Handgun Carry in the Old West

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Lots of what happens in Cowboy Action Shooting (Single Action Shooting Society) isn't authentic, or intended to be. NCOWS (National Congress of Old West Shooters, I think) puts more emphasis on authenticity. SASS allows the '97 Winchester pump, when the old west was mostly over by 1986 - winter of the great die off. (Cattle not cowboys).
 
Well, now this thread has gotten the better of me. I had posted earlier about my great grandfather and his little .32. Now I have found the name of the town was Tolerburg, and apparently was right near Ludlow. So not only did he catch the last days of the west, but he was there for the 1913-14 coal war. Now I'm going to have to do some more digging, and build that little .32 a shadow box!
 
I believe I read where on his way to the Gunfight at the OK Corral, Wyatt Earp carried his pistol in his coat pocket as he did most of the time.
 
Lots of what happens in Cowboy Action Shooting (Single Action Shooting Society) isn't authentic, or intended to be. NCOWS (National Congress of Old West Shooters, I think) puts more emphasis on authenticity. SASS allows the '97 Winchester pump, when the old west was mostly over by 1986 - winter of the great die off. (Cattle not cowboys).

Yes and NCOWS is the group I shoot with. Many of the guns and dress in SASS and other events are not allowed in NCOWS but they are still fun and speed isn't their main trust in shooting but accuracy as it was then. They are more about reenactment than a speed shooting event. Their period is from the end of the Civil War till 1899 and you must fit your persona also. You can't be a guy from 1873 and use a 1892 rifle for example at least in the hire levels of competition. Now they also have some lower classes from 2 gun up such as working cowboy which would be a rifle and one pistol. They are looking at some other classes this year as well, such as town tamer (2 pistol, 1 rifle) and a sod buster class (shot gun, single pistol class) all keeping in mind the ability to get into it to start without the heavy expenses. Also some modifications allowed in SASS are not allowed in NCOWS to your guns.
 
I love this thread and am learning from it.

We own horses but I am certainly no cowboy. Actually my wife and daughter are the horse people in the family. I gave up trying to communicate with a horse years ago and stick to Harleys now. Hydraulic brakes, twist throttles and all that.

I have first hand experience so I know horse people love their animals, no offense intended but those critters have survived eons.. by running away.


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So why does Cowboy Action Shooting require not one, but two, six-guns if this wasn't authentic? Just curious.

Because its more fun to shoot two pistols than one! Plain and simple.

I don't think it has been mentioned here yet, but SASS is not historical re-enactment. It is a fantasy shooting sport based on what a lot of us remember from TV and the movie theater when we were kids. There ain't no thread counters allowed in SASS. There is all kinds of leeway allowed for costumes and everything else. If I wanted to be in a historical re-enactment group I would join my local Minuteman militia (I live in Massachusetts).

When SASS first started in the 1980s, it was a one pistol sport. Pretty soon they discovered it was just more fun to shoot more bullets. So two pistols became the norm.

Their period is from the end of the Civil War till 1899 and you must fit your persona also. You can't be a guy from 1873 and use a 1892 rifle for example at least in the hire levels of competition.

Huh? With all due respect, have you ever been to a SASS match? Nobody has a 'persona'. Its in the handbook, but in practice, nobody does it. So there is no such thing as being a guy from 1873 with a 1892. I think what you are talking about is some of the categories like Classic Cowboy/Cowgirl or B Western. The rules for Classic are no rifles developed later than 1873. Calibers must be at least .40 and shotgun must be either a hammered double or a lever action (Winchester 1887). The idea is to be using firearms typical of the early period of the Old West. But nobody has a persona, it is just based on the firearms. B Western takes the opposite viewpoint. It is based on the B Westerns that were made in the 40s and 50s. Since 1892 rifles were so prevalent in the old oat burners, that is the preferred rifle for B Western. Nothing to do with historical accuracy, it is a reflection of the movies. When the Burgess rifle came out a couple of years ago the category was stretched back to 1880 to allow it to be used. Holsters are required to be Buscadero type, as a reflection of those silly holsters in most of the old movies. Clothing and boots have to be fancy, just like Hoppy and Roy used to wear.

Nothing at all about this stuff being at the higher levels of competition. If the match is run by SASS rules, even a local monthly match must follow these rules. As far as the single pistol categories are concerned, that is often done on an informal basis at the local level, but there are no official single pistol categories in SASS.
 
Having spent a good bit of time in the saddle and moving livestock around before my current job, I had occasion to keep a sidearm handy, but quickly discovered that more often than not it got in the way or would be damaged by rough activity. I have yet to see a firearm that benefited by being drug through heavy mud and brush, scraped up on rocks, rubbed against wire fences, and exposed to torrents of rain in the winter and clouds of fine dust in the summer. The best solution was to have a rifle carried in a protective scabbard. Although some practice the sport of mounted shooting, in actuality it is a poor practice to use live, real bullets in a field situation. Having to dismount from your horse gives the better (my opinion) option of pulling that flat-sided lever gun for the task.
 
I don't think Calvary holsters were worn cross draw I'm pretty sure they carried strong side butt forward, this had to do with carrying the saber as well
And why do you think they were carried butt forward? So that they could be drawn with either hand. So if your holster is on the right side, butt forward and you draw with your left hand, is that not a "cross draw"? Lots of military flap holsters became Mexican loop holsters.
 
Driftwood I was speaking of NCOWS not SASS, sorry for the misunderstanding. I also said at the highest levels of the NCOWS game which I'm a long way from has the persona requirements. I might add I've never been involved with a SASS event at all but not that I wouldn't it is just I'm closer to a NCOWS events so have gone with them.
 
