Marshal Dillon's Revolver

[Savvy Jack SASS#76698]

Saw an episode last night. Season 9 episode 8 (I think) where is was sick and crashed out in a cabin. Woke up and a man was dead in the room. Looks like he shot him but did not remember doing it. Anyhow, he went to the man, looked at his own revolver and removed two empty shots... obviously tapered cases like the 44-40 but looked to be 38-40 with a hard taper...more apparent than a 44-40.

[Bad Hand]

Might have been the standard 5 in 1 blanks. http://www.perfectshotllc.com/servlet/-str...1-blanks/Detail

[Savvy Jack SASS#76698]

Might have been the standard 5 in 1 blanks. http://www.perfectshotllc.com/servlet/-str...1-blanks/Detail

 

Did not think of that...could be!

[Wolfgang, SASS #53480]

Did not think of that...could be!

 

Yep . . . 5 in 1 blanks . . . They are sized like a .38-40 plus the crimp at the end so that they'll feed in rifles.

[Silver Jack Hammer, SASS #56398]

It's a real Colt's, saw it on display. Let me check my records. Seems it was a .45 with real stag grips. I grew up thinking it was a Great Western but it's a real Colt.

[Mosey West]

Somewhere I've read that his revolver was a 38/40 and that it was one of the original Great Westerns. Can't remember where I got the information though.

 

Mosey West

[Silver Jack Hammer, SASS #56398]

It's a .45.

[Silver Jack Hammer, SASS #56398]

To film Gunsmoke, James Arness used Colt serial number 215,596, a First Gen manufactured in 1901.

[Mosey West]

I stand corrected. I just googled it up and it was a colt 1873 single action 45 caliber with a71/2" barrel. The company that rented out the cowboy guns went out of business around 1990. Matts colt with holster

sold for $15,000. It was made in 1895.

 

Mosey West

[Marshal Dan Troop 70448]

Jack, I also seen that episode and was curious on both the pistol and empty cartridges, thinking they may have used actual empties. I freezed a frame and then zoomed in on the pistol and empties. As was stated earlier on this post, Yes both were 5 in 1 blanks. Zooming in gave more detail of the casings. Here's a pic of a fired 5 in 1 that was given to me by the late Moe Hunt, who got several from Chuck Connors, gives you an idea how they looked. MT

By the way, you going to come shoot with us soon?

 

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z72/mar...op/PICT1046.jpg

[Rye Miles #13621]

A pard of mine said he was at the Cowboy Museum in Oklahoma and saw Dillon's gun and it was a Great Western. He's a cowboy shooter and he saw it with his own eyes! Maybe Arness owned a Colt but he used a Great Western in the series according to my pard.

[Marshal Dan Troop 70448]

A pard of mine said he was at the Cowboy Museum in Oklahoma and saw Dillon's gun and it was a Great Western. He's a cowboy shooter and he saw it with his own eyes! Maybe Arness owned a Colt but he used a Great Western in the series according to my pard.

Contrary what many have said, and I myself believed for decades that Dillons gun was a Great Western. James Arness in an interview and his book states that it was a Colt. Kinda Urban Legend. MT

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z72/marshaltroop/jag.jpg

[Rye Miles #13621]

Contrary what many have said, and I myself believed for decades that Dillons gun was a Great Western. James Arness in an interview and his book states that it was a Colt. Kinda Urban Legend. MT

 

I've read that interview also but the fact remains that a Great Western is in the Cowboy Museum in Oklahoma. Any Okie pards out there???????? Or someone that's been to the CM in Oklahoma???

[Marshal Dan Troop 70448]

http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z72/marshaltroop/jag.jpg

[Silver Jack Hammer, SASS #56398]

I was at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center for the 2003 Colt show, James Arness' Colt serial number 215,596 was on display there, I took a picture of it. In the same show on display was a Colt belonging to William F. Cody. They had Hoss' and Little Joes Colts from Bonanza, and these two Colts were beat badly like movie props. Also Gary Cooper's person Colt SAA on display.

 

It sounds like SASS needs to inquire of these two museums and determine if one of them is not telling us the truth.

 

Or, maybe both guns were used.

 

I have spoken by phone to a Hollywood movie prop provider, he said guns are placed in the stars hands for the filming and when they go empty another gun is placed in their hands, the directors do not tollerate standing around time while guns are reloaded during filming. Sean Connery in one of his James Bonds movies can be seen firing with many different guns in his hand in one scene.

