any cowboy gun fans here?

D

dalegribble

New member
this new true grit movie has me thinking if it's a good movie that more will follow. also maybe a new generation will become interested in cowboy guns. is anyone besides me a cowboy at heart? my cowboy guns are.
1. 22 henry large loop lever
2. 30/30 winchester
3. 44 mag winchester trapper
4. 45 winchester trapper
5. 45/70 marlin 1895 cowboy
6. 45/70 h&r buffalo classic
7. 45/70 uberti sharps
8. 12 ga double barrel coach gun
9. 20 ga stoeger double barrel

1. 22 hawes single six
2. 22/22mag ruger single six
3. .22 uberti stallion
4. 44 BP colt 1851 cap and ball replica
5. 44 BP remington 1858 cap and ball replica
6. 44 BP colt 1861 cap and ball replica
7. (2) 45 uberti cattleman cc & blue
8. 45 cimarron thunderer cc & blue

my wants are.
1. 22 mag lever
2. .45 large loop lever
3. 50 BP hawkins
4. 12 ga 1897 shotgun
5. .22 blued derringer
6. 44 mag ruger blackhawk
7. .22 mag nickle derringer
8. 45 uberti cattleman nickle

my biggest regret is selling my never fired .22 mag winchester 94
 
I hope I dont burst your bubble but I knew a few old time real cowboys as well as some modern day cowhands. They used such a wide variety of guns. Most seldom used guns. I know only one true real cowhand that still works cattle daily and actually rides the high country on horseback on a weekly basis and after 50 years of riding says he has never had a gun on a horse. When asked what did he carries, he simply pulled out a stockman pocketknife. Says he has had to put down a crippled horse with it. One of the toughest cowhands I ever met passed away a few years back. Many years living on a ranch 47 miles from town, cattle and horses couldnt pay the bills so bounty hunting for lions, and bobcats was the meal ticket. Beef was never eaten as mule deer everywhere. A Savage model 1899 in 25-35 Win was the only big gun the ranch had. It cant be counted the number of deer, bear, and cats this one gun has taken since its owner aquired the ranch in the 40's. Did I mention that this tough hombre that lived such a primitive life was a woman. Her husband was busy with the ranch so she did the trapping and hunting. Lets see, another pool rider cowhand that worked the high pastures all summer long used a Mossberg 800 bolt action 30-06. Two sheep herding families that I know also lived the rugged Colorado mountain life. These people live for months at a time in the mountains and use guns more than cowhands do because coyotes and bears eat many more sheep than cattle. The first carries just one rifle, a single shot 22. The other buys the cheapest rifles available as they generally only last 1 to 2 years before they are destroyed. The last I talked to him he had a Remington 788 in 243 in his scabbard. This guns was UGLY. He is also the only rancher I ever knew who used a handgun. He carried it in his saddlebags, an old Colt Woodsman. A rancher I have coffee with on a daily basis says he has a couple handguns but hasnt seen or shot them in 30 years and not sure he even shot one of them. What I believe you are refering to isnt COWBOY guns but outdoorsmen guns. I have studied old and modern outdoorsmen and indeed many of these carried a gun daily. And the one thing I was able to determine in their choice of firearms was whatever was available at the time they needed one. Once purchased, seldom did they change guns.
 
well, i only know what i grew up watching on tv :) gene and roy had some guns similar to mine and that makes me happy. i think i read somewhere where a colt 45 cost a cowboy about 3 months wages and not every cowboy had one. converted cap and ball pistols were cheaper and more common. my point wasn't that cowboys had all the guns i listed but rather the guns i listed (not calibers) were guns that were used during that period. i'm a tv cowboy not a real cowboy and i'm glad to have some of the guns i saw on tv. just my little collection of western history as i remember it on saturday mornings when i was a kid :)
 
Nice collection Dale. You need to add a couple of the old calibers to your collection for authenticity, like the 44-40 and 32-30, for example.

I love them too, but I only have a Ruger Vaquero (in .357 magnum, not a cowboy caliber!) and a Marlin 30-30 (again, a modern caliber). I want to ad another lever gun some time this upcoming year. I'm thinking about either a 45-70 or .44 magnum, probably a Marlin or a Rossi.

DSCF2348.jpg
 
dalegribble said:
my cowboy guns are.
1. 22 henry large loop lever
2. 30/30 winchester
3. 44 mag winchester trapper
4. 45 winchester trapper
5. 45/70 marlin 1895 cowboy
6. 45/70 h&r buffalo classic
7. 45/70 uberti sharps
8. 12 ga double barrel coach gun
9. 20 ga stoeger double barrel

1. 22 hawes single six
2. 22/22mag ruger single six
3. .22 uberti stallion
4. 44 BP colt 1851 cap and ball replica
5. 44 BP remington 1858 cap and ball replica
6. 44 BP colt 1861 cap and ball replica
7. (2) 45 uberti cattleman cc & blue
8. 45 cimarron thunderer cc & blue
Click to expand...
At least half of the guns on that list are not "cowboy" guns, in that they didn't exist during "cowboy" days. They might look sort of like guns that did exist back then, but that's not really the same thing, is it?
 
