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Combat Handguns Presents #88 WINTER 2016

Guns from
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Wheels
P. 46

N
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W E G E N Colt .45
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os
ny Ring
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1 John Colt .45s DOC HOLLIDAY
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 #88

OF T H E OL D WEST
42 C O N T E N T S 72

18 18 FRONTIER 66 BUCKSKIN BUCKAROOS

POCKET PISTOLS BY PHIL SPANGENBERGER
BY DENNIS ADLER Buckskin attire provided the protection
These backup guns helped required for rough-country rides.
lawmen and outlaws alike! 54
72 THE DUKES AIRGUN
24 UBERTIS 1860 HENRY BY DENNIS ADLER
BY MIKE BELIVEAU Air Venturi is now offering a John
Americas first lever action returns Wayne edition Peacemaker!
as a high-quality .44-40 replica.
78 TAYLORS NEW OUTLAWS
30 RUGERS .357 MAG BISLEY BY ASHLEY HLEBINSKY
BY ROBERT A. SADOWSKI Laser-engraved sixguns that blend
The Vaquero rides again with a new grip classic looks with modern technology!
and more fast-targeting upgrades!
36
36 DOC HOLLIDAY
.38 SPECIAL
B Y L A V I S TA B I L L B E L L
Pedersoli recreates a single action for one c o l u m n s :
of the Wests most famous gunfighters.
24 6 Western Words
42 HOLLYWOODS GUNS, SIGNATURE GUN RIGS

HATS & HOLSTERS 8 Gear & Garb

BY DENNIS ADLER COWBOY ACTION SHELL CARRIERS
TVs most famous cowboys, lawmen
10 Guns of the Gunfighters
and outlawsand their legendary gear. WYATT EARP: FACT VS. FICTION

48 FORGOTTEN STARR 12 Black Powder

COLT VS. REMINGTON
B Y K E N N E T H L . WA LT E R S
Reviving a Civil War-era 14 Round Em Up! 14
48 Starr Carbine for modern service! MODERN MARES LEGS

54 BUFFALO BILLS 16 Cowboy Stuff

GAMBLING GEAR
BULLARD REPEATER
BY FRANK JARDIM 53 New Products
Handcrafted lever action takes a backseat GUNS AND GEAR
to none in terms of speed or quality! 76 Firearms Pioneer
REVEREND FORSYTH
62 CLARK GABLE
& HIS COMPADRES 80 Post Civil War
SHERMANS PISTOL
BY PATRICK CURTIS
How Gable and other stars helped 82 Weird West
66 shape a young boys life. WINCHESTERS REVOLVERS

W INTER 2016 GU NS O F T H E O L D W E S T 5
 Western Words
SIGNATURE
GUN RIGS
Guns and holsters that created unforgettable images of Americas frontier.
BY DENNIS ADLER
One of the most
famous Western rigs
on TV was the Bohlin-
designed double gun belt
worn by The Lone Ranger.
(Lone Ranger rig courtesy
George Bobbitt; Bat Masterson
rig courtesy Jim Lockwood)
O
n the cover are three gun rigs
that are unmistakable from any
othersicons from an era when
Westerns ruled the airwaves and the silver
screen. With scores of memorable shows
on every network from the 1950s to the
1970s, it is hard to imagine that any one
character, let alone a singular gun or
holster, could become the representation
of an individual. Yet here is evidence that
more than 50 years after the fact, the hol-
sters and guns carried by Hugh OBrian
as Wyatt Earp, Don Durant as Johnny
Ringo and Richard Boone as Paladin,
remain unmistakable and, more to the
point, are still being made. John Bianchis
Frontier Gunleather offers the Earp dou-
ble rig for the Buntline and 4-inch-bar-
reled Peacemaker just as worn by Hugh
OBrian on the television series; Alfonsos
of Hollywood continues to offer the
legendary Ojala-designed and Alfonso
6 GUNS OF THE O LD WEST
Pineda-handcrafted Paladin holster with
a ruby-eyed silver chess knight; and cus-
tom holster-makers like Bob Mernickle
can build even the most whimsical of
TV gun rigs like the skeletonized LeMat
holster worn by Johnny Ringo. These and
seven other famous TV rigs are the focus
of Hollywoods Guns, Hats & Holsters.
TV shows and movies were a great
influence on Americas youth in the post-
WWII era, and most of us who enjoy read-
ing Guns of the Old West grew up on John
Wayne Westerns and watching The Lone
Ranger, Gunsmoke, Maverick, Bonanza and
so many others that an entire generation
(and a generation that grew up on reruns,
too) can still relate to the characters.
History played a great role in the creation
of many early TV and movie Westerns,
and it is with history in mind that much
of this issue is focused on famous origi-
nal guns and the men who carried them,
including Buffalo Bill Cody and his rare
Bullard repeating rifle, as chronicled by
author Frank Jardim. Dr. Steven C. Small
examines the equally rare Springfield
Trapdoor pistols developed after the Civil
War for General William T. Sherman,
and Cody Firearms Museum Associate
Curator Ashley Hlebinsky reveals the story
behind the great Winchester and Colt
manufacturing wars of the 1870s.
Our resident Western haberdasher
Phil Spangenberger explains the popular-
ity of buckskins in the Old West, and Mike
Beliveau tests Ubertis .44-40 Henry rifle.
Youll also get the inside story on the latest
Western guns, including Pedersolis Doc
Holliday .38, Taylors new Outlaw laser-
engraved sixguns, Rugers .357 Magnum
Bisley Vaquero and the Air Venturi John
Wayne Peacemaker air pistol. So turn that
stud around and head toward the camp-
fireweve got some words for you.
WINTER 2016


Publisher Stanley R. Harris

Executive Publisher Virginia Commander
Group Publisher Shirley Steffen
Associate Publisher Karin Levine
Managing Editor Linas Cernauskas
Assistant Editor Greg Lickenbrock
Art Director James Allocca
Advertising Sales Leticia Henry
Advertising Coordinator Emily Boland
Contributors
Dennis Adler, Bob Arganbright, Mike Beliveau,
William Bell, Patrick Curtis, Ashley Hlebinksy,
Frank Jardim, Todd G. Lofgren, T. Logan Metesh,
Robert A. Sadowski, Dr. Stephen C. Small,
Phil Spangenberger, Kenneth L. Walters

Circulation Director Tim Hannon

Ad Production Manager Heila Nir
Director Digital and Mobile Publishing Kim Shay
Social Media Director Claudia Bircu

Advertising Offices:
Harris Publications, Inc.
1115 Broadway, New York, NY 10010
Harris Tactical Group can be reached at:
Phone: (212) 807-7100; Fax: (212) 463-9958
gunsoftheoldwest.com
harrs-pub.com
tactical-life@harris-pub.com
Retail/Dealer Sales
dealer.sales@harris-pub.com

Cover Photography By Dennis Adler

To the Readers: Be advised that there may be products rep-
resented in this magazine as to which the sale, possession or
interstate transportation thereof may be restricted, prohibited
or subject to special licensing requirements. Prospective pur-
chasers should consult the local law enforcement authorities
in their area. All of the information in this magazine is based
upon the personal experience of individuals who may be
using specific tools, products, equipment and components
under particular conditions and circumstances, some or all of
which may not be reported in the particular article and which
this magazine has not otherwise verified. Nothing herein is
intended to constitute a manual for the use of any product or
the carrying out of any procedure or process. This magazine
and its officers and employees accept no responsibility for
any liability, injuries or damages arising out of any persons
attempt to rely upon any information contained herein.

Combat Handguns Presents: Guns of the Old West

is published quarterly by Harris Publications, Inc., 1115
Broadway, NY, NY 10010. Single copy price: $7.99 in
U.S.A., $8.99 in Canada. Submissions of manuscripts,
illustrations and/or photographs must be accompanied by
a stamped, self-addresses envelope. The publisher assumes
no responsibility for unsolicited material. Copyright
2015 by Harris Publications, Inc. All rights reserved under
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Reproduction in whole or in part without written permis-
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please call us at 800-866-2886.

W INTER 2016 GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 7
 Gear & Garb

COWBOY ACTION
SHELL CARRIERS
Jax Leather goods to help you tote ammo and empties with ease.
BY TODD G. LOFGREN

T
he American cowboy of the mid to
late 1800s was a modicum of effi-
ciencysort of. Those who truly
lived the life of the roving cowhand had
little in the way of personal possessions,
preferring to live off their horses, if you
will, carrying most everything they needed
and picking carefully what they chose to
carry. I find that kind of ironic, what with
all the gear we tote around at our Cowboy
Action shoots. Although I started shooting
in CAS matches many, many years ago, it
didnt take long for me and many others
to realize that some sort of cartour
horse of todaywas needed to get our
gear from stage to stage. It is with that
in mind that Im always on the lookout With the appropriate number of cartridge loops sewn onto the outside of a
for items that make this portion of our pouch capable of holding all ones empties from a single stage,
sport less stressful and more enjoyable. the Tonapah Tom Loading Bag is the perfect CAS accessory.

Loading Pouches
A few years ago, I attended the
annual Fort Miller Shootout in Fresno,
California, and became acquainted with
some of the products made by the Jax
Leather Company hailing from Madera,
California, located just up the road from
Fresno. In business since around 1989,
Leona Franke (aka Frisco Frankie,
SASS #3622), the sole proprietor of Jax
Leather, offers some really nifty canvas
products to aid Cowboy Action shooters.
While perusing the merchandise in
the Jax vendors tent, I came across a
canvas loading bag that Ive been using
exclusively at matches ever since. Called
the Tonapah Tom Loading Bag, its made
from mil-spec, high-grade cotton web-
bing and provides two very important
services to aid one in their trip from the
gun cart to the loading table and from
the unloading table back to ones cart.
Sewn onto the outside of the Tonapah
bag or pouch are two sets of canvas belt
loops, one to accommodate 10 rounds
of pistol ammunition and the second 10
rounds of rifle ammunition (or whatever
that particular upcoming stage calls for).
This allows you to hit the loading table
with exactly the right number of rounds

The drawstring Shell Bag from Jax Leather

works great for securely holding all of
your empties from your next CAS match.

8 GUNS OF THE O LD WEST WINTER 2016

for each firearm and precludes the
possibility of overloading ones rifle
or pistol for a match.
Once all firearms are loaded, the
bag can be tucked under your shot-
gun belt in back or hung from its
sewn-on leather tab until one reaches
the unloading table, where empties
can be stored in the pouch for trans-
fer to your cart. The bag measures
5 inches in length and 7 to 8 in
width depending on the caliber of the
loops, and the pouch is held closed by
a leather-backed snap closure.
Nicely stitched using stout polyes-
ter threads with hidden seams, after
its many years of use, mineexcept
for some range dirtis still good to
go. Its overall size has always accom-
modated all the empties, including
shotshells that Ive created, and left
me able to return all my gear to my
cart after a stage in one trip.
Jax offers .38, .44 and .45/.44-
40 combinations, while custom or
mixed calibers are made on special
request, priced at $25 for a single
caliber or a mere $5 more for others
or mixed calibers.

Shell Bags
Another canvas product from
Jax that I find rather handy is the
companys drawstring Shell Bag.
Although it could be used for tot-
ing a variety of things, it is best used
as a repository for fired brass and
shotshells. Available in two sizes, the
short bag being 8 inches tall and the
tall bag 10 inches, the Shell Bag has
a leather bottom, which enables it to
sit upright, or it can be hung from
ones gun cart by its corded draw-
strings. Its diameter is 5 inches,
and its made from the same high-
quality canvas as the loading bag.
Again, nicely assembled with hid-
den seams, both the short and tall
bags are very reasonably priced at
$10. Custom modifications to suit
ones needs are available. For more
information, visit jaxleather.com or
call 559-675-1230.

WINTER 2016 GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 9
 Guns Of The GunfiGhTers
WYATT EARP:
FACT VS. FICTION
Busting myths about this Western hero and his Colt revolvers.
BY DENNIS ADLER
T
he facts and fictions of Wyatt
Earps life have been intertwined
so many times over the decades
that it is often difficult to tell one from
the other. History is a whirlwind. The
one thing that can be assured
is that Wyatt never owned or
carried a 12-inch-barreled Colt
Peacemaker given to him by Ned
Buntline, even though Wyatt is
quoted by his biographer, Stuart
N. Lake, as having talked about
the guns presented to Dodge
City lawmen by the dime novel-
ist. There was a lot of talk in
Dodge about the special slow-
ing us on the draw. Bat and Bill
Tilghman cut off the barrels to
make them standard length, but
Bassett, Brown, and I kept ours
as they came. Mine was my favorite over any
other gun. I could jerk it as fast as I could
my old one, and I carried it on my right hip
throughout my career as a marshal. With
it I did most of the sixgun work I had to
do. My second gun, which I carried on my
left hip, was the standard Colts frontier
model forty-five caliber, single action six-
shooter with the seven-and-one-half-inch
barrel, the gun we called the Peacemaker.
10 GU NS O F T HE OL D WEST
It is unlikely Wyatt ever made that
statement. Stuart Lake made up a lot of
what he wrote in Wyatt Earp: Frontier
Marshal, which was published in 1931,
two years after Wyatt died at the age of 80
Colt, John Bianchi and Hugh OBrian
worked together in creating this
limited-edition two-gun and holster
set copied from those shown in
The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp.
in Los Angeles, California. On the other
hand, had Lake not written the book, much
of what has transpired in Earp history
and lore might never have come to pass.
The book may have
been revisionist his-
The two-gun Colt/
Bianchi set came
in a handcrafted,
French walnut case
with a glass lid.
A lower drawer
held a key and an
illustrated booklet
on Hugh OBrian
and Wyatt Earp.
tory, but it was the stuff of which legends
are madeLake knew that much was a fact.
Because of the book, Wyatt Earp is
arguably among the most famous of all
Western figures, in company with Buffalo
Bill Cody, Wild Bill Hickok, Doc
Holliday and Bat Masterson, who
not only wrote his own fron-
tier history in 1907 through a
series of short stories published
by Human Life magazine, but
the stories of most everyone else
he had known, including Wyatt
Earp. In his writings, Masterson
never mentioned the Buntline
Special. Few men have had so
many stories written about them
or movies and televisions shows
made about their lives as these
five, and in each telling of their
tales the facts have become more and more
obscured, the casualties of literary license
left to historians to sort out.
However, in Wyatt Earps case, the
Buntline Special was not a figment of imagi-
nation. The long-barreled Peacemakers were
introduced by Colt in 1876 and unveiled
in the great Colt exhibit at the Centennial
Exposition in Philadelphia. Colt built 28
of the special single-action models with
carbine-length barrels, flattop frames and
folding rear leaf sights in the 28,800 serial
number range, with the first shipment of
four guns being delivered to B. Kittredge &
Co. of Cincinnati in December 1877. Thats
almost a year after Buntline claimed to have
presented a gun to Earp in Dodge City.
In the absence of any documentation
that Ned Buntline purchased guns from
Colt or proof for that matter that he ever
gave one to Wyatt or any other Dodge City
lawman, the important thing to remember
WINTER 2016
is that, were it not for Ned Buntlines tale,
there might never have been a Buntline
story to tell. Stuart Lake believed it, and
that is how the Buntline figured so prom-
inently in one of the greatest Western
television series of the late 1950s: He
was the historical consultant on The Life
and Legend of Wyatt Earp starring Hugh
OBrian. It was the television series that
made the Buntline iconic in the narrative
of the Old West. Otherwise, it would have
ended up being just one of 28 special guns
built by Colt from 1876 to 1877.
There is, however, one truth to the
story of Wyatt and the Buntline Special:
He owned a Colt Single Action Army
with a 10-inch barrel. Colt charged an
extra $1 an inch for any barrel length over On the TV series, Hugh OBrian
7 inches, and three 10-inch-barreled wore the Buntline in an extended
Peacemakers are known to have been built, drop-loop holster to lower the gun
one of which was owned by Wyatt Earp. for a faster strong side draw.
In the Hugh OBrian TV series, Wyatt
received a 12-inch-barreled Peacemaker in the Old West over the course of the
from Ned Buntline during the first season series, which ran from September 1955
in episode 17, The Buntline Special. through September 1961.
Thus the myth was firmly established by During those 266 episodes, Hugh
the show and Stuart Lakes biography of OBrian became the embodiment of Wyatt
Wyatt. In fact, many of the episodes seen Earp, and with a couple of adjustments to
on The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp the holster design during the early part
were based on Lakes book and managed of the series, and almost incessant prac-
to have Wyatt encountering just about tice, he developed a fast, consistent draw
every famous lawman and outlaw with the long-barreled Colt strapped
to his right hip. On his left, he
Hugh OBrian in a promo- carried a 4-inch-barreled
tional photo from the SAA, which Wyatt claimed to
television series. Except for be a 7-inch-barreled SAA,
missing Earps mustache, he according to Lake. For the
cut a striking resemblance series it was an interesting par-
to the famed lawman. allel between the two holsters
and revolvers. Whether or not
the real Wyatt Earp carried his
10-inch-barreled Colt SAA on a regular
basis as a lawman is lost to history.

Behind The Scenes

Over the course of preparing for the
TV series, OBrian discussed Earps life
with Stuart Lake. When I started in to
play the role of Wyatt Earp on television,
OBrian said, I realized I had a pretty big
pair of boots to fill. I studied the charac-
ter of the original Wyatt for hours and
read everything (Please turn to page 81)

