Handgun Carry in the Old West
- Thread starter Tequila jake
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Risky buisness
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I'm over west of Kemmerer.
Readyrod
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The tram I drove had a drum brake just like a car. I had to use it once when the buckle on the reins got caught on the harness and the horses took off on me. Two belgians pulling a tram with 30 people on it and when I slammed on the brakes they dragged that thing 20 feet before they stopped. I measured the skid marks after. Horses are fun but not for the faint of heart. Driving a big team on a stagecoach must have been pretty exciting at times, specially if someone was chasing you.
stevekozak
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Since this thread has pretty much fallen off topic anyway, I wanted to ask Iggy, since he has known folks from the era: What exactly constituted a bedroll back in the day? In most of the shows or movies you see, it looks to just be a blanket rolled up behind the saddle. I suspect there was at least a little more to it. What about it, Iggy?
I've seen few that were essentially a sleeping bag. A blanket or two contained in a canvas shell without zippers. Some were just a tarp that was folded and overlapped instead of zipping up. Some were an actual sack.
Some had leather straps and buckles, others were just tied in a roll with short lengths of rope.
Oft times these were transported in the chuck wagon and the hand's other shirt and pants were laid out flat and rolled up in the roll. Saves ironin' don'tchaknow.
Some had leather straps and buckles, others were just tied in a roll with short lengths of rope.
Oft times these were transported in the chuck wagon and the hand's other shirt and pants were laid out flat and rolled up in the roll. Saves ironin' don'tchaknow.
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rcmodel
Member in memoriam
How about oil cloth to keep the wet out?
rc
rc
stevekozak
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Thanks for the reply, Iggy! I figured a blanket of some sort with a ground sheet was probably pretty close to what it would be. I never understood in the shows and movies when the cowboys would dump their saddles out flat, which as a good way to wind up breaking a tree.
I 'bout got run out of Gettysburg Nation Monument one night by the Rangers.
I was headed back to work for the summer on a dude ranch in New York.
I had read about Gettysburg for years and stopped off to take a tour.
When I got done roamin' around it was near dark.
Couldn't afford a motel, so went to the back of the park, throwed my saddle on the saddle blanket (on it's side). Throwed my bedroll down there too and used the underside of the saddle for a pillow.
Stuck my Ruger single six between the bedroll and the saddle blanket.
About 3AM, the Rangers showed up and sed I couldn't camp there. I sed I'd git right then. Older Ranger come from the back of my car and sed "You from Wyoming?"
Yuup..
He sed "well I reckon it won't hurt none if you stay here, but you better be gone by daylight."
Yessir, I'll be gone.
Them Rangers come back by at daylight as I was gatherin' up my gear and that Ruger showed up when I rolled up my bedroll. Younger feller sez, "Is that a gun?"
I said "Yup, I was told a feller could git robbed if he got stalled along the Interstate and such so I just kept it handy."
I figgered I was up the crick for sure, but the old feller sed "Keep that thing outta sight, you cain't be havin' a gun in National Parks.
Well I throwed my gear in the car and was set to go. Only problem was, the battery was dead.
Well, them fellers give me a push to get my car started and sent me on my way.
Always kinda favored them Rangers ever since.
I was headed back to work for the summer on a dude ranch in New York.
I had read about Gettysburg for years and stopped off to take a tour.
When I got done roamin' around it was near dark.
Couldn't afford a motel, so went to the back of the park, throwed my saddle on the saddle blanket (on it's side). Throwed my bedroll down there too and used the underside of the saddle for a pillow.
Stuck my Ruger single six between the bedroll and the saddle blanket.
About 3AM, the Rangers showed up and sed I couldn't camp there. I sed I'd git right then. Older Ranger come from the back of my car and sed "You from Wyoming?"
Yuup..
He sed "well I reckon it won't hurt none if you stay here, but you better be gone by daylight."
Yessir, I'll be gone.
Them Rangers come back by at daylight as I was gatherin' up my gear and that Ruger showed up when I rolled up my bedroll. Younger feller sez, "Is that a gun?"
I said "Yup, I was told a feller could git robbed if he got stalled along the Interstate and such so I just kept it handy."
I figgered I was up the crick for sure, but the old feller sed "Keep that thing outta sight, you cain't be havin' a gun in National Parks.
Well I throwed my gear in the car and was set to go. Only problem was, the battery was dead.
Well, them fellers give me a push to get my car started and sent me on my way.
Always kinda favored them Rangers ever since.
shiftyer1
Member
If you google cowboy bedrolls you'll find many still being made today. They ain't cheap though.
Frank V
Member
Iggy
I'm still laughing at the mental picture of you & that pony riding off into that batch of snakes.
I'll bet he is still peeved at you for doing that to him!!!
