Handgun Carry in the Old West

[CraigC]

I only wear mine when I go to town. Never when I'm working, working around the house, shooting, handloading, doing farm chores and absolutely nothing when I'm running machinery or the lathe. Anybody see those pictures that got posted a while ago showing the guy that got caught in one of those really big lathes? Killed him deader than fried chicken, instantly. Really nasty but a good lesson for folks.

 

[sixgunner455]

I love my wife, I don't wear a ring. I'm not a cowboy, but I work on stuff and they just get in the way. I did have it catch on something once and it made me think.

I work day-to-day in an office. I wear a ring there. *shrug* It's jewelry. I wear a nice watch, too, and when I go to town for a movie or dancing or dinner with my wife. But when I'm in the shed or garage, or working with any kind of livestock or machinery - all danglers and metal bits wrapped around my extremities come off. It's a safety check I learned when I was a lad, and it's stuck with me.

When I was in Afghanistan, in the office I might wear a wedding ring, but whenever I was "out and about", it went on my dogtag chain or on my watchband, which was looped around my belt or gear somewhere.

 

[BBQLS1]

More cool old west pics. Some with guns some without.

http://blogs.denverpost.com/captured/2011/02/23/from-the-archive-frontier-life-in-the-west/

 

[Iggy]

Good site. Great pictures.
There is one of the old Cheyenne to Deadwood stage. I have driven one of those old rigs with 6 up. Now wait an danged minute, I'm ain't that old.. It was in the Frontier Days Parade and rodeo back in the 60's..

 

[bsms]

Great pictures, BBQLS1! When you see a line of oxen ready to move a wagon, you begin to realize just how much WORK everything required then. Imagine needing to hitch 12 oxen to a wagon - and the care & feeding that went in to them just as part of the normal work day.

I read an account of a cavalry unit in the Civil War. It was easy to skim by, but then I thought about what they did in one day...up at midnight, pack up and saddle up. 1,000 horses on the move 6 hours before dawn. They rode 40-50 miles, and THEN engaged the enemy. Fought a battle, and then needed to set up camp, care for the wounded, bury the dead, care for 1000+ horses. A couple of days later, they moved out and covered 40-50 miles a day for 5 days straight. And every day included breaking camp, loading supplies, getting the horses ready, riding, setting up camp, care for the horses...

On gun forums, folks will sometimes ask if they should keep a 5" S&W 629 or carry a 4" Mountain Gun to save weight on a day hike!

Makes an F-150 look awful good to me!

 

[Vern Humphrey]

One of the great misconceptions perpetrated on the American people is that covered wagons were drawn by horses. Most wagon trains relied on oxen, as did freighters. My great grandfather was a freighter in Nebraska in the 1880s.

Another interesting point is in photo 14 -- you can see the tipi liner being put up. The tipi was double-walled. The liner went from the ground up several feet, while the outer covering did not reach the ground. As a result, the prairie wind blew under the outer cover and was channeled upward by the liner, keeping the tipi more or less clear of smoke.

 

[SabbathWolf]

One of the great misconceptions perpetrated on the American people is that covered wagons were drawn by horses. Most wagon trains relied on oxen, as did freighters. My great grandfather was a freighter in Nebraska in the 1880s.

Another interesting point is in photo 14 -- you can see the tipi liner being put up. The tipi was double-walled. The liner went from the ground up several feet, while the outer covering did not reach the ground. As a result, the prairie wind blew under the outer cover and was channeled upward by the liner, keeping the tipi more or less clear of smoke.

Now that's pretty neat....about the tipi.
Learn me somethin' new every day.

 

[Iggy]

Then in the winter an Ozan was added to create a ceiling and keep the warm air closer to the ground.

A Tipi is an amazing article. By adjusting the flaps and the liner one can keep it fairly cool in the summer and warm in the winter.

I had a Tipi up all year round for a while. Quite comfortable in a howling blizzard after you learn how to manage the flaps and liner. The sides of the Tipi may actually freeze up to the top of the liner thus creating an insulating factor.



A Tipi can be a terrible place if you're drunk and can't find the door flap in the dark....

 

[Seamore2001]

There is one of the old Cheyenne to Deadwood stage. I have driven one of those old rigs with 6 up. Now wait an danged minute, I'm ain't that old.. It was in the Frontier Days Parade and rodeo back in the 60's..

I dunno Iggy - some days when my daughters beat me on a run I feel kind of old - and depending on when in the '60s you drove that coach, I might not even have been born!

BTW, loving this thread, and really enjoying the Iggy blog too!

