the 45 Colt round.
However, there was resistance to giving up the faster loading Smith & Wesson Model 3;
War. At the close of the Spanish- in 1875, the U.S. Ordnance Board contracted Smith & Wesson to produce an upgraded Model 3
incorporating design improvements that had been drawn up by Major George W. Schoeld.
American War, the Army sold the
Most notably, the upgrade included a strengthened frame-mounted latch, as opposed to one
entire stock of Schoeld revolvers mounted on the barrel.
Schoelds improvements were a response to reports of the original barrel-mounted
(close to 8,000) as military latch catching on the edge of a holster, forcing the revolver to open and subsequently dump
surplus, with the bulk going to the loaded cartridges.
Ever the entrepreneur, Schoeld patented his improvements and received a royalty of
rearms distributors that short- 50 cents for every revolver that Smith & Wesson sold.
ened the 7-inch barrels to a handier As for caliber, the 45 Colt was a no go in the Schoeld. The 45 Colt was longer, and due
to its smaller rim, Smith & Wesson determined it would not reliably extract in their revolver.
ve inches, and renished the The company came up with a shorter cartridge with a wider rim, dubbed the 45 Schofield
also known as the 45 Smith & Wesson. The longer 45 Colt round picked up the unofficial
revolvers in nickel. moniker, 45 Long Colt.
A large number of these While the two cartridges were interchangeable in the Colt Single Action Army, they
were not so in the Schofield. A number of instances were documented where troopers
surplus revolvers were bought issued Schofield revolvers had also been issued the longer ammunition that would not
by Wells Fargo for use by their chamber in them. For a while, the military issued just the shorter .45 Schofield round to its
troops, but eventually the Schofield was dropped from service.
road agents.

Thumb the latch and pull

down the barrel to open the
action, but mind keeping
the hammer at half cock.
The Cimarron reproduction is slightly

larger and heavier than the original, so
as to accommodate the 45 Colt and make
for a safer shooting experience.
THE REPLICA SCHOFIELD culprit. Smith & Wesson dropped his personal collection to use as
With the retirement and sub- the models as a Performance samples. Harvey specied how he
sequent renishing of the original Center offering in 2002, after a wanted frames forged, marked
Schoeld revolvers ruining inherent mere two years of production. and case-hardened to put his
military collectability (original non- Thankfully, Cimarron Firearms, imported revolvers a cut above
nickel-plated Schoeld revolvers which has a unique role in the the competition.
are rarer than hens teeth), the replica firearms world, decided to
quest for a reasonably priced bring this old revolver to the masses THE WELLS FARGO
CONNECTION
shooter for a reenactor, or even by way of Uberti Firearms in Italy. When Wells Fargo purchased surplus
a lm-property master, lies in Company CEO, Mike Harvey, Schoeld revolvers for their agents, each
one was hand-inspected by an armorer,
modern reproductions. found himself dissatised with and re-stamped WELLS FARGO & CO.
next to the serial numbers.
Smith & Wesson tried reviving imported replica firearms made in
In the 1970s, these particular
the revolver at the turn of the 21st Italy, and went to Uberti directly Schoeld revolvers became popular with
collectors. Sadly, a cottage industry
century, but the revolvers were not with instructions on how he of forgers faked the logo onto other
big sellers. Price may have been a wanted his revolvers built. surplus Schofield revolvers, as well as
foreign-made counterfeit copies.
factor, but the use of the shorter 45 Putting his money where his It is estimated that there are more
falsied Wells Fargo Schoeld revolvers
S&W, over the more affordable and mouth was, Harvey sent the Italian
than real ones.
available 45 Colt, was likely the real arms maker antique rearms from

