“The most important lesson I learned was the winner of gunplay usually was the one who took his time. The second was that, if I hoped to live on the frontier, I would shun flashy trick-shooting as I would poison. I did not know a really proficient gunfighter who had anything but contempt for the gun-fanner, or the man who literally shot from the hip.” These words from Wyatt Earp ring as true today as they did in the 1800’s. They are also at the heart and soul of barroom shootouts.
Barroom Shootouts
Wyatt Earp has become an iconic representation of the Old West and more specifically, the gunfighters of that time. The movies have made these scenes memorable and thrilling to say the least. Unfortunately, many of the silver screen shootouts are purely theatrical. The well laid out scene were a gunfighter walks down a street and shoots it out with another gunslinger at 75 feet is a bit of a stretch.
The truth is that most of these fights took place in close quarters and with little if any warning. Of those gunfighters that truly had a reputation as skilled shootists, they were not usually anxious to match their skills with another gunman with a similar reputation. Instead, they tended to avoid confrontation and undue risks whenever possible, especially during barroom shootouts.
Wild Bill Hickock
There are several historic gun fights where lessons can be learned. The first is one that involves the famous Wild Bill Hickock on July 21st, 1865. This specific fight was an actual duel, which while part of every cowboy movie, was very rare in reality. The issue started with a disagreement over a gambling debt between Hickock and gambler Davis Tutt. The two stepped out into the town square in Springfield, Missouri and bullets soon began to fly. It could be considered one of the rare early barroom shootouts.
Tutt was quick to his gun and fired across the street at Hickock. While he was fast, he missed every shot. At the same time, Wild Bill drew his pistol, carefully aimed and hit Tutt squarely in the torso which dropped him. Tutt expired from his wound and Wild Bill was unscathed. This scene is a classic representation of what Wyatt Earp stated at the beginning of this piece. Earp went on to say that “Speed is fine, but accuracy is final.” A lesson that Wild Bill knew well.
Frank Loving
A better example of a real old west gun fight took place at the notorious Long Branch Saloon in Dodge City, Kansas. Well known gun slinger Frank Loving had been engaged in a drawn-out argument with Levi Richardson. Loving had caught Richardson making advances on his wife on several occasions and his patience was now gone. In a flash, guns were drawn, and shots rang out. In just moments, Richardson collapsed to the ground with three fresh bullet holes. Despite the very close range of the fight, Loving miraculously walked away with nothing more than a bullet graze, highlighting how unpredictable barroom shootouts could be.
Wyatt Earp
Of course, how can we have an article on old west gun fighting without a look at the shootout at the OK Corral. Of all the old west shootouts, this is the one that has seen the most play on the big screen. While the fight is always laid out as a heroic battle, it is actually a great example of what these fights were really like. The best description that comes to mind is chaos. The Earp brothers and Doc Holiday walk up to confront the members of the outlaw gang, the Cowboys, to take their guns.
What happened next was a mix of multiple people shooting in close quarters at different targets. All this while moving. Billy Clanton and both McLaury brothers were killed. Ike Clanton, Billy Claiborne, and Wes Fuller ran from the fight. Virgil, Morgan, and Holiday were wounded, but Wyatt Earp was unharmed. In many ways it is similar to what a gunfight would be like today just with different guns—a modern-day comparison to barroom shootouts.
Barroom Shootouts – Lessons Learned
Today we revisit these fights for nostalgia, lessons or for historical reasons. A group that keeps these gunfights alive though is the Cowboy Action Shooters. This is a very large group of competitive shooters that set stages and competitions up based on the old west. They have over 90,000 members worldwide and the competitions are fun to take part in or watch.
Cowboy action shooting competitions consists of 4 to 6 stages. Each stage has a shooting scenario loosely based on an old west gun fight. The cowboy shooter engages steel targets in a stated sequence using authentic or reproduction guns of the Old West such as single action revolvers, lever action rifles and shotguns. Each stage is timed, and points awarded or deducted accordingly. It is a great way to keep the Old West alive through barroom shootouts reenactments.
In many ways the Old West has been romanticized and much of the grit has been washed away. The truth is however that it was a very powerful part of the American story. A story that is filled with tough men and gunfights that would become legend. I am personally committed to keeping these memories alive. Heritage Manufacturing stands right with me on that and in the end, the Old West will live on.
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