Guns, Firearms, Peacemakers and Such...

Nothing connotes the Wild West more strongly than the distinctive firearms that were often used by trapper, Native Americans, soldiers, gunfighters, and lawmen of that era.

During this time, weapons were used to acquire food, for safety, justice or satisfaction, pistols and rifles were an indispensable technology and their evolution came to play a key role in the history of the West.

The primitive muzzle-loaded weapons were used by the earliest explorers west of the Mississippi River. The Kentucky rifle and the Harper's Ferry rifle, a special design brought along on the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

As the frontier moved westward, firearms improved. The Hawkens brothers of St. Louis manufactured a rifle in the 1820's that quickly became the favorite of mountain men and their Native Americans neighbors. Early Hawken rifles use the flint-lock mechanism, but later model had the more reliable percussion system whereby the hammer struck a cam that would shoot fire though a flash hole to ignite the powder.

An average Hawkin rifle measured .53 caliber, weighed about 12 pounds, and cost less than $25.00.

In the 1830's, pistols became much more reliable weapons when Samuel Colt patented a new design of the revolver, a gun that featured rotating chamber that allowed several bullets to be fire in rapid succession. The most popular version were the .44-caliber Arm and .36-caliber Navy Colts. These multishot breech-loaders were dangerous and laborious to prepare the cartridges.

The breech-loading feature of the Sharps rifle of the late 1840's and 1850's allowed these single-shot guns be reloaded rapidly. The next major improvement in longarms was the Henry rifle of the 1860's, a lever-action repeating rifle that could hold 16 metallic cartridges. In 1873 the Winchester rifle became the standard for the remaining year of the West, offering improved action and loading. Perhaps the most famous weapon of the era was introduced that same year. The .45-caliber Colt Peacemaker! This centerfire cartridge revolver was unmatched in the West for its reliability, balance, and accuracy.

Many gunfighters also relied on the crude but effective blast of a shotgun for settling disputes. Even though the range and precision of such a weapon was severely limited, its great firepower and wide spread proved overwhelming when working close.

 

Back To Current Feature

---