When initial complaints of pattern we all know and love, and carried like a Colt Single Action
Schoeld replicas reported locks even the stocks seemed perfect, Army, with the hammer over an
blowing open while ringdue to bearing the cartouche military- empty chamber. For those not
the higher pressure of smokeless- inspector markings that would be accustomed to hammer-mounted
powder loads used in Cowboy found on the grips of a genuine ring pins, the revolver must be
Action ShootingHarvey investi- Schoeld. Most importantly, it was kept at half cock to break open the
gated and, subsequently, had the chambered in the 45 Colt round. cylinder for loading and unloading
angle of the latches recut on his I could not wait to get his one the revolverotherwise, the pin can
Model 3 replicas. to the range, and rolled out with break. However, it must be lowered
several boxes of 45 Colt courtesy onto the empty chamber, as the
THE TEST GUN of Freedom Munitions. cylinder will spin if the hammer is
Under extremely short notice The rst thing you notice is the left at half cock, putting the shooter
and while he was out of the country, heft and size of the revolver. It is, by into the danger zone with regard to
Cimarrons Jamie Wayt overnighted no means, in the class of a Walker live ammunition.
a Schoeld to us in order to conduct Colt or Smith & Wesson 500, but it Despite the beefed-up top
this review. dwarfs the Colt Single Action Army strap and barrel, this handgun is
True to their business model, Revolver. The Cimarron reproduc- not intended for hot loads of 45
the Cimarron Schoeld looked as if tion is slightly larger and heavier Colt that might work well in a
it had rolled off a Smith & Wesson than the original, accommodating Thompson Center single-shot or
assembly line in 1875. the 45 Colt and making for a safer Ruger Blackhawk.
The blue was gorgeous, the shooting experience. By the same token, going to
color case-hardened lock and There is no transfer bar in the the opposite end of the scale,
hammer had that beautiful swirl Schoeld replica, so it must be with authentic black powder or an
MOVIES FEATURING THE

SCHOFIELD
Courtesy of IMFDB.org
(The Internet Movie Firearms Database)
Hard Times
Despite the beefed-up top strap and The Long Riders
Romancing the Stone
barrel, this handgun is not intended Unforgiven
Tombstone
for hot loads of 45 Colt ... Dead Man
Shanghai Noon
The Last Samurai
Van Helsing
The Assassination of Jesse James by
the Coward Robert Ford
3:10 to Yuma
Wanted
The Artist
Crossre Trail (Television)
Deadwood (Television)
Cimarron's reproduction
Schoeld is all business
and surprisingly accurate.

approximate propellant in your However, based on some of the

FAMOUS SCHOFIELD USERS
rounds, is also not a good idea. Old West characters who elded Jesse James
Uberti built these revolvers with the Schoeld, I gured there had to Frank James
Bob Ford
high tolerances, and did not incor- be something to it. John Wesley Hardin
porate a cylinder gas ring, as was I posted targets at 50 feet and Pat Garrett
Theodore Roosevelt
found on the original. As a result, held the xed sights over the bulls Virgil Earp
Billy the Kid
black-powder fouling after a eye. My rst shot impacted six Wyatt Earp
cylinder full of rounds can lock inches high, as did the second. I Buffalo Bill Cody
Cole Younger
the revolver up. manually adjusted by aiming lower, Jim Younger
and shot several fantastic strings Charlie Pitts
Texas Jack Omohundro
ON THE RANGE with all rounds touching. Bill Tilghman
Marshal Dallas Stoudenmire
Thinking back to when I saw Knowing where I was hitting, I Ranald MacKinzie
Unforgiven in 1992, I remember moved on to steel shooting. With the
remarking to my boss at an guns perfect single-action trigger,
ammunition plant that I wanted to long barrel and quality ammunition, could ask for a more accurate
find a replica Schofield. The boss I gained a new appreciation for the single-action revolver.
answered, Why? Those things Schoeldan appreciation based on The only other potential issue
are ugly, ungainly and inaccurate; performance, not aesthetics or with a modern cowpoke getting
plus, they cost a fortune. historical signicance. into trouble with one of these
Following the wisdom of my The weight may make it would be a competitor who is too
boss, who was a master shooter slower in the hand of a competitor used to carrying Colt or Colt clone
and rearms historian, I put the who is used to firing lighter single-actions, and the issue with
matter out of mind for decades. revolvers; but, I dont think one carrying at half cock.
Beautiful color case-hardening

adorns the latch work of
Cimarron's reproduction Schoeld.

