In the annals of American history, few periods capture the imagination quite like the Wild West. A time of pioneering spirit, lawlessness, and gold prospecting, it’s also a period that its firearms helped define. Whether a pistol, rifle, or shotgun, Wild West guns are synonymous with this 19th-century period in our country’s history. This was […]
This is the story of the Winchester Model 1873. It’s the gun that won the West, and has been the trusted companion of mountain men, homesteaders, hunters, and gun enthusiasts for over a century. This article highlights the history, features, and impact of this American treasure: the Winchester ’73. The Winchester 1873 was proven by […]
Born James Butler Hickok, everyone remembers him as “Wild Bill.” Many consider him the first famous gunfighter of the American West. During his relatively short life, he worked as a gold prospector, bodyguard, killer, lawman, army scout, gambler, and showman. He also met or worked with some of the Old West’s most famous (and infamous) […]
Any 1950’s kid who ever donned a cowboy hat and strapped on a six-shooter cap pistol remembers the theme song to The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp. It was a TV show that ran (in glorious black and white) from 1955 to 1961. Starring the cool and handsome Hugh O’Brian, the series traced Earp’s […]
Despite an unending supply of myths connected with characters from the Old West, Wyatt Earp’s description of Doc Holliday is right on target. Doc was a gambler, vagabond, philosopher, and gunfighter. An educated man from a respected family, John Henry (Doc) Holliday graduated from the Pennsylvania College of Dental Surgery in 1872. “I found him […]
