I did not choose the Winchester 1897 shotgun, because this thought exercise was made with the benefit of hindsight. Late in my LEO-ing career, my pumping arm and shoulder did not age well, so I transitioned to a Benelli M2 to be my duty shotgun.
Its 1905, You're a Small Town Sheriff, Whatcha Packin?
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MosinT53Hunter
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I would choose:
Browning Auto-5,
Mauser C-96 with stock holster,
Colt 1903
Browning Auto-5,
Mauser C-96 with stock holster,
Colt 1903
J-Bar
Member
.38 Special S&W Model of 1905 on my hip, Remington Model 1900 double 12 gauge and a Winchester Model 94 .30/30 nearby for extenuating circumstances.
Jim Watson
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Sheriff is an elective officer, an administrator, not usually out looking for miscreants like in the movies.
I would have a .38 Safety Hammerless on me at all times, and for when the Boss is the SWAT, a handy rack with gunbelt for New Service .44 and choice of .44 lever action, .30 Army lever action, and pump shotgun.
I doubt many MODELS of 1905 were readily available in year 1905. Winchester made about 7000 1905 Self Loaders in 1905 so I guess it is somewhat possible to get one the first year of production.
I would have a .38 Safety Hammerless on me at all times, and for when the Boss is the SWAT, a handy rack with gunbelt for New Service .44 and choice of .44 lever action, .30 Army lever action, and pump shotgun.
I doubt many MODELS of 1905 were readily available in year 1905. Winchester made about 7000 1905 Self Loaders in 1905 so I guess it is somewhat possible to get one the first year of production.
Howland937
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I'd opt for the swivel mount myself, right in the back of my patrol buggy.
If I'm the same age in 1905 as now, with the same resistance to change, I'd be along the same line as described previously. Lever and revolver in the same caliber, possibly a SxS.
ColoradoMinuteMan
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I agree, but considering the description of “rural” it’s not uncommon to see a sheriff or sparsely populated areas, with small budgets and few deputies to see a sherif involved in day to day matters. Sherif’s also and slots of enemies, so not uncommon then and even today for them to carry a pistol of some sort.
caribou
Member
Id have me a new fangled Luger for duty,
a Colt 1903 .32 for CC,
a Madson 02/04 for Riot control
A 12 gauge A-5 for general, in town stuff,
a Winchester '95 in 30=40 for ranch work.
A pump winchester in .22s, L, LR for dogs , pests and such
a Colt 1903 .32 for CC,
a Madson 02/04 for Riot control
A 12 gauge A-5 for general, in town stuff,
a Winchester '95 in 30=40 for ranch work.
A pump winchester in .22s, L, LR for dogs , pests and such
memtb
Member
Probably a S&W Schofield in 45, a Winchester Model 97 in 12 gage, and a Winchester 94 in 38-55! memtb
JeeperCreeper
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Did I miss it?
No Luger??
I'd have a Luger on my hip. I'm sure it would be real controversial in a small town, especially leading up to The Great War.
Edit: oh, 2 posts above me... Oops
No Luger??
I'd have a Luger on my hip. I'm sure it would be real controversial in a small town, especially leading up to The Great War.
Edit: oh, 2 posts above me... Oops
Kevin Keith
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I guess if I was the sheriff of a rural Texas county in 1905, I’d carry a Colt .45 SAA, a short barrel 12 gauge, and probably a .30-30 1894 in my saddle scabbard. And I’d hire my brother and a couple of my cousins as “deputies” to watch my back. They wouldn’t require much in compensation...just enough to keep them in beans and cornbread, and tequila. Lol
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Speedo66
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A Colt SAA in nickel with ivory grips for some visual appeal.
For the serious work, some serious iron. One of them new Mausers in 7mm that just kicked our boy's butts in the 1898 Spanish-American War, with a scope, and a riot gun like a Winchester 97.
For the serious work, some serious iron. One of them new Mausers in 7mm that just kicked our boy's butts in the 1898 Spanish-American War, with a scope, and a riot gun like a Winchester 97.