With the guns perfect single-action

trigger, long barrel and quality
ammunition, I gained a new
appreciation for the Schofield.
Single-handed is the only

real way to re a single
action like Cimarron's
reproduction Schoeld.
Be wary if you plan on running one alongside

a Colt or a clone in a match, as the pressure of
the competition could endanger you or other
participants by way of muscle memory. It happened
to me a few times on the rangea hazard of
playing with Colts for close to three decades.
A FIRST-CLASS REPLICA
From the improved angle cut of the lock to this
rearms accuracy and ability to chamber the 45
Colt round, its clear Cimarron and Uberti built the
revolver that Smith & Wesson and Major Schoeld
should have made over 140 years ago.
SOURCES
Cimarron Firearms One of the advantages of the Schoeld was that six rounds
cimarron-rearms.com could be loaded all at once, as opposed to the Single Action
Army, which loads one at a time.

GS-1605-110-117-SCHOFIELD.CX.qxp 3/9/16 2:45 AM Page 117
Rough Rider Series

Rough Rider rimre revolvers are authentically
crafted and made in the USA. They are
available in six and nine-shot options
in .22 LR and .22 Mag. Big Bore
offerings include .357 Mag
and .45 LC.
STARTING AT: $199 MSRP
See our complete line of revolvers and accessories at:
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GS-1605-118-123-TURNBULL.qxp 3/7/16 12:10 AM Page 118
Anything
On Earth
Turnbulls Take on the Revered Model
1886 Results in a Versatile Rie
Suitable for Hunting Any Game
Photo Courtesy of Turnbull

A
TEXT AND PHOTOS BY STEVEN PAUL BARLOW
dmittedly, I was worried when rst

considering the prospect of shooting the
Turnbull 1886 rie, chambered in the
powerful .475 Turnbull and developed by
Doug Turnbull himself.
This is going to hurt, I told myself. Ill probably
destroy my shoulder, bash my nose and detach
my retinas.
After all, were talking about a 400-grain bullet
traveling at 2,050 feet per second.
Each Turnbull rie starts life as a newly manufactured
Winchester 1886. Turnbull then puts on a new octagon
barrel, chambered in .475 Turnbull, and also does
some work to the loading gate, lever and carrier to
accommodate the .475 cartridge.
Then, Turnbull performs his companys specialty:
He embellishes each rie with his famous, color
case-hardened nish. Special features, like engraving
and deluxe wood, can be added to suit the buyers
tastes. Turnbull also offers this lever gun as a packable
takedown model.
The result is a beautiful, top-quality rie with Old
West style, capable of taking any game on Earth.

FROM PRAIRIE DOGS After a well-placed shot with the action. There were a variety of .475
TO ELEPHANTS .475 Turnbull, you wont have to do bullets available, and ultimately,
Doug Turnbull has certainly much tracking to nd your animal. the .475 Turnbull was created.
used his rie/cartridge combination The .475 Turnbull is basically a
all around the world to take a wide THE CARTRIDGE 50-110 casing, shortened by .200
range of game. As he reasons, its What was the motivation for inches and then necked down to
not over-doing it to go deer hunting creating the .475? Turnbull wanted accept the .475 bullet. The overall
with a rie thats capable of taking a gun that could do it all. His com- cartridge length is 2.75 inches.
down an elephant. pany was doing a lot of custom Turnbull worked with Barnes
According to Turnbull, the work on Winchesters, and building Bullets, which developed a 400-
big, heavy, slow-moving bullet one that red his own cartridge grain version of its TSX (Triple
actually destroys less meat than seemed a logical progression. Shock Expanding) bullet for this
many smaller bullets traveling at The company didnt want to cartridge. On impact, the bullet
a higher velocity. The big bullet worry about running out of case expands with four petals opening
has also proven to be very capacity, but kept in mind the car- to .90 caliber. Solid bullets are
effective at anchoring game. tridge had to fit in the Model 1886 also available.
Doug Turnbull demonstrates

the use of his Model 1886,
which res his own powerful
.475 Turnbull cartridge.
THE TIME-TESTED
WINCHESTER 1886
The Winchester 1886 was a landmark
firearm. It was the first Winchester
designed by legendary designer John
Moses Browning. It did away with
the old toggle-link actions of earlier
Winchesters, in favor of a much stronger
locking-block action.
It also allowed for the use of more
powerful black-powder cartridges,
including the .45-70, 45-90 and 50-110.
The action was strong enough to make
the transition to the smokeless powder
era, when it was chambered for the .33
WCF in 1903.
The rie was in regular production
from 1886 to 1935, when Winchester
replaced it with the updated Model 71,
which was chambered in .348 Winchester.
The action has proven strong enough for
use as a base platform for custom ries,
and eventually, the Turnbull .475.