WINTER 2016 GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 11
 B l ac k P ow d e r
COLT VS.
REMINGTON
The 1860 Army and New Model Army duke it out on the range!
BY MIKE BELIVEAU
W
hich Army revolver is better, Colt
or Remington? Thats the kind of
Ginger or Mary Ann question
that us cap-and-ball shooters can get pas-
sionate about. I just wish it was as easy to
choose between Colt and Remington Army
revolvers. They both have a lot to offer.
By The Numbers
If we look at sales, without a doubt, Colts
.44-caliber 1860 Army model was the more
popular of the two during the 1860s
and 1870s. Produced from 1860 until
1873, Colt built a total of 200,500
Model 1860 Army revolvers. The
majority of them156,000were
made during the Civil War years.
Remington, on the other hand,
produced 122,000 New Model Army
revolvers during its 1863 to 1875
production run. But the New Model
Army was the last of Remingtons
.44-caliber cap-and-ball revolvers. It
was the end of a gradual evolution
that started with the Remington-
Beals revolver, of which 1,900 were
made from 1861 until 1862, 80 percent
of which went to the Union Army. The
Remington-Beals model differs from the
New Model Army in that the barrel threads
are completely concealed by the frame. Also,
there are no cylinder safety notches, and only
a minimal web is evident under the loading
lever. The front sight on the Remington-
Beals Army revolver is a German silver cone.
The Remington-Beals was quickly fol-
lowed by the Model 1861, which was
actually made in 1862. Its known as the
Remington Old Model Army (OMA). A
total of 6,000 OMAs were made; all went
to the Union army. The OMA was a tran-
sitional model. It started off looking like
12 GU N S OF THE O LD WEST
the Remington-Beals, but by the middle of
the production run we see exposed barrel
threads, an enlarged web and safety notches
in cylinder. One unique OMA feature was a
channel cut in the loading lever so the cyl-
inder could be removed without dropping
the lever. This proved to be a bad idea, and
it disappeared when the New Model Army
model was introduced a year later.
Even when you add in all the precursors,
there were fewer than 130,000 Remington
Colts 1860 Army and Remingtons New
Model Army were the most popular cap-
and-ball sidearms on the Western frontier,
but which one was the better handgun?
.44s produced, compared to 200,500 Colt
1860 Army revolvers. And that is despite
the fact that a Colt 1860 Army model
cost $25 compared to the $12 cost of the
Remington New Model Army.
But that really doesnt
say much about which
one was the best.
After all, Colt
had over a
decade
of brand recognition behind it, while
Remington was a relative newcomer to the
handgun game at the time.
So lets compare the features on each
gun and see if one of them ticks off more
boxes. Both models are nominally .44-
caliber guns with six chambers and 8-inch-
long barrels. They are actually .45-caliber
guns with 0.454-inch bores. They fire the
same-sized balls, and the military used the
same 30-grain powder charge in each of
them. But there are some substan-
tial differences.
Of the two, Remington definitely
has the stronger design. Colts are
modular guns. Their grip assemblies,
barrels and loading levers are not
permanently affixed to the revolvers
frame. The grip assembly is a bolt-
on affair that is attached to the frame
by five small screws. These guns are
called open-tops because there is
no frame enclosing the top of the
cylinder. The barrel assembly is held
onto the gun by a wedge that passes
through the Colts massive base pin,
which is known as an arbor. All of that
combines to give cap-and-ball Colt revolv-
ers an archaic look to modern shooters.
In contrast, the frame on the Remington
is a much more robust unit. The Remington
New Model Army revolver has an integral
grip frame, and it has a solid frame, with
a topstrap over the cylinder. The barrel
is solidly screwed into the frame, just as
Colts modular design
is plenty strong for
cap-and-ball
shooting
with black
powder.
WINTER 2016
you would see on a modern-made revolver.
Remingtons have the sort of conven-
tional sights that you would expect to find
on a revolver. The front sight is a pinched
post that is fixed on the end of the barrel,
and the rear sight is a channel milled into
the top of the frame. The front sight on the
Colt 1860 Army is a fixed brass blade, but,
as a consequence of its open-top design, the
rear sight on the Colt is quite different from
what modern shooters are used to. Without
a topstrap to work with, Colt made its rear
sight by notching the nose of the revolvers
hammer. This seems like a pretty crude
design, but it absolutely works.
The only real knock on the Remington
design is that it is affected by fouling to a
much greater degree than the Colt. The
thin base pin and lack of any cylinder
bushing or gas deflection ring means that
nasty blackpowder fouling builds up on
bearing surfaces very quickly. If you fire
10 rounds without cleaning through most
Remingtons, you will start experiencing
noticeable drag when you cock the gun.
Colts, on the other hand, will run smoothly
for as long as you care to shoot them.
When it comes to strength of design, the
Remington clearly bests the Colt. But does
that translate to better performance for the
Remington? A trip to the range was in order.
Range Shootout
I secured a couple of modern-made
replicas of these classic guns from Dixie
Gun Works. Pietta made our test guns,
and they both showed very good quality. I
take every new cap-and-ball revolver com-
SPECIFICATIONS:
DIXIE GUN WORKS
PIETTA 1860 ARMY
Caliber: .44
Barrel: 8 inches
OA Length: 13-6/8 inches
Weight: 41.6 ounces (empty)
Grips: Walnut
Sights: Fixed
Action: SA
Finish: Blued, casehardened
Capacity: 6-shot
MSRP: $260
WINTER 2016
pletely apart and clean up any burrs and
polish all the action parts. These guns were
both very cleanly machined inside, and
they required the bare minimum of effort
to get them operating smoothly.
In terms of accuracy, these guns per-
formed very similarly. I loaded each of
them with 30 grains of 3Fg Goex black
The shallow curve behind the trigger-
guard makes the Remington (top) some-
thing of a knuckle rapper. The Colts grip
is more comfortable for most shooters.
powder topped with a lubricated felt wad
and then a 140-grain round ball of pure
lead. With the Remington New Model
Army, this load averaged 887 fps, while the
Colt 1860 Army tossed rounds downrange
at 883 fps. Both guns were capable of sub-
2-inch groups from the 25-yard bench.
DIXIE GUN WORKS
PIETTA NEW MODEL ARMY
Caliber: .44
Barrel: 8 inches
OA Length: 13-5/8 inches
Weight: 43 ounces (empty)
Grips: Walnut
Sights: Fixed
Action: SA
Finish: Blued, brass triggerguard
Capacity: 6-shot
MSRP: $295
A quick look at the scoreboard shows
Remington as the clear winner in terms of
the strength of its design, though Colt takes
the point for handling fouling. And both
guns finished in a tie for accuracy and bal-
listic performance. So which gun is better?
I put that question to the 2,400 people
who follow my writers page on Facebook,
as well as to the cap-and-ball enthusiasts
on the most popular cowboy shooting and
blackpowder discussion boards, including
the SASS Wire, CAS City, The High Road
and The Firing Line, and the Cap and Ball
Revolver Group on Facebook. Overall, Colt
came out on top by a narrow margin. Colt
was preferred by 53 percent of respondents,
versus 47 percent who preferred Remington.
The detailed results of the poll tell a
more interesting story. First of all, 80 per-
cent of the respondents owned both guns,
often several copies of each. So we can
assume that these people are fairly experi-
enced cap-and-ball revolver shooters. Of
the 20 percent who only own one of the
guns, they preferred Remingtons by a wide
margin: 81 percent to 19 percent.
But, when we go to the 80 percent who
actually own both guns, the story is quite
different. For those shooters, 61 percent
prefer the Colt 1860 Army, compared to
the 39 percent who prefer the Remington
New Model Army. But even that doesnt
tell the whole story. In the comments
section, quite a few people who said they
thought that Remingtons were better guns
for technical reasons also told me that
they actually preferred to shoot their Colts
because of the ergonomics.
The Verdict
That is exactly the case for me. I rec-
ognize the technical superiority of the
Remington design, but nine times out of
10, if Im shooting a cap-and-ball sixgun, it
will be a Colt design. For me, and for many
others, they just feel better, point better and
hit better. If Id been out West in the 1860s,
you can bet that Id have been packing a
pair of Colt 1860 Army revolvers. But dont
take my word for it. Shoot them both and
decide which gun you think is better. For
more information, visit dixiegunworks.com
or call 800-238-6785.
GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 13
 Round 'Em up!
WANTED: MODERN
MARES LEGS
Dependable lever actions that would make Steve McQueen proud!
BY ROBERT A. SADOWSKI
I
n the late 1950s and early 1960s, the
TV show Wanted: Dead or Alive helped
propel Steve McQueen to stardom
along with his iconic Mares Leg, a bastard-
ized weapon that was part pistol and part
rifle. Through the magic of Hollywood, a
Winchester Model 1892 was transformed
into the Mares Leg by chopping down its
barrel and stock and adding a large loop
lever, which allowed Josh Randal, McQueens
character, to spin the shortened rifle around
his hand. The rifle has a unique look, but the
really odd part was McQueens gun cartridge
belt held .45-70 cartridges. We all know the
92 was never been chambered in .45-70. But
details like that never stopped Hollywood.
A few manufacturers, like Henry
Repeating Arms, have developed their own
interpretation of the Mares Leg. Some hold
kMore
MARES
LEGS &
1887s 111
14 G U NS O F T HE OL D WEST
close to the design from the TV series while
others latched onto the concept, provid-
ing their own rendition. The Mares Leg
from Henry Repeating Armsavailable in
.45 Colt, .44 Mag and .357 Magis based
off of the companys proprietary Big Boy
lever-action rifle. Reflecting the same qual-
Chiappa 1887 T-Series
What Wanted: Dead or Alive did for the
Mares Leg, the Terminator movies did for
the 1887 T-Series. This is a reproduction
1887 lever-action shotgun with a matte
black finish, and the wood stock has a
durable yet soft-touch black rubber coat-
ing. This 12-gauge shotgun offers
plenty of firepower with a 5+1
capacity. (chiappafirearms.com)
SPECIFICATIONS
Gauge: 12
Barrel: 18.5 inches
OA Length: 27.5 inches
Weight: 7.9 pounds (empty)
Stock: Rubber
Sights: None
Action: Lever
Finish: Matte black
Capacity: 5+1
MSRP: $1,115
ity in other Henry rifles, the action is super
smooth to operate, just like the Big Boy rifles.
I tested the .357 Mag Henry Mares Leg,
which arrived with a bright, sharp-looking
brass receiver, barrel band and buttplate
while the rest of the rifle is blued steel. The
stockreally a pistol gripand forend are
made from nicely figured American walnut
and are well fitted to the metal. The receiver
is solid brass, with the ejection port on the
right side. On the left side is a saddle ring.
Like the Big Boy rifle, the Mares Leg features
a transfer bar safety mechanism that allows it
to fire only when the hammer is completely
to the rear, the trigger is fully pressed and the
loop lever is fully rearward. This allows the
rifle to be safely carried with a round in the
chamber. There is no half-cock position for
the hammer like on some other lever actions.
Chiappa 1892 L.A. Mares Leg
Chiappa took its Model 1892 Takedown
rifle and converted it into a nearly identical
version from the Wanted: Dead or Alive TV
series. The barrel is cut down to 12 inches,
giving this lever action a total length of
only 24 inches. It easily breaks down
and stows in a backpack or
saddlebag. (chiappafirearms.com)
SPECIFICATIONS
Caliber: .44 Mag
Barrel: 12 inches
OA Length: 24 inches
Weight: 5.5 pounds (empty)
Stock: Walnut
Sights: Front post,
adjustable rear
Action: Lever
Finish: Blued, casehardened
Capacity: 5+1
MSRP: $973
 The heavy, 12.9-inch, octagonal bar-
rel is equipped with Marbles sightsa
brass bead up front and a semi-buckhorn
rear that is fully adjustable for windage
and elevation. The Mares Leg also uses a
tubular magazine similar to those found on
Henrys rimfire rifles. An inner brass maga-
zine tube is nested inside a steel outer tube.
Rotate the brass tube to unlock it from the
outer steel tube and withdraw it until the
loading port is open. The user loads the
rifle by dropping cartridges into the load-
ing port rim first. Then push the inner tube
back into the steel tube and twist it to lock
the tubes. The process is fast and easy but
a bit non-traditional for a centerfire lever-
action rifle. This magazine tube allows the
pistol to be unloaded easily without having
to cycle the rounds through the action.
Range Workout
The Henry Mares Leg weighs 5.79
pounds unloaded, which made shooting
.38 Special loads nearly recoil free and .357
Mag loads quite tolerable even when firing
one-handed at the range. Because of its
weight, I found that the best way to fire the
rifle was with the butt planted against my
hip. I could work the action quickly and
walk my rounds into a target fairly easily.
Henry .22 Mag Mares Leg
Light weight and low recoil make this
rimfire Mares Leg fun to shoot, and itll also
help you keep varmints off your property.
Based on Henrys lever-action rimfires, this
Mares Leg is chambered in .22 Mag and has
a larger loop than its other rifles along
with a shorter 12.8-inch barrel.
(henryrifles.com; 201-858-4400)
SPECIFICATIONS
Caliber: .22 Mag
Barrel: 12.9 inches
OA Length: 25 inches
Weight: 4.45 pounds (empty)
Stock: American walnut
Sights: Hooded front,
adjustable rear
Action: Lever
Finish: Blued
Capacity: 8+1
MSRP: $450
WINTER 2016
SPECIFICATIONS:
HENRY MARE'S LEG
Caliber: .38 Special/.357 Mag Barrel: 12.9 inches
OA Length: 25 inches Weight: 5.79 pounds (empty)
Action: Lever Sights: Marbles bead front, semi-buckhorn rear
Stock: American walnut Finish: Brass, blued Capacity: 5+1 MSRP: $975
PERFORMANCE:
.38 Special Velocity Accuracy
Federal 158 Champion LRN 908 0.70
.357 Mag
Winchester 110 JHP 1,521 1.00
Winchester 125 PDX1 JHP 1,461 0.90
Bullet weight measured in grains, velocity in fps by chronograph,
and accuracy in inches for best five-shot groups at 25 yards.
I used a bunch of different types of Out of the box, the Henry Mares Leg
ammunition and was surprised that I could shot to the point of aim. The real fun with
shoot 1-inch groups at 25 yards with 158- this gun is letting loose from the hip on
grain .38 Special loads using a rest. When steel and cardboard targets at 15 yards.
loading for bear with .357 Mag ammuni- I quickly created a pile of brass on the
tion, I was still able to achieve good results, ground because of all the excitement. It
averaging slightly over 1.5-inch groups. helps that the Henry Mares Leg is attrac-
For such a unique-looking and operating tive and the action is smooth. For more,
rifle, I thought the accuracy was excellent. visit henryrifles.com or call 201-858-4400.
Rossi Ranch Hand Taylors 1887 Deluxe Bootleg
The Ranch Hand is a more traditional The 1887 Deluxe Bootleg is based off a
Mares Leg based on a Winchester Model reproduction Winchester 1887 lever-action
1892 reproduction. This model is light- shotgun. If Doc Holliday had one of these
weight and easy to shoot one-handed. All of under his duster, that famous gunfight might
the metal parts are blued, and the walnut- have ended a lot faster, since the Bootleg
stained hardwood stock makes the Ranch features a magazine capacity of five rounds
Hand look like the actual Wanted: Dead or and the concealed hammer wont snag on
Alive prop. (rossiusa.com; 800-948-8029) clothing or gear. (taylorsfirearms.
SPECIFICATIONS
com; 540-722-2017)
Caliber: .38 Special/.357 Mag, SPECIFICATIONS
.44 Mag, .45 Colt Gauge: 12
Barrel: 12 inches Barrel: 18.5 inches
OA Length: 24 inches OA Length: 27.5 inches
Weight: 4.9 pounds (empty) Weight: 6.6 pounds (empty)
Stock: Hardwood Stock: Wood
Sights: Fixed front, adjustable rear Sights: Brass front post
Action: Lever Action: Lever
Finish: Blued Finish: Blued, casehardened
Capacity: 6+1 Capacity: 5+1
MSRP: $597 MSRP: $1,189
GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 15
 C ow b oy S t u f f
GAMBLING
GEAR
Keep your cards safe with this pocket gun, Bowie knife and push dagger!
BY BOB JAYHAWKER ARGANBRIGHT
D
allas Stoudenmire, a former Texas
Ranger, became a legendary gun-
fighter in five seconds on April 14,
1881. In El Paso, Texas, a local cattle rustler
shot and killed the El Paso County con-
stable. Arriving on the scene, Stoudenmire,
the city marshal, fired at the shooter, killing
a Mexican bystander. His second shot killed
the rustler. Former City Marshal George
Campbell made the fatal mistake of draw-
ing and pointing his sixgun at Stoudenmire
while saying he was not involved.
Stoudenmires third shot killed Campbell.
And so, four men were dead in five seconds.
While there are several documented
handguns that belonged to Stoudenmire,
the sixgun that he always had on him while
marshal of El Paso was a Colt 1860 Army
with the Richards-Mason conversion to
fire .44 caliber cartridges. It was further
modified to be a belly gun carried in a
hip pocket. Ironically, Dallas Stoudenmire
was killed in 1882 while intoxicated by a
gunfighter/gambler/saloon-owner using a
Colt SAA belly gun.
Stoudenmire Replica
I enjoy replicating and shooting genu-
ine gunfighter guns. I recently obtained a
high-quality replica of a Richards-Mason-
converted Colt 1860 Army in the original
.44 Colt caliber from Cimarron Firearms.
Like the originals, this Uberti-manufactured
copy has the rear sight notch in the top of
the hammer as well as a hammer-mounted
firing pin. Richards-Mason conversions
used newly manufactured barrels after Colt
ran out of surplus 1860 Army barrels.
Copying Stoudenmires pocket pistol
was relatively easy, as it had the ejec-
tor assembly discarded and the barrel cut
back to approximately 3 inches. I sim-
16 GU NS O F T HE OL D WEST
This copy of Dallas Stoudenmires custom
Colt Richards-Mason .44 would have been
a state-of-the-art pocket gun in 1881.
ply removed the ejector assembly of my
Cimarron sixgun by removing a single
screw and used a hacksaw to shorten the
barrel. Stoudenmire had not bothered
with a front sight on his belly gun, so no
machining was needed. I cleaned up the
new muzzle with a file and crowned it with
600-grade emery paper on the ball of my
thumb. Stoudenmires Colt had the ejec-
tor-mounting hole in the barrel plugged
with the original screw and a special nut
for the ejector side of the barrel. I was able
to fabricate the required nut by cutting the
ejector housing mount off of the housing
and filing it flush with the barrel. A bit
of cold bluing on the fitted nut and my
Stoudenmire Colt was finished.
I prefer to personalize my sixguns, so
I replaced the one-piece walnut grips with
a set of Buffalo Brothers synthetic aged
ivory, one-piece grips with fake cracks. I
found that Black Hills Ammunition pro-
duces .44 Colt ammunition, and I obtained
a 50-round box for testing. My new snub-
nose single action is easily soda-can accu-
rate at 10 to 15 feet. And after shooting
up my 50 rounds of .44 Colt ammunition,
I was delighted to find that Winchesters
.44 Special CAS loads chamber and shoot
well in this powerful pocket gun. Well take
another look at my special El Paso gunfight-
ers gun after I get it back from the engraver.
Spyderco Bradley Bowie
Spyderco has a reputation for produc-
ing high-quality, state-of-the-art folding
knives that open easily and quickly with
one hand using a signature thumbhole in
the blade spine. While I have used several
of the companys knives for many years, I
have been anxiously awaiting a fixed-blade
Bowie knife from Spyderco. New for 2015,
the Bradley Bowie, designed for Spyderco
by custom knifemaker Gayle Bradley, is
just what I have been waiting for.
The full-tang blade is produced from
PSF27 carbon steel. This steel is described
by Spyderco as an incredibly tough spray-
formed tool steelspray forming rapidly
solidifies the molten steel into small par-
ticles so its component alloys cannot seg-
regate or settle. The result is a steel with an
ultra-fine, extremely homogenous grain
structure. It should be noted that PSF27
is not a stainless (Please turn to page 61)
Spyderco's new Bradley Bowie features
a 5-inch, clip-point blade made from
high-tech PSF27 carbon steel.
WINTER 2016
 helpe
d
p g u n s s a l i ke !

R
NS
GU
u

E
a c k

I
b

S
w
These n and outla
IC

T
TOR

FRPOCKET PIS L
HIS

N O
e

O T
l aw m

T
BY DENNIS ADLER

HERE ARE MANY ARGUMENTS

FOR AND AGAINST SMALL-CAL-
IBER PISTOLS. THIS IS AS TRUE
TODAY AS IT WAS 150 YEARS AGO.
Indeed, the original .22 Short was an
anemic little cartridge at best, but so many .22-caliber
pocket pistols were being carried by men and women by
the 1870s and 1880s that one has to admit to there being
some accepted standard of minimal self-defense, and the
.22 and slightly more potent .32 rimfire cartridges made
a noteworthy contribution to early cartridge-loading
concealed-carry firearms. And considering that these
calibers have modern rimfire and centerfire counterparts
today, both the .22 and .32 have had a very long history.
Among the most interesting pocket-sized cartridge
pistols produced after the Civil War were Remingtons
compact spur-trigger models, Smith & Wessons
.32-caliber No. 1 revolver, the Marston three-
barrel .22 (with the added benefit of a retracting
knife blade), Remingtons over/under .41 rim-
fire, the five-shot Remington-Rider double action,
and Christian Sharps .32-caliber four-barrel pistols.
In use, a pocket pistol was quite unlikely to start a
quarrel, but it was more than apt to end one!
When it came to small- and medium-caliber

cartridge-loading pocket pistols in the 1870s, Colt
and Remington were direct competitors, but Colts

18 G U N S OF THE O LD WEST
 Clock
Colt 1 wise from
8 to
.38 c 62 Police, p left: a
e .3
Califo nterfire P a Nimsch 8 rimfire
1865 rnia-patte olice in a ke-engrav
Pocke rn ho hand ed
t Mod lster, -t
the e
a e a .38 ooled
mode rly round l of Navy ri
l with barre Calib mfire
cartri the n l, ano er wit
dg ew th h
1862 e barrel, er 3-in er Navy
Polic a c
e on nd a nick h round
a half el-pla
-flap te
holste d
r.

W INTER 2016 GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 19
 F RO NT I E R PO C KET P ISTO L S
A variety of 1862 Police conversions showing different barrel lengths and finishes. (Roger
Muckerheide Collection. Knife and mercantile sign courtesy George Jackson Collection)
post-Civil-War .38-caliber pocket mod-
elsconverted from percussion revolvers
with the William Mason patent alterations
to cylinders, frames and hammerswere
the tip of the sword. Remington played
its role as well with a more diversified line
of small handguns, and between the two
makers, almost anyone in need of a .32 or
.38 rimfire or centerfire pistol suitable for
discreet carry within a pocket or small belt
holster could find what they wanted.
Pocket Remingtons
Remington took a very pragmatic
approach to its early designs by utilizing
a two-piece conversion cylinder for its
small-caliber, five-shot New Model pocket
revolvers. These were to become among
the most prolific pocket pistols of the
1870s because, like Colt, Remington had
a solid head start. Remingtons pocket
models had been in production as percus-
sion revolvers since 1865, thus there was
nearly a decades worth already on the
market when the company introduced the
.32 rimfire conversion in 1873. The pistols
were available with 3-, 3-, 4- or 4-inch
barrels. More than 25,000 were produced,
the majority either converted to or manu-
factured as cartridge-firing models, and
the guns were often available with both
the original percussion cylinder and the
new cartridge cylinder, making it possible
20 GUN S OF THE O LD WEST
to switch back and forth. This was a big
advantage over a comparable Colt pocket
pistol, which, once converted, could not be
switched back.
Remington also had its very small
double-action, five-shot, .32-caliber Rem-
ington-Rider pocket model, a truly palm-
sized pistol that could vanish in a vest
pocket. They were considerably more lim-
ited in number, with a total production
between 1860 and 1873 of approxi-
mately 2,000 guns, a good percentage
of which were converted to fire metallic
cartridges after 1873, again with the
replaceable two-piece cartridge cylin-
der. If this has a familiar ring, the Reming-
ton two-piece cylinders are the basis for
todays blackpowder drop-in conversions.
Compact Colts
The cartridge-converted pocket pistol
eventually became a staple of savvy law-
men, Pinkerton detectives and an endless
assortment of desperados, but many leaned
toward slightly larger five-shot, .38 caliber
equalizers like the Colt Police, Pocket Model
of Navy Caliber, and 1849 Pocket Model
conversions. There were some 25,000 Colt
pocket conversions manufactured from the
early 1870s to the early 1880s. And mind
you, that was at the same time Colt was
manufacturing the Single Action Army, the
New Line pocket revolver, the double-action
Lightning and 1878 models, among others.
The first Colt pocket conversions, pro-
duced between 1873 and 1875, totaled around
4,000 guns, primarily the 1865 Pocket Model
of Navy Caliber with either a 3- or 4-inch,
octagonal barrel. These were five-shot revolv-
ers re-chambered for .38 rimfire ammo and
a handful for .38 centerfire. The revolvers
were simply made, did not have a car-
tridge ejector, and most did not have loading
gates. It was a very straightforward design.
The second-variation Navy conversion
featured a cartridge ejector, a loading gate
Colts early .38-caliber Pocket
Model of Navy Caliber conversions
did not have cartridge ejectors and
were produced with and without
loading gates. The Police models
were built with both ejectors and
loading gates. (Navy belt holster
courtesy Rick Bachman of Old West
Reproductions and 1870s pocket
holster courtesy Jim Lockwood)
WINTER 2016
The Marston three-barrel, .22-caliber derringer with
a retracting knife blade was another modestly successful
attempt at having a gun and knife in one unit. The 3-inch barrels tipped
down for loading. (Mike Clark Collection/Collectors Firearms Collection)
and was produced in both .38 Colt cen-
terfire and rimfire versions, and in barrel
lengths of 4 , 5 or 6 inches. Most
are distinguished by the use of William
Masons patented solid S-lug, round car-
tridge barrel, which was a completely differ-
ent design from the percussion-era barrels.
The 1862 Police was another of Colts
great success stories, a distinctive per-
cussion revolver with a partially fluted,
partially rebated cylinder and an ele-
gantly rounded 1861 Navy-style barrel.
This compact, five-shot, .38 conversion
was equally popular, and approximately
6,500 were produced between 1873 and
1875 in .38 rimfire or centerfire calibers.
Interestingly, the majority of Police con-
versions, those built between 1872 and
1874, were assembled with round, rebated
Navy-style cylinders and chambered pri-
marily for rimfire cartridges. The origi-
nal 1862 Police percussion cylinders had
proven less adaptable to conversion than
the round, rebated Navy type, which could
better tolerate the higher pressures
generated by blackpowder loads.
Additionally, when the supply of
original 1862 Police percussion
cylinders was exhausted, it was eas-
ier and less costly for Colt to utilize
one cylinder design for all pocket
models. With few exceptions, the
W INTER 2016
round, rebated Navy cylinder was used on
all late-model pocket pistol conversions.
There was a third Colt version liter-
ally built up from massive post-Civil-War
inventories of 1849 Pocket Models. These
were combined with new barrels and car-
tridge cylinders also used on the Pocket
Model of Navy Caliber. The original 1849
percussion model had been a favorite
of miners and sod busters during the
California Gold Rush and the most com-
monly carried backup gun among Union
and Confederate soldiers during the Civil
War. The 1849 also saw the largest pro-
duction of any Colt percussion model,
and it was even more interesting as a
.38-caliber conversion. Unlike the .36-cal-
iber percussion Navy and Police models,
the 1849 had originally been a .31-caliber
revolver. Yet when they were converted to
fire metallic cartridges, the 1849-based
pocket pistols were .38s just like the Police
and Navy. This made them the most com-
pact and lightest of all three conversions,
(Above) Although there is no modern
Pocket Model of Navy Caliber cartridge
conversion made today, this handmade
copy was created in the late 1990s by
R.L. Millington using a second-
generation Colt Pocket Model Navy.
(Left) Union and Confederate soldiers
favored Colt's .31-caliber 1849 Pocket
Model as a backup, and 1849 frames
were used to build the largest number
of .38 Colt cartridge conversions.
(Holster courtesy Alan Soellner)
GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 21
 F RO NT I E R PO C KET P ISTO L S

