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Its 1850,


Slowhand Bob, 24229

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As a famed pistolero, you have just been hired as town marshal for a troubled California city, what ya toting? With the roaming gangs of trouble makers taking to the streets do you want the powerful but heavy Dragoons or a quick handling pair of the small '49 Model Colts? I have read that the 49 was Colts most sold model through the years, did those old timers actually trust their lives to the little .32 caliber that often?

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Pretty good but lets remember that we are years ahead of anything resembling repeaters, other than Colts new revolvers. The city fathers hired me, the baddest of the bad, cause these bad guys are not interested in that old movie line about who gets my first two shots from my blah blah blah. As impressive as a double shot gun is, even the muzzle loaders, its limited firepower just might be what made the pistoleros live to be the famous ones. Alright, ya fired your first two pard, what ya got now?

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Um, how about this concept? One Model 1839 Colt Revolving shotgun (6 shot) 16 gauge to go with my one Third Model 44 Dragoon. I love a good compromise.

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Since ya asked about REVOLVERS...& I ain't got any Dragoons, I s'pose THESE'll have to do.

;)

 

Yup. One on the belt, a '49 in the boot and a Deringer in the vest pocket

And a 12 ga in the hand.

I like back ups. :lol:

 

Oh, and a knife. ;)

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Since ya asked about REVOLVERS...& I ain't got any Dragoons, I s'pose THESE'll have to do.

;)

I have a couple of those Walkers Palewolf fine shooting guns they are

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Yup. One on the belt, a '49 in the boot and a Deringer in the vest pocket

And a 12 ga in the hand.

I like back ups. :lol:

 

Oh, and a knife. ;)

 

 

...or two or three.

 

;)

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PW, I see that you like big iron and sharp steel. When we read about those old west shoot outs we frequently find one or two that ended with big blades. I have a Uberti Walker and would like to pair it up with a second model Dragoon one day but tend to be a little cash challenged at the moment.

 

There is a photo in one of my leather books of a pair of '49s in one of the gamiest California Slim Jim rigs I ever saw, and right out of early California. I need to scan that photo so it can be linked to, it is a very interesting rig and looks almost like something made for SASS competition! Its lines are very similar to the recent offerings from several well known makers who have been gaming up the old SJ style some.

 

Thanks to Wild Bill we have given the '51 its share of recognition but those other pre-war revolvers do not seem to have gained the recognition as gunfighter weapons. Josey Wells not withstanding, the early 44s were real saddle pistols but how about those little 32s, would a serious pistolero depend on them or were those early gunfighters caliber conscious also? I really enjoyed the early California articles that have recently appeared in the Chronical, they remind us that the Wild West actually started well before the CW.

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...or two or three.

 

;)

 

Yup. I would spend most of my time in front of the jail, feet propped up on the hitching rail, whittling, while the deppities rounded up the riff-raff. :lol:

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What's the story about the pistol armed LEO being asked by a woman if he was expecting trouble and he answered, "No, If I was expecting trouble I would be carrying my shotgun"?

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...or two or three.

 

;)

 

 

Numbering from the top: #1 and #6 will do. Only got 2 hands and if it gets down to knives; more would be extra weight to slow ya down. ;)

Beautiful knives, Palewolf.

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I'm wondering why you picked 1850?

 

The first cattle drives were in the mid-1860s and later.

 

The term "cowboy" was used as early as the 1700's, but most historians talk of the cowboy period as following the Civil War/War Between the States.

 

The war brought about a major change in letting loose some well trained robbers, killers etc that helped to make the West even wilder than it was.

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I'm wondering why you picked 1850?

 

The first cattle drives were in the mid-1860s and later.

 

The term "cowboy" was used as early as the 1700's, but most historians talk of the cowboy period as following the Civil War/War Between the States.

 

The war brought about a major change in letting loose some well trained robbers, killers etc that helped to make the West even wilder than it was.

 

Because if he said 1851, everybody would pick a Navy and the thread would be boring. :lol:

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Guest Tennessee Stud, SASS# 43634 Life

...or two or three.

 

;)

 

 

WHOA!! You son of a gun, you!

 

Man O' Man... I do love fine blades... I surely do.

 

Seems like my whole life... always been hand-distance from iron... and inches from steel.

 

That picture sure do make a fella gasp. Just pure envy... I reckon.

 

ts

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Guest Tennessee Stud, SASS# 43634 Life

Yup. I would spend most of my time in front of the jail, feet propped up on the hitching rail, whittling, while the deppities rounded up the riff-raff. :lol:

 

 

Hell... just a re-hash of history. Chief... weren't that whatcha did whilst down in Floorda?

 

hehehe

 

ts

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Hope you don't fall in the river.......