GS-1605-118-123-TURNBULL.CX.qxp 3/9/16 2:50 AM Page 121
The action of the Winchester

1886, a design that's 130 years
old, is strong enough to handle
modern cartridges. The only major
upgrade was the addition of a
new barrel.
Shooting the .475 Turnbull

was not the unpleasant
experience I had anticipated.
I would liken it to shooting slugs
out of a 12-gauge shotgun.
The 400-grain load produces accurate and powerful enough to It comes down to how well
a muzzle velocity of about 2,050 penetrate deeply and take big you can shoot with iron sights,
FPS from a 26-inch barrel for more game at much greater distances says Turnbull, who has personally
than 4,100 foot pounds of energy. but remember, this is an open- used the Model 1886 to take an elk
The cartridge is Sporting Arms sighted rearm. at just under 300 yards.
and Ammunition Manufacturers'
Institute (SAAMI) approved,
and has been loaded by Cor-Bon
TURNBULLS VARIATIONS
and Grizzly Cartridges in the past. The Turnbull Model 1886 is available with a full-octagon barrel, in lengths of 26, 28
Hornady and RCBS both offer and 32 inches. The magazine capacity on a 26-inch version is eight cartridges. The rie is
not a lightweight: Depending on barrel length and the wood used for the stock, it weighs
reloading dies for the .475 Turnbull. in the 10- to 12-pound range.
One can order the reloading Prices on these ries vary greatly, depending on select features and embellishments
on the nished product. A base model costs in the neighborhood of $4,700; meanwhile,
dies, brass and bullets directly some takedown models with deluxe wood and engravings, platinum barrel bands, and a
leather-covered recoil pad can go as high as $12,000. Aside from the .475 Turnbull, you
from Turnbull. can also get one of these Model 1886 ries, chambered in .50 Alaskan.
The Model 1886 isnt the only rie that res the .475 Turnbull. Turnbull teamed with
Sturm, Ruger & Co. to produce a Ruger No.1, single-shot rie in .475 Ruger. The rie is made
TRADITIONAL OPEN SIGHTS by Ruger, but the color case-hardening is still made at Turnbull.
The Model 1886 in .475 The Ruger No. 1 rie features a 26-inch barrel and has an overall length of 42 inches.
It weighs approximately nine pounds, and comes with iron sights and a set of Ruger scope
Turnbull is capable of shooting rings. A mercury-lled recoil reducer in the stock is also available. The price of the Ruger
No. 1 is about $2,000.
about -inch at 100 yards. The
rifle/cartridge combination is

A loaded .475 Turnbull cartridge

(center) is shown with new bullets
(right) and red bullets recovered
from game. At modest velocities, the
big, heavy bullets have been known
to expand to .90 caliber, making
them reliable, big-game stoppers.
After a well-placed shot with the .475 Turnbull, you wont

have to do much tracking to find your animal.
TURNBULLS CHEAT SHEET experience I had anticipated. BENEFITS OF ONE GUN

I had a chance to handle I would liken it to shooting slugs We all like to ponder which gun
Turnbulls personal Model 1866. out of a 12-gauge shotgun. we would pick if we could only have
It shows the signs of being much- Its denitely not a plinker, but one, all-purpose gun. The Turnbull
used and well-traveled, but it is neither is it a punisher. The reason, Model 1886 is one that can live up to
still a beautiful rie. Taped to the I believe, is the weight of the gun, what youd expect such a gun to do.
barrel, just ahead of the receiver, which lands in the 10- to 12-pound It is beautiful to the extreme,
is a chart that serves as a guide range, depending on barrel length and is well-made to inspire pride
to sight adjustments at specific and stock material. of ownership. It has an Old West
ranges from 100 to 340 yards.
Once the distance is known, its a
.475 TURNBULL BALLISTICS
simple matter of adjusting the rear
BULLET WEIGHT (GRAINS) MUZZLE VELOCITY (FEET PER SECOND) MUZZLE ENERGY (FOOT POUNDS)
sight on the Model 1886, and then
youre dialed in for that distance. 350 2,300 4,110
400 2,150 4,104

SHOOTING THE .475 TURNBULL
450 2,050 4,198
I was pleased to discover that
500 1,900 4,007
shooting the Model 1886 in .475
Turnbull was not the unpleasant