and more reasonably priced owing to the

simple construction and plentiful supply
of 1849 frames. It became the longest-
produced Colt cartridge conversion of the
post-Civil-War era, with the distinctive- Remington-Rider
looking, five-shot, 3-inch-barreled pocket pistols were the smallest of the
revolvers being sold well into the 1880s. cartridge conversions. These diminutive .32
rimfire revolvers, often dressed with ivory
More Designs grips and hand engraving, were literally
Among Remingtons best small-cali- pocket sized. (J.D. Hofer Collection)
ber revolvers was the later spur-trigger
Remington-Smoot New Models No. 1, No. and was offered in .30 and .32 rimfire, a far
2 and No. 3. The first version was intro- more readily available cartridge. The No.
duced in 1873 and based on the patent 3 is the most commonly seen example, as
design by W.S. Smoot (Remington had a more than 28,000 were produced from 1878
habit of hyphenating its name with that to 1888. This was also the largest and most
of its designers, such as Fordyce Beals and powerful, with a 3-inch, octagonal barrel
Joseph Rider, before Smoot). The No. 1 in .38 rimfire and centerfire chamberings.
was a five-shot, .30 rimfire revolver with a The third model was the most distinctive in
barrel just under 3 inches. This was joined appearance and offered in two different grip
by the No. 2, which overlapped production configurations: birds-head and saw-handle. Remington later produced a New Model
No. 4 in four different calibers: .38 rimfire,
.38 centerfire, .41 rimfire and .41 centerfire
short. Similar in appearance to the No. 3
birds-head model, the No. 4 had a cylinder
arbor pin under the barrel, no ejector rod
COLTS CLOVERLEAF (all previous models had featured a manual
AND HOUSE MODELS ejector on the right side of the barrel), and
a short, round, 2-inch barrel. Sales of the
Back in 1871, Charles B. Richards and William Mason were two very No. 4 reached around 23,000 by 1888.
busy men. In addition to patents and designs for converting Colts Oddly enough, the most successful of all
percussion models to fire metallic cartridges, they also patented the the 19th century Remington pocket pistols
Cloverleaf and House cartridge-firing revolvers. The Cloverleaf, so wasnt a revolver! The longest-surviving
named for its unusual cylinder design, went into production late
in 1870 and preceded the 1871-72 Open Top as Colts first all-
new cartridge-firing revolver as well as the 1873 Single Action
Army as Hartfords first solid-frame cartridge model.
The five-shot Cloverleaf revolver could be purchased in either .41
Short or Long rimfire calibers. The House model, with a round
cylinder, held five cartridges. Not as successful as Colts later
models, the Cloverleaf and House models were distinctive in ap-
pearance and sold well enough to remain in production through
1876, with approximately 10,000 being sold. Dennis Adler
The Colt Cloverleaf (shown) was available
with a 1- (best used at point-blank
range) or 3-inch barrel. Colt's
House model was only offered
with a 2-5/8-inch barrel.

The most popular Colt Pocket Model

conversions were round cartridge
barrel guns. Produced into the early
1880s, they were built on Police model
frames and later on modified 1849
Pocket frames. (Dow Heard Collection)

22 G UN S OF THE O LD WEST WINTER 2016

design from the early cartridge era was
the .41 rimfire, double-barrel Remington
Tip Up. Introduced in 1866, it remained in
production up until 1935. The most suc-
cessful gun of its kind, more than 150,000
were sold, and the basic design is still used
today by contemporary manufacturers.
There was one pocket pistol even more
successful than the Remington Tip Up,
at least in production numbersa four-
W INTER 2016
Small but elegant, Remingtons
New Model revolvers were available with full
factory engraving. This handsome example, with
a 3-inch barrel, pearl grips, a full nickel finish and engraving, would
have set its owner back a tidy $22 in 1873. (J.D. Hofer Collection)
shooter invented by one of the most famous
rifle-makers of the 19th century, Christian
Sharps. His magnificent little .32-caliber,
four-barrel Pepperbox became
one of the best-selling small pis-
tols of its day. The standard mod-
els had brass frames and gutta-
percha grips, but many were also
handsomely engraved. The guns
Designed by rifle-maker Christian
Sharps, the four-barrel, .32-caliber
Sharps Pepperbox was one of
the most successful small, multi-
barrel pistols of the 1860s and
1870s. (Mike Clark Collection/
Collectors Firearms Collection)
were loaded by depressing a release on the
underside of the frame that allowed the
barrel assembly to slide forward. You simply
remove spent cases and reload, and then
push the barrels closed. By 1874, more than
168,000 Sharps pistols in 23 different varia-
tions had been produced in calibers from
.22, .30 and .32 Short to .32 Long rimfire.
From 1872 to 1885, vast improvements
in firearms design finally brought a close
to the percussion era and the conversion
of Civil-War-era pistols, but not the need
for small, concealable handguns. Colt and
Smith & Wesson would continue to cre-
ate new pistols to pack in pockets for the
remainder of the 19th century and con-
tinue to do so to this very day.
GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 23
 GUN TEST

UBERTIS 9999999 99999

1860
The He
revolutio nry rifle
ni
firepower zed personal
on
War Wes the post-Civil
tern front
ier.

The author firing

Ubertis high-q
uality
1860 Henry rifl
e.

24 GUN S OF THE O LD WEST WINTER 2016

 Americas first
lever action returns as a
high-quality .44-40 REPLICA.
9999999999999990
HENRY
LEVER-ACTION RIFLES
ARE UNIQUELY AMERICAN.
Though they have been used on every continent,
lever-action rifles originated in the United States,
and they are indelibly identified with America.
For about 100 years, beginning in 1860, lever-action rifles were
the overwhelming choice of American sportsmen. As a Vermont
farm boy in the 1950s and 1960s, every hunter I knew (which is
to say, every man I knew) had a lever-action rifle. My own first
centerfire rifle was a Winchester Model 1894. That heritage as
Americas rifle started with the 1860 Henry rifle.
The 1860 Henry rifle transformed a New Haven, Connecticut,
shirt-maker named Oliver Winchester into one of the worlds
most successful firearms manufacturers. And the Henry laid the
foundation for the lever action to become Americas rifle. But
the lever actions rise to preeminence wasnt inevitable.
Birth Of The Henry
The gun that evolved into the Henry rifle started out as a
lever-action handgun, the Volcanic lever-action repeating pis-
tol of 1855. This gun was a refinement of Walter Hunts 1848
lever-action design. It used a unique type of fixed Rocket
W INTER 2016
BY MIKE BELIVEAU
Ball ammunition, which consisted of a .41-caliber lead bullet
that had a long, hollow-based skirt where the gunpowder was
held. The powder charge was sealed into the bullet by a double
layer of metal foil with a priming charge sandwiched between
the two layers of foil.
This was a fairly robust type of ammunition that could be
carried conveniently and could stand up to rough handling.
But the powder charge was very light for the weight of the bul-
let that it had to push. Still, as a handgun round, it could have
been a lot worse. The problem with the Volcanic pistol was
that it was in competition with cap-and-ball revolvers, which
were reaching their pinnacle of design. The revolvers were both
more powerful and easier to operate.
It was a losing proposition for the Volcanic. All together,
under a couple of different corporate identities, less than 4,000
Volcanic lever-action pistols and carbines were manufactured by
Volcanic Arms. By 1857, the Volcanic company was insolvent.
Oliver Winchester, who had been a significant Volcanic inves-
tor, acquired the companys assets, and resurrected it as the New
Haven Arms Company. Under the aegis of the New Haven Arms
Company, Oliver Winchester continued to sell Volcanic
pistols and Rocket Ball ammunition, but, at the same
GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 25
 U BER T I S 1 8 6 0 HENRY

To load a Henry rifle, you need to compress (Below) To keep the cartridge follower
the magazine spring by raising the from hitting their hands during a match,
follower and swinging the top Cowboy Action shooters often make a
of the magazine to cheater stick out of a half-inch dowel.
the side. The cheater stick takes the place of the last three
cartridges in the magazine, and it stops the follower 4 inches
ahead of the receiver, giving you a place to put your supporting hand.

time, he set his

new plant superin-
tendent, Benjamin
Tyler Henry, to the
task of turning the Volcanic
design into a viable repeating rifle firing
metallic cartridges.
In October 1860, Henry filed a patent
for a lever-action rifle that fired a self-
contained, rimfire, brass cartridge with
a 216-grain lead bullet powered by a
26-grain charge of black powder. The
1860 Henry rifle was born. The toggle-link
action that the Henry inherited from the
Volcanic would be the heart of Winchester
lever-action rifles until John Brownings
breakthrough 1886 Winchester design.
The 1860 Henry rifle had its faults, but
it revolutionized rifle shooting in America.
The Henry was only in production until
1866, with a total of 14,000 manufactured,
but it set the stage for the Model 1866,
which was in production for 32 years only one of its kind, was going for $2,500. of which is certainly easier to find at the
with 170,000 manufactured, and the iconic Luckily, we have an alternative that doesnt sporting goods store than .44 Henry rim-
Winchester Model 1873, which remained require shooting rare historical relics. fire ammunition.
in production until 1919 with a production The test gun from Uberti was the clas-
total of over 720,000 rifles. When you add Ubertis Take sic, brass-framed civilian model. Uberti
in the Model 1876 rifle, there were close Uberti, the famous Italian gun manu- also makes a reproduction of the much
to 1 million toggle-link-action Winchester facturer, makes an excellent reproduction more rare iron-framed Henry rifle, though
rifles produced in the 19th century, mak- of this classic rifle, and these replicas are Ubertis version has a frame made of mod-
ing them Americas rifle. And it all started chambered for .45 Colt or .44-40, either ern steel rather than the forged iron frames
with the 1860 Henry. of the original Henry
An original Henry SPECIFICATIONS rifles. My test gun had
rifle will set you back a blued, full-octagon,
anywhere from $20,000 Uberti 1860 Henry 24-inch barrel, like
to over $100,000, de- the originals. Uberti
pending on the rar- also offers an 18-inch-
ity of the variation. But barreled Trapper model
even if you had money Caliber: .44-40 Barrel: 24 inches for those who want a
to burn, shooting your OA Length: 43.3 inches Weight: 9 pounds (empty) more compact rifle.
antique Model 1860 Stock: Walnut Sights: Front blade, ladder rear Action: Lever The sights on the
Henry would require Finish: Blued, brass frame and buttplate, casehardened Uberti-made Henry are
finding rare .44 Henry Capacity: 13+1 MSRP: $1,429 excellent. The front
rimfire ammunition. sight is a fixed, silver-
The last box I saw, the colored blade that pro-

26 GU NS O F T HE OL D WEST WINTER 2016

vides a highly visible aiming point in just
about any lighting condition except total
darkness. The rear sight has a generous-
sized main blade with a V-shaped notch.
I found the sights to be quick to acquire
and easy to hit with. The rear sight also
has a flip-up ladder for long-range work.
It is calibrated out to an amazingly opti-
mistic 900 yards. I know Gus made a shot
like that in Lonesome Dove, but since I
cant even shoot a Sharps rifle accurately
at 900 yards, I dont think Ill be attempt-
ing it with a Henry.
My test Henry had a brightly polished
brass frame with a color-casehardened
lever and hammer. The buttstock is typi-
cal of Uberti rifles. The walnut is covered
in a heavy reddish-brown stain that gives
you no clue as to the figure of the wood
itself. Ive stripped and refinished a num-
ber of Uberti rifles over the years. Most of
them had wood that was as plain as a back
door, but a couple of them turned out to
Lever-action rifles are
UNIQUELY
AMERICAN
That heritage
started with the
1860 HENRY
RIFLE.
W INTER 2016
have highly figured pieces of walnut hid-
ing under that stain.
Henry rifles are instantly recognizable
because they have no forend, a fact that
the movie industry took advantage of.
Prop houses would take the forends off
of Winchester 1892s, turning them into
Hollywood Henries. But the magazine
on real Henry rifles is quite different.
Almost every lever-action rifle made after
the Henry has a separate tubular magazine,
mounted under the barrel. On a Henry the
barrel and the magazine are forged and
machined from of a single piece of steel.
The underside of a Henry magazine
is slotted, allowing the spring-powered
magazine follower to protrude below the
body of the magazine. To load a Henry
rifle, you pull the follower and compress its
spring into the top section of the magazine.
When the spring is fully compressed, you
can swing the top of the magazine to the
left, exposing the empty magazine tube.
You load it by dropping bullets into the
magazine base-first. Back when original
Henry rifles took rimfire ammunition, you
could just drop the rounds in, but since the
reproduction rifles shoot centerfire ammo,
youll want to load in a way that wont
(Above) The Henry rifles flip-up
ladder rear sight is calibrated to
an optimistic 900 yards.
(Left) The front sight on Ubertis
1860 Henry rifle is a fixed silver
blade. It provides a highly
visible aiming point in a variety
of lighting conditions.
result in a detonating primer.
I hold the barrel at a shallow
angle and slide the rounds in.
My test gun holds 13 rounds of
.44-40 ammunition in the magazine. When
all the cartridges are loaded, you swing the
top of the magazine back into line and
carefully lower the follower.
The Henrys unique magazine system
leads to some interesting shooting idio-
syncrasies. For instance, every time you
fire and then lever a fresh round into
the chamber, the follower advances one
cartridge length down the magazine tube.
Depending on where you hold the rifle,
when you are down to the last three or
four rounds in the magazine, the follower
is going to be hitting your hand. Thats
when you start executing what is known
as the Henry Shuffle, as you move your
hand around on the Henrys barrel so the
carrier can get by.
Cowboy Action Shooting (CAS) com-
petitors who shoot Henry rifles deal with
this by making a cheater stick. The pur-
pose of a cheater stick is to keep the maga-
zine follower from hitting your hand.
To make a cheater stick, all you need
is a half-inch-diameter hardwood dowel
that is 4 inches long. That will take up
the same space as three cartridges in the
magazine. You will need to put a small
brass stud into the dowel about half an
GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 27
 U BER T I S 1 8 6 0 HENRY

Henry rifles are very
cool-looking guns,
but they can do more
than look good.
My test gun had a
nice, crisp, 3.63-pound
trigger pull, and it can
put lead on target.

(Above) Ubertis Henry rifle is capable
of excellent accuracy. From the 25-yard
bench, the author shot 1.5-inch groups.
From 50 yards, groups opened up to 3.5
inches, but younger eyes should do better.
(Right) The Henrys receiver is made
of polished brass, with a color-
casehardened lever and hammer.

inch from the bottom face of the dowel.

This stud needs to be short enough not
to protrude past the slot in the magazine
but long enough to catch on the front of
the frame. Without that stud, your cheater
stick would go all the way into the lifter der handloads. The Henry shot everything tiersmen of the 1860s. If you are a history
block, tying up the action. into 1.5-inch-diameter groups at 25 yards, buff, it doesnt get any better than this.
The other accessory that is de rigeur and 3.5- to 4-inch groups at 50 yards. For more information, visit uberti.com or
for Henry rifle shooters is a leather glove Im convinced that the rifle can do better, call 800-264-4962.
for your supporting hand. When you rip but my eyes are the
10 rounds out of a Henry as fast as you limiting factor.
can work the lever, your left hand is going Because Henry
to feel the heat. If you shoot blackpowder rifles have a different
cartridges, the amount of heat goes up feel and require dif-
exponentially. Without a wooden forend, ferent shooting tech-
your hand is in direct contact with that siz- niques than other
zling hot barrel. So, wear a glove, and youll lever-action rifles,
enjoy shooting your Henry a lot more. they make me feel
more of a connec-
Range Work tion with the fron-
Henry rifles are very cool-looking guns,
but they can do more than look good. My A leather gauntlet
test gun had a nice, crisp, 3.63-pound trig- will protect your
ger pull, and it can put lead on target. I shot hand from the hot
my test gun with Black Hills factory ammo barrel while firing
as well as smokeless-powder and blackpow- blackpowder loads.

28 G U NS O F T HE OL D WEST WINTER 2016

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 GUN TEST

RUGERS .357
The Vaquero rides again
with a new grip and more
fast-targeting upgrades!
BY ROBERT A. SADOWSKI

take on
modern t on recoil

R uger s h
y is lig hold
the Bislecomfortable to omic

and ergon
to its
thanks ip design.
gr

30 GU NS O F T HE OL D WEST WINTER 2016

MAG BISLEY
BY 1894,
SIX-SHOOTER WERE IMM
THE COLT SINGLE ACTI
ARMY AND NEW FRONTIER
ON Most Bisleys probably made
Westerners and others who liked
it into the rigs of
the way it balanced in
ENSELY POPULAR hand.
with cowboys, lawmen, outlaw It was nowh ere near as wildly popular as the
s and nearly anyone who SAA,
needed a revolverexcept for however, and it might have becom
target shooters. That arm e a footnote in a fire-
year, Colt debuted a new revolv collec tors guide if it wasnt for Bill Ruger, who reju-
er called the Bisley venate
that used basically the same mecha d the model and gave it his own
nism as the SAA but distinct touch.
with a few changes to suit target Ruger had a clear idea of
shooters. In fact, the single how to manufacture
name Bisley originated from the -action revolvers and their
famous British shoot- ditche mechanisms. Ruger
ing range in Surry, England. d the flat mainspring of tradit
ional SAAs for
The most obvious change was coiled springs, used cast frame
the shape of s in lieu of forged ones
the Bisley grip, which was and eventually added a transf
more verti- er bar safety system
cal than the traditional SAAs so the revolver could be safely
so a user carried with all six
could shoot-one handed with chambers loaded. Ruger rewor
their arm ked the SAA to
bent at the elbow. Colt also widen what he believed was a better revolv
ed the er.
trigger, enlarged the triggerguar The Ruger Blackhawk was
d and introduced in
lowered the hammer, makin 1955, and it quickly became
g it easier a runaway suc-
to cock the revolver witho cess with shooters. In 1984, the
ut chang- company
ing your grip. A little over 45,00 introduced its own version of
0 Colt the Bisley with
Bisley models were manufactur a uniqu e grip, target sights and a distin
ed in 18 ct
different calibers with barrel un-fluted cylinder. The Ruger
lengths similar Bisley has
to SAAs: 4, 5 and 7 been in the companys lineup
inches. A small ever since. As
number of Bisleys also had adjust Cowboy Action Shooting (CAS)
able sights. competi-
tion heated up, Ruger offered the
Vaquero, a near

W INTER 2016 GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 31
 RUGER VAQUERO BISLEY

The bright
stainless
steel finish
mimics nickel
plating but it
is easier to
maintain and
wears better.
Also note
the loading
gate (left)
and lowered
hammer spur
(below).

spitting image of the Colt SAA, but heftier. have to completely spin the cylinder back
The New Model Vaquero saw some design around so the chamber is aligned with the
tweaks by Ruger so it had a similar heft loading gate. But Rugers Vaquero revolv-
and feel in hand like the classic SAA. We all ers do away with that.
knew a Bisley New Model Vaquero was not Other features that make the Bisley
far behind that would offer a unique look distinct from the other Ruger Vaqueros is
while being packed with all the modern the rounded triggerguard and more curved
refinements one comes to expect from a trigger. The hammer is also lowered so that
Ruger single-action revolver. the hammer spur sits closer to the firing
The Ruger Vaquero Bisley I wrangled hands thumb for faster cocking. The Bisley
for testing featured a 5-inch barrel, sim- utilizes a crescent-shaped ejector rod head
ulated ivory grips and a brightly polished for a more traditional look, and the front of
stainless steel finish that looked a lot like the cylinder is beveled so holstering is easier.
nickel plating but will wear much better.
The grip frame is reminiscent of the origi- Leather & Loading
nal Colt Bisley but in a modern style that is I paired the Bisley Vaquero with a Triple
more user friendly. It is not as swept under K #110 Wyoming drop belt and #114
as it is on an original Colt. In hand, the the chambers loaded. It also has a reverse Cheyenne holster, both in black with nickel-
Ruger Vaquero Bisley has a nice heft and indexing pawl that makes loading and plated buckets that matched the Bisleys
points naturally. At 45 ounces, I figured unloading easier. In a traditional SAA, if polished stainless steel finish. The simu-
.38 Special loads would have minimal felt the cylinder is rotated too much, you may lated ivory grips and black leather were an
recoil and also lessen the excellent combination.
kick of hotter +P and SPECIFICATIONS I ordered the Wyoming
.357 Magnum loads. I drop belt with loops for
figured right. Ruger Vaquero Bisley .38 Special/.357 Mag
The Ruger Vaquero rounds, and the loops
Bisley incorporates all offered just the right
the features you expect amount of resistance
in the Vaquero series, to hold the cartridges
including fixed sights so it was easy work to
consisting of a front blade Caliber: .357 Mag/.38 Special load and unload them.
and a groove machined Barrel: 5 inches OA Length: 11.1 inches The Cheyenne holster
into the topstrap of the Grips: Simulated ivory Sights: Fixed is contoured to the
frame, plus the transfer Weight: 45 ounces (empty) Action: Single-action revolver, and after a few
safety bar system that Finish: Stainless Capacity: 6-shot MSRP: $835 days with the unload-
allows the Bisley to be ed Bisley stored in the
safely carried with all of holster, the rig and gun

32 G U NS O F T HE OL D WEST WINTER 2016

were like old pals, offering smooth and fast
draws. The Bisleys triggerguard is fully
exposed while holstered in the Cheyenne,
allowing me to get a good, safe grip on
the revolver before clearing it on the draw.
A leather thong on the hammer kept the
Bisley in check. Both the holster and belt
featured heavy-duty black stitching, and
after wearing it several times, the rig began
to mimic the shape of my waist like I had
worn it for years.
Dry firing the Bisley prior to range
work, I found Rugers modern take on
the Bisley comfortable to hold and grip
and when cocking the piece. Due to the
Bisleys lowered hammer, I did not have to
break my grip like you need to do with a
traditional SAA.
To load the Ruger Vaquero Bisley, the
hammer and trigger must be fully forward
before you can open the loading gate. The
cylinder then freely rotates so it can be
loaded or unloaded. The hammer does
not have a half-cock positionit is either
fully cocked or fully forward. The timing
on the Bisley was spot on, and even after
firing a hundred or so rounds, no ring
appeared around the cylinder. The ham-

At 25 yards, it was
easy to create
FIVE-SHOT GROUPS

in the 2-inch range.

