Who here has one or more cowboy gun originals in minty condition?

[Jim Watson]

No stainless, but they had nickel plate and used it widely.
The Colt Flat Top Target had a drift adjustable rear sight and the S&W New Model #3 Target had a movable rear sight.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

There were no stainless revolvers or adjustable sights or .357, .41, .44 magnums; but there are plenty around a CAS.

What does that have to do with anything? This thread has been about the historical Old West, not Cowboy Action Shooting.

If you read the Single Action Shooting Society rules it makes it clear that Cowboy Action Shooting is just a shooting game using old firearms, or replicas of them, that were in use in the Old West, from 1860 until 1900. It is not and never was meant to be accurate historical re-enactment. I am not going to get into a nit picking argument with you about which guns should or should not be used in CAS, there are plenty of arguments about that on the SASS Wire all the time.

https://forums.sassnet.com/

By the way, it may interest you to know that when Ruger first brought out the stainless version of the Vaquero, it had a matte finish. Ruger soon realized that polished stainless resembled the nickel plating that was common on revolvers during the 1800s. That is why all stainless Vaqueros have a bright, polished finish.

 

[Seedy Character]

Yep, lots out there that went to or try to nitpick everything and talk down to those who don't agree with them.

My Vaquero is the high polished stainless. I prefer the more matte finish on my Single Six and Blackhawks. Again, my preference, not concerned with authenticity.
The problem with most games are those who forget the gun and try to ruin it for them ones trying to have fun.

The 1873 Colt Thunderer I had, made in 1883, us authentic. It was a joy to shot, though, being DA, not approved for CAS. My biggest concern was sold springs, brittle parts and lack of replacement parts. I sold it because I don't keep safe queens. I have them for shooting.

The local match has a Wild Bunch shoot, last month. One shooter, 2nd time to shot with us, was using his Glock 9mm. The local know-it-all complains. The shooter started packing to leave, because his Glock was the only handgun he has brought. I called BS and said he could shoot. A bit of talking and match director said he was welcome to stay and shoot.

 

[Mk VII]

As mentioned earlier, many European (mostly British) shotguns were imported until the McKinley Tariff of 1890 cut the trade off. CG Bonehill, and Clabrough & Johnston are two makes which come to mind.

 

[jmr40]

A lot of real life events happened well into the 20th century. And many of the "old west" movies are actually set in the time frame between 1900 and into the 1920's. Cars, even planes were in use at the time and are featured in many movies. Death Hunt, Big Jake, Monty Walsh, and Legends of the Fall are just some examples.

But while cars existed, not many roads suitable for them were in much of the west. Horses and horse drawn wagons were still used. Much of the rural west didn't have electricity until after WW-2. My grandfather never had a driver's license. He was still hitching 2 mules to a wagon to get around into the 1960's.

The point is don't get hung up on just what we see in movies and the western TV programs. They would have you believe that everyone had a Colt SAA revolver and a Winchester lever gun. The Colt was probably the single most common revolver after the 1870's, but it was far from the only option and probably accounted for less than 1/2 of all revolvers. And DA revolvers as well as semi-autos were in use during that time.

Fill your hands, you sons of guns! Well, maybe not quite that line wording from the Duke.

A little movie trivia. The line as written in the script read " If you fill your hand, you'll meet your maker." Wayne personally marked through that line and wrote his version in the margins.

 

[jmr40]

My point was, a short barreled shotgun is useless for hunting,

Depends on what/where you're hunting. At one time in much of the south cutting a double down to coach gun length to get rid of the choke was a common practice among quail and rabbit hunters. Shots are close, fast and often in thick brush. There is no swinging, you just poke the barrels through an opening in the brush and pull the trigger ASAP. You want a wide pattern to get hits.