Cross draw when carrying one handgun implies opposite side, or most would be on the left that's all I was trying to say
 
So why does Cowboy Action Shooting require not one, but two, six-guns if this wasn't authentic? Just curious.

I asked that same question over on the SASS forum a couple of years ago, and you would have thought I was child molester applying for a job at a daycare!:D

I've found their rules to be hit and miss with historical accuracy, they don't allow rubber soled boots, but you can shoot a 1911 or a lever shotgun. I also commented that in the stack of old Tin Types of my relatives, no one had 2 revolvers, most didn't have a gun rig, and all had a single shot shotgun!

LD
 
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SASS also has a B Western Class based on the movies. NCOWS has several 2 gun classes as well as 4 gun and though not a 100% period correct it is close. Either way however both as well as other groups like this can really be fun. I know I enjoyed my first season with NCOWS, but miss this season opener due to very bad weather.
 
Ol Splithoof there has obviously pulled some wet saddle blankets off some good ol ponies and spliced a few fences.

He learned what I and a lot of other cowhands learned about packin' a side arm. It's tough on the packer and worse on the gun.
 
SASS also has a B Western Class based on the movies. NCOWS has several 2 gun classes as well as 4 gun and though not a 100% period correct it is close. Either way however both as well as other groups like this can really be fun. I know I enjoyed my first season with NCOWS, but miss this season opener due to very bad weather.

Guess I should clarify my comment a bit. I'm in no way slamming SASS, but with all their categories of shooting, adding a single gun category would be great for new shooters or people on a tight budget. Seems like a great way to introduce people to the sport!

LD
 
With so many Colt SAA sold, were they mostly kept in the homes as it seems these were not worn as much as this thread indicates?
 
byron, I have a feeling that most people in the world who pack a gun are actually part-time packers, unless they carry something small and convenient. I don't get the feeling that this has changed over time. They carry it when they need it, when they perceive that they might need it, or when someone tells them they might need it.

So. If hunting or shooting or looking for trouble, they'll likely carry something bigger. Otherwise, most are probably like most today - what is S&W's most popular category of firearm today? The Airweight J-frame, mostly the 642. What guns get sold most? What are the hottest commodities? The little .380 pistols.

Their analogues, the little S&W revolvers of the day, the little Bulldogs and so forth, are probably guns that got carried more by the every day folks than the larger revolvers. Not to say that they didn't carry the big guns, but I can tell you - my homesteading ancestors in the West had one shotgun in the family. They were poor, they were farmers, and weren't in law enforcement or criminal activity. That shotgun was all they needed, so that's all they paid for, so that's all they had. And they carried it around when travelling, or when they needed to kill something.

In fact, there's a story about a 2 barrelled shotgun that they had, that one side's lock stopped working, but they kept using it for years until the other side broke.

Then, they traded a guy out of another cheap used shotgun. They NEEDED one, so they figured out how to get one, but they didn't need two, or a revolver or anything of the sort.
 
Guess I should clarify my comment a bit. I'm in no way slamming SASS, but with all their categories of shooting, adding a single gun category would be great for new shooters or people on a tight budget. Seems like a great way to introduce people to the sport!

LD

Didn't think you did LD and I also agree they should have a 1 gun class at least for people interested in trying it. Cap and Ball is also fairly inexpensive way to start also compared to a SAA. Now I do know at least with our group for fact and have heard the same about other forms of Cowboy Action shooting groups they will gladly loan equipment if needed especially to new participants. We have had people come out just to watch and for some reason they seem to wind up giving it a try often with borrowed guns.
 
I have nothing to contribute to this thread but just want to say THANKS! to all that have. Very interesting, informative, entertaining and thought provoking reading.
It's clear there are many informed, experienced, intelligent folks here. :)
 
My grandfather was born in 1895. We still have his father's (my great-grandfather's) journals when he worked cattle after the Civil War (War of Northern Aggression). He talked about firearms a few times only, but it was mostly about conduct. A few that stuck in my mind are:

Open carry was acceptable out of town limits where you had to have ready access to defend cattle. If you went to town, you concealed your arms if you were a gentleman. Very few people carried in town. Usually it was people arriving to get a hotel room or just leaving town. If they were armed in town beyond those events, it was usually a derringer or .32 or .36 caliber pocket revolver.

Pistols were mostly used to shoot snakes to protect your cattle or to put down injured cattle or horses. Handguns were fairly rare and less than half the guys he worked with ever owned one.
 
I asked that same question over on the SASS forum a couple of years ago, and you would have thought I was child molester applying for a job at a daycare!:D

I've found their rules to be hit and miss with historical accuracy, they don't allow rubber soled boots, but you can shoot a 1911 or a lever shotgun. I also commented that in the stack of old Tin Types of my relatives, no one had 2 revolvers, most didn't have a gun rig, and all had a single shot shotgun!

LD


Isn't the 1911 stuff based on the Wild Bunch movie?
I remember seeing a leather rig before for the 1911 called the Wild Bunch.
But, I have no idea about the history of it or if it's even accurate at all.
 
Sabbath Wolf if I'm correct they have a class in SASS called the Wild Bunch that shoots 1911 and pump shot guns and perhaps same era rifle though I'm not up on all the rules of SASS. No such thing in NCOWS which I do shot however their is even a Zoot Suit Group that has started up from what I've read based on that period of time. It seems if you can pick a period in history there is some group out there supporting it which to me is great fun as long as one can afford the various groups.
 
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