Maybe you aughta get in touch with SASS (Single Action Sport Shooters) association through the internet to see what these guys use at their competitions. They are real sticklers for authenticity.
 
All my "Cowboy type" guns are 22's. A Marlin 39A, an Ithaca 49, three Ruger Single-Six's, a Bearcat, and a Colt Frontier Scout.

At least half of the guns on that list are not "cowboy" guns, in that they didn't exist during "cowboy" days. They might look sort of like guns that did exist back then, but that's not really the same thing, is it?
Click to expand...

Maybe not...but if they'd been around, they'd have used them. ;)
 
I only have one - a Ruger New Vaquero in 357, heavily modified to a point where a SASS judge would choke :).

But it's also my daily-carry-without-fail CCW piece and my sole centerfire gun period. Had it since 2005, it's in good shape but half the grip frame bluing is gone exactly where my hands fit it. It's carried in custom leather of my own design, usually set up as a very high-ride crossdraw and concealed under a light jacket.
 
Whatever floats your boat and makes you happy is all that matters. Most of my long guns are lever actions, plus two .22 Colts SA, and one .45 Colt SA plus two .44 BP replicas.

Heck I even went a Winchester one of one hundred lever action because I liked the Jimmy Stewart movie Winchester 73
 
The first gun I ever bought for myself back in 1980 was an 1892 Winchester in 38-40, serial number 18xxx. I actually went with a buddy to buy a handgun but I saw the Winchester standing in a corner and that was it!

Since then I've accumulated a big 'ol Fort Know full of levers in damn near every calibre made. I also have a very early Colt Buntline, Frontier Scout in 22mag, and an original blackpowder govt Colt SAA.

Shoot them all at the range and boy, do they draw a crowd.
 
"They might look sort of like guns that did exist back then, but that's not really the same thing, is it? "

yeah and my colt ar-15 isn't a VN era m-16 either but it fills that notch in my collection...at least in my mind. i see your point but you're missing mine. i know they are replicas, maybe not even exact replicas in some cases. in many cases they are even better than the originals. my point wasn't to take me back to the 1880's but to take me back to the 1950's and 1960's where i grew up watching many of those cheesy B westerns that i loved so much. it's not so much history i'm trying to reproduce but the fun i had as a kid but with real guns :) btw i think at least 11 of my guns are used frequently by people in the sass.
 
I hope I didnt spoil your fun. I as well am a great fan of "OLD WEST" guns. I have collected and shot these historic guns. When I hunt with and shoot original historical arms it leaves me wondering who else used these guns and what kind of animals they have taken and what kind of adventures they have had. Putting your cheek against an original Sharps and aiming it at a B
 
i got a win 94 30-30, win 94 32spl, and a Uberti 45lc for now. but more to come down the road. those are about it for the rifles, a buddy of mine showed me his 45 and that got me started on the 45's.
 
They might look sort of like guns that did exist back then, but that's not really the same thing, is it?
Click to expand...
In my case - yes!

Hollywood and TV don't bother with trying to be correct so why should I?
Or anyone else that "likes the cowboy stuff"...

Re: the OP ?

Yep, got some S/A Rugers and a few lever guns and a couple of coach guns and a two shot deringer.
Put on my duster & stetson & I'm happy as a pig in a poke...
 
my buddy got me into lever guns.....

i have several, mostly 30-30 marlins & a marlin LTD II 1892 45/70.

purchased some blackhawks .357... real nice guns for the money.

now have started to build an impression of a confederate veteran heading west for a new life. columbia shell jacket, 1830 style shirt, 1850 style trousers, shaw colllared vest,& civilian shoes from the 1850 called spencers, a couple hats from bender & clearwater, canvas 45/70 cartridge belt with slim jim holsters & a pair of 1858 remingtons worn jesse james style.

did confederate army impressions for years now looking forward to going west.
:)
s.m.
 
The Cowboy Way

A few of my Cowboy Rigs:
093.jpg

098.jpg

096.jpg

091.jpg

The little Sheriff's Model with the Holliday Rig is one of my favorite Jacket Carry Combinations.

00 Hagen
Hiram's Ranger #24
 
Last edited:
I currently have a Ruger New Vaquero. Depending on how things go in the next few months I can hopefully get a second Vaquero, a coach gun and a lever rifle. We'll see about it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top