W INTER 2016
- GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 33
 RUGER VAQUERO BISLEY

The Ruger Vaquero Bisley is a straight-

shooting single action. During testing, the
authors sixgun offered good accuracy with
a mix of .38 Special and .357 Magnum
loads at a distance of 25 yards.

mer took no effort to cock, and the trigger

consistently broke at 3.8 pounds.
I felt the Ruger Vaquero Bisley could
do more than pop steel and paper desper-
ados, so I brought along some .38 Special
+P and .357 Mag defensive ammo. The
sun was high, and the front sight glared
due to the bright polished finish. I used a fps. The recoil was quite manageable thanks helped soak up some of the magnum recoil.
black magic maker to dull the front sight to the wide grip, which spread most of the The Ruger Vaquero Bisley shot to the
for 25-yard work, though, at close range felt recoil to my palm. My middle finger did point of aim, which is important for an
where speed is more important than pre- not get whacked, either, which has happened SAA-style revolver with fixed sights. No
cision, it did not matter. to me when using hot loads in other SAA Kentucky windage was required. At 25
I first tested the Bisley with Hornady revolvers. The weight of the revolver also yards, it was easy to create five-shot groups
Custom .38 Special in the 2-inch range.
ammo and found it PERFORMANCE This sixgun could
to be a soft shooter. be effectively used
It would undoubtedly
make an excellent and
Ruger Vaquero Bisley for defense as well as
hunting at close range.
unique revolver for The fun continued at
.38 Special Velocity Accuracy
Cowboy Action shoot- 7 yards, where I fired
ing. Moving up a notch Horandy Custom 158 XTP 852 1.80 for speed and center-
in power, I loaded the Winchester 125 JHP +P 1,032 2.10 mass hits. Finally, the
gun with Winchester bright stainless finish
White Box 125-grain .357 Mag cleaned up easily after
.38 Special +P JHPs. shooting, and thats
Federal 158 Hydra-Shok JHP 1,385 1.90
Again, the revolver per- important, since the
formed well. Next up Bullet weight measured in grains, velocity Ruger Vaquero Bisley is
were Federals 158-grain in fps by chronograph, and accuracy in inches a unique revolver that
.357 Mag rounds, which for best five-shot groups at 25 yards. stands out in the crowd.
screamed out of the For more information,
Bisleys barrel at 1,385 visit ruger.com.

34 GU NS O F T HE OL D WEST WINTER 2016


GOING STAG
Upgrade your grips with Brownells simulated stag horn!
Stag horn was often seen on
knife handles, but few, if any, 19th
century cowboys ever had stag
grips on their revolvers. Wood was
most common; ivory and mother of
pearl were favored by professionals
ivory because it was porous and less
prone to slip in the hand (especially
with rough checkering), while mother
of pearl was more for dressing up an
engraved gun and was offered by just
about ever major gun-maker in the
19th century. So how did stag grips
become popular? Mostly because
of movies; stag was distinctive and
set a stars gun apart from the rest.
Real stag was used at first, but by the
time we were watching Matt Dillon
outdraw a gunman every week in
the opening sequence of Gunsmoke, or Bat Masterson
swing into action with his nickel-plated, stag-gripped Colt,
the material of choice was a synthetic (molded plastic)
sold under the name Franzite. It looked like real stag on
camera, was rugged enough and, if damaged or broken
in a scene, was easily replaced with another cheap pair of
Franzite grips. Today, real Franzite grips are expensive,
if you can find originals (see the Hollywoods Guns, Hats
& Holsters feature in this issue to see an original pair of
W INTER 2016
The Vaquero Bisley
uses a crescent-
shaped ejector
rod head (left)
while the ejector
housing is
aluminum.
The grips
(right) are
simulated
ivory.
Franzite grips). Real stag is equally
expensive and hard to work with for fit-
ting, though skilled grip fitters can do it
easily. The look is pure movie Western
and very 1950s, but stag, real or imita-
tion, will do what it has always done:
really dress up a six-shooter!
There are various styles of imita-
tion stag horn for knives and pistol
grips alike, and for the latter, Brownells
offers excellent Single Action Army
stag-like grips for just $40. (You can
order by item number 100-005-016WB).
Brownells also has imitation stag to fit
Ruger Vaquero and Bisley models, too.
Depending upon your Colt or other
make of Single Action Army revolver,
the switch from wood to stag only takes
a few minutes, but be sure to check with
Brownells when ordering, as the grips can be under sized
for some reproduction single actions and third-generation
Colts. To try out these grips, I added them to a
Colt Sheriffs Model that originally came with
factory walnut grips and was later fitted to hand-
carved ivory with the Colt medallion.
Now the Brownells stag grips have given
the Colt a 1950s makeover. For more,
visit brownells.com. Dennis Adler
GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 35
 99
99
99

Y
9
GUN TEST 99

A
99
99

D
9

I
99
99

L
99 9

L
99

H
99

O L
9 999
99 99

A
99 99

I
99 99

C
9

C
99

D O
99

PE S
99

99
99
9

.3 8 Pedersoli recreates
a single action for one of the
Wests most famous gunfighters.
B Y L A V I S TA B I L L B E L L

John Henry Doc Holliday, born in 1851,
was a Southerner hailing from Georgia. He was brought up in
a culture where young males learned to be gentlemen, but also
to hunt, fight and handle a gun. He decided early on to pursue
a career in dentistry, and at age 20 earned a degree from the
Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery. Doctor Doc Holliday
set up a dental practice in Atlanta, Georgia, and began seeing
patients. Unfortunately, it wasnt too long before he was diag-
nosed with what was then called consumption, known today as
tuberculosis. Back in the day, people considered it a condition that
could be inherited, as Docs mother had died of the disease when
he was 15. They didnt realize that it could be highly infectious,
and that Doc actually caught it from
his parent. Not many folks wanted to
be treated by a consumptive dentist, so
Doc moved out West, where the drier
climate was thought to help arrest the
symptoms of the disease.
He arrived in Dallas, Texas, in July
1872 and tried to continue in dentistry,
but he dissolved the business two years
later. With his ambitions thwarted and
knowing that his lifespan was now in a
downward spiral, Doc turned his back
on his profession. Instead, he became
a professional gambler. On New Years
Eve in 1873, Doc exchanged shots with
a saloonkeeper and was jailed but later
acquitted. He lived briefly in Denison
and then moved on to Fort Griffin, Texas, in 1875. It was in Fort
Griffin that Doc perfected his skills in gambling but was arrested
for playing at cards, and he fled the area rather than pay the fines.
Holliday traveled to Denver, Colorado, then over to Cheyenne,
Wyoming, in February 1876.
Doc then was lost, some saying he went to Deadwood or Denver
or back to Texas. Its believed Doc may have shot and killed a black
soldier outside of Fort Griffin in March 1876, which again put him
to flight. Doc surfaced in Denver in July 1876 but left in a hurry
after slashing a gambler named Bud Ryan with a knife. Disappearing
again, Doc was in Dallas by January 1877 and again was arrested for
gambling. A beating he gave to a Henry Kahn ended up with Kahn
shooting and severely wounding Holliday
in July 1877, and then in September, Doc
moved to Griffin, where he operated a
faro game. The town was too tame, how-
ever, and Doc went briefly to Eagle Pass
before heading back to Fort Griffin. Here
in 1878, he met Wyatt Earp for the first
time, and after Doc cut a man named
Ed Bailey in a poker altercation, he and
Earp took off for Dodge City, Kansas.
Holliday & Earp
Doc Holliday never went back to
Texas after settling in Dodge in May 1878.
He tried once more to be respectable and
advertised dentistry services in a local
newspaper. He apparently behaved him-

ICJ
36 GUN S OF THE O LD WEST WINTER 2016
 Italian gu
n-
is now of maker Pedersoli
fering a hi
single ac gh-q
tion fit fo uality
Holliday r Doc
an
exploits d his legendary
a si
the Colt Li xgun styled after
ghtning re
volver.

W INTER 2016 GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 37
 D OC HO L L I D AY .3 8 S P ECIAL

forced to surrender. Doc went back to New

Mexico, but not before Bat Masterson gave
him a nickel-plated revolver for his ser-
vices. As Masterson over the years ordered
several nickel-plated revolvers from Colt, it
was no doubt one of these.

Pedersoli Replica
To commemorate the life of Doc
Holliday, the Italian firearms-maker Davide
Pedersoli & Company recently introduced a
line of Doc Holliday single-action revolvers.
These sixguns are modeled after the Colt
Lightning but have single-action mecha-
nisms rather than the originals double
The author uses the Doc Holliday single action in Cowboy Action Shooting competition. action. Like the original, these revolvers are
built on small frames and have birds-head-
self, as there were no police court records Masterson, who had recruited a small army style grips that are more of a saw-handle
for him while in Dodge City. Charles Bassett of men for the Santa Fe Railroad in their configuration than the plow-handle grip
was the town marshal, and Wyatt Earp struggle with the Rio Grande Railroad over on the Single Action Army revolver. Colt
became assistant marshal. Bat Masterson which outfit would span Royal Gorge and produced the Lightning in .38 Long Colt,
was the sheriff of Ford County at the time,
and he met Doc for the first time in Dodge.
Things were relatively quiet as Doc resumed
his gambling habits, but tensions began to
mount in July with the killing of a deputy
U.S. marshal. This was followed by a cowboy
shootout in a town saloon and a serious
altercation between Earp and a couple of
ranchers. Some ranch hands surrounded
Earp on Front Street near the Long Branch
Saloon. Holliday was in the saloon and saw
what was happening; he stepped outside
and told the cowhands, Throw up your The Doc Hollidays chambers (left) are counter-bored to enclose the case rim, and its
hands! This gave Earp time to draw his nickel finish (right) contrasts beautifully with its fire-blued screws and other parts.
guns, but one of the cowboys was already
making a play, and Doc warned Wyatt while run tracks to Leadville, where silver had and Pedersoli offers these new six-shooters
drawing his own gun and shooting the been discovered. Bat and his men were in .38 Special, so they will also accept .38
drover in the shoulder. This act cemented surrounded by Rio Grande forces at a Long Colt or .38 Short Colt cartridges.
the friendship between Holliday and Earp. roundhouse in Pueblo, Colorado, and were Nickel-plated and blued versions are avail-
The climate in Kansas able with either a 4.2- or
was not conducive to SPECIFICATIONS 5-inch, broach-rifled bar-
Docs health, and he left rel. These revolvers come
Dodge City in December Pedersoli Doc Holliday standard with checkered
1878. He wandered fur- walnut grips that include
ther West, ending up in the Pedersoli dp logo.
Las Vegas, New Mexico, The real clincher, howev-
where he sought treat- er, is the backstrap, where
ment at the Montezuma Caliber: .38 Special Docs signature, J.H.
Hot Springs. The dry Barrel: 5 inches OA Length: 9.88 inches Holliday, is engraved.
climate there and the Weight: 29.92 ounces (empty) Grips: Walnut I recently got my
springs revived his health, Sights: Fixed Action: Single-action hands on a nickel-plated
and he returned to the Finish: Nickel Capacity: 6-shot MSRP: $1,250 Doc Holliday single action
sporting life. In March with a 5-inch barrel. I was
1879, Doc assisted Bat immediately impressed

38 G UN S OF THE O LD WEST WINTER 2016

with its fit and finish. The polish was out-
standing, as the nickel had a mirror-like shine,
and the screws, cylinder pin and catch were
fire-blued, offering an attractive contrast.
The rear of the cylinder on the Doc
Holliday has rebated chambers that enclose
the cartridge rim, while Uberti-made
Lightning cylinders are open, exposing the
cartridge rims. I dont really see the need
for the rebated cylinder, as it makes things
difficult at the loading table at Cowboy
Action Shooting (CAS) matches. CAS
events require an empty chamber under the
hammer, and this is verified at the loading
table by visibly eye-balling the rear of the
cylinder. The Pedersoli gun disallows this.
While I like the checkered walnut grips
on the Doc Holliday, to me, any nickel-
plated gun associated with John Henry
Holliday just has to have ivory grips. Bat
Masterson preferred ivory on his sixguns,
and since the movie Tombstone, everybody
out there associates a nickel-plated, ivory-
gripped handgun with Doc. So, I contacted
Tombstone Gun Grips to obtain a set of
polyurethane ivory grips for my test gun.
Im no artisan, but it didnt take me too
long to get the grips trimmed down to the

For a touch of class, the Pedersoli single

action comes with Doc Hollidays signature
skillfully engraved on the backstrap.

W INTER 2016 GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 39
 D OC HO L L I D AY .3 8 S P ECIAL

grip frame and attached

to the Doc Holliday
PERFORMANCE that August in Central
Indiana usually means
revolver. I think youll
agree that they look
Pedersoli Doc Holliday .38 Special heat and humidity. The
match that day had six
pretty darn good! stages, and I chose to
Load Velocity Accuracy shoot the test gun with
On The Range the Black Hills ammo.
Black Hills 158 LFP 664 1.73
To test the accu- I knew the guns sights
racy potential of the Ten-X 130 RNFP 456 2.12 were right on the money
Pedersoli Doc Holliday, Winchester 158 LRN 716 2.38 with the Black Hills
I used three brands of loads, so I could hold
Bullet weight measured in grains, velocity
cowboy cartridges in dead-center on the steel
in fps by chronograph, and accuracy in inches
this chambering: Black targets. As expected, the
for best five-shot groups at 10 yards.
Hills 158-grain lead flat rebated chambers that
point (LFPs), Ten-Xs hid the cartridge rims
130-grain RNFPs and caused some problems at
Winchesters 158-grain lead round nose from Winchester was 2.38 inches. The aver- the loading table, but the cowpoke manning
(LRN) ammo. Shooting from a benchrest ages of all 15 five-shot groups stayed under the table watched me load a round, skip a
at a bullseye target 10 yards away, my best 3 inches. The fixed sights on the Pedersoli chamber, then load four more rounds so
five-shot group, using the Black Hills ammo, shot close to the point of aim, and the trig- that when I cocked the hammer, he knew the
measured 1.73 inches. Four shots in this ger pull was crisp and light. chamber under the hammer was empty. The
group made a 1.07-inch cluster, but the fifth Next I took the Pedersoli Doc Holliday Doc Special acquitted itself very well that
shot opened the group up. The best Ten-X out to a cowboy shoot. Unusually mild day with only one miss, which was my fault,
group measured 2.12 inches, and the best weather made it a perfect day, considering not the sixguns. (Please turn to page 60)

40 G U NS O F T HE OL D WEST WINTER 2016

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 COWBOY NEWS

w o o ds
Holly
GUNS, HATS
& HOLSTERS
TVs most famous cowboys, lawmen
and outlawsand their legendary gear.

W
BY DENNIS ADLER
hat would Paladin have been without his handcrafted Colt revolver and sig-
nature chess knight, or Wyatt Earp without the Buntline Special? Perhaps they
would have been a little less memorable. In the case of The Life and Legend of
Wyatt Earp, it would also have been historically inaccurate, at least in the opinion
of Earps biographer, Stuart N. Lake. Its a pity no one bothered to look at histori-
cal records when choosing a gun and holster for Gene Barrys portrayal of Bat Masterson. The
Dodge City lawman almost always carried 5-inch-barreled Colt single actions, many ordered
with factory or custom engraving, and there are even letters from Masterson to authenticate that.
Instead, the show had Bat carrying a short, nickel-plated, 3-inch-barreled (sometimes 4-inch)

On
Quick raw
Colt. But, more to the point, television characters were just thatcharacterseven the ones
based on real people. And creating a memorable television character, particularly for a Western,

The D
requires three essential elements (aside from a good actor): a memorable gun, an interesting
holster and an even more interesting hat. Any questions about that, just look at Hell on Wheels.
Back in the days when Paladin, Marshal Dillon and Josh Randal were cleaning up the Old
West, television sets were in cabinets, not on top of them, the screens were a lot smaller and the
characters were larger than life. As the Western saga unfolded on television each week, we watched A fast gun was essential to survival in
wagon trains heading West, cattle being driven and an endless stream of frontier lawmen stand- the Old West, at least on television in the
ing up against the worst gunmen history could provide, or a writers imagination could dream 1950s and 1960s, and city marshals, real
up. As noted by TV Western authorities Doug Abbott and Ronald Jackson, between 1949 and the ones like Wyatt Earp and fictional ones
end of the 20th century, there were more than 145 shows either based in the Old West, about the like Matt Dillon, had to be fast on the
draw but wise enough to know when not
Old West, or shows modernized to the present day but still Westerns at heart. Some only lasted
to draw. It was an underlying theme in
a season or two, others a decade or more, and then there was Gunsmoke, which remained on the almost every TV Western of the era. The
air for an unparalleled 20 years. What made the show so successful was the chemistry between gun was the last resort. Few made that
its characters, and of course, Matt Dillons stag-gripped Colt and the unforgettable shootout more clear than Paladin in Have Gun, Will
that eventually became the shows trademark opening. It is Dodge Citys fictitious marshal Travel. But when their hands were forced,
that begins our look at 10 of the greatest guns, holsters and hats ever to grace the airwaves.