 

[Readyrod]

There is one of the old Cheyenne to Deadwood stage. I have driven one of those old rigs with 6 up. Now wait an danged minute, I'm ain't that old.. It was in the Frontier Days Parade and rodeo back in the 60's..

I've driven double teams of clydesdales and belgians (as a tour guide) and I've driven a team of three with a sleigh. It must be hard to adjust the reins for a team of six. Is it? What are the tricks? Driving teams of horses is a blast btw. Tho as my old boss said horses have a brain the size of a peanut and they only use half of it lol.

 

[danweasel]

Howdy Iggy,

Yep, if I had a lot more money and a lot less responsibilty, I would take Jackson pretty much over any place on this planet. And Sheridan ain't half-bad either... I just got back from spending the night in Thermopolis with the wife for Mother's Day and then hiking around Ten Sleep Canyon for a few hours on the way back.

Well, good to meet ya. Loving the blog.

 

[Iggy]

Readyrod,

Not much to it if you have a good lead team. With the lines set right, the others will follow along quite nicely.

 

[Rexster]

Gentlemen, I have enjoyed reading all of this! Thanks!

Y'all make me want to take a l-o-n-g vacation, drifting about in the West. I have not been north or west of Fort Worth since the 1990s.

 

[Readyrod]

Not much to it if you have a good lead team. With the lines set right, the others will follow along quite nicely

Yea makes sense to me.

 

[Hagen442]

This has been a very enjoyable and informative Thread.
Thanks to all contributers for the information


Good Job Johnson
We go by SASS Rules and have more fun than a Box Full of Puppies.
"The Cowboy Way"

Another Old Fat Man From Swearing Creek, NC
SASS#74836

00 Hagen

 

[BBQLS1]

Y'all make me want to take a l-o-n-g vacation, drifting about in the West. I have not been north or west of Fort Worth since the 1990s.

I've only been to Vegas West of Texas. I really would like to spend some time out West. Vacation is hard because going a week at a time ain't enough for much and frequent trips cost money.... I'd really like to drive a big loop out that way, but would need a month to do it. I don't get that much vacation.

I've been thinking of moving just to get some real time out that way. I wouldn't mind living in Alaska, Wyoming, or Montana but the wife doesn't like cold. She's more open to the four corners area though.

We'll see. I've got to get some ducks in a row first.

 

[Iggy]

There is a sub-division that borders our ranch. It use to be part of the ranch but had to be sold to pay the taxes.
A guy sub divided it about 10 years ago and sold acreages over the internet. There are 212 new wannabe ranchers owning plots out there and maybe 10 year round occupants.
2 of them have frozen to death out there in the last five years.

It's "poor bull doin's" for flatlanders and porkeaters.

 

[Kernel]

It is interesting to note that in nearly every picture of a wagon or stagecoach the driver is sitting on the left hand side, the exact opposite of where a automobile driver sits today. Perhaps this sitting on the left gave some advantage or convenience to a right-handed man wearing a handgun on the his right hip.

 

[Iggy]

Typically wagons and stage coaches had a brake lever, either hand or foot operated on the right side. This was operated by the driver just as the steering wheel and brakes are used in a co-ordinated effort to stop and steer a car.



You can see a horizontal "thingy" that extends out from under the coach to the front of the rear wheels. The lever by the drivers leg controls the brakes. They apply a metal surface to the metal tire on the wheel and create a drag to slow the rear wheels.

It has very little actual braking effect and is more useful in holding the coach or wagon in place than stopping it.

 

[DammitBoy]

A guy sub divided it about 10 years ago and sold acreages over the internet. There are 212 new wannabe ranchers owning plots out there and maybe 10 year round occupants.

Out of curiousity - Iggy, how big were those plots and any idea what they sold for?

 

[Iggy]

DB, Check your PM's.

 

[BBQLS1]

Not really looking to be a rancher. I want to hunt and be away from people.

Sent from my smart phone where autocorrect will make me look stupid.

 

[WaywardSon]

Great thread...thank you gentlemen.

Off to bed...got to get up at 5:00 to fire a BBQ pit.

 

[danweasel]

It a tough job...

 

[Risky buisness]

As a young man around Laramie (Wyo) it was not very often when I saw anyone carry a handgun horseback, occasonally a rifle,not many revolvers. That changed when I went to Nevada wrangling horses, nearly everyone over the age of 30 packed a handgun, not to have seen that much I asked, it was pretty obvious, a 20 minuit trot put a guy essentially back in 1880-1890, where the only help he had was what he took with him. Most of the saddle stock in those guys strings were colts and pretty snotty, so I saw exactly why they packed. Normaly cross draw, pretty good leather and the majority were flap holsters, pretty near the same thing in central Oregon too.