GS-1605-118-123-TURNBULL 3/7/16 11:45 PM Page 123
Doug Turnbull is able to test and

develop new rie and cartridge
combinations in the facilities behind
his companys headquarters.
heritage; hunting with it means to hunt deer-sized animals. But remember, this isnt your
connecting to the traditions of the The Turnbull Model 1866 average rie. Its a rie that can
America of a more adventurous costs considerably more than your easily replace any three or four that
time. It is powerful and accurate average hunting rifle$4,700 for are currently in your safe. It really is
enough to reliably take on any big- a standard model to more than the rie of a lifetime. GNSL
game animal; yet its recoil is man- $12,000 for a highly engraved and
ageable enough that it can be used embellished takedown model.
SOURCES
Turnbull Restoration &
Manufacturing Co.
6680 State Route 5 and 20
Bloomeld, NY 14469
(585) 412-2970
turnbullmfg.com
Grizzly Cartridge Company
(503) 556-3006
grizzlycartridge.com
The receivers of the Model 1886
ries are color case-hardened at
Barnes Bullets
the Turnbull factory, making each (435) 856-1000
a one-of-a-kind rearm. barnesbullets.com

GS-1605-124-129-CIMARRON.qxp 3/7/16 12:16 AM Page 124
Double-Barrel
Blaster
Cimarrons Doc Holliday Side-By-Side Can Do It All

TEXT AND PHOTOS BY STEVEN PAUL BARLOW
T
he shotgun has always been a When those hammers are cocked, devas-
do-everything, close-range tating blasts from the two big barrels are
rearm. With small shot, you can not long away.
shoot birds on the y and rabbits When we think of the Old West, this is
on the run. Load it with slugs, and the kind of shotgun that comes to mind
the shotgun becomes capable of taking more than any other, with its short barrels
big game. and compact overall length. Whether its
As a defensive weapon, the shotgun has the guard riding shotgun atop a stage-
an awesome and intimidating reputation. coach, a deputy guarding a prisoner or a
Just the sight of a man with a shotgun has sheriff dispersing an angry mob, the double-
been known to give the boldest of bad men barrel shotgun is a critical part of the image.
the shivers. This particular shotgun is named the
Cimarron Firearms offers its Doc Doc Holliday, because it was reported
Holliday double-barrel 12-gauge model that Virgil Earp handed such a shotgun to
with the wonderful old rabbit ears the Holliday, who carried it and used it at the
external hammers that must be cocked infamous Gunght at the O.K. Corral.
before ring. Theres no mistaking when Its actually manufactured by Pedersoli
things are getting serious with this shotgun. in Italy and imported by Cimarron.

The Cimarron Doc Holliday

shotgunwould make
an easy-to-operate
home-defense gun
shotgun is a compact package
at just 37 inches overall.
FIT AND FINISH

shotgun is an attractive rearm This shotgun comes with an extractor that pulls the
shells partially out of the chambers, where they must be
with an authentic look and feel. plucked the rest of the way out.
It has an oil-nished walnut stock,
pale color case-hardened receiver
and blued barrels. The name Doc
Holliday is engraved on the right
side plate. The overall t and nish
is excellent.
The barrels are 20 inches
long; the overall length is about
37 inches. There are dual triggers.
The front trigger fires the right,
cylinder-bore barrel. The rear
trigger fires the left, improved
cylinder barrel.
When closing the action, it
locks with a positive, conrming
thunk. The shotgun is tted with
an extractor, which lifts the shells
enough so that you can pluck The exposed rabbit ear hammers are reminiscent of days gone by,
and also provide for a very safe rearm, as they must be manually
them out the rest of the way. cocked before the shotgun can be red.