42 GUN S OF THE O LD WEST WINTER 2016

Earp, Dillon and Paladin were among the
fastest on film and in real life, where the
actors practiced to perfect their draw.
What nearly all of them had in com-
mon was one man, Hollywood gun coach
Arvo Ojala, who designed their fast-draw
holsters. In fact, it was Arvo who drew
against Matt Dillon in the opening scene
in Gunsmoke. Ojala holsters were standard
fare in almost every TV Western. There
were different versions, but the fundamen-
W INTER 2016
tals were shared by all, a trick shots cheat:
Arvos holsters were designed with metal
liners that allowed the cylinder to rotate in
the holster so the gun was already cocked
when Dillon, Earp or Paladin cleared
leather. These Buscadero-style holsters
were suspended through a cutout in the
cartridge belt, rather than sliding over it, as
had been the practice since the 1830s. The
style first emerged in late 1920s Western
films, and the elaborately hand-tooled
Buscadero became a staple with the famed
H.H. Heiser Saddlery in Denver, Colorado,
and Ed Bohlin of Bohlin Saddlery in
Hollywood, California.
Nearly every holster in this article is
a variation of the Ojala design, but not
all of them. As Westerns became more
authentic, the Buscadero became less
desirable and show-runners began
looking back to the original styles of
holsters worn in the Old West.
GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 43
 H OL L Y WO O D S G UNS , HATS & HO L STER S
l-
Nicke d
Plate ns
Sixgu
Nothing catches the eye like a nickel-
plated sixgun. While the vast majority of
Western heroes carried blued Colts, a nick-
el-plated gun was fast becoming a trade-
mark on early television shows like The
Lone Ranger. One of the first television
Westerns, it originally aired on September
15, 1949. Back then, the small black and
white screens barely did the masked man
justice, with Clayton Moore wear-
ing one of the most handsomely
crafted, hand-tooled gun belt
and holster rigs in TV history.
The original Lone Ranger holsters
and cartridge belt were designed
by Ed Bohlin and indicative of the
handsome hand tooling and silver
work that were the trademarks of
Bohlin holsters and saddles.
Moore carried a pair
of nickel-plated Colt
SAAs through 221
44 GUN S OF THE O LD WEST
episodes of the series (with the exception
of season four, when Moore was tem-
porarily replaced by actor John Hart).
Moore, who masterfully portrayed the
Lone Ranger, became the epitome of
the white hat, a man who only resorted
to his nickel-plated Colts when all else
failed and a signature silver bullet was
needed to settle things.
Although Bat Masterson, another
of the real-life Western law-
men portrayed on
television and in film,
favored nickel-plated
Colts, Gene Barrys
portrayal of him was
more on point than
not, as the real
Masterson
dressed well,
wore a derby
hat and, as a result
of a wound to his hip in a gun battle, car-
ried a cane as much to aid his pace as to
knock a man down. In the TV series, the
show-runners gave Bat a shorter-barreled
gun than Masterson actually carried, but
it was nickel plated. Like many TV guns
of the era, this one was also fitted with
Franzite stag grips. On the show, Barry
wore the 3-inch-barreled Colt in a
cross-draw holster with a deeply cut
and slightly arched throat to
expose the entire triggerguard
something that wasnt seen until
the late 1890s and early 20th
century and later incorporat-
ed into holsters designed by
Arvo Ojala and Alfonso
Pineda. Barry carried
off the Bat Masterson
character with style
for four seasons
and 108 episodes.
WINTER 2016
 ly
Unliknes
Gu
There were men who carried guns
in the Old West, and then there were
gunfighters. The two are not synony-
mous, nor are the guns they may have
chosen to carry. In the 1950s, creating
a Western TV series was something
that happened almost yearly among the
three major networks: CBS, ABC and
NBC. CBS had shows like Gunsmoke,
Have Gun, Will Travel, Rawhide and
Wanted Dead or Alive. NBC had Bat
Masterson, Wagon Train and Bonanza
(second only to Gunsmoke for longevity
with 440 episodes), and ABC ran The
Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, The Lone
Ranger, Maverick and The Rifleman.
And those were just the frontrunners.
With very few exceptions, most of
the shows relied on Colt single-action
revolvers and Ojalas gunfighter rigs.
Hats were actually more distinctive to
characters than a gun, that is, until
1959, when a bounty hunter
with a heart of gold named
Josh Randall made his first
appearance on an episode of the
CBS series Trackdown starring
Robert Culp. The two shows
are worthy of note because
Culps character, Texas Ranger
Hoby Gilman, didnt carry a
Colt Peacemakerhe hol-
stered a Smith
& Wesson
W INTER 2016
Schofield, which stood out from all the
rest of the TV guns until Josh Randall
wandered into Gilmans territory with a
sawed-off Winchester lever-action rifle in
a cutaway holster. The rest is TV history.
Trackdown lasted from 1957 to
1959, and Wanted: Dead or Alive
stepped into the CBS lineup beginning
in September 1959 and concluded its
94-episode run in September 1961. In
two years, it made Steve McQueen a
star and added the Mares Leg to the
western gun lexicon.
But CBS wasnt done with unique
guns or holsters. The network had
one more up its sleeve being carried
by an unlikely lawman based on the
outlaw gunman Johnny Ringo. The
show debuted in 1959, a month after
Wanted: Dead or Alive, with Ringo
trying to put the past behind him
by becoming the sheriff of Velardi,
Arizona. In the shows pilot,
which had aired on Dick
Powells Zane Grey Theater,
star Don Durant carried the
requisite Colt Peacemaker
with stag Franzite grips,
but when the series
began he had traded his
Colt for the most unlike-
ly handgun any lawman
or gunslinger would have
carrieda LeMat!
GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 45
 H OL L Y WO O D S G UNS , HATS & HO L STER S
rn
Mode rpieces
Maste
Lonesome Dove is one the most iconic
of TV miniseries. We were first intro-
duced to Texas Rangers Augustus Gus
McCrae and Woodrow F. Call (played
by Robert Duval and Tommy Lee Jones)
in Larry McMutrys Pulitzer-Prize-
winning novel, which was adapted
for the miniseries by screenwriter Bill
Wittliff. Making Gus McCrae unforget-
table on the screen were a worn Colt
Walker that was long out of date but
suited to Gus bravado, a holster and
gun belt that were make do at best,
and a dusty old hat that managed
to survive every situation McCrae
encountered, even his own
death. You could show the hat,
the Walker and holster
to anyone who has seen
the miniseries, even
once, and they would say,
Thats Gus McCraes rig.
It was that good.
In television writing,
there is something known
as an arc, where two or more
episodes tie a story together from
beginning to end. In the case of Hell
46 GUN S OF THE O LD WEST
on Wheels, every story is part of an arc
that has been predetermined by history.
The building of the Transcontinental
Railroad began in 1862 and ended
when the Central Pacific, racing East
from Sacramento, California, and the
Union Pacific, racing West from Omaha,
Nebraska, finally met at Promontory,
Utah, on May 10, 1869. For Hell on
Wheels, the end of the story has already
been written. That is the ultimate
arc. What lies between is the human
adventure of Cullen Bohannon (played
by Anson Mount) and everyone he
encounters as the railroad is built.
Writing fiction
based on history has
made this five-
season journey,
which concludes
in 2016, one of the
most watched
Westerns in
recent time. Not
only because
it is good
storytelling,
dramati-
cally filmed and as gritty and real as
the shows producers can make it, but
because the characters are more inter-
esting perhaps than many of the real
individuals who built the railroad that
joined East and West. Facts, events and
the intrigue that actually surrounded
the building of the Transcontinental
Railroad have been meticulously inter-
woven with the real and fictional char-
acters of Hell on Wheels, and sometimes
it is hard to tell where one stops and
another begins. Certainly there were
men like Cullen Bohannon, and there
was indeed a Thomas Doc Durant;
in fact, there are nearly as many factual
characters in the show as those invented
by the series creators and writing staff.
The shows costumers and armorer
built an indelible image for Bohannon
even if the gun he carried in the shows
first two seasons never existed! A subtle
ploy in the writing was Bohannon losing
his hat in the third season, which led to
him throwing away almost every hat he
found until he miraculously acquired
another one remarkably similar to the
first. His rig, a makeshift drop-loop
conversion of a Civil War flap holster
and a worn leather belt, has worked for
Bohannons ill-fated fake Griswold and
the current .44-caliber Remington Army.
These have become almost as intrinsic to
Cullen Bohannons character as the old
mismatched holster, belt and Colt Walker
were to Gus McCrae. Can these simple
items make or break a strong character?
Most definitely not, but what they can
do and have done as far back as John
Wayne spin-cocking his Winchester in
1939s Stagecoach is define a character as
no other visual elements can. That is the
power of the right hat, gun and holster.
Editors Note: Hats courtesy Bill Knudsen
of Golden Gate Western Wear. Be sure to
look for the revised Second Edition of 50
Years of the Television Western, by Doug
Abbott and Ronald Jackson, available on
amazon.com, and to see more legendary
photographs from TV western history visit
Doug Abbotts website, westerntvphotos.com.
WINTER 2016
 RINGOS LEMAT
Johnny Ringos revolver was a nine-shot .44 with a shotgun barrel under-
neath, and the studios armorer didnt even have to make it up as a gim-
mick for the show. Dr. Jean Alexander Francois LeMat, a New Orleans
physician and firearms inventor, had done it for them just before the Civil War. Of course, it
made no sense for Ringo to be carrying a LeMat in the 1880s, or for anyone with a sense of
preservation to carry one of the heavy-handed pistols into a quick-draw shootout, but this
was television, and the LeMat was nothing if not as eye-catching as Josh Randalls Mares Leg.
In some of the shows publicity photos, Durant is holding a percussion pistol, but for
the series, in order to speed takes along and not have to reload a cap-and-ball gun over and
over, the LeMat was modified with a blank-firing cylinder. That didnt make it any easier
to shoot, but Arvo Ojala made it easier for Durant to draw quickly by modifying one of his
holsters into a skeletonized rig with two suede-covered spring-steel clips holding the gun by
its cylinder and shotgun barrel muzzle. Durant could strip it out lightning quick and make
it look easy, even fast-cocking the altered nine-shooter. Although the show only lasted for 38
episodes, the gun and holster have never been forgotten.
To recreate Johnny Ringos quick-draw LeMat rig, holster-maker Bob Mernickle found
the original design by Ojala and copied it in exacting detail for this article, right down to the
rough-out-suede finish and double leg tie-downs. (mernickleholsters.com; 800-497-3166)

W INTER 2016 GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 47
 HISTORIC GUNS

FORGOTTEN
1 1
Reviving a Civil War-era Today there is a lot
STARR CARBINE of interest in shooting
both original and
for modern service! replica Civil War guns.
B Y K E N N E T H L . WA LT E R S Re-enactors shoot blanks. Members of
the North-South Skirmish Association
(N-SSA) use live ammunition. A gun that
you almost never see at either of these two
kinds of events is the Starr carbine. Theres
no secret as to why, I suppose. During the
Civil War, these carbines werent popular.

Unique Starr
The Starr faced two disadvantages.
First, during the Civil War, firearms
Designed in 1858, the
Starr carbine fought in were in a high state of flux. Most guns
the Civil War but has were muzzleloaders. A few, however,
mostly been forgotten including the Starr, were breechloaders.
because it wasnt very Breechloaders were relatively new and
popular at the time.
their operation would not have been all
The Sharps carbine has
taken much of its glory that obvious. To use a Starr,
in the pages of history. a soldier needed to be

48 G UN S OF T HE OL D WEST WINTER 2016

STARR
trained. Unfortunately, that rarely hap-
pened. Second, the Sharps carbine was
around in far larger numbers. The Sharps
and Starr used almost identical ammuni-
tion and were similar in appearance, but
there were important, subtle differences.
If you knew how to use a Sharps but were
given a Starr, you had a serious problem
that you probably were unaware off.
The primary complaint against the
Starr was that it would not fire much
of the time. As John McAulay writes in
Carbines of the Civil War, of the 61 officers
answering the 1863-64 Ordnance Office
survey, only 17 considered the Starr to be
either fair or good while the rest consid-
ered it poor or worthless. Were these offi-
cers wrong? No, but they caused the prob-
lems that they then complained about by
not properly training their troops.
One of the problems was the ammuni-
tion. The Starr
used a 444-
W INTER 2016
grain, 0.555-inch-diameter bullet propelled
by 62 grains of black powder contained
in a linen cartridge with an overall length
of about 2 inches. The Sharps used a 450-
grain, 0.54-inch-diameter bullet propelled
by 60 grains of black powder contained
in a linen or paper cartridge of about 2
inches. Most Starr carbines were issued
with Sharps cartridges. Unfortunately,
these 0.54-inch-diameter projectiles would
go too far into the Starrs chamberfar
enough, in fact, that the fire from the mus-
ket cap could not reach the powder. That
definitely would cause a misfire.
Misfires might have come from a
couple of other easily prevented sources.
If the hammer spring was a bit soft, that
might have caused problems. If you expe-
rienced misfires, you could try replacing it.
Parts were readily available. Some shooters
also believed that the fire channel on the
Starr, the path within the breechblock
between the nipple and the powder
charge that the fire from the musket cap
travels in to get to the powder charge,
could cause problems if it wasnt routinely
cleaned. That is undoubtedly true.
It is also important to note that there
were no misfires in the 1858 trials for the
carbine done before the gun was accepted.
In fact, as John McAulay writes, some of the
officers who tested the gun before its intro-
duction preferred the Starr to the Sharps.
Loading & Takedown
Making up a charge for a Starr is easy.
Just press a well-lubricated North East
Industrial (neihandtools.com) #525.544
Sharps-style lead bullet into the chamber
and fill all the rest of the space with black
powder. I picked this bullet because I had
the mould and, when I tried it, I found
that its ever-increasing driving band
diameters helped seal the breech. Also, this
oversized Sharps-style bullet does not go
too far forward in the Starrs chamber.
GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 49
 F OR G O T T E N S TARR

- shooting an original, particularly an

odd original, just has an appeal all its own. -
NEIs #525.544 Sharps-style bullet is a The front half of the breechblock is con- all. If it is intact, however, it will work well
near-perfect fit for my Starr. The driv- nected to the lever via the screw we took enough. All of the early breechloaders had
ing bands have diameters of 0.536, 0.546 out earlier. The linkage between the lever some problems with gas leakage, but the
and 0.553 inches. Cast from pure lead, it and the rear of the breech is a bit more Starr system worked better than most. You
weights 530 grains. It is a bit heavier then interesting. Here a boss on the lever fits do have to wonder how many shooters in
the Civil War projectile, but it works just into a circular opening in the block. The recent years have failed to realize that the
fine. When I push it into the chamber, the hole in that boss, oddly enough, doesnt do Starr had a gas seal, shot a carbine that
second driving band is just a hair too large. anything. Also note that all the parts are didnt have a good one and then gave up
It chambers easily, but it is as big as it could simple and massive. There is little that can on the gun because it leaked.
get and still work. That means it does a go wrong here. There is a way to shoot a Starr with
nearly perfect job of sealing the breech. Another clever idea is the gas seal. It a damaged gas seal and not have it leak.
Note that this Sharps-style bullet has a consists of a brass ring pressed into the Just use a plastic or brass case to hold the
bigger diameter than the Civil War Sharps front of the breech. When the action is powder and bullet. Priming, of course,
bullet. That is why this one works and the closed, the barrel extends back into the would still have to be done via the nipple
Civil War one did not. outer circular opening around this seal. It on the exterior of the gun. If such cases
Now lets take a Starr apart. It couldnt is easy to not notice this seal, but it is very were available, the condition of the original
be easier. Just remove one screw and take important. When buying a Starr, you want gas seal wouldnt matter. Unfortunately,
out the two-part breechblock and lever. to be absolutely certain that this seal is these cases arent readily available. Some
The Starr is a split-breech design, meaning there and that it is intact. As we will have been made over the years, so we
that the breechblock has two parts. When see later, if you do have a problem, know that this idea works, but
the lever is pulled down, the rear half of the spare parts are available. finding one today would be
breechblock moves straight down, while There has been more than a all but impossible. Still,
the front half pivots backwards, allowing little disagreement, incidentally, if you have the skill,
easy access to the chamber. as to just how effective this gas making such a case
Both halves of the breechblock are con- seal is. If it is badly damaged, probably wouldnt be
nected to the lever used to open the action. it probably will not work at all that difficult. Such
cases might well not
When the action is opened, the rear of the appeal to the purist be-
two-piece breechblock moves straight down. cause they were not used
Then the front of the breechblock in the Civil War, but
moves backwards. they would solve this
problem once and for
all. I wish that someone
would offer these commercially!
Primerless cartridge cases that held just
The boss at the top of the lever fits into the powder and bullet for early breech-
the rear half of the breechblock. The other loaders were used on a number of Civil
hole is where the takedown screw goes. War carbines. The Burnside, Gallager,
Smith and Starr Civil War carbines
all used them. Brass or plastic
cases are available for all these
guns except the Starr. Also there

50 G U NS O F THE O LD WEST WINTER 2016

is a similar brass case for
some modern Sharps rep-
licas. Original Sharps and
the currently made Shiloh
Sharps didnt use them, but
some of the other replicas do.
There is another possibility
that I would like to try but, alas, I
have no mechanical ability. I would
think that you could make a brass
or copper disk the same size as the
rear of the chamber with a central
hole for the fire from the percussion cap
to go through. Just put it in the chamber
behind the powder charge and fire the gun.
The disk would act as a gas seal, and when
the two-part block opened, it could be
easily removed. Nobody has ever reported
trying this, so either it is so stupid others
knew better or it is so simple that no one
ever thought of it.
Another part needing attention is the
cleanout screw in the front half of the
breechblock. When buying a Starr, be
sure that this cleanout screw can be easily
backed out because this is how you get to
the fire channel.
There are, Im told, at least two types
of fire channels. On my gun, the opening
behind the cleanout screw goes straight
back into the breech and also goes straight
up to the nipple. On some, this channel is
different. I wish that I could be more specif-
ic, but Ive never seen such a breechblock.
Also look carefully at the nipple. It
would be nice if the nipple werent frozen
in place. That isnt critical, but it would
be nice. Make sure, however, that it hasnt
corroded over because that would be a
serious problem.
Some of the ignition problems encoun-
tered in the Civil War with the Starr might
W INTER 2016
Removing this screw lets you
clean the actions fire channel.
Before purchasing a Starr, make
sure this screw moves easily.
have come from the oddly shaped
Starr nipples because they are a
little shorter than most. Id bet
that if you had trouble with one
during the Civil War that you
probably replaced it with any
nipple you could find. That would
seem like a reasonable thing to do, but it
might have added to the misfire problems.
Proper Cleaning
Once you get the breechblock out, soak
the two pieces in Birchwoods #77 Black
Powder Solvent, available from Dixie Gun
Works. It is really amazing just how
much crud this stuff can loosen up.
Scrub the two parts of the breech-
block and the lever with a nylon
brush. Wipe out the fire channel
under the cleanout screw and below
the nipple with a Q-tip. Soak every-
Here you can see the shelf (left) where
thing in Outers Tri-Lube and let the parts
sit for several hours. Run a cleaning rod
with a large patch soaked in Birchwoods
solvent down the barrel until no more
blackpowder fouling comes out. Then soak
a patch in Tri-Lube and run it down the
barrel, too. Check the barrel again in a day
or two to see if any more crud has shown
up. If it has, clean the gun again.
The Starr has one last potential prob-
lem that you want to be sure to deal with.
With the breechblock and lever removed,
position the gun upside down on the
edge of a table. There might be an area
under the rear of the forearm and below
the frame where a shelf forms. This isnt
a design feature. It is just an oddity of
construction. Dig out any crud that may
have built up here. Wipe this area out with
gunpowder can collect if not properly
cleaned, as well as the front of the
breechblock (above), which is in its down
position because the action is open.
GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 51
 F OR G O T T E N S TARR
The Starr carbine was a simple design, but it was unpopular during the Civil War
because soldiers usually loaded it with the wrong ammunition, causing misfires.
Birchwoods solvent and then Tri-Lube.
Civil War reports suggest that if this area
isnt kept clean it can eventually fill with
gunpowder. If that happens and if that
gunpowder detonates, youd be lucky if
the only the forearm comes off. Periodic
cleaning easily eliminates this potentially
serious problem. I have, incidentally, heard
reports that some old Sharps might also
have this problem, but I have not person-
ally seen such a gun.
Now lets discuss parts. The Rifle
Shoppe (therifleshoppe.com) makes
parts for a long list of old guns, includ-
ing the Starr. Lodgewood (lodgewood.
com)and S&S Firearms (ssfirearms.
com) might also have spare parts for
your Starr carbine. Finally, Romano
Rifle (romanorifle.com) can make parts
and perform any necessary hand fitting.
52 G U NS O F THE O LD WEST
Calvary models
had rings to attach a
harness and prevent the
gun from being dropped.
and owned one of his Spencer rifles. He
even makes a Civil War Tarpley. His guns
and his work are not cheap, but he does
truly beautiful work.
Rising Starr
As we have seen, the Starr had its prob-
lems, but they are all problems that can be
either easily fixed or totally avoided. If you
know what you are doing and take good
care of your Starr, it will provide hours of
fun. Sure, you could just go buy a current
replica of some kind but, well, shooting an
original, particularly an odd original, just
has an appeal all its own.
Why arent Starrs more heavily used in
re-enactments and N-SSA events? Because
a lot of people have seen the Civil War ord-
nance survey results in McAulays excellent
book and, because of that, never tried one.
More interesting still is how emotional
Years ago, Larry Romano made a proto- some people get about how bad these guns
type Starr carbine, but there wasnt enough were even though they have never tried
customer demand to start production. Still, one. Try one! There is a lot to like here!
Larry is well versed in making parts for and One last point: Some people believe
repairing these interesting old guns. Larry, that shooting one of these old guns will
in fact, can fix almost any old gun. He decrease its value. If it is in perfect mint
has made parts for my condition, that is true.
Civil War Burnside and What you want is a shoot-
my vintage 1870 Evans er. When I buy a gun of
lever action. Larry also this type, I look for one in
makes beautiful rep- excellent mechanical con-
licas of a number of dition with a good stock
Civil War rifles and but a finish that is far
carbines. I have one of from being stellar. That
his Maynard replicas knocks a lot off the price,
doesnt detract from its
North East Industrials shootability and gives
#525.544 Sharps-style me a gun whose value
bullets works perfectly isnt going to decline if
in old Starr carbines. I shoot it a lot.
WINTER 2016
 NEW GUNS & GEAR that caught our eye

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Outers Black Powder Cleaning Kit

Western Star Leather Laramie Rig
This Cheyenne-style rig has nice clean border
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Blackpowder enthusiasts know their firearms are some
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rod that contains all of the components to keep your
muzzleloader clean and working well. The kit includes
25 cotton patches, a rod adaptor, a wool mop, a caliber-
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W INTER 2016 GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 53
 S
GUN

HIS
TOR
IC

O BILLS
D BUFFAL
R

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B EPEATER
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Handc of S P E E D o
in term
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IM
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AN K JAR
BY FR