 

If I do, I figger I can unbuckle a gunbelt 'bout as fast as them other fellas can shuck a belt load of OO buck.

;)

 

WHOA!! You son of a gun, you!

 

Man O' Man... I do love fine blades... I surely do.

 

Seems like my whole life... always been hand-distance from iron... and inches from steel.

 

That picture sure do make a fella gasp. Just pure envy... I reckon.

 

ts

 

Thank ya, TS,

Those are a few of my Bromley bowies.

;)

 

Kinda the same way here...try to keep one, t'other or both close at hand.

:ph34r:

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Hell... just a re-hash of history. Chief... weren't that whatcha did whilst down in Floorda?

 

hehehe

 

ts

 

Eggsackly!

Except it was a computer desk instead of a hitchin rail. ;)

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Howdy!

I was reading Horace Bells' "Reminiscences of a Ranger; Early times in S. California" recently. He worked the California gold fields from 1850-'52, then lived from 1852 to 1856 in Los Angeles. His book is more an anecdontal compilation than a linear history, but he does describe on several occasions the gear of the local banditry that called the area home. Wearing Colt pistols (even pairs) and large knives appeared to be common, and I get the feeling he was referring to Colt dragoons as opposed to '51s, as they seemed to be quite large and effective pistols from his description of their use.

About 20,000 dragoons were made from 1848-1860, when they were replaced by the '60 Army model.

Frankly, having fired both, I'd much prefer to have a dragoon in 44, coming up to 38 spec +P in stopping power (and maybe a bit more), than a '51 in 36, approximating a 380, for self defense, even with the added weight. (One could always club their advisary into submission with it when it was empty, as well!)

 

As for the smaller caliber pistols like the '49; yes, many were made and sold, but I suspect they were used as pocket pistols, much like Iver-Johnson pistols in 32 and 38 caliber 50-60 years latter.

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...

(One could always club their advisary into submission with it when it was empty, as well!)

 

...

 

;)

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwnEtskIq-c

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I put a link to the guns and holsters from 'PACKING IRON' below. The revolvers are a pair of Colts '49 models with the barls shortened while the holsters are a really nice pair of early gun fighting style Slim Jims. Except for the fact that .32cal is not legal in Frontiersman I can assure you that these are very well designed and capable of holding their own against most of our modern offerings. Note that unlike many old Slim Jims, these guns set high in the holster and would clear leather very quickly. Question is, how many .32 round balls could a pard absorb while trying to get his monster pistol out? At what caliber and weight ratio would you rather leave the knife at home and carry an extra pistol for that weight? Today as in old, would you want a blade or a little .25 auto in your pocket to back up the big pistol?

 

http://home.comcast.net/~gakracker/site/?/home/&PHPSESSID=f4737f754b0d492132a6f8fb8b121de6

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Loved the idea of the pinfires, but you gotta remember, what we call the 51 Navy actually went into production in 1850. There were about 2500 made that year. Theoretically they would at least have been a possibility. Still not sure that the pinfires wouldn't have been the way to go.

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RL Wilson's books on Colts state that th 1849 was the most popular Colt revolver sold until the 1873 SAA. The Patterson (1836), Walker (1844) and Dragoons were all out before then, as well as many other single-shots and pepperboxes. The .31 caliber C&B was equal to our .22 LR but a shot person knew that might suffer from infection and die. The slow moving bullets would carry cloth from a shot into a wound and cause an infection.

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I'm wondering why you picked 1850?

 

The first cattle drives were in the mid-1860s and later.

 

The term "cowboy" was used as early as the 1700's, but most historians talk of the cowboy period as following the Civil War/War Between the States.

 

The war brought about a major change in letting loose some well trained robbers, killers etc that helped to make the West even wilder than it was.

 

 

Actually the first cattle drives from Texas were much earlier: http://www.texasalmanac.com/topics/agriculture/cattle-drives-started-earnest-after-civil-war

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Tom, it was much worse than just dirty cloth, think about the rancid Crisco and dirty Ballistol that was bound to travel with the ball. Not to sound to gross but most of them old fellers probably had stuff on their hands while loading up that would make a maggot puke! I have read the opinion many times that Civil War wounded were far more likely to die from infections than from the damage of the actual injury. Problem is that the fight will still be in them fer a spell after being shot and unlike so many of our modern bad guys, I do not think those of yesteryear fainted when they saw blood. I will try and get a couple of shots of my old models today and share.

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Wouldn't one consideration for choice of sidearm be the availability of said items? While there are a lot of reproduction Walkers today, how available would an original have been in 1850? They didn't make all that many of them, after all, unlike the .36 models of 1849. For that matter, how available would a Dragoon model have been to the typical 1850s LEO?

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