MedWheeler
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Jim Watson writes:
CapnMac writes:
Visit the "Today in History" under the "Fallen Officers" tab on odmp.org, and scroll back to the earliest dates (it doesn't matter on what day you do this.) You'll find plenty of old-time sheriffs and marshals that were shot down while anywhere other than behind a desk. My own county had one killed in a street gunfight in 1915.
I think we're being permitted to answer based on what we know now. If we weren't, we'd simply be being asked what those guys actually did carry (true, there were a few who didn't tote a sidearm around much at all. Gaston Boykin comes to mind, although he came along later.)
CapnMac writes:
Visit the "Today in History" under the "Fallen Officers" tab on odmp.org, and scroll back to the earliest dates (it doesn't matter on what day you do this.) You'll find plenty of old-time sheriffs and marshals that were shot down while anywhere other than behind a desk. My own county had one killed in a street gunfight in 1915.
I think we're being permitted to answer based on what we know now. If we weren't, we'd simply be being asked what those guys actually did carry (true, there were a few who didn't tote a sidearm around much at all. Gaston Boykin comes to mind, although he came along later.)
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P5 Guy
Member
Mondragon Rifle, forget the Gatling gun I'll pack a Madsen Machine gun and for sidearms a pair of Browning 1903 FN M1903. For a scattergun a Browning Auto 5.
Lets bound this buying splurge. I looked on the web, found in 1900 a Foot Patrol Officer in NYC made $800 a year. NYC is obviously a much more expensive place than some tumbleweed town in the West, so lets assume a small town Sheriff makes $400 a year, which would be pretty good considering the amount other occupations were making. My reference was the Workers of the Nation, published 1903.
So, what could you afford to buy with a weekly salary of $7.70?
I don't have the Colt peacemaker ads, nor the Winchester ads scanned, but lookie, almost a weeks wages for an Iver Johnson
and then this is half a week
When you have unlimited money, the sky is the limit. When you got nothing, you suck your paws like a bear.
So, what could you afford to buy with a weekly salary of $7.70?
I don't have the Colt peacemaker ads, nor the Winchester ads scanned, but lookie, almost a weeks wages for an Iver Johnson
and then this is half a week
When you have unlimited money, the sky is the limit. When you got nothing, you suck your paws like a bear.
jmorris
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If my flux capacitor was working properly I’d have to go forward a few centuries and see what kind of choices I’d have first.
If I was already there and someone left me anything, I might use what they had left for me. The holster would have been in better shape…
If I was already there and someone left me anything, I might use what they had left for me. The holster would have been in better shape…
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chicharrones
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That's why the part in the OP about receiving an inheritance from a well heeled uncle. Not to mention that I'd hope that the local taxes would pay for at least one quality side arm and one quality long arm.
Choctaw
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In a small town they did and still do. In 1910, the sheriff and his only deputy in my small town walked down to the feed store because they had a disturbing the peace warrant on Mr. Overcash (I farmed for his grandson during high school). Also present at the feed store was Mr. Condron, grandfather of future NFL Hall of Famer and overall all nice guy Dallas Cowboy Bob Lilly. Mr. Overcash decided he wasn't going to jail that day. He and Mr. Condron stepped out on the porch of the store as they watched the lawmen approach. Overcash was armed with a shotgun and Condron a "pistol." Spurlock told Overcash he had a warrant for his arrest to which Overcash replied with a shotgun blast, mortally wounding Spurlock. Condron started firing with a pistol. As Spurlock fell he was able to pull his pistol and shoot Condron in the leg. The deputy fired and begin backing up to get out of the kill zone, ending the fight. Sheriff Spurlock was carried to Doc Hardy's Drug Store (a store my parents would buy in 1966). Sheriff Spurlock expired soon after. Both Condron and Overcash were arrested for the murder of Sheriff Spurlock and would do time in the Texas Department of Corrections. I'm sorry I don't know the exact guns used in this very short gunfight. But it just shows that gunfighting was no more glamorous then than it is now.