54 GU NS O F THE O LD WEST WINTER 2016


T
HE LEVER-ACTION REPEATING RIFLE IS
AN AMERICAN ICON, AND WINCHESTER
HAS LONG ENJOYED THE REPUTATION
OF BEING ITS PREMIER MANUFACTURER.
However, though Winchester made fine lever-action rifles, the
company did not make the finest. Many would argue that the late
19th century Marlin designs were better, and their side ejection
of spent cases made more practical sense than Winchesters man-
ner of throwing them back into the shooters face. I would argue
that Marlin cannot lay claim to the accolade best lever-action
repeater any more than Winchester. It is true that Winchester
and Marlin captured the majority of the lever-action rifle market
in the 1800s, but neither firm ever offered a gun as fast shooting
or as superbly crafted as the Bullard.
In the 21th century, the Bullard repeating rifle is largely forgot-
ten. Like the Betamax videocassette recorder and the 1948 Tucker
automobile, the story of the Bullard Repeating Arms Company is
one of those ironic business sagas where a products clear superi-
ority simply isnt enough to make it a success in the marketplace.
Bullard Beginnings
The Bullard story begins with the inventor, James H. Bullard,
who was born in Vermont in 1842 and made Springfield,
Massachusetts, his home. The industrial revolution was trans-
forming that city into a thriving center of manufacturing, and
James Bullard possessed an inventive genius that made him a man
in great demand. From 1877 to 1880, he worked as an engineer for
Smith & Wesson with Daniel B. Wesson himself. They developed
four patents together. During this time period, he also submitted
W INTER 2016
While
Bu
hundre ffalo Bill rece
ds of fir ived
lifetim
e, one earms in his
is th forgotte
handcr e Bullard repe n gem
afted, at er ,a
action light
with a ning-fast leve
12+1 ca
pacity. r
patents for his own ideas for lever-action and single-shot rifles,
ammunition cases and improvements of the Winchester toggle-
link design. The later patent was probably to obstruct improve-
ment of the Winchester 1866, 1873 and 1876 rifles that he viewed
as the main competitors to his repeating rifle design.
James Bullards patents for firearms and ammunition were only
a small part of his overall achievements. He patented many inven-
tions, from sewing machine needles to a steam-powered car, in a
career that was a crazy hopscotch of work for various manufactur-
ing firms and self-employment. Rarely did he spend more than a
few years at any job. The pattern of his work history suggests a man
of immense imagination and curiosity who was more interested
in creation than the hum-drum discipline of business manage-
ment. When James Bullard formed what would later become the
Bullard Repeating Arms Company, in Springfield, Massachusetts,
in1883, the position he chose for himself wasnt president or
treasurer, but plant manager. He had never run a large business
but had experience in factory manufacturing. To what degree his
lack of experience or interest in upper management affected the
companys success is hard to judge. In mid-1885, James Bullard
left the company he created to pursue other interests. By January
of 1891, the Bullard Repeating Arms Company closed and sold off
its assets, leaving behind a legacy of greatness that might have been
in the estimated 2,500 repeating and single-shot rifles it produced.
Unique Lever Actions
Compared to its Winchester and Marlin competition, the
Bullard lever action was exceptionally well made but somewhat
complicated. The rifles action was without peer for speed and
GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 55
 BU FFA L O B I L L S BUL LARD REP EATER

The rifle's action was so

smooth that a shooter
could operate the
long lever with just
their pinky
finger.

smoothness because of
its inventors patented Buffalo
rack-and-pinion design. It Bill's Bullard
also provided great leverage featured special
for extraction. The action is so engraving on the receiver,
smooth that the lever can be including a buffalo on the tang
(above), behind the hammer, and
worked and the rifle cocked with
a dedication on the left side (left).
just the pinky finger. The round bolt is
locked into the receiver before firing in company chambered the rifles in just and Marlins were great guns for practical
a manner similar to a Remington rolling about any caliber the customer requested. people. By comparison, Bullards seem
block, and I see a superficial resemblance It seems the Bullard repeaters were too beautiful and well made to be practi-
to that weapon. never really mass-produced but rather cal. It is a case of the perfect being the
The Bullard had the typical tubular made to order upon customer request. enemy of the good enough. Bullards even
magazine of the day, but it was loaded Collectors have observed that no two seem used decorative scalloped end caps on
from underneath the action, much like a to be alike, and repairs to the rifles require their forends. Where Winchester simply
modern pump shotgun. It was also easily replacement parts to be hand fitted. The screwed an access plate to the side of their
loaded from the chamber if the shooter company was essentially building cus- receiver, Bullard designed his to be inlet
wished to fire single shots and hold the tomized rifles of the highest quality, and into the receiver and fit flush with its sur-
full magazine in reserve. Naturally, maga- that is a costly proposition. Winchesters face, giving the rifle a graceful and clean
zine capacity varied depending on barrel
length and caliber.
There were two frame sizes for the
repeaters. The small frame handled car-
tridges below .40 caliber, and the large
frame was built for .40 caliber and up.
James Bullard developed seven cartridges
of his own design for his rifles. They were
the 150-grain .32-40, 190-grain .38-45,
232-grain .40-70, 258-grain .40-75, 300-
grain .40-90, 290-grain .45-85 and the
300-grain .50-115. The cartridges had
their merits, but they probably didnt
really help rifle sales. Ill bet finding a box
of .40-90 Bullard on the shelf at the gen-
eral store in 1886 was only slightly more
likely than it would be for you to find it
in your local gun shop today. In fact, the The forend has quality bordered checkering that was both attractive and functional.

56 GUN S OF T HE OL D WEST WINTER 2016

appearance. It is so finely fit-
ted that you could easily fail
to notice it.
The question that arises
is, Was the Bullard just
too good for the market-
place? It probably was.
In 1885, a Bullard rifles
starting price was around
$38. A Winchester Model
1876 rifle cost closer to
$25. With that difference
in price, you could buy
a new Colt 1873 pistol.
How effectively potential
consumers were made
aware of the existence
and virtues of the Bullard
rifles is subject to debate.
The companys advertising
included printed catalogs,
distributors and travel-
ing salesmen who dem-
onstrated the rifles around
country. Ultimately, less
than 2,500 guns were sold,
so either the company failed
to attract the upper end of
market from its competitors or
that market wasnt really there.
The general state of the American
economy may have played a role, too.
Bills Own Bullard
The rifle I examined for this article is
in the collection of the Frazier History
Museum in Louisville, Kentucky. Given
- The large-frame
Bullard rifle given to Cody
is magnificent, both in
manufacture and
preservation, and it is
currently on exhibit
at the Frazier Museum
for you to see.
W INTER 2016
- GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 57
The rifle's hard rubber
buttplate was checkered
and sported the Bullard
Repeating Arms
Company's bull elk logo.
to William Buffalo
Bill Cody in 1885, it
was actually part of the
Bullard Repeating Arms
Companys promotional
efforts. While handling
it, I couldnt help but
feel a connection with
the larger-than-life hero,
scout, hunter, Indian
fighter and showman.
The exact circumstances
of its presentation are
unknown, but Cody
visited James Bullard at
his home in 1885, when
his Wild West show was
touring the area. Cody
had been in show busi-
ness for about 10 years by
then, getting his start in 1869
when Ned Buntline made
his exploits the subject of a
serial story in New York Weekly
titled Buffalo Bill, the King of
the Border Men. The story led to a stage
show, and by 1883, the same year James
Bullard founded his rifle company, Cody
founded Buffalo Bills Wild West.
By 1885, the potential value of a
celebrity endorsement of the magnitude
 BU FFA L O B I L L S BULLARD REP EATER
As James Bullard's original patent for his
unique rack-and-pinion action shows, the
rifle was complicated and costly to produce.
58 G UN S OF T HE OL D WEST
Here you can see the hammer and the
rotating block that locks the action.
Like Winchester rifles, Bullard repeaters
used bronze cartridge carriers.
of Buffalo Bill was immense. Cody would
soon become the most recognizable
American celebrity in the world thanks
to his nearly ceaseless tours in the United
States and Europe. What, if anything,
Cody did to promote the Bullard is lost
to history. He was presented hundreds
of guns during his career, and I have to
question the extent to which he could
realistically promote the interests of so
many diverse manufacturers.
The large-frame Bullard rifle given to
Cody is magnificent, both in manufacture
and preservation, and it is currently on
WINTER 2016
exhibit at the Frazier Museum for you to
see. With serial number 282, the rifle has
a 28-inch, octagonal barrel and a 49-
inch overall length. Typically massive, it
weighs a robust 9.5 pounds. The weight
helped absorb the recoil of the powerful
.40-90 Bullard cartridge it is chambered
for. That cartridge was more than suffi-
cient to handle buffalo or any other game
animal in North America. The magazine
held 12 rounds. The hard rubber butt-
plate depicting a bull elk was used on
all large-frame Bullards. It has a thin,
Rocky-Mountain-style front sight and a
Winchester-style buckhorn rear sight for
precision aiming. The receiver, barrel and
magazine are blued while the lever, ham-
mer and trigger are color casehardened.
The cartridge carrier, concealed inside
the action, is bronze. The smoothness of
the action lived up to my expectation in
every respect, and the trigger was crisp.
Bullard rifles had a reputation for accu-
racy as well as speed and should have
held great appeal to professional hunters.
The artistic enhancements on this
The Winchester-style buckhorn rear sight has elegantly beveled edges and checkering.
Buffalo Bill's Bullard sported a Rocky-Mountain-style front sight and muzzle engraving.
W INTER 2016
rifle are many, including elaborately
checkered, fancy striped grain stocks,
engraved border decorations and punch-
dot edging, engraved foliate arabesque
patterns on both sides of the receiver
and a spectacularly detailed silver inlay
buffalo head on the receiver tang.
A Strong Case
Because of their rarity, few will ever
see a Bullard repeater up close, much
less hold or fire one. Still, all of us enjoy
a small part of the Bullard repeaters
legacy in the form of the solid-head
brass cartridge cases we fire in our weap-
ons today. Blackpowder-era balloon-
head cartridge cases have always been
somewhat weak around the head. James
Bullard invented and patented the first
solid-head cartridge case, which also
happened to be rimless, in the form of
the powerful .50-115 Bullard for his
rifles. The Bullard lever action didnt
survive long enough to become known
as Americas premier big-game rifle, but
a little bit of it lives on to this day.
GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 59
 Doc Holliday .38 Special
(continued from page 40)

The Doc Rides Again
Pedersolis Doc Holliday single action
in .38 Special is indeed worthy of the
legend its named after. After his time
in New Mexico, Holliday joined Wyatt
Earp in a number of well-known for-
ays, including the OK Corral shootout
and the ride against Curly Bills Cow-
Boy gang. Despite his gunfighting and
gambling, Doc eventually died of his
consumption on November 18, 1887, in
Glenwood Springs. This revolver serves
his memory well. Like him, its reliable
and shoots straight. For more informa-
tion, visit davide-pedersoli.com.

DOC HOLLIDAY OUT WEST

Doc Hollidays sojourn in Las Vegas, New Mexico,
continued, and he got mixed up with a group known locally as the
Dodge City Gang led by Hoodoo Brown. There were New Town
and Old Town factions vying for control, plus stagecoach robberies
and a short visit by Wyatt Earp presumably working for Wells Fargo.
As might be expected, Doc got into another shooting scrape, this
time with a bartender named Charlie Wright, whod been an enemy
in Dodge City. Wright was only slightly wounded, and no charges
were placed against Holliday. In October 1879, Earp left for Prescott,
Arizona, and Doc went with him. There, in the territorial capital,
Doc built the Holliday Saloon and again entered into a period of
near stability. There are some records showing Doc lived a while in
Albuquerque and even returned to Las Vegas for a period, but like a
lot of gamblers who followed the circuit of boomtowns, his next
residence was in the mining town of Tombstone, where the Earp
brothers had relocated to earlier.
As a lot of readers will already know, Tombstone was beset by
a criminal gang known as the Cow-Boys who rustled cattle and
were thought to be responsible for several stagecoach robberies, one
of which resulted in the death of driver Bud Philpott and passenger
Peter Roerig in March 1881. The gang included such worthies as
Curly Bill Brocius and John Ringo, plus the Clantons and McLaurys.
Pima County Sheriff Johnny Behan was in league with the gang as
they tried to shift blame for some of the criminal activity to Doc
Holliday and the Earps. Virgil Earp became marshal of Tombstone
in June and at various times was assisted by brothers Wyatt (who
was appointed a deputy U.S. marshal) and Morgan, along with Doc
Holliday. More robberies and shootings furthered the bad blood
in Tombstone and events came to a head on October 26, 1881. A
town ordinance prohibited the carrying of firearms in Tombstone,
and Virgil Earp received information that some of the Cow-Boys
were packing guns and had been last seen on Fremont Street near
the OK Corral. Virgil went to the area to disarm the gang members
assisted by Wyatt, Morgan and Doc. In the now-legendary shootout
that resulted, Tom McLaury, Frank McLaury and Billy Claiborne
were killed and Virgil, Morgan and Doc were wounded. Wyatt and
Doc were later arrested and held in jail by Sheriff Behan, but Judge
Spicer exonerated them both on November 30, 1881.
Retaliation by the Cow-Boys resulted in the shotgun
ambush and severe wounding of
Virgil Earp on December 28, 1881,
and the assassination of Morgan
Earp on March 17, 1882. The result
of these two incidents was the infamous vendetta by Wyatt, Doc
and some other Earp confederates. The end came the next day for
Cow-Boy Frank Stilwell, who Wyatt shotgunned in Tucson. An
Indian named Florentino Cruz was killed on March 21, and then
on the March 24, Wyatt killed Curly Bill Brocius at Iron Springs.
Even though the Earp group was acting as deputy U.S. marshals and
all those killed were suspects in the death of Morgan Earp, Sheriff
Behan lead a posse in pursuit of thema posse containing a num-
ber of known Cow-Boys. The Earp contingent left Arizona for New
Mexico in April and arrived in Albuquerque on April 16. The group
stayed there for two weeks, and during this time Wyatt and Doc had
a falling out and separated. The last Cow-Boy to die that may or
may not be attributed to the vendetta was John Ringo, whose death
in January 1882 was attributed by legend to Doc.
What Holliday needed most was money, and his gambling
pursuits took him to Colorado; first to Pueblo, then Leadville, a
gamblers field of dreams. While there Docs health took a turn
for the worse and he stayed clear of trouble. Doc reputedly went
to Dodge City with Wyatt and Bat Masterson to help Luke Short,
who was embroiled in trouble there in June 1883. Back in Leadville
and on through 1884, Doc ran three faro games, but his worsen-
ing consumption resulted in heavy drinking and laudanum use. As
Hollidays health deteriorated, so did his finances, and he borrowed
some money from a former policeman named Billy Allen. In a fight
over the debt on August 18, Doc shot Allen with his revolvera .41-
or .44-caliber Coltand was then jailed. The case went to trial in
March 1885, and Doc ended up being acquitted. Doc went to Denver
and had a reunion with Wyatt Earp in May 1885, where they parted
for the last time. Doc Holliday returned to Leadville and remained
there during 1886 and into the spring of 1887, when he caught a
stage for Glenwood Springs. Doc was wasting away while he lived in
the Hotel Glenwood and tended bar. Finally confined to bed, Doc
didnt say a word for some 24 hours. On November 8, 1887, at 10:00
a.m., John Henry Holliday passed
away. A truly enigmatic figure of OK Corral,
Tombstone,
the Old West became a legend.
Arizona
La Vista Bill Bell

60 GU NS O F T HE OL D WEST WINTER 2016

 Gambling Gear
(continued from page 16)

steel, so care should be taken to ensure

that the blade is not damaged by rust. The
5-inch, clip-point blade has a long false edge
along the top and a noticeable belly. It is
flat ground of 3/16-inch steel for maximum
strength while providing superior edge
geometry for low-friction cutting.
The handle has a sizeable integral lower
guard to anchor ones hand. The handle
scales are made from black G10, which will
last several lifetimes. The scales are secured
with heavy-duty tubular rivets to reduce
weight in the handle and improve balance.
The tubular rivets also allow one to easily
attach a lanyard. This new Spyderco fixed
blade measures 9-7/8 inches long overall
and comes with a custom synthetic sheath.

Atlanta Cutlery Push Dagger

Atlanta Cutlerys recent catalog included
the Windlass Push Dagger, a historically
correct copy of a 19th century push dag-
ger. The 3-7/8-inch, double-edge, hollow-
ground, spear-point blade is constructed
of 3/16-inch, high-carbon tool steel. The
T-shaped handle, 3 inches long, is con-
structed of genuine, high-polished Buffalo
horn. The overall length of the push dag-
ger is 7-3/16 inches. Unusual with modern
copies is the period-correct steel sheath,
which has steel shim to secure the blade.
The sheath includes a period-correct,
adjustable-tension belt clip.

i FOR MORE j
INFORMATION
CONTACT:
Atlanta Cutlery
800-883-0300
atlantacutlery.com

Buffalo Brothers Cowboy Store

480-986-7858
buffalobrothers.net

Cimarron Firearms
830-997-9090
cimarron-firearms.com

Spyderco
800-828-1925
spyderco.com

WINTER 2016 GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 61

HOLLYWOOD HEROES
CLARK GABLE
How Gable and other stars helped
shape a young boys life! B Y P A T R I C K C U R T I S
It was a hot, sticky Saturday in July, and like
the other B movie lots around town, the
actors at Republic Pictures were working a
half-day. On this particular Saturday, they
were filming four Westerns and two serials, mostly on the
back lot. So, by 12:05 p.m. or so, there was a whole posse
of cowboy heroes heading down Ventura Boulevard and
over Barham Boulevard to their favorite watering hole,
The Smokehouse, across from Warner Brothers.
By 12:30, the biggest bar in the San Fernando Valley
was filling up fast, as the actors from PRC, Lone Star and
Monogram joined their compadres from Republic. The
last to arrive was cowboy star Don Red Barry. He had
stopped, as he did every Saturday, to get $2 worth of gas
at the local Texaco station. It was a constant source of
amazement to the rest of the cowboys that Don could run
his big, gray 1947 Cadillac convertible all week for $2 of
gas. Johnny Mack Brown would have the group in fits of
laughter, expounding on how he caught Don feeding a bale
of hay into the motor under the hood of his Caddy. Bob
Steele, who was Dons neighbor, swore that Don had gotten
62 GU NS O F T HE OL D WEST
&
hold of a secret carburetor from the government. Tim Holt
knew he had a magic pill that changed water into gasoline.
Through all this and after a few drinks, Don would smile
like he had a big secretand just maybe he did!
Star-Studded Poker
The Crossdraw Kid had arrived home from the usual
Saturday movie matinee when the doorbell rang. The Kid
opened the door for Ward Bond and Victor Jory, who were
just a bit early for the weekly poker game. As they were the
first to arrive, The Kid knew what he had to do even before
his mom asked himwhich was very unusual. In a flash,
The Kid was out the door, yelling over his shoulder, Ill
round up dad and the guys and be right back.
His mom went to work getting two big card tables ready.
She knew that 15 or 20 of Hollywoods brightest would
soon invade her sunroom. But on Saturday, it was the
poker palace. This had been going on since right after the
war, when most of her boys came home. Now and again,
she would say to The Kids dad, Why dont you and your
cowboy friends go play at someone elses house?
WINTER 2016
HIS COMPADRES

ed
thor play e
nt, the au id
As an infa ilkes (left) alongs
by Be au W
in Gone with
Ba villand
Olivia de Ha es m t
os
Clark Gabl
the Wind, motion picture.
cele brated

W INTER 2016 GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 63
 CLARK GABLE & HIS COMPADRES
The 2002 Golden Boot Awards honored Clark Gables 100th birthday.
From left to right: Mickey Kuhn (Beau Wilkes), Patrick Curtis (Baby
Beau Wilkes), Ann Rutherford (Careen OHara), John Clark Gable,
Phyllis Callow (Baby Bonnie Blue) & Rand Brooks (Charles Hamilton).
64 GUN S OF THE O LD WEST
But The Kid knew she really enjoyed hav-
ing them over.
Just as The Kid pulled his trusty bike,
Trigger, from beside the house, he heard
the most incredible sound coming down
the street. It was like nothing like he had
ever heard before, sort of like a P-51 fighter
plane. He ran to the curb as the most won-
derful car he had ever seen came around
the corner. Low, long and very loud, it was
dark green with no top. The driver was
smiling and waving to The Kid as the car
slid to the curb with a low rumble com-
ing from its dual exhausts. Clark Gable,
the King of Hollywood, had arrived in his
brand-new, six-cylinder Jaguar XK 120
roadster, the first of its kind in California.
The Kid, used to his dads Oldsmobile, had
only just recently heard the words, sports
car, but he knew this sleek wonder was it!
Where are you off to, kid? (Just
kid, as he didnt know about Crossdraw,
the cap-gun hero of the plains) asked Mr.
Gable as he lightly revved the big six.
Im on my way to the Smokehouse to
let dad and the rest of the guys know that
you and Mr. Bond and Mr. Jory are here,
The Kid shouted over the roar.
Hop in and Ill give you a ride, said
the King.
Poor Trigger hit the dirt like a dead crow,
and The Kid was in the red leather passen-
gers seat in the blink of a cowboy second.
It was completely lost on The Kid
that the last occasion that he spent any
real time with Mr. Gable was when
Crossdraw portrayed Baby Beau
Wilkes in the beloved Gone with the
Wind 10 years before. The movie wasnt
on The Kids mind as they roared down
the street, into the setting sun.
Speed Demon
Normally, it was just a few blocks
from The Kids house to the restau-
rant. But as soon as the slick roadster
headed for the hills, The Kid knew this
detour was going to be the ride of his
life. Mr. Gable told The Kid that he
had just picked up the car that morn-
ing and wanted to see what she would
do. What she would do was scare The
Kid to death! This was nothing like his
moms Chevrolet! As they roared faster
and faster along treacherous Mulholland
WINTER 2016