Frank
I'm still laughing at the mental picture of you & that pony riding off into that batch of snakes.
I'll bet he is still peeved at you for doing that to him!!!Frank
Times are different today. I'm not sure you could have gotten away with that today. Kinda makes me sad.
Vern Humphrey
Member
Actually, it is now legal to carry a gun in a Federal Park. But nowadays they'd probably run you in for camping illegally.
Hollywood has provided us with some great entertainment, but at the expense of sometimes-gross distortion of history. What they portray is more “what they wish had happened,” rather then what really did. This often carries over into costumes, weapons, gun leather rigs, and methods of carry.
For those that are more interested in reality rather then fantasy, I suggest the following books that offer excellent photographs – often in full color – of remaining examples of both weapons and holsters that still remain from the 19th and early 20th centuries. These are supplemented with pictures that show armed individuals that were taken at the time.
Packing Leather – Gunleather of the Frontier West, by Richard C. Rattenbury.
The Taming of the West – Age of the Gunfighter, by Joseph G. Rosa.
The Peacekeepers, by R.L. Wilson.
You will find the difference between “real” and “reel” is well illustrated.
For those that are more interested in reality rather then fantasy, I suggest the following books that offer excellent photographs – often in full color – of remaining examples of both weapons and holsters that still remain from the 19th and early 20th centuries. These are supplemented with pictures that show armed individuals that were taken at the time.
Packing Leather – Gunleather of the Frontier West, by Richard C. Rattenbury.
The Taming of the West – Age of the Gunfighter, by Joseph G. Rosa.
The Peacekeepers, by R.L. Wilson.
You will find the difference between “real” and “reel” is well illustrated.
Doghandler
Member
How did you carry your gun back in the old west, Old Fluff? 
Sorry, I couldn't resist. Thanks for the titles.
Sorry, I couldn't resist.
Thanks for the titles.Does you mean during the fur trader/flintlock era, or the pre-revolver cap & ball times, or after Sammy Colt came out with his percussion revolvers, or the later metallic cartridge six-shooters, or when that Browning guy teamed up with Colt's to make box magazine pistols????
And don't ask me about my first stone axe.
Does you mean during the fur trader/flintlock era, or the pre-revolver cap & ball times, or after Sammy Colt came out with his percussion revolvers, or the later metallic cartridge six-shooters, or when that Browning guy teamed up with Colt's to make box magazine pistols????
And don't ask me about my first stone axe.
We're interested in hearing all of it.
S.B.
Member
What with longer barrels wouldn't cross draw or shoulder holsters be prudent? From experience, I can tell you strong side isn't comfortable with longer barreled handguns.
Steve
Steve
mje
Member
Lots of great stuff in this thread, thanks. I would guess that long guns were much more common that handguns on the frontier. If you were a settler, your first use for a long gun would be for gathering food, and then for protection, and a rifle or shotgun would be better for both purposes. I'm happy to be proved wrong, of course.
Footnote on that picture of Billy the Kid: It's not "reversed"- it was shot that way. All of the early photographic processes were direct positive processes- there was no intermediate negative. The plate put into the camera became the final photo. Thus all Daguerreotypes, tintypes, ambrotypes and such will all produce a reversed image.
Footnote on that picture of Billy the Kid: It's not "reversed"- it was shot that way. All of the early photographic processes were direct positive processes- there was no intermediate negative. The plate put into the camera became the final photo. Thus all Daguerreotypes, tintypes, ambrotypes and such will all produce a reversed image.
AJumbo
Member
What usually happens when goes looking for "what really happened back in the day" is that you'll find what you're looking for. Fur trade re-enactors used to (and may still) be divided on the subject of whether mountain men beards; a close look at the period artwork of Catlin, Miller, Bodmer and others reveals that some trappers wore beards, and some didn't. Bottom line, some folks carried, and some didn't. Conditions in some regions were dangerous enough to require a man to carry every day, and some regions just weren't all that rough. Particular styles of holster were common in some places, and virtually unknown in others.
It seems like the original post asked about modes of carry, and whether crossdraw and shoulder rigs were common. Photographic evidence seems to support crossdraw as a fairly popular option; I don't know that I've even seen a period photo of a shoulder rig being worn. That may be because the crossdraw rig was hidden under a suitcoat, but we'll never know for sure. Not many original shoulder rigs seem to have survived the years, but belt rigs are pretty common.
It seems like the original post asked about modes of carry, and whether crossdraw and shoulder rigs were common. Photographic evidence seems to support crossdraw as a fairly popular option; I don't know that I've even seen a period photo of a shoulder rig being worn. That may be because the crossdraw rig was hidden under a suitcoat, but we'll never know for sure. Not many original shoulder rigs seem to have survived the years, but belt rigs are pretty common.
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