Packing Iron in the Real Old West Differed From the Way It Was Done in the Movie

[NLM]

Found this to be a good read.. From 2017

http://web.archive.org/web/20220324192218/https://www.historynet.com/packing-iron-real-old-west-differed-way-done-movies/

Packing Iron in the Real Old West Differed From the Way It Was Done in the Movies
by Lee A. Silva 8/17/2017   


Gun leather on the frontier was not designed for fast shooting.

For well over a century now a caricature of a cowboy dressed in batwing or woolly chaps, boots, Stetson and holstered six-gun slung low on the hip has been the stereotypical, symbolic, worldwide image of the United States. But in reality, a low-slung holster and belt were innovations most 19th-century working cowboys didn’t wear.

The history of the development of Old West gun leather has to be related in generalizations, because there were probably more than a few saddle makers and pistol-carrying wanderers and soldiers who dreamed up their own versions of holsters and gun belts before any of the popular styles became commonplace. Prior to Sam Colt’s 1830s development of the first dependable cap-and-ball revolver, the smaller single-shot flintlock and cap-and-ball pistols were usually stuck into a coat, vest or pants pocket, or the larger pistols were stuck into the waistband of the pants. Some pistols had a slender L-shaped hook on the left side of them to hook over the top of the pants or belt for carrying the gun. And the first “holsters” were nothing more than a piece of leather rolled and stitched into a“socket” shape through which to thrust the single-shot pistol for carrying on a belt.

The first holsters as we think of them today were a pair of leather pouches stitched on the opposite ends of a piece of leather, so that the holsters could be slung over the pommel of a saddle, with one holstered gun hanging on each side of the saddle. Somewhere along the way, the U.S. Army decided to put flaps on these holsters to better protect the pistols from water and dust. A few of these double flap holsters, known as “pommel holsters,” were even made for the giant-sized Walker Model Colt revolvers used during the Mexican War of 1847.....................................................

[Captainkirk]

Yes...read the whole thing (URL) and found it to be pretty accurate. Thanks for sharing!

[Hawg]

That was a pretty accurate description. Most people get so tied up with what they've always seen on television or in movies it's hard for them to accept facts. There's a lot of Hollyweird fueled misconceptions about guns in the old west.

[Captainkirk]

That was a pretty accurate description. Most people get so tied up with what they've always seen on television or in movies it's hard for them to accept facts. There's a lot of Hollyweird fueled misconceptions about guns in the old west.

Actually, if what I've read is true, "fast draw" was never a 'thing' and was created for Hollywood drama in the 40's and 50's.
Most old west cowboys were notoriously bad shots, and most duels were staged at less than 10 yards. The real sure shots like Wild Bill took their time, aimed, and drilled their 'targets'. And guys like him had scads of natural shooting ability that the average trail hand didn't.
Ammo was expensive and could be hard to come by...and wasn't to be wasted shooting at a cactus

[Hawg]

That was a pretty accurate description. Most people get so tied up with what they've always seen on television or in movies it's hard for them to accept facts. There's a lot of Hollyweird fueled misconceptions about guns in the old west.

Actually, if what I've read is true, "fast draw" was never a 'thing' and was created for Hollywood drama in the 40's and 50's.
Most old west cowboys were notoriously bad shots, and most duels were staged at less than 10 yards. The real sure shots like Wild Bill took their time, aimed, and drilled their 'targets'. And guys like him had scads of natural shooting ability that the average trail hand didn't.
Ammo was expensive and could be hard to come by...and wasn't to be wasted shooting at a cactus

Ammo wasn't too bad at about a dollar a box in the 1880's. That nonsense about trading a cartridge for a shot of whiskey is just that, nonsense. They didn't have shots back then. A tumbler of whiskey cost about a quarter. Duels were very few and far between. Most gunfights were won from an alley with a shotgun. Getting shot wasn't something anybody wanted to take a chance on. At least any sane person wouldn't. Dirt embedded in the lube of heel type bullets plus bp residue and remnants of usually pretty dirty clothing getting into wounds lead to some pretty serious infections.

[NLM]

Actually, if what I've read is true, "fast draw" was never a 'thing' and was created for Hollywood drama in the 40's and 50's.

I guess unless you loved in that time - nobody would know for sure.

Maybe there are newspaper articles from that time that would talk about "Fast Draw" - after all that would be an get lots of attention I would think.

[Marshal Will]

That is a good article, NLM. Thanks for posting the link.

[Hawg]

Maybe there are newspaper articles from that time that would talk about "Fast Draw" - after all that would be an get lots of attention I would think.

Good luck on finding any. You might find reference to a couple but what you will find is many references to the Hickok/Tutt fight. That one took place at 75 yards and Hickok took time to brace across his left arm to make the shot. Hardly a fast draw affair. Your own link shows holsters of the time didn't lend themselves to fast draw.

[Zulch]

NLM, Thank you for that link. Very interesting indeed. 

[Miguel Loco]

Good article! The "staged" gunfight is a Hollywood creation. I remember a quote from Wyatt Earp from his reminiscing about gun fights to John Flood....(Floods accounts are not known to be the most accurate)... Wyatt said he "took his time to aim". Then went on to say it may have been no longer than a half second and that knowing your equipment was most vitally important.

On Wyatt's Vendetta Ride when he ran into Curly Bill's bunch at Iron Springs, just east of the Whetstone Mtns, he had loosened his gun belt to make riding a little more comfortable. It was a surprise when he ran into Curly Bill and when Wyatt hopped off his horse, his gun belt fell to his knees in effect "hog Tying" him for the first few seconds of the fight. Fortunately for him, he had a shotgun on his horse and he used that to"cut curly Bill in half." To me, that pretty much explains why the low slung buscadero style gun rig is total BS.

Like Hawg said, 99.9% of any of these gunfights were basically an ambush. It took until recently for Hollywood to even start getting the clothing and gun leather even slightly correct. But then...they are telling a story to make as much money as possible.....not making documentaries.

[Hawg]

If they made a movie about the old west as it really was nobody would watch it.

[Miguel Loco]

I'm afraid so Hawg....

[Zulch]

dagnabbit!! I guess I fell for it all...... hook line and sinker.  Entertainment...Pfftt!!

[Hawg]

I suppose a lot of the blame can be laid at the feet of authors of dime novels like Edward Zane Carroll Judson Sr. AKA Ned Buntline. People in the civilized east liked reading about the exploits of people in the uncivilized west whether real or imaginary and people like Judson cashed in on it.

[Miguel Loco]

I suppose a lot of the blame can be laid at the feet of authors of dime novels like Edward Zane Carroll Judson Sr. AKA Ned Buntline. People in the civilized east liked reading about the exploits of people in the uncivilized west whether real or imaginary and people like Judson cashed in on it.

Absolutely! That's where all the lies started....