The Gunslinger Aims to Kill

In the Old West, men who had a reputation for being dangerous with a gun were referred to as gunfighters, gunmen, badmen, shootists, pistoleers and gunslingers. In Western films, gunslingers often possessed superhuman speed on the draw, twirled their pistols and fired theatrical shots, like shooting the weapons out of their opponent’s hands.  Most, if not all, of this showmanship was created by Hollywood to add pizzazz to a deadly art and to appease mad mothers who abhorred realistic representations of violence. Real gunslingers did not shoot to impress, or disarm, but to kill.