Guns for a Modern Cowboy

[W Turner]

mustanger98- The .30-30 AI is somewhat of a wildcat cartridge that was developed by PO Ackley. It uses .30-30 cases that are fire-formed in the new chamber and increases the upper limit of the .30-30 by about a hundred yards or so. The good thing about this chambering is that you can still shoot regular .30-30 ammo in it as well.

As far as hunting with FMJ goes, you're right, in some states it is illegal to hunt with FMJ, but if you are shooting at a jackrabbit or similar small table fare, it makes a lot more sense to use FMJ that doesn't expand that it does to use an expanding JHP that is going to ruin a lot more meat. Besides, it would probably be used for targets of opportunity rather than for hard-core hunting.

Oh, and I would be using this set-up if I was a cowboy out west where there are real ranches. In Alabama, you see a lot more wannabe cowboys (goat ropers) that would be scared to death to even be on a horse than anything else. Around here a "ranch" is a single-wide, a couple of cows, a couple of goats and a old swaybacked mare that you keep in the yard just so you can justify the $800 you have tied up in PBRA gear, Wrangler jeans, tombstone belt-buckles, Justin Ropers and tin spurs. Oh, and don't forget the $200 duster for wearing to the Wal-Mart on friday nights.
W

 

[20cows]

Am I a Modern Cowboy?

Probably not. I'm a full-time school teacher and a part-time rancher. If I'm just coming out to check the stock, I usually just have my ccw, a Kimber 1911. If I'm going out to do much more than that and I had to change out of my school clothes any way, I usually get the Uberti .45 Colt. (No, I don't carry at school, but I remedy that as soon as I get home.)

I carry the .45 Colt in a home-made loop holster high and tight so it is out of the way for nearly everything I need to do. On the rare occasion it gets in the way I put it in the truck, not far off. I usually only carry a rifle regularly during deer season, an Arisaka 99 rechambered in 7.7-06. I've taken deer out to 276 yds with it. Not bad for a minimumly sporterized Japanese servce rifle made late in the war (shortened the barrel, cut the stock and added a scope and thumb safety).

 

[Dwayne Russell]

Modern Day Cowboy

My personal packing iron when I head for the backcountry with my horses is a .500 Linebaugh made by John Linebaugh, a custom knife by Dennis Friedly, all wrapped up in Keith Seidel Leather. All of these guys are located in Cody, WY and they make incredible stuff. But then you be the judge.





Dwayne

 

[mountain_cowboy]

I've always tried to have a good Marlin lever gun to pair up with each of my Rugers. My newest set is this Acusport Bisley with laminate stocks and the warning removed and a Marlin 1894SS LTD, both in .44mag/spcl. The Marlin is #26 of a limited run of 351 made for Davidson's.

 

[another okie]

My wife's family are full-time ranchers here in Oklahoma. On horseback they almost never have a gun. In one truck they keep a .30-.30, in the other a Ruger mini-14, both basically for coyotes. On very rare occasions I have known one of them to have a .357 revolver in the truck. When they ranched in the mountains they usually kept bolt action rifles around with scopes for deer and elk.

 

[ball3006]

Not many of the Cowboys in Dallas....

own guns............most are convicted felons.............chris3

 

[engineer151515]

This is it for me.
.375 Ruger & Winchester

Common ammo: .357 / .38spl

 

[shane justice]

No better rifle...

No better rifle...for the Cowboy...now...then or tomorrow....

Shiloh Sharps.Reach out and touch someone....

http://www.shilohrifle.com/images/business1874.jpg

or even...

http://www.shilohrifle.com/images/quigley1874.jpg

or maybe....

http://www.shilohrifle.com/images/sadlerifle1874.jpg

 

[middy]

From what the real cowboys I know carry, the most popular seem to be:

Marlin .30-30
.357 revolver of any kind
.22mag revolver (for dispatching wild hogs in the traps)

.22mag bolt-action
.223 mini-14
.243 bolt-action
These 3 are for running down coyotes

Rem 870 (mostly for shooting clay out by the pond )

 

[jerkface11]

An SKS and a GP100 in .357.

 

[TexasRifleman]

Well considering back then the Pacemaker was the arm of the day, and the Peacemaker was generally state of the art, you'd suspect the modern day Cowboy to do the same thing.

He'd prolly carry a Glock or Sig in .40S&W and an AR15.

He carried the lever action because it was state of the art too, not because it was cool.

 

[kentucky_smith]

Cattle Farmer in Kentucky.

Dad
Handgun: never, .22 in the house, somewhere.
Rifle: M70 Winchester in .243. Coyotes and Deer
Because that's what he has.


Me.
Handgun: CZ 40b and RIA .45, just because I like handguns. .22 Bearcat for snakes sometimes in summer.