Drive, The Kid, terrifiedway, way beyond
the ability to screamdid the unthink-
able, the impossible, the unbelievable. The
Crossdraw Kid peed his pants!
Mr. Gable deftly maneuvered the dark
green bullet down the canyon roads and
back into the San Fernando Valley. Within
minutes they arrived at the portico of The
Smokehouse restaurant. Without saying a
word about The Kids embarrassment, Mr.
Gable threw him his soft leather sports coat
and said quietly, Put this on, kid. Its got-
ten cold and I dont want your mom mad
at me. (Lets see, The Kids mom mad at
Clark Gableyeah, sure.) It was around 400
degrees to The Kid, but he gladly donned the
jacket to cover his humiliation. Ill be right
out with the others, you take care of the car,
Mr. Gable said as he disappeared inside.
Within moments, Hollywoods heroes
surrounded The Kid and his newfound
aluminum steed. Thank goodness for the
leather jacket! The Kid went on and on to
everyone within earshot about his incred-
ible ride, only leaving out, needless to say,
W INTER 2016
theButslickas roadster
soon as
headed for the hills,
T he Kid knew this
detour was going to be
the ride of his life.
one small, unimportant part of an other-
wise extraordinary tale of adventure.
And from that fateful summers day
in 1949, the sound of a raspy six-cylinder
engine has been a part of The Kids life.
Now, he certainly understands that a long
line of 1948 Plymouth convertibles with
Chrysler flathead sixes are a far cry from
twin-overhead-cam Jags. But in 1955, that
first red, dual-exhaust, twin-carb Plymouth
also led directly to the Pickwick Drive-In
Theater, but thats a story for another time!
Enduring Legacy
Because The Kid and Mr. Gable
appeared in Gone with the Wind together,
people often ask the former what he
remembers about Mr. Gable. Since he was
just a baby at the time of the filming,
however, Crossdraw tells the story of the
speedy, dark green Jaguar and Mr. Gables
great kindness to the Crossdraw Kid.
Over 50 years later, The Kid, in his
capacity as a writer and producer of the
Golden Boot Awards, had the great honor
of presenting a Golden Boot to Gables son,
John Clark Gable, honoring his fathers
work in Westerns and his 100th birthday.
The Golden Boot Awards were established
by Roy Rogers, Gene Autry, Iron Eyes
Cody and Clayton Moore to honor all
those who made the Westerns that we grew
up with. For 25 years, the Boot honored
actors, actresses, directors, writers, stunt
people and executives. And, in doing so,
raised millions of dollars for the Motion
Picture & Television Country House and
Hospital in Woodland Hills, California.
Crossdraw was able to organize the last
great gathering of Gone with the Wind cast
members to present this prestigious award
to John Clark Gable.
GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 65
COWBOY NEWS
99999999
9999999999
BUCKSKIN
BUCKAROOS
Buckskin attire provided the protection
required for ROUGH-COUNTRY RIDES!
BY PHIL SPANGENBERGER
Throughout history, clothing made
from the hides of animals has proven to be practical,
comfortable and hard wearing. From mans earli-
est time to the modern age, buckskinthe hide of
a deerhas been one of the favored leathers for
covering and adorning his body. This versatile skin
offers warmth, protection and comfort while lend-
ing itself to a multitude of fashionable garments.
In the Old West, buckskin was the primary
source of clothing for many Native American
tribes. Hide clothing was quickly adopted by the
early explorers and trappers who came into con-
#
tact with the Indians after they saw the value and
availability of this durable covering in the far-flung
regions they traveled. Buckskin continued to see
much usage throughout the era of the mountain
66 GU N S O F T H E O L D WEST
men. These hardy frontiersmen, who lived isolated
in the wilderness for monthssometimes years
at a stretch, relied heavily on buckskin and other
softly brain or smoke-tanned hides as replacements
for their commercially manufactured cloth gar-
ments, when such store-bought apparel wore
out. By the 1840s, buckskin and other tanned hide
coverings had become symbolic of the frontier
lonerthe scout or trapperwho lived away from
the few outposts of civilization.
By the time of the post-Civil-War West, there
were enough trading posts, towns and other centers
of commerce scattered throughout the frontier that
commercially produced cloth goods were easier to
obtain, and in many cases, more economical, than
acquiring clothing made from hides. Also, the newer
WINTER 2016
99999999

9999999999
}
was
Buckskin clothing
as much a fashion
statement in the
Western part of 19th
as
century America
it was practical for
outdoors use, as
Paul,
shown by this St.
in his
Minnesota, man
ore d (very wn Old West figures
obviously tail A number of well-kno
Erich Baumann Collection

ly One of those
likely commercial wore buckskin clothing.
made) jacket and acte rs who did much to pre-
colorful char
. e of the American
trousers of soft hide serve the mythical imag
Cody in his
frontier was Buffalo Bill
veled Wild West
legendary and world-tra

@
Bill pose s for a publicity shot
show. Here
cutaway buckskin
in a fancily decorated gauntlets.
a pair of fring ed
coat and
Wild Bill Hickok
was another fron
the real deal. tiersman who was
Shown here in a
and beaver fur-trim full set of fringed
med buckskins,
ivory-stocked Col and
t 1851 Navy pistols packing his
knifethis famous and a butcher
image gives evid
deadly skill as the ence of his
Prince of Pistolee
rs.

(
Al Fleming Collection

e
worn by this otherwis
While the buckskin coat ent,
to be a well-worn garm
dapper gent appears ith his dressy finished
pw
the rest of this lads getu and necktiegives the
r
leather gloves, stiff colla phers
be wearing a photogra
impression that he may Regardless, the imag
e
ing and gun belt.
prop cloth skin jacket adds flavor
a buck
does serve to show how ws char acter.
to the young fello
and a hint of adventure

G U N S O F T H E O L D WE S T 67
 BU C K S K I N B U C KARO O S
The author has long favored buckskins for both range wear as well as for his
colorful Wild West show and mounted trick-shooting performances, thus offering
his audiences a look at what the old-time Western showman would wear.
Here, Phil doffs his hat as he bows his faithful equine companion Nevada while
sporting a colorfully beaded and fringed buckskin jacket and gauntlets.
breed of Westerners, made up largely of
immigrants from the Old World, were
more prone to wear the domesticated type
of readily available textile attire they had
worn in their former homes, rather than
go native and don the hides of animals.
Tough Enough
Regardless, buckskin garments still
found a place in this frontier culture. Those
who earned their living on the outskirts of
civilization, like buffalo hunters, military
scouts, soldiers, professional meat hunters,
cowboys and other outdoorsmen, knew the
value and long-lasting qualities of cloth-
ing made from an animals tanned hide.
Buckskin has many qualities to endear
it to outdoor and rough-country living.
It provides warmth in colder climes, yet
it is not too hot to wear in moderate
weather. Buckskin is also washablewell,
to a degree. If it gets dirty, water will usu-
68 GUN S OF THE O LD WEST
ally remove the dirt, but it should
be hung and aired out, rather than
placed next to a fire or a heater, to
dry properly afterwards.
Buckskin stretches, too, and
while this may not be desirable in
a garment made as a fashion piece,
it certainly provides comfort and
ease of movement for such tasks as
mounting and dismounting a horse.
The fashion conscious should be
advised that the knees and backsides
of buckskin pants, and the elbow
area on shirts or jackets, get stretched
out of shape fairly easily from bend-
ing and kneeling. However, lining the
garment with a thin cloth like cotton,
satin or silk can reduce any stretching
to a tolerable level. Nevertheless, ani-
mal skins are naturally rugged, resist-
ing tearing, wearing and the other
frailties of cloth garments, and when
greased properlywhether on purpose or
through the daily rigors of camp lifethey
can become waterproof, or at least more
resistant to water than woven duds.
Many frontiersmen would wear a mix-
ture of materials, perhaps donning a pair
of buckskin trousers with a shirt of wool,
cotton or some other fabric, or maybe opt-
ing for a shirt of soft skins, worn with cloth
trousers. Some might wear a buckskin
jacket over their clothing, offering the prac-
ticality of a rugged hide while maintaining
a handsome, rakish look. Buckskin shirts
were indeed popular with a number of
frontiersmen, for both practical purposes
as well as for fashions sake. Original speci-
mens of upper wear dating from the late
Erich Baumann Collection
hide of an
Clothing made from the soft, tanned
comfort,
animal, such as deer or elk, offered
West flavor.
rugged wear and a definite Wild
ne, Wyomi ng Territory,
This circa-1885 Cheyen
H. Cook,
photograph shows Westerner James
finer things in life as
who obviously liked the
buckskin
he wears a nattily tailored, fringed s.
tted leather trouser
bib-front shirt and well-fi
WINTER 2016
 19th century have been found in a multi-
tude of styles ranging from the double-
breasted bib, or shield-front shirt, to a sim-
ple lace-up pullover or single-row button-
front typewith each type presenting a
rugged, yet dashing Wild West look.
Buckskin trousers could run the gamut
in style from simple, unadorned straight-
legged models to those sporting fringe,
fancy buttons a la the Spanish look, color-
ful embroidery, beads, porcupine quills
or almost any other embellishment that
a dandy Westerner could conjure up. It
was also quite common to find shirts and
jackets of skins bearing fringe, or perhaps
boasting fur trimmings, and like the trou-
sers, decoration and styling was a personal
thing that varied considerably. A practice
Erich Baumann Collection
reinforce the seat and sometimes the entire
inner legs of their store-bought heavy
woolen trousers with buckskin or the soft
hide of other plains animals. Trousers so
customized can be seen in a number of
Charles M. Russell paintings and illustra-
tions, and Charlie himself was fond of
such apparel. In fact, as a young cowboy,
Kid Russell was given the name Ah-Wah-
Cous, the Sioux name for an antelope,
because of how he looked from behind
with his buckskin-reinforced trousers.
Another form of buckskin apparel
that enjoyed fair popularity with these
cavaliers of the Great Plains was the vest.
Constructed in the traditional manner of
waistcoats (as they were often called in the
19th century) of the era, buckskin vests

favored by a number of cowboys was to could be made with or without lapels and

These images reveal the use of buckskins

as props in photographers studios, as the
men in each of these late 19th century
images can be seen wearing the same
uniquely fringed and decorated hide
jacket and trousers along with the same
studded holster and gun belt.

-
By the 1840s, buckskin
and other tanned hide
coverings had become
symbolic of the frontier
lonerthe scout or
trapperwho lived away

from the few outposts

-
Herb Peck, Jr. Collection

of civilization.

W INTER 2016 GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 69
 BU C K S K I N B U C KARO O S
Herb Peck, Jr. Collection
might enjoy a bit of colorful cloth braid
trim around the edges of these lapels, or
along the edges of the entire garment.
Other forms of decoration for buckskin
vests of the Old West included designs of
beadwork, porcupine quills, silkenor
even metallic thread such as gilt or silver
bullionembroidery, or a fringed trim.
This versatile skin
offers warmth, protection
and comfort while lending
of fashionable garments.
70 G U NS O F T HE OL D WEST
This frontiersman wont Cody, Texas Jack Omohundro and many
have to worry about his othersincluding a number of cowboys,
duds stretching out of like one of the Old Wests favorite cowboy
shape. He obviously artists, young Charlie Russelladopted
likes his clothing loose this tailored buckskin look, both for
fitting, as can be seen in
range wear or for use on stage or in the
his baggy, fringed hide
Wild West show arena, depending on
jacket and trousers.
their needs and tastes. While some of
these conventionally finished outfits were
Some deerskin vests were handmade by Native American crafts-
made entirely of a tanned people, others were commercially pro-
hide (generally without duced by professional tailors. In later
the hair), while others
employed the standard
method of manufacture,
where the vest front
would be of skin sewn to
a cloth backing, contain-
ing lacing or a buckle in
the back for final fitting.
The West Evolves
During the early days
of the West, many pieces
made of buckskin were
finished in a primitive
cut, where the natural,
ragged ends are left on
the garment, as opposed
to being neatly trimmed
and/or hemmed straight,
as with a piece of yard
goods. As the frontier became more popu-
lated and civilized, more convention-
ally tailored attire became fashionable,
undoubtedly due to the influence of the
white mans clothing and the availability
of professional tailors in the West. Despite this gent wearing prop clothing,
Plainsman types, such as Wild Bill this tintype shows a popular style of
Hickok, George A. Custer, Buffalo Bill buckskin-made garments on the frontier.
-
itself to a multitude
- WINTER 2016

years, Cody, and those who followed his
lead with other Wild West shows, relied
heavily on fancy embroidered and/or
beaded buckskin coats, gauntlets and
other items of clothing made of animal
skins to project their image as true fron-
tiersmen of an earlier time. These show-
men wore buckskins to such an extent
that by the turn of the century, a fancy
deerskin outfit had become symbolic of
the old-time plainsman and the Wild
West show performer. I can personally
attest to the comfort, durability and Old
West flavor afforded by buckskin apparel,
as Ive wornand continue to weara
number of these garments during my
own career as a Wild West show per-
former. They are comfortable, whether
Im dismounted or in a saddle.
With the coming of motion pic-
tures, buckskins were quickly employed
by costumers to convey the romantic
and adventurous image of the plains-
man of old, and these garments were
worn by such silver screen stars as John
Wayne in his 1930 epic The Big Trail,
W INTER 2016
The buckskin-clad hombre in
this late 19th century image
illustrates the use of fringe
and other Native American-
style adornments with his
well-tailored jacket and
trousers. With his sunburned
face, scuffed square-toed
boots and spurs, this sixgun-
packing cowboy appears to
be the genuine article.
1949s She Wore a Yellow
Ribbon, Hondo (1953) and
The Searchers (1956); Gary
Cooper in 1936s The Plains-
man; Joel McCrea in 1944s
epic Buffalo Bill and the
1950 trail dust saga, The
Outriders; Errol Flynn in
1939s Dodge City, and They
Died With Their Boots On
(1941); James Arness in the
1970s TV series How the
West Was Won; more recent-
ly by Billy Bob Thornton,
wearing an accurate rep-
lica of what was reportedly
Davy Crocketts vest in the
2004 movie The Alamo; and several char-
acters in the 2015 TV mini-series Texas
Rising can be seen sporting an array of
buckskin duds, to mention just a few.
From the first moment an actor appears
on screen in buckskins, his character is
immediately established in the viewers
mind as a man of adventure and action,
as well as a veteran frontiersman. Even in
the 21st century, with all the interest in
the latest technology, the look of old-time
buckskins on a Westerner will turn the
heads of audiences, whether on the screen
in television and movies or in the arena of
live Western shows.
Whether its a whole outfit or simply
a single garment of this attractive and
durable hide, buckskin offers a dash-
ing appearance that is reminiscent of
Americas frontier heritage. In fact, buck-
skin offers the authentic look of the Old
West as much as the cowboys broad-
brimmed hat, his sixgun and holster,
his silver-mounted spurs or any other
part of a Westerners outfit from that
flavorful, bygone era.
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GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 71
 GUN TEST
O DU KE S
j THE
G UN
A
IR Air Venturi is now offering
a John Wayne edition Peacemaker!
JOHN WAYNES FILM CAREER spanned more
than three generations, from 1930, when he starred in his first
Western, The Big Trail, to 1976, when he made his last film, The
Shootist. The Western cinematic legacy he left chronicles almost
the entire history of this uniquely American film genre.
Up until 1930, the tall, rugged-looking man from Winterset,
Iowa, had been working as an extra, but he had determination
and a look that caught the eye of film director Raoul Walsh
in 1929. The next year, he gave the young actornamed
Marion Morrison at the timehis first big break in
the 1930 epic The Big Trail. Walsh also
changed Morrisons name to John Wayne.
Although the film was not a big money maker,
Wayne caught the attention of movie studios, and
he spent the next nine years making B Westerns
and building a reputation as a film star. Many
of his early films were remakes of old Ken
Maynard silent movies, with Wayne always
playing a character named John (John Drury,
John Steele, John Mason, John Trent, etc. ) and
riding a magnificent white stallion named Duke.
Western Rigs
In the early years of Western cinema, guns and
gun rigs were glamorous, and the famous Bohlin
buscadero holsters appeared in numerous films.
72 G UN S OF THE O LD WEST
BY DENNIS ADLER
Wayne wore a fancy carved, two-tone holster and cartridge belt
made by Ed Bohlin in 23 Westerns made for Republic Pictures and
Lone Star Productions, beginning with Riders of Destiny in 1933. In
1936, when he filmed Born to the West, Wayne switched to a hand-
some, hand-tooled Heiser outfit with a silver Bohlin buckle and
tip and #714 holster. Wayne wore the H.H. Heiser outfit from 1936
through the first film he produced, 1947s Angel and the Badman.
In 1939, he made the transition from B movies to
big screen star as the Ringo Kid in John Fords epic
Stagecoach. From the moment Ford zoomed in on
Wayne spin-cocking his Winchester Model 1892, his
place in film history was established. He repeated the
stunt in dozens of Westerns, most notably in his Oscar-
winning role as crusty, one-eyed Marshall Rooster
Cogburn in True Grit. This time he charged four
bandits on horseback with the Model 1892 in his
right hand and a sixgun blazing away in his left
while riding with the reins in his mouth!
With few exceptions, John Wayne carried a
Colt Single Action Army, and more often a faded
blue gun with wood grips. His trademark two-
tone suede cartridge belt and tan leather hol-
ster were first seen in 1953s Hondo. According
to John Bianchi, the original holster and gun
belt were given to Wayne by his friend, famed
Western stuntman and second unit director
WINTER 2016
 zens of
ve been do
1. There ha mmemoratives
e co
John Wayn bu t this is the
ars,
over the ye A air pistol
!
first Colt SA rtridges load
2. The bras
s BB ca
ro und.
1
a real .45
the same as is ideal for
3. The gun draws and
quick
practicing ling for
on gun hand
single-acti on the dolla
r.
just pe nn ies
pa ne l hid es the
grip
4. The left fra me.
in the grip
C02 capsule

2 3 4
 T H E DUK E S A I RG UN
Yakima Canutt. The two-tone rigs (there
were more than one) used a skirtless hol-
ster and light tan, soft-suede, money belt-
style cartridge belt with contrasting brown
bullet loops. Wayne liked that particular
style and wore it in almost every film after
Hondo. The color tones changed over the
years. as did the shape of the holster, but
the two-tone rigs remained Waynes favor-
ite. He wore them in The Searchers, Chism,
Rio Lobo, True Grit, Rooster Cogburn and
The Cowboys, among others.
Umarexs Take
John Wayne began carrying blued,
5-inch-barreled Colts midway through
his Western film career. The new antique-
finished, John Wayne Peacemaker air pistol
from Umarex weighs just a little less than
a real .45 Colt Peacemaker at around 32
The John Wayne
commemoratives
distinctive features
include the aged finish
like so many of the
Colt Single Actions
used in his films
ounces, but aside from that, there is a lot thing, right down to opening the loading
more in common with the look and feel gate and using the ejector rod to punch out distinctive features include the aged fin-
of this gun. (The one
big difference among a SPECIFICATIONS
few design requirements
for an air pistol is the Colt John Wayne Peacemaker
addition of a requisite
manual safety, but this
is well hidden under the
frame, just forward of
the triggerguard).
Dimensionally, the
John Wayne Peacemaker
is nearly dead on. The
rebounding hammer
feels lighter, as there Finish: Antiqued blued, blued, nickel Capacity: 6-shot MSRP: $150
is no actual Colt-style
mainspring, and it sits
74 G U NS O F T HE OL D WEST
(Right) The burled grips
look like wood, but they
are plastic. The inset
medallion bears a por-
trait of Wayne with his
name around the border
and Duke in quotes.
(Below) Another special
feature is John Waynes
signature along the
backstrap.
the spent shells. Each time you work the
hammer, the cylinder rotates to the next
chamber and the CO2 capsule stored inside
the grip is set to release a single charge
sealed to the back of the BB cartridge.
The .177-caliber steel travels downrange at
around 410 fps.
Unlike some of the BB cartridges in use,
the Colt loads the BB in the base of the
slightly back from the frame at rest, but cartridge (where the primer would usually
cocking the hammer feels real enough! go) rather than into the nose of the bullet,
With six brass BB cartridges loaded into and the brass cases look more authentic
the cylinder, the gun works just like the real because they do not have plastic tips.
The John Wayne commemoratives
ish like so many of the
Colt Single Actions
used in his films, and
come fitted with a pair
of John Wayne Duke
medallions inlaid into
each grip panel. While
these grips are actually
plastic, they look more
Caliber: .177 (BB), .177 (Pellet) like wood than a lot
Barrel: 5 inches OA Length: 11 inches of wooden grips! The
Weight: 32 ounces (empty) Grips: Polymer frame is stamped with
Sights: Fixed blade front, notch rear Action: SA, CO2 the Colt logo on the
right and Colt patent
dates and the Rampant
Colt on the left. It looks
WINTER 2016