Kevin Keith
Member
You know what else? I would grow my little arsenal with whatever I took off an outlaw I blasted or incarcerated! They not getting their guns back and that was before anybody gave a crap about keeping track of firearms you confiscated! Like my teacher said when she caught me with a yo-yo in class, ”That’s mine now!” LOL
chicharrones
needs more ammo
Since this is Sci Fi, what about the Space Aliens and phaser guns, force shields, and proton blasters. And of course, unlimited wealth. Got to ask, why anyone with unlimited wealth is going to be a poorly paid Sheriff in a time without medical or dental, or even, anti biotics!. One little bullet hole and death from infection is real. People died from scratches from rose bushes.
So, to inject some realism, I am looking at my 1902 Sears Catalog.
The cheapest LC Smith Shotgun is $27.75, "3 blade Damascus barrel" for $54.00, and the High Grade $67.50.
The really cheap single barrel shotguns are $4.90 to $5.95, a Remington single barrel is $7.50.
A Marlin 1894 rund $10.00 to $11.25, the largest cartridge available is the 44-40.
A Winchester M1892, $11.20 to $12.50. Same price for an 1894. An M1895 lever action is $17.82 and it is in 30-40 Krag. (30 US Army)
Pistols are expensive. A plain, jane Colt Peacemaker, $13.20 though for $5.35 more, you can buy pearl handle stocks. Mind you, I have set a Sheriff's weekly wage at $7.70, so pearl handle grips are not cheap. The New Service is $15.40. A 44 caliber S&W Frontier double action is $14.50. A S&W double action in 38 something (probably 38 S&W) is $12.75.
Maybe you expect Cowtowns to provide the Sheriff with an arsenal like this,
But don't count on it. These rural entities, if they had a Fire Department, it was volunteer. If the Sheriff got $7.50 a week, that was probably good pay. Do you realize that small towns in 1905, did not have air conditioning, central heating, refrigerators, gas or electric stoves, electric lighting, running water, or hot showers. You would smell like a Billy Goat. Maybe you could live with the smell, but what about no cell phones? Imagine a world without cell phones, what an unbelievable Hell! People today actually have panic attacks if they are separated from their cell phone for more than 15 minutes. It is one thing to dream of going back with more armaments than a period Dreadnought, but, I don't think moderns would actually like living back then.
I would rather go to that future world where Captain Kirk lands on the world of hot, blue, amorous women.
OP
OP
NIGHTLORD40K
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They were expensive back then too.
Wonder how the '99 Savage compared to the '95 Winchester pricewise.
They were expensive back then too.
Wonder how the '99 Savage compared to the '95 Winchester pricewise.
Don't see one in the Sear catalog. People today don't realize the poverty back then, even up to the Depression. My Uncle told me how Grandad lost his farm during the Depression, and mentioned that he only wore shoes in the winter because they could not afford shoes year round. He said he "never had money".
Jim Watson
Member
What? The western movies always show a character getting out of Yuma prison and the warden handing him back his revolver and holster.
In the real world, my agency, TVA Chemical Development, was on a 2500 acre reservation with a lot of fields and woods between the industrial and research installations. Not open for legal hunting but very tempting to a certain type.
The public safety office had a closet full of guns. There were guard guns of various types going back for many years and an assortment of guns, mostly shotguns, seized from hunters. I have the impression that was pretty informal, lose your gun and go home or make trouble and get dragged through Federal court.
In 1901 the '95 Winchester was $17.82, a Savage 99 was $21.50.
When police commissioner there, Teddy Roosevelt standardized on the Colt New Police .32 to replace all the odds and ends the officers were getting by with. $12.10.
But you are right, still today you can see mention on the gunboards of Grandpa's Gun carried on duty in a small department, and it might be anything at all.
There is a fictional but gritty series of detective stories about a New Orleans private eye who had to be content with an Iver Johnson.
An old gunzine article had a comment by an alleged witness to the shooting immortalized in song and story as 'Stagger Lee.' "Twarn't no .44, just a little Owl Head .32."
"Uncle Billy" Tilghman, one of the few prominent western lawmen who seemed not to supplement his pay with gambling and such, was shot by a drunk, reportedly with a .32 holdout gun after Tilghman had seized the gun he had been hoorawing the town with.
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DeepSouth
Random Guy
I’d have to go with a Colts SAA and a Winchester 1887 lever action shotgun
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