Guns for the modern day cowboy.

G

Gulfcowboy

New member
Sometimes I pass the time thinking what kind of firearms a cowboy would carry in modern times. Would he carry a glock due to its rugged reliability? Maybe trade his winchester lever gun for a AR-15? I know tradition plays a large role with the modern day cowboy. I believe that I would carry my 686 and either my marlin 336 or my ar-15. So what would you carry? If there are any people who do or have done cowboy work let me know what you carried.
 
For putting down injured critters, which was mostly what they got used for, they would want something in .44 or bigger.
 
Handgun. Glock 20 or 29. With the best loads will do anything a 44 magnum will do.

Rifle. A straight stocked Winchester or Marlin 30-30 would still be hard to beat. Not because of the cartridge, although it is adequate, but because those rifles fit so easily in a scabbard on horseback.

If more range is called for then shorter barreled, compact bolt gun. An AR could have it's place, but I can't think of an easy way to carry one on a horse other than slung over the riders shoulder.
 
It might be "any gun" from a break top Iver Johnson revolver to a Glenfield 30-30 to a Rem 788 in 22-250.
And actually,I have known each of those to ride in different rancher pickups.
Along with Ruger 10-22,Mini-14, AR-10,and SKS. A Blackhawk .357.

Ideas will vary,rancher to rancher. They tend to have their own ideas.

For some percentage of ranchers,its a tool you need when you need it,like a fence stretcher ,shovel,fencing pliers,etc.
If the tool serves to get the job done,GREAT! Time to move on to whatever else you were doing before you needed to shoot something.

You likely won't see Grandpa's 1886 ,or the elk hunting rifle,or some $4000 Arctic Warrior.

A typical problem is more likely to be a rabid badger than "Invasion of the Body Snatchers"

The ranchers of my acquaintance might deal with targets of opportunity,or if they actually witness a dogpack harassing cattle,etc. I suppose feral hogs are an exception. And since the urban Denver/Boulder Colorado types voted in Wolf introduction,the Ranchers who will have to live and deal with wolves may arm accordingly.

The ones I know generally aren't out sport hunting,even for coyotes or prairie dogs. They have equiptment to fix,fence to mend,windmills to set,
a sick cow,the Mrs wants to go to town,etc.

One other thing typical of the ranchers I know. They are not "posers" . They don't "gun up" to look a part. They don't much care what you think of their gun.Its likely to be someplace behind the pickup seat and you may never see it. The "Western Business Suit" is likely to be made by Carhart,Key,or Big Smith. Maybe Wrangler.
Some ranching jobs are still best suited to horses...but in my experience if its not the pickup its generally the 4-wheeler ATV.

And (the gun) its likely to not be expensive. In my experience,Ranchers have frugal/pragmatic side.
 
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To a real life cowboy, guns are tools of the trade. Like any other tradesman, they are going to use tools that are most appropriate for their particular scenario. Just like cabinet makers now use power tools as opposed to the basic hand tools used by craftsmen of old, I'd wager new age cowboys would take advantage of newer platforms and calibers that were not available to their predecessors.

Of course, folks here want to insist today's modern cowboy would use what they themselves use, even tho they don't have a clue to the various scenarios a real cowpoke would encounter.
 
In reality, not Hollywood... and the utter myth of the American West...
Cowboys were dirt poor very young men working long hours with cattle in freezing cold, roasting hot, dry and rain and... many could not ever afford a horse. Comfort was key.

You’ll see old pictures of cowboys with holsters, but these are the fellas that made it and were all dressed up and could afford the photographer.

I maintain that a real cowboy might carry a sturdy knife and whatever firearm they could afford- old, single shot, whatever... often carried in a sack.

The parallel today is a young ag worker. The answer is whatever they can get that’s cheap. You can buy 3 or 4 hi points for the price of one Glock.

If you mean “what do today’s cowboys use” and the answer is probably gps and a radio and the guy back in the truck that is your boss has a sturdy rifle.
 
"...could not ever afford a horse..." Or any kind of firearm at $30 to $40 and found a month. A Colt SAA($15 to $20) or a Win anything(similar kind of money) was way beyond their income level. If the guy had a saddle he was doing well.
AND the assorted ranchers usually did not allow itinerant cowboys to have a firearm in the bunk house.
"...old pictures of..." Holsters and such were provided as props by the photographer. Just like they are now.
"...carry in modern times..." Depends on where the guy is. Isn't legal everywhere.
 
SKS or Ruger MINI 14 instead of the old lever action Winchester

S&W .38 revolver instead of the Colt SA

Rem 870 instead of the Coach gun
 
I went Antelope hunting in Wyoming a couple years back and actually ran into a few "modern day Cowboys". The first one I'll never forget. We were staying in a small cabin about 3 miles from any paved road, and ran into town for supplies. As we where coming out of the store a guy rode up on his horse. A six gun on each hip, and a lever action in the saddle scabbard. So my guess is, a modern day Cowboy carries the same guns as they did 100 years ago.
 
I live in West Texas along the Mexican border and there are quite a few working cowboys and vaqueros in these parts. Other than rifles in pickups, I've never seen an American cowboy packing a gun. Not so much anymore, but 20+ years ago it was common to see mounted vaqueros wearing side arms. They almost always carried 1911s.

A side note; until about 30 years ago a trading post in Lajitas Texas often had weekend dances that were attended by folks from both sides of the river. The proprietor made everyone check their gun. He would give them a paper sack with their name on it, in went the pistol that was returned the next morning at the end of the dance. Lotta drinking, a little fighting and big fun for most everyone.