Rifle: Sporter Mauser in .308 or NEF in .223 for coyote.

Vet: Carries in his truck chock full o' stuff, a .45 Colt Peacemaker with 6" barrels. For putting down dying cows. I kid you not. Sits in back door pocket of ext cab Cheby.

 

[yonderway]

Let me try another twist on this. How about if you had access to modern arms and ammo, but everything else was the same as 1890? Still on horseback, towns still few and far between.

The AK47 is the modern cowboy's weapon of choice, under this definition. But what you're describing exists now in sub-saharan africa, afghanistan, and other regions. You look and see, most men are armed with the AK47.

 

[Sam]

Down here the combo is a 357 Blackhawk and an M44. They really like the M44 because they can open the bayonet and jam it into the ground while working on the fence. Second choice on teh rifle is the SKS but it has to have the bayonet.

Sam

 

[f4t9r]

SIG P220 & AR15

 

[wingnutx]

Are you talking about the mythical cowboys chasing down outlaws or the real cowboys shoveling crap and building fences?

What about gay cowboys eating pudding?

 

[mustanger98]

What about gay cowboys eating pudding?

I think that one just got way off topic. Reference to "Brokeback Mountain"?

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.

 

[el44vaquero]

Colt .45 and Winchester 45-70

 

[Dwayne Russell]

I've always tried to have a good Marlin lever gun to pair up with each of my Rugers. . . . .

A man after my own heart! Thanks for posting that great pair. I never thought I would find a suitable backup to my .500 Linebaugh, however my Marlin 1895GS chambered in 45-70 is definitely up to the test. Since this picture was taken I have installed a set of XS Sights ring sights. The ring sights acquire a target very quickly and the 45-70 pretty much does all the rest. I have been giving some thought to maybe getting the Scout Scope mount, has anyone installed one in stainless? This is great package for the mounted horseman and backcountry enthusiast.

Hooray for modern sixguns and levers!

 

[wingnutx]

That was a South Park reference. Sorry

 

[dodge]

I would have to say that my Ruger Blackhawk in .45 Long Colt (5 1/2" barrel) and my Marlin 1895 Guide gun in 45/70 would be my choice. Both of these can be loaded from mild to wild depending on your taste. On the Marlin I have a set of William's WGRS peepsights and on the Blackhawk just the factory setup.

 

[Capt. Charlie]

I guess it depends on where you're at. Right tool for the job and all that. Around here, the only pesky critters are groundhogs and coyotes. Groundhog holes and horses don't mix , so I take 'em out any chance I get. I also have to think of my horse; centerfires are just too loud to fire off of a horse (I don't think they make earmuffs for horses ), and out of just under 200 horses on Faith Ranch, we only have three that are trained to shoot off of. All that said, I usually have a scoped Ruger 10/22 in a scabbard, and my sidearm is a Smith mod. 19 4" in my saddlebags. That's pretty much only for 2-legged pesky critters .

Now if I was in hog or grizzly country, it would undoubtedly be a .45/70 in the scabbard and a Smith mod. 29 on my hip.

 

[assegai]

It somewhat depends on how you get around.

If you use a truck or an ATV, an AR-15 or sks would be nice. A pocket centerfire for bad guys, and an accurate, lightwt .22 pistol would be good. Something like a smith 422, which groups 1.5" or better at 25 yds. It only weighs about 20 ozs, and it's only 7.5" long, and it has great sights and trigger pull. If you didn't leave the gun when you went into town, just disassemble it, hide the parts, and it would be very unlikely to be stolen. Might even take the bolt and its carrier with ya, if it was an AR. With such a setup, you'd have real capability on deer, feral dogs, coyotes, yet you could also quietly and cheaply take rats, skunks, prairie dogs, etc.

 

[rfurtkamp]

The working guys out here that I sell guns to want:

Something cheap that'll hold up so they can sell it to someone else next season if they move on to other work. An awful lot of Ruger stainless used revolvers seem to get sold.

Rifle just doesn't seem to happen for them - I've never had one of the guys ask for them or buy shells. I'm sure some have 'em, but it's not something I hear about.

 

[jtward01]

Well, a few years ago I bought a gun that had belonged to a real, working, modern Texas cowboy. It was a Colt single-action New Frontier in .22LR. He carried it for about 25 years with first two cylinders loaded with snake shot and the next three with high velocity hollowpoints for rabbits to put in the pot. The dealer I bought it from said the guy traded it in on a new Ruger Vaquero in .357 magnum because packs of feral dogs were becoming quite a problem in that area and the rancher felt he needed something with more stopping power than a .22LR.

Now, for my choices, I'd probably go with a K-frame Smith in .357 and a Winchester Model 94 in .30-30 'cause I'd want something effective on deer if I got lucky enough to get a shot.