The cross draw was popular among cowboys of the Old West so their pistols wouldn’t get in the way of their work around the ranch. It was also easier...
How Common was the Cross Draw?
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True West Blog
A Bitter Brew
An outlaw got more than he bargained for… Caleb Hall got around. He was with the John Kinney Gang, fought in Texas’ Mason County War, and got...
Doc’s Happy New Year
Holliday celebrated the incoming 1875 with a bit of dueling. Doc Holliday got into a fair amount of gun play during his time—but very few of the...
Shot or Sprained?
What kind of injury did Bill Tilghman suffer during a famous raid? There are a lot of Old West stories that may or may not be true. One of...
An In-Depth Look at the Telegraph System in the Old West
A True West Reader asks, “How did the telegraph system work in the Old West? I read things such as Wyatt Earp in Tombstone sending a telegraph to...
The Colt Single Action Revolver
Although many other makes used, the Colt single-action six-shooter was the weapon of choice for most gunfighters. In his hands it was both a tool of...
Segregation in the Old West
In the Netflix film, The Harder They Fall, a western movie about black outlaws in the 1880's and 1890's, it shows the Old West with "Black towns"...
You Can Run but You Can’t Hide
The Missouri Kid thought he’d get away with murder. William Rudolph had no luck. The 20-year-old and a cohort robbed a Union, Missouri bank in 1903....
Wyatt’s One Wedding
Questions surround Earp’s only legal marriage. In January 1870, Wyatt Earp took the plunge. He married Urilla (or Aurilla) Sutherland in Lamar,...
The Empty Chamber
Billy the Kid tricked Joe Grant before killing him. One of the strangest legends of Billy the Kid concerns Joe Grant. The two got into a row in Fort...
Bloody Bill
William Anderson has been called “The Bloodiest Man in the Civil War.” His bushwhackers were bands of soldiers that didn’t belong to an organized...
The Birth of the Colt Revolver
In the years before the 1840's the favorite side arm was a knife, and the big guy with long arms had a distinct advantage. Before the coming of the...