Everyone knows the scene…a lone, rugged cowboy trudges across a dirt road with a pistol or two strapped into a beaten leather holster riding low at his waist. The image of a western gunslinger is popular in the media, but did you know that it was predominately created by the media? The Hollywood version of a gunslinger is vastly different from what we know to be historically correct.
During the 19th century, America was expanding and industry was growing along with it. It was a time of much chaos, since law enforcement couldn’t keep up. US marshals and county sheriffs faced the challenge of watching their territories expand beyond reason. There was too much ground to cover and not enough law enforcement officials for the job. Outlaws and bandits could easily outrun law enforcers by crossing state lines, and jails were often corrupt and easy to escape.
Authorities began offering rewards for those who brought in wanted outlaws, dead or alive. This created the rise of the hired gun, or bounty hunter. And because they would receive a reward on a “dead or alive” basis, many bounty hunters would kill their targets to minimize the danger involved. Then they would deliver the body and collect the reward.
Being a sheriff, marshal, or hired gun meant that you were skilled with a firearm and prepared to face hardened criminals. Not everyone was up for the job. This meant that many individuals who had been hired guns were hired as law enforcement officers due to their fearsome reputation. It was common for a town sheriff and a gunslinger to be one in the same, though perhaps at different times throughout their lives. These gunslingers were also hired by businesses and individuals to protect shipments, guard cattle, and any number of additional jobs that required their expertise.
This historic notion of a gunslinger paints a picture quite different from the quick-draw pistol duels you’re used to seeing in front of dusty saloons. In fact, anything resembling a European duel was extremely rare in the American west. The term gunslinger wasn’t even used back then; rather, it was a Hollywood creation that emerged in 1920. Hired guns of the time instead referred to themselves as gunmen, shootists, or pistoleers. And most of these men favored short-barreled shotguns or rifles over pistols, because the first two options offered more accuracy than handheld pistols. As outlaw Wyatt Earp said, “Fast is fine. Accurate is final.”
Tell us about your favorite film, book, or TV series depicting the Wild West. Commenting below will serve as your entry for our May giveaway. But remember to keep it classy; inappropriate comments will be deleted and disqualified. Submit your comment (one comment only please) by May 20, 2018. One winner will be randomly selected on May 21, 2018 to receive a Gunslinger 1 oz silver round from our exclusive Prospector series.
Good luck and aim true!
Love Tombstone, Doc Holiday was my favorite character.
I’m dating myself, but Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly were great in, “High Noon.”
Have Gun Will Travel, classic tv Western with Richard Boone as lead.
“I aim to kill you in 1 minute Ned,or see you hanged in Fort Smith at judge Parker’s convenience.Now what will it be?,Got to be True Grit and the “Great American” John Wayne,although I must admit Eastwood in Josey Wales and Val Kilmer in Tombstone were equally memorable performances.
3:10 to Yuma, the original is fantastic, remake is pretty good too.
Remember The Rifleman? Lucas McCain was my hero when I was a kid. Each episode had suspense and a moral lesson. I loved those old Winchesters.
Back to the future part 3 😉
My favorite Western would be “The Quick and The Dead”. I always thought that was a cool movie.
Randy Guijarro paid $2 for the tintype, for five years he researched Billy the Kidd. On his journey a lot was learned about the outlaw, and his gang. What a return on a two dollar investment. $1M for each year proving the tintype was genuine.
There are so many to choose from, Tombstone, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, True Grit, the list goes on. To choose one though, I’ll go with Rio Bravo, one of John Wayne’s best performances.
The original Magnificent Seven will always be my favorite western. Not to be corney but it kinda represents my own life. Over coming the odds to prevail. I went through a lot growing up, a lot against me, I fought hard to overcome everything to come out on top!
Louis La’mour series of books
I would have to say django due to the absolutely hypnotizing energy between the races and the overwhelmingly relateable conflict and emotion
TRUE GRIT….”By God, she reminds me of me!” ROOSTER COGBURN one of the best John Wayne characters of all his films.
Tombstone!! But i also like a lot The quick and the dead.
The Good The Bad and The Ugly
When you have to shoot, shoot. Don’t talk.
THE PEOPLE UNDER THE FLOOR.
In 1870, a man was making his way through the lonely mountains of New Mexico when he came across a wood cabin at the foot of the Palo Flechado hills. The owner introduced himself as Charles Kennedy and invited his new friend inside for a meal. As Kennedy’s wife Clair served dinner, the traveler sat down next to there young son and asked if there were any Indians nearby. The boy looked back at him and then said. Can’t you smell the one Papa put under the floor? The traveler had stumbled into a lair of one of the West’s most notorious killers. Charles Kennedy killed at least 14 people who stopped by his isolated cabin on their way through the pass. After shooting the traveler, Kennedy beat his son to death for warning the man. The murder of their son was too much for Kennedy’s wife, who slipped out of the house when her husband was drunk and walked to the town of Elizabeth where she made a full confession. After unearthing the evidence, the town folks dragged Kennedy behind a horse until he died and then staked his head outside the local Inn.
Saw the last John Wayne movie “The Shootist” at the theatre when I was a kid in the 70’s. What a man. What a cast (Jimmy Stewart, Lauren Bacall, Ron Howard).
So many great movies… from Good , Bad, & the Ugly, to Pale Rider, to Dances with Wolves… but just pure entertainment and one of the BEST performances of all time ( Kilmer ) , you can go wrong with TOMBSTONE. To this day, if its on TV , I stop and watch it.
Django unchained. Not quite a classic but a great film.
Young Guns I and II
I have to go with The Lone Ranger and Tonto, his trusty American Indian companion
The good, the bad, and the ugly!
I always watched Bonanza. My uncle Haskel Boggs was one of the director of photography for the show.
The outlaw Josey Wales and Two Mules For Sister Sara, both are my favorite movies to watch on a rainy Saturday or on a day of playing hooky for work………..BEST WESTERN MOVIES EVER!
Young guns…
“Regulators, we regulate any stealing of his property and we damn good too. But you can’t be any geek off the street, gotta be handy with the steel if you know what I mean, earn your keep!”
Denzel Washington, in Magnificent Seven walks down the villain in the church. Great movie!
“Back to The Future”. Remember my Grandpa falling asleep watching westerns with a cig hanging out of his mouth and a inch of ash on it falling on his shirt. How he never burned the farm house down is a mystery.
John Ford directing, John Wayne, Natalie Wood. Best Western ever. The Searchers
The Sacketts series by Louis L’Amour, so many great characters.