[Rye Miles #13621]

Okay I hafta eat some crow now, (preferably roasted) I talked to my pard about the Great Western in Oklahoma and he informed me it was the gun used in the Shootist by John Wayne!!!

 

Apparently I was confused which happens now and then. My apologies to ya'll, Rye

[GunClick Rick]

I could have took him with one of these.

 

[Sgt. C.J. Sabre, SASS #46770]

Or, maybe both guns were used.

 

I have spoken by phone to a Hollywood movie prop provider, he said guns are placed in the stars hands for the filming and when they go empty another gun is placed in their hands, the directors do not tollerate standing around time while guns are reloaded during filming. Sean Connery in one of his James Bonds movies can be seen firing with many different guns in his hand in one scene.

 

A little off topic, but when William Shatner was filming "T.J. Hooker", there was a blooper of him running out of ammo in a gunfight, calling out "Gun!", and a prop guy popping out of a nearby dumpster to hand him one.

[Flint McCloud 3103L]

Now I will certainly bow to the input and research put forth here... I will say this... On the History Channel some years ago (don't remember how long OR the name of the show), they said the Matt Dillon's gun was a 7 1/2" Great Western ,45 with fake stag grips... that much I did drag away from the show (have been a Gunsmoke fan in my youth)... One would think that a show of that "caliber" would have gotten it correct... It seems from what I'm reading, they didn't...

 

 

Vaya con Dios

[Wolfgang, SASS #53480]

There are often multiple guns used. A close up gun . . a gun for scenes where it might get dropped, etc. There are numerous '92 big loop winchesters that were indeed used by John Wayne . . . three of them were used by him in Stagecoach alone.

 

Gotta have plenty of guns . . . . so that all the museums can have one when yur famous and dead.

[Savvy Jack SASS#76698]

By the way, you going to come shoot with us soon?

 

I'd love to. I have not shot SASS or even CAS in over two years. I sure do miss it! However, I do shoot in my backyard to keep in shape.

[Savvy Jack SASS#76698]

There are often multiple guns used. A close up gun . . a gun for scenes where it might get dropped, etc. There are numerous '92 big loop winchesters that were indeed used by John Wayne . . . three of them were used by him in Stagecoach alone.

 

Gotta have plenty of guns . . . . so that all the museums can have one when yur famous and dead.

 

I saw a video somewhere about the stag grips. They used plastic ones once and a viewer called in about it. They then removed all plastic grips and stayed with the stag grips...I guess even on the backup/prop guns.

[Marshal Dan Troop 70448]

There are often multiple guns used. A close up gun . . a gun for scenes where it might get dropped, etc. There are numerous '92 big loop winchesters that were indeed used by John Wayne . . . three of them were used by him in Stagecoach alone.

 

Gotta have plenty of guns . . . . so that all the museums can have one when yur famous and dead.

That is were the matter may rest. Remember Colts weren't made yet, 2nd generation was started in 1956, Gunsmoke premiered in Sept of 1955, and episodes were filmed early of 55. So Colts were from the first generation and were more costly. So as Great Westerns were plenty available, they were probable used as back-ups. Sometimes back-ups were the firearms that were thrown, dropped, kicked or used in fight scenes, (High Chapparal actually had the actors with rubber guns during fight scenes). The Rifleman had a beat up El Tigre which was often just shown in the scabbard, that way if it fell out, the other 2 used for the action parts wouldn't be damaged. It was also used in dropped scenes, or thrown scenes, were the rifle maybe dropped. There are many scenes of Dillons pistol in close-up shots, were the firing pin can be seen, were the Great Western didn't have one.

In the series The Virgian, Colts were originally used, later it can be seen were cheap copies with brass trigger frames were used. In Wagon Train, special made Colts, made to resemble Remingtons, scenes can be seen were the angle pieces attached are slightly bent from abuse.

I'm sure that James Arness, no stranger to firearms, would know what type of firearms he used during the run of the show. As to the stag like grips, they were mostly plastic made. I read in one book were they were easy to replace, but they looked good in the holsters. MT

[Greeenriver SASS #38681]

I watched the movie tonight, Gunsmoke, return to Dodge, and noticed several things. In the opening scene, the guy was reloading a M&H. Clearly showed the loading process. Very nice. Later, in the movie, it showed James A holding a 7&1/2" SA pistol with adjustable sights on it. Looked like a Colt Target model. Another scene showed him with a SA with fixed sights, again, a 7&1/2" model. Clearly, he used different guns in the movie, no reason he wouldn't have used different guns in the series as needed.

 

I don't care what guns he used, it was a decent movie.

 

Greeenriver