As with most break-action shotguns, this one

takes down easily for discreet transport.
The gun has a manual recoil pad to catch on clothing. and to the target beyond.
safetyit isnt automatically The rib between the barrels is Additionally, the shotguns
engaged upon closing the action. slightly curved; this creates a compact size makes it very handy
All things considered, this type of trough that serves as a speedy for both close-quarter defensive
firearm is one of the safest that runway, leading the eye past the purposes and when hunting in
you can own because the hammers single brass-bead front sight thick cover.
must be manually cocked, and
you wouldnt do that until youre
ready to fire.
Those rebounding hammers,
SHOOTING RESULTS
I did all of my ring with the Cimarron Doc Holliday shotgun standing, off hand. This
when in the down position, are isnt a target rie, so I didnt see much point in shooting from the bench. I wanted to test it
as Id use it.
away from the firing pins, so even The barrels proved to be well-regulated at realistic distances; there wasnt a
a blow to those hammers wont noticeable difference in the point of impact with either barrel at 15 or 25 yards.
I red the shotgun at 15 yards with Remington Game Loads in No. 6 shot. Despite not
cause an accidental discharge. being tightly choked, the shot pattern was condensed enough to make this a worthy
companion on small-game hunts.
At a glance, you can confirm that
Next, I fired some Federal Tactical 00 Buckshot loads at 15 yards. In the past, this
the hammers are down and your has always proved to be a tight shooting load, and I wasnt disappointed this time.
Firing two shots at 15 yards kept the total of 18 pellets within a pattern of 10.5 inches.
safety is on. This gun would have a devastating effect in a close-range defense scenario.
The shotguns role has always been as a versatile firearm; so, I fired slugs through
this one, as well, fully knowing that this usually isnt the task where youd normally pick
HANDLING QUALITIES a side-by-side. I fired Remington Slugger 2 -inch, 1-ounce rifled slugs and Federal
Power-Shok 1-ounce, hollowpoint rifled slugs at 25 yards.
The Doc Holliday shotgun
Neither man nor beast would want to face this Cimarron Doc Holliday shotgun.
is well-balanced and naturally After ring a couple of practice rounds to get used to it, the shotgun shot pretty much
to point of aim, and kept ve slugs into a 3 -inch group, again from standing, off hand.
comes to the shoulder, in line In the dense woods where I hunt, that translates to venison in the freezer.
with the target. There is no rubber

While handling the Old West-styled Cimarron Doc Holliday shotgun, the author felt it was only appropriate, if not mandatory, to wear a cowboy hat. (Photo by Gary Barlow)
This shotgun handles and shoots well and, like all doubles,
offers a quick follow-up shot
The exposed rabbit ear The trigger pull on each of the considered an all-afternoon plinker.
hammers are large and easily two triggers was clean, with little Early in my law-enforcement career,
cocked, either singly or at the same or no travel, but it was a bit on the
time, with the sweep of a thumb. heavy side. I measured the pull of
Should you need to lower the the front trigger at 6.5 pounds, and SPECIFICATIONS
Model: Cimarron SH906
hammers, their size and shape the rear trigger at 5.5 pounds. As it Doc Holliday shotgun
Manufacturer: Pedersoli of Italy for
lend themselves to doing it safely, turned out, the triggers were not at
Cimarron Firearms
and with less chance of fumbling all a detriment when it came to Type: Double-barrel shotgun with
exposed hammers, dual triggers
than other types of rearms. ring the shotgun. Gauge: 12 gauge, 2 -inch chambers
Pushing the top lever to the Barrel length: 20 inches
Overall length: 37 inches
right unlocks the break-open action. SHOOTING HOLLIDAYS SHOTGUN Finish: Color case-hardened side plates,
blued barrels
Tilting the barrels down proved to No matter who you are, I dont
Stock: Walnut
be smooth but a bit stiff, which I think a short-barreled 12 gauge MSRP: $1,605
attribute to the test gun being new. with no recoil pad will ever be

we had lightweight Ithaca pumps

that could wake you up without
your morning coffee. So I had an
idea what to expect.
When I snugged the butt
of the shotgun firmly into my
shoulder and leaned into it
properly, the recoil really wasnt
that bad. The gun was so lively
in the hands, fun to shoot and
easy to shoot well, that I wasnt
concerned about the recoil after
the first couple of shots.
FUN, BUT STILL USEFUL

This shotgun is fun to shoot,
and Im sure it would be treasured
by anyone who likes to take part
in cowboy competitions or who
simply enjoys owning something
reminiscent of the Old West.
I appreciate nostalgia, but
personally, Im fond of rearms
that offer a wider range of utility.
Thats why I like the Doc Holliday
model so much: I dont see it as
merely a specialized competition
firearm, or one to be hung
on a wall and admired for any
historical significance.
This shotgun handles and
Takeout dinner. You certainly could with the Cimarron Doc Holliday shotgun, as it proved to pattern
No. 6 shot very well.
shoots well and, like all doubles,
offers a quick follow-up shot
without the need to manually
operate an action. The Cimarron
Doc Holliday shotgun is one
that would make an easy-to-
operate home defense gun, and
Id like to try it hunting rabbits
and grouse in thick cover, where
shots are short and fast, and
theres not much room to swing
a longer gun. GNSL
SOURCES
Cimarron Firearms
Shooting slugs off hand at 25 yards, the author managed a respectable 3.75-inch group, making this shotgun cimarron-rearms.com
capable of downing bigger quarry with authority.