like a Colt should look. The right side
of the barrel is also etched in white with
Duke Colt Single Action Revolver, while
the right side has an official John Wayne
licensing stamp.
Certified Steel
I tested the John Wayne Peacemaker at a
distance of 25 feet, clustering six .177-cali-
ber BBs into a 2.5-inch group. Aside from
being accurate, the Peacemaker fits the clas-
sic John Bianchi Frontier Gunleather Duke
Special rig just right, making it ideal for a
John Wayne-style draw if you wear the
W INTER 2016
The John Bianchi Duke Special holster
and belt are based on a two-tone rig that
Bianchi made for John Wayne. Upon
seeing the set, the Duke remarked,
John, now thats to my liking!
holster just forward of your back pocket.
The most remarkable feature of this
John Wayne Peacemaker, however, is
the price, at just $150. The John Wayne
Peacemaker is also available with a blued
or nickel plated finish, and in both .177
caliber BB and .177 caliber (4.5mm) pellet
versions, exclusively from Pyramyd Air;
an extra six BB cartridges sell for $10,
but youll want to fill all 30 of the Duke
Specials bullet loops, but just be sure to
leave the center loop open for a .45-70
round, pilgrim! For more information, visit
pyramydair.com or call 888-262-4867.
GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 75
 Firearms Pioneer
REVEREND
FORSYTH
How a man of the cloth ushered in a new era of percussion arms.
BY T. LOGAN METESH Photos courtesy NRA Museums
B
y the early 19th century, after more
than 200 years of flintlock domi-
nance, the winds of change began
to blow. A new era in technology was dawn-
ing that would have a lasting impact on
firearms designs for decades to come.
Reverend Alexander John Forsyth made
a significant change in the world of firearms
ignition systems. Born in 1768 to a minis-
ter in Scotland, he was educated at Kings
College and followed in his fathers foot-
steps to become a man of the cloth. A deep
thinker, he often walked along the water as
a calming way to collect his thoughts, some-
times thinking about his sermons. Other
times, he was thinking about firearms.
As an avid duck hunter, Forsyth
lamented the inefficiency of the flintlocks
design as a hunting piece. The long delay
between the trigger pull, ignition of the
flash pan, ignition of the main powder
charge and the actual firing of the weapon
was advantageous to the ducks and not
the hunter. First, the noise of the mecha-
nism alerted the birds of something in
the area, then the resulting delay pro-
vided enough time for the birds to make
evasive maneuvers and avoid being shot.
In 1805, at the age of 37, Forsyth devel-
oped his first percussion-style lock. He
went to London and showed his design
to the Master-General of the Ordnance,
Lord Moira. Impressed by the design,
Moira arranged for Forsyth to take
a leave of absence from his par-
ish and was given quarters in the
workshops of the Tower of London to
work on his design. By 1806, howev-
er, Lord Moira had been replaced by the
Earl of Chatham, who did not share Lord
Moiras enthusiasm for the new design. He
ordered Forsyth to remove his rubbish
76 G UN S OF THE O LD WEST
from the Tower. After leaving the Tower of gun-maker James Purdey, he opened his own
London, Napoleon Bonaparte supposedly firearms manufacturing firm. The company
offered Forsyth 20,000 if he would bring produced a number of guns using his new
his invention to France, but Forsyth percussion system that utilized mercury ful-
declined in a most patriotic manner. minate to ignite the gunpowder.
In December of 1808, he took out an
Forging Ahead ad in Londons Morning Post about his
Being removed from the new business. The ad read in part: To
Tower did not set Forsyth back Sportsmen, the Patent Gun-lock invented
or slow him down in the by Mr. Forsythe [sic] is to be had at No.
slightest. In 1807, Forsyth 10 Piccadilly, near Haymarket. Those
received a patent on his unacquainted withthis invention are
design. By 1808, with informed that the inflammation is pro-
enough financial sup- duced withoutflint, and is much more
port and expert man- rapid. The lock iscompletely impervious
power from renowned to water, or damp of any kind, and may in
fact be fired under water.
1) The Springfield This new form of ignition caught
Model 1861 was one on, and Forsyth found himself having to
of the most popular
defend his patent against a variety of other
percussion arms used
during the Civil War. gun-makers, most notably being renowned
maker Joseph Manton. Legal battles around
2) Joseph Eggs the percussion ignition system would lead
percussion shotgun to Forsyths downfall in the business.
was made on the Defending his patent in court was a costly
corner of Piccadilly
venture. After only a handful of years in
in Haymarket, very
close to Reverend business, he returned to his parish and
Forsyths shop. reclaimed his place in the pulpit.
3) Winchesters Percussion Advances
Model 1873 lever- Forsyths invention did not use the per-
action rifle was
cussion cap that most people think of today.
one of the most
popular rifle Instead, his sliding magazine locks operate
designs in by having the priming magazines linked to
the Old the hammer of the firearm. When the ham-
West. mer is cocked, the magazine moves back
over the flash pan. When in that position, a
small priming charge is dispensed from the
magazine into the pan. When the trigger is
pulled, the magazine moves forward, out of
1 2 3 the way, and the charge is detonated by a fir-
ing pin on the hammer that fits into the pan.
WINTER 2016
 Made in Richmond, Virginia, in
1813, this musket shows signs
of the cone-in-barrel method of
converting an old flintlock piece to
the new percussion system.
The most important advance to the
percussion system was the creation of the
copper percussion cap. Joshua Shaw, an
English-born American artist, patented the
device in the United States in 1822 to avoid
legal action by Forsyth. The American gov-
ernment awarded Shaw $18,000 for his
invention. It was not until 1839, however,
that his design would be acknowledged and
adopted in England.
Shaws percussion cap is a hat-shaped
device with a small amount of fulminate
on top. The cap was placed on a cone, or
nipple, which had an opening into the bar-
rel. The cone acted as both a striking surface
and a charge channel. When the hammer
struck the top of the cap on the cone, it
ignited the fulminate and channeled flame
into the barrel, where it would ignite the
gunpowder and discharge the firearm.
It wouldnt be long before the percus-
sion ignition system would come to domi-
nate firearms worldwide. With a heyday
much shorter than that of the flintlock,
it saw considerable use until the advent
of self-contained metallic cartridges in
the mid- and late-19th century. Even after
metallic cartridges were widely available,
many still continued to carry and use their
percussion firearms.
Percussion firearms were the constant
companion of the earliest pioneers in the
West. They helped protect the prospectors
and miners that were the lifeblood of many
fledgling frontier towns. Without the sense
of safety provided by those revolvers and
long guns, some of those men might not
have struck out on an adventure that would
change the face of our country forever.
Forsyths Legacy
Every gun holstered in the Old West
can trace its existence back to
Reverend Forsyth. Without
his percussion system,
Shaw would not
have created the
WINTER 2016
This Smith &
Wesson Model
3 is said to
have been
owned by
the infamous
Jesse James.
percussion cap. Without the percussion
cap, Samuel Colt would not have been able
to create his iconic cap-and-ball revolvers.
From the heavy-hitting Walker in 1847 to
the Model 1851carried by Wild Bill
Hickok and Buffalo Bill CodyColt has
Forsyth to thank for helping jump-start his
empire and propel his name into history.
Many a stagecoach, too, was protected
by a man riding shotgun with a double-
barrel coach gun ignited by the percussion
This Colt 1860 Army revolver
has been modified to fire self-
contained metallic
cartridges.
ignition system. Wells Fargo payloads
were safe with those guns up top.
Harnessing the power of per-
cussion led to the advent of the
self-contained metallic cartridge, a
technology that would revolutionize
firearms to this day. This system was
used to ignite gunpowder in some
of the most famous Old West guns
of all timethe Winchester Model
1873 lever-action rifle and the Colt
Single Action Army revolver. Other
cartridge revolvers, like the Smith
& Wesson Model 3, were used by
infamous Western personas such
as Jesse James and Billy the Kid.
One might not expect a frustrat-
ed duck hunter and man of the cloth
to usher in a new age of firearms
technology. But Reverend Alexander John
Forsyth did just that. More than 100 years
after his invention was created, Forsyth was
still being officially honored for his contri-
butions. In 1929, a memorial for him was
placed at the Tower of Londonthe first
time ever that a memorial to a private indi-
vidual had been erected on the property.
Two years later, in 1931, another was placed
on the Cromwell Tower at his alma mater,
Kings College in Aberdeen.
In 1930, the President of the National
Rifle Association of Great Britain eulogized
Forsyth by saying he was the only man in
the world in whose honor a salute was fired
every day in the year. Indeed, his inven-
tion was far-reaching and rightly earns him
the title of being the grandfather of the
Old Wests guns.
GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 77
 or
s
FIRST LOOK
l
ayGNEW
T
T he new Outlaw Legacy
revolver series merges
the best of the Old West with contem-
porary technology to provide a perfect
blend of Western myth and modern
manufacturing. Taylors & Co. Firearms
has partnered with the Outlaw Legacy Gang
to bring this series to the consumer market.
This revolver line plays into a rich
heritage of peoples love of the American
West and their fascination with cowboys
and outlaws. From the 19th century and
Buffalo Bills Wild West to the 21st century
and shows like Longmire, Americans have
kept this fascination alive.
SPECIFICATIONS
Modern Outlaws
Taylors & Co.
Firearms offers these
Pietta-made, single-
action revolvers in four
configurations. All vari-
ants feature 4-inch bar-
rels and weigh 36.8 ounc-
es unloaded with overall
78 GU NS O F THE O LD WEST
lengths of 10 inches. This barrel length
was one of three standard lengths offered
in first-generation Colt SAA revolvers.
The .45 Colt cartridge was introduced
alongside the original Single Action
Army. The cartridge has become synony-
Colloquially, shorter-barreled revolvers mous with the American West and was
were called Gunfighters, befitting these considered to have supreme stopping
newer outlaw guns. power until the development of Elmer
This line comes in two traditional fin- Keiths .357 Magnum in the 1930s.
ishes: blued and nickel-plated. Both fin- The Outlaw Legacy series is the defi-
ishes feature full-coverage laser engraving nition of a modern historical fusion. It
with floral patterns. Each model has the embraces the traditional frame, barrel
Outlaw Legacy slogan, God Guns length, finishes, calibers and engravings
Freedom, on the right side of the barrel. of Western single actions but adds a
These revolvers are also offered in two modern flair with laser technology. The
popular calibers: .45 Colt and .357 Mag. polymer ivory grips even harken back to
the days of the Old
West, with a con-
temporary and more
Taylors Outlaw Legacy cost-effective twist.
Caliber: .45 Colt, .357 Mag
Perfect Blend
Barrel: 4 inches OA Length: 10 inches
According to Keri
Weight: 36.8 ounces (empty) Grips: Polymer ivory
McDonald of Taylors
Action: Single-action Finish: Blued or nickel
& Company Firearms,
Sights: Fixed Capacity: 6-shot MSRP: $679-725
The Outlaw Legacy
project resulted in a
WINTER 2016
OUTLAWS
Taylors & Co.
Firearms is
offering the new
Outlaw Legacy
sixguns in .45
Colt or .357 Mag
with blued (shown)
or nickel finishes.
quality firearm that represented the
core values of sportsmen involved
in the shooting sports. Along those
lines, these new revolvers adhere to
the Single Action Shooting Societys
Shooters Handbook, from their general
firearm type to the non-adjustable
front blade sight.
Taylors recognizes the need to pro-
duce historically accurate reproduc-
tions with increasingly
Laser-engraved sixguns
that blend classic looks
with modern technology!
BY ASHLEY HLEBINSKY
efficient technology. And one thing
for sure is that Taylors will continue
to offer a timeless representation of
sportsmens values, while maintain-
ing the historical reproductions that
Taylors is known for offering on the
market. For more information,
visit taylorsfirearms.com or call 540-
722-2017. High-quality laser engraving adorns the
Outlaw Legacys barrel, frame, topstrap
and even the backstrap.
GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 79
 P o s t C i v i l Wa r
SHERMANS
PISTOL
Rare prototype Springfield Trapdoor scaled down for close-quarters combat!
BY DR. STEPHEN C. SMALL
I
n December of 1869, the U.S. Ord-
nance Department was given a
task by Commanding General of
the Army William Tecumseh Sherman
(1820-1891). He wanted a new pistol for
the armyspecifically, a very powerful,
breech-loading, single-shot pistol.
Such a pistol he imagined would be
complementary to the newly adopt-
ed so-called Trapdoor riflesin
that he wanted it to use the same
caliber. The challenge in doing so
was not so much technological as
it was financial, for this was a time
of huge organizational drawdowns
and massive retrenchment in the
defense spending. The Civil War
had ended in 1865 with 1,000,692
men in the Army and with annual
expenditures at $1,031,323,000. By
1869, the Army had been shrunk
down to 36,953 men and offi-
cers. The annual budget had
been slashed to $78,502,000.
Albeit some new departures
in weaponry were deemed
to merit investigation, few
entailed real investment.
Shermans concept was intended
to add much-needed firepower to
the horse-mobile cavalry.
80 GU NS O F T HE OL D WEST
Therefore, Sherman tried to square the cir-
cle by seeking limited innovation in small
arms while looking to get by with what he
had on hand. No matter, his attempt at
fielding this weapon would falter and fail.
However, this oddity of small arms design
By 1869, two
prototype pistols
had been built.
Quite big, they weighed in at
approximately 4.75 pounds. Their
overall lengths reached 18 inches.
had a mystery about it, one that grew
as the many years passed. For the U.S.
Pistol Model 1869 Trapdoor .50-45 is
arguably one of the the rarest experimen-
tal pistols in American military history.
Frontier Warfare
Shermans concept was intended to
add much-needed firepower to the horse-
mobile cavalryessential in combating
Indian insurgents. As for cost, it would
be manufactured using the same strategy
employed in the making of the breech-
loading Model 1868 riflethat weapon
utilized practically all of the existing com-
ponents of the muzzle-loading muskets
of the Civil War. The general saw this as a
golden opportunity to modify another leg-
acy weapon and thereby escape the costs
inherent in developing or buying an entire-
ly new weapon for use in the budgetary-
starved post-Civil-War-era Army.
Additionally, there was the
matter of patent infringement.
Shermans pistol provided a slick
way of evading the Rollin White
patent. Rollin White was an
American gun-
smith who had the
distinction of having invented a
revolver with a bored-through cyl-
inder that allowed cartridges to be loaded
from the rear. The patent granted to him
in 1855 remained in effect until 1870.
Since Shermans pistol had no cylinder,
the fact that it fired a cartridge was irrel-
evant to Rollins patent.
Allin Again
The Chief of Ordnance in 1869 was
Alexander B. Dyer (1815-1874). An innova-
tive officer, he had once been instrumental
in purchasing 100 Gatling guns for Army
testing, an arguably radical thing to do
at the time. But this pistols design was
different. Money mattered, whereas tech-
nological innovation was less important.
And so Dyer sought the help of Springfield
Armory Master Armorer Erskine S. Allin
(1853-1878). Allin was undoubtedly a leg-
end. He had taken upwards of 1 million
obsolete muzzle-loading Civil War muskets
and designed a modification whereby the
WINTER 2016

General Sherman's experimental
"Trapdoor" Model 1868 pistol (top),
of which only 25 were eventually
produced, dwarfed the earlier breech-
loading Model 1842 (bottom).
breech was cut and a hinged trapdoor
breechblock mechanism was installed;
this mechanism loaded, fired and enabled
the ejecting of the cartridge. This sys-
tem saved the government a huge sum
of money, as it made do with exist-
ing components. As Colonel Benton of
the Ordnance Department wrote in July
1866, Many of the parts of the muzzle-
loading arm can be used and will be
retained. And in that spirit, Allin sought
to try and match his earlier success.
By December of 1869, two proto-
type pistols had been built. Quite big,
they weighed in at approximately 4.75
pounds. Their overall lengths reached
a formidable 18 inches. The cartridge
intended for this pistol was the .50-45-
350 Cadet cartridge loaded with three or
four pellets. Testing at 50 yards indicated
that all shots struck the target at the
point of aim, whereby at 100 yards the
balls hit 10 inches below the point of
aim. This gave it accuracy for close com-
bat with suitable knockdown power that
could determine ones life expectancy.
As for felt recoil, the .45-70 Model 1873
Shermanwanted
a very powerful,
breech-loading,
single-shot pistol.
WINTER 2016
Trapdoor rifle was commonly
referred to by soldiers as the
mule kicker. And so, the Model
1896 pistol being a much lighter weap-
on, it must have produced very stout
recoil despite its use of the less-formida-
ble Cadet cartridge. As for the number
of weapons ultimately produced at the
Springfield Armory, 25 specimens were
officially made, but only two such pis-
tols are known to exist. According to the
National Park Service, one resides at the
Springfield Armory Museum and the
second is at the Smithsonian.
Interesting Footnote
In the final analysis, General Sher-
mans pistol was simply too little and
too late. The project was dropped by
the early 1870s. The advent of cartridge
revolvers would settle any remaining
debate concerning the development
and/or retaining of single-shot pistols.
In the June 1873 Annual Report of
the Chief of Ordnance, General Dyer
wrote, this Bureau recommends for
approval the purchase of a sufficient
number of Colts [revolvers] to supply
the cavalry arm of the serviceit is
hoped that the whole number will be in
the hands of the troops by next spring.
Despite lingering concerns about
enlisted men wasting ammunition by
way of rapidly firing weapons, progress
would trump parsimony. The develop-
ment and use of single-shot combat
pistol by the U.S. Army had ended as
simply an interesting and unusual foot-
note to the history of American military
small arms.
Wyatt Earp: Fact Vs. Fiction
(continued from page 11)
I could find written about him. He was quite
a guy. It wasnt enough just to walk like him
and talk like him. I wanted to learn to draw
like himor a reasonable facsimile thereof.
Wyatt Earp could pull a gun with the best
of them in his daymaybe better. I wanted
to be as fast as possible to really provide an
authentic character for our television show.
The shows ratings remained in the top
five throughout its entire seven-year run,
and despite his past successes as a film star
in 23 motion pictures before signing on
as Wyatt Earp, Hugh OBrian will always
be remembered as one of the most iconic
Western lawmen from the golden age of
television, and the Buntline Special as the
gun Wyatt Earp made famous.
Special Tribute
Over the decades since Colt reintro-
duced the Peacemaker in 1956, there have
been multiple Buntline editions within the
second and third generations, some fac-
tory engraved, others with the original-
style shoulder stocks, but in 2010 Colt
did something unprecedented: a two-gun
tribute set to honor Hugh OBrians por-
trayal of Wyatt Earp. Colt, John Bianchi
of Frontier Gunleather and Hugh OBrian
coordinated the project. Each walnut-cased
set held a 12-inch-barreled Buntline and a
4-inch-barreled Peacemaker, just as car-
ried by OBrian on the television series.
The guns came with color-casehardened
frames and hammers, Colts high-polish
blued finish, Hugh OBrian ~ Wyatt Earp
Tribute etched in script on the left side of
the barrels, and Hugh OBrians signature
on the backstrap. The set also came with a
high-quality reproduction of the marshals
badge OBrian wore on the show.
The serial-numbered sets sold for
$4,712, and for an additional $850, Frontier
Gunleather offered an exact copy of the later
double holster rig worn by Hugh OBrian.
The guns and gun belt even had matching
serial numbers. It was a most fitting last
word on two legendary careers, Wyatt Earp
and the man who portrayed him on one the
first great Western television series.
Our special thanks to John Bianchi for provid-
ing the prototype guns and holster set and to
Bill Knudsen of Golden Gate Western Wear
for recreating Hugh OBrians Wyatt Earp hat.
GU N S O F T H E O L D W E S T 81
 Weird West
FACT OR
FICTION?
Did Winchester and Colt produce each others
claims to fame for retaliation in the 1880s?
BY ASHLEY HLEBINSKY
F
act: Winchester, a
company best known
for its rifles and shot-
guns, did indeed produce
pistols. Oliver Winchesters
earlier enterprise, the New
Haven Arms Company in
Connecticut, produced a
superposed 10-shot revolv-
er. This company, well
known for the Henry rifle,
was contracted to make
3,000 Walch revolvers, but
when the purchaser did not
pay, Winchester was left to
sell the pocket guns.
This unpleasant sales experience did
not deter Winchester from wanting to
create a pistol. By 1872, Winchester
began prototyping a revolver series.
Winchester revolvers went through sev-
eral variations, including the Wetmore-
Wells, which ceased production in
1876, and the Wetmore-Wood. The
Wetmore-Wood was actually revolu-
tionary because designer Stephen W.
Wood, with Hugo Borchardt, created
one of the first cylinders that moved out
of the frame for cartridge ejection. The
Turkish government ordered 30,000 of
these firearms in 1877.
Winchester Vs. Colt
The relationship between Win-
chester and Colt was tested in
1880, when Winchester imported
double-barrel shotguns from
England to undercut the price
of shotguns introduced by Colt
in 1878. Around the same time,
Colt purchased the Andrew
82 G UN S OF T HE OL D WEST
Burgess patent and began making the
Colt-Burgess lever action. In turn,
Winchester began importing another
English competitor, the Webley revolv-
er. To add insult to injury, Winchester
hired William Mason away from Colt to
design a single-action revolver to com-
pete with the Peacemaker. Ultimately,
the two companies worked out a gen-
tlemans agreement for Winchester
to stay out of the revolver market if
This firearm
is a Wetmore-
Wood Revolver in .44
Russian, serial number 1. Buffalo
Bill Center of the West, Cody,
Wyoming. Gift of Olin Corporation,
Winchester Arms Collection.
Winchesters revolver experi-
ment. Note the cartridge
ejection system, original
design drawing and prototype
parts. Buffalo Bill Center of
the West, Cody, Wyoming.
Gift of the Olin Corporation,
Winchester Arms Collection.
Colt stayed out of the lever-
action business.
Later in history, Win-
chester did launch several
pistol experiments, includ-
ing a bolt-action single-shot
made between 1900 and 1922.
And in 1917, Winchester had a contract to
make the 1911 based off of Colts patent.
However, that order was later cancelled.
Winchester pistols were not popular
in the public realm. Not many Walch
revolvers have survived because the
double-chambered firearm had a ten-
dency to explode upon firing. Some
of the revolvers and single-shot pistols
were produced in limited runs. However,
the prototypes and design drawings
have been immor-
talized at the Buffalo Bill Center of the
West Cody Firearms Museum.
History is not always black or white,
fact or fiction. Many popular myths of
the American West grew from real events,
others from urban legends passed down
through oral traditionand ultimately
creating work for historians to track
down the truth behind the myth.
WINTER 2016
HENRY TRIBUTE RIFLES
Made In America Or Not Made At All

MILITARY SERVICE
Honoring Those Who
Answer The Call of Duty
MODEL NO. HOO4MS

LAW ENFORCEMENT
Saluting Americas Finest
MODEL NO. H004LE

FIREFIGHTER
Hailing Americas
Bravest
MODEL NO. H004FM

AMERICAN FARMER
Celebrating Those Who
Feed The World
MODEL NO.H004AF

EAGLE SCOUT
Praising Those Who Reach
The Pinnacle of Scouting
MODEL NO. HOO4ES

For a FREE color catalog

and Henry decal
visit www.henryries.com
or call Toll Free (866) 200-2354

 .38/.357 MAG. .44 MAG. .45 COLT .454 CASULL*

*Round-barrel models only

HARD WORK REAPS GREAT REWARDS. BEAUTIFULLY AUTHENTIC

AESTHETICS MATED WITH MODERN ENGINEERING, FOR A RIFLE
THAT WORKS HARD AND LOOKS GREAT DOING SO. 20" AND 24"
OCTAGON-BARREL MODELS AVAILABLE IN BLUE, CASE-HARDENED,
OR STAINLESS, WHILE 16" AND 20" ROUND-BARREL MODELS ARE
FINISHED IN BLUE OR STAINLESS. PICK ONE UP AT YOUR ROSSI
DEALER TODAY AND GET THE JOB DONE RIGHT.

SAFETY NOTE: Always wear ear and eye protection when shooting frearms.
(Images shown are for marketing purposes only and are not intended as safe frearm handling examples.)