I sorely miss those days.
 
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When I was smithing in NV 35 years ago, there were a lot of ranch hands, ranch owners, cow herders, sheep herders, buckaroos, cowpokes, etc, trading in their old Winchesters (wish I'd bought as many as I could have) for new Ruger Mini-14s. ARs hadn't built their reputation for accuracy yet, Colt didn't make 'em that way. Minis were a rugged, though not especially accurate, replacement for old tired lever guns. A few I remember bought Howa 1500 bolt actions (cheapest bolt action on the market at that time, about $100). First rule for ranch guns: it's gotta be cheap, and it's gotta be tough.

And you don't need a cannon to put a horse or steer down. The old 44-40 and 38-40 handled just about anything that came along. If it needed more muscle than that, they sent word back to the ranch for somebody to bring out the old '06.

And most ranches don't let their hands carry guns. It creates legal problems.
 
"[B]Handgun. Glock 20 or 29. With the best loads will do anything a 44 magnum will do."(JMR40)

"No, it won't. 

No 10mm will, sorry."(44AMP)
[/B]
Perhaps not through a chronograph or in ballistic gel, but I doubt there is any big game critter (or two or four legged attacker), in North America that would know the difference between receiving a well placed shot in the vitals from a .41 mag, .44 mag or 10MM. ;)

We ARE talking about cowboy / outdoor use of a sidearm, correct? If making a Youtube video and comparing power levels, obviously the .44 Mag is king.. no argument there. :D

But, that being said, the topic is guns for the modern day cowboy, so I agree with the previous statement from JMR40 that the Glock 20 or 29 in 10mm will do anything a .44 Mag will do since the OP's question and JMR40's answer pertains to field use out on the open range.
 
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Living in ID and visiting WY and MT all the time (friends and camping or both) I have seen the modern cowboy in small towns with their horses tied up outside the store, restaurant, etc., and from what I have seen it is a combo of hammer fired semi-autos (some were 1911s some were not) or revolvers. If there is a rifle with them, it is lever or bolt action. No science to it, but it appeared to me the older preferred revolvers, the younger semis.


I did have an interesting conversation once with a rancher in Southern UT about handguns and he stated the reason for the revolver he carried was due to dust and dirt. It does not affect his revolver as much as a semi over a week in the fields.
 
I think the OP was about "What might a modern beef producer have available as a firearm in a typical day's activities?"

I don't think it was about " If I was a real cowboy,what would I pack?"

I'm not a rancher or a cowboy.I live in the Front Range of Northern Colorado and I have spent some time with Ranchers.

There are,or may be,some specialized times when the modern rancher (to my knowledge) ...may find a horse the best ride. Like some roundup situations finding all the cattle scattered across a BLM grazing lease. Some cutting horse work might get done (but I don't see it) Processing calves at roundup,heel ropers are useful.

But no one is wearing guns branding,castrating,dehorning,and vaccinating.

The open range roundups of the unfenced west are pretty much history.Finding all the cattle on a BLM or Forest Service lease before hunting season might mean some saddle time.

Sometimes a herd might be driven from one grazing area to another,but the old "Rawhide" trail drives have been replaced by semi trucks on the interstate.

Most of the work we are thinking of takes place from a 4wd pickup if its needed or a 4 wheeler ATV. I'm not saying the horse is obsolete,but I'd guess the motor transport is chosen nearly all the time.

A cow dog or two who know their job typically Australian Shephers,Dingo or border collie are often in the pickup .

Of the ranchers I know ,I don't recall seeing a sidearm worn over many years. Most own handguns,but I don't see them packing.

Its not unusual that there be some form of beater gun in the pickup,but its as likely to be a Montgomery Wards 22 as anything else.
Any problem with wildlife will generally result in a call to Division of Wildlife.
If a mountain lion is running cattle through fences in the middle of the night,the Division of Wildlife might contract a pro hunter with dogs,

The Rancher has fence to repair,and maybe injured cattle to tend.

On the ATV,the rancher MAY have his phone and a spot for his dog.Maybe then anticipated tools for the day. That could be binoculars,or a salt block,or fence repair supplies.
Not likely bears,wolves,lions etc will be a problem today. If they are,our rancher might ride away. He sees coyotes every day. He might know their names. Something like a badger stumbling around with foamy lips in broad daylight would be a more likely need for a gun.
I know one rancher who keeps an AR-10 in the truck. His family has been on that ranch since late 1800's. Family history might have seen range and water conflicts.

I'll say again,each one is an individual. They do what suits them.I don't know any that look like "cowboys" most days.

Also to consider,Northern Colorado and Southern Wyoming do not see the same issues border states do.
In those places,folks may be more armed for security. But I'm not there.Can't say.
 
Considering the number of old SA, and likely DA, revolvers used on ranches that acquired dings from use as a hammer I suspect a direct-to-anything plastic framed would be looked at askance by working cowboys.

How many fencing nails/staples can you drive with a Glock before problems arise? Without the magazine you may not have much success driving the nail, with the magazine I suspect the failure to feed may become an issue real quick.
 
If I caught one of my cowboys driving nails or staples with one of my guns he wouldn't be one of my cowboys by sunset...

Or on my property! :D
 
Using the gun butt for driving nails would seem to me Hollywood fiction.

And the design for the SAA grip frame straps would not be happy.
 
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