GS_1605_130 3/7/16 1:32 AM Page 130
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GS-1605-130-131-CLOSING.qxp 3/7/16 12:26 AM Page 131
PARTING SHOT
Defending
the Herd
T
hose in the Old West
had to have their ries
ready and their wits
about them to handle
any unexpected situation. Its
Image by Universal History Archive/Getty
that self-reliance and readiness

to act that, in part, intrigues us
about those bygone days of
the cowboy.
In todays political climate,
its not the herd we have to
defend, but our rights and our
ability to be self-reliant.

GS_SUM16_C4 2/25/16 10:46 PM Page C4

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GNSLCoverMay2016.

QXP 3/11/16 6:34 AM Page US_C1

FROM THE EDITORS OF WORLD OF FIREPOWER

2 GUNSLINGERS I SUMMER 2016

Photo by Universal History Archive/Getty Images

SUMMER 2016 I GUNSLINGERS 3

28 TAMING OF THE WEST

30 Ride Fast, Ride Hard

4 GUNSLINGERS I SUMMER 2016

78 THE WILD BUNCH SEARCH

102 SEEKING OTHER SINGLES ON THE COVER:

118 ANYTHING ON EARTH

124 DOUBLE-BARREL BLASTER

SUMMER 2016 I GUNSLINGERS 5

The New Doug Jeffrey

Old West DESIGN

to the genuine article as possible. Im not against progress.

that wants modernized Old West- engraving, and updated to fire a

6 GUNSLINGERS I SUMMER 2016

.38/.357 MAG. .44 MAG. .45 COLT

YOU TAKE PRIDE IN YOUR PROPERTY. PROTECT IT WITH A

f the sport of Cowboy Mounted Shooting has a face,

8 GUNSLINGERS I SUMMER 2016

SUMMER 2016 I GUNSLINGERS 9

Gunslingers: I know that you had

Kenda: You could say that I was

10 GUNSLINGERS I SUMMER 2016

Uberti has introduced the

plant a Wild West show image

Gunslingers: Wow, thats a lot to

Kenda: My fastest time clocked

SUMMER 2016 I GUNSLINGERS 11

Shooting on the move is difficult,

We are shooting a Single Action Army, one handed, at reactionary

12 GUNSLINGERS I SUMMER 2016

Kenda: The most popular breed in the

Gunslingers: Are there any special tack

Kenda: Our rule book indicates that any

Gunslingers: Is there any part of a

A common comment from had horses that were high-

SUMMER 2016 I GUNSLINGERS 13

Those blanks pack enough

14 GUNSLINGERS I SUMMER 2016

Fancy, but practical, Kenda

it was what I was introduced to strongest attribute.

SUMMER 2016 I GUNSLINGERS 15

some of the worlds best shooters

Gunslingers: What do you think

Kenda: I teach new riders on [an]

16 GUNSLINGERS I SUMMER 2016

Alternatively, Log on to www.engagedmediamags.com/combo_mpasg and use Promo code A264X4V1

This Years Hot Firearms Include

18 GUNSLINGERS I SUMMER 2016

Photo Courtesy of Navy Arms

BY STEVEN PAUL BARLOW

SUMMER 2016 I GUNSLINGERS 19

... The Commemorative Model 1866 'Yellow Boy' lever-

Winchesters 150th Anniversary Commemorative Model 1873 is chambered in

20 GUNSLINGERS I SUMMER 2016

The Henry Big Boy Silver features nickel plating over an

The Henry All-Weather Rie is available in .45-70 with pistol-grip

SUMMER 2016 I GUNSLINGERS 21

Ubertis 1873 Cattleman II revolver features a

Ubertis Short Stroke CMS KL Pro with birds-head grip