A Great Ranch Rifle: The Marlin Model 336

So what's my idea of a great ranch rifle?

Well, I believe a ranch rifle is any rifle of sufficient power that it can be used to bring down game, both big and small. Lever-action rifles are probably the most common "ranch guns," also known as "truck guns" and "ranch rifles," out there.

Sure there are those out there who are going to write to me. I can just imagine the amount of e-mail that I'll get from well-meaning folks out there wanting to "educate me" on the superior attributes of the Ruger Mini-14, the SKS, the AR-15, and a host of other rifles.

It is more likely than not that I will be told about how the Ruger Mini-14, Mini Thirty, and Mini-6.8 are all small, lightweight semi-automatic carbines built by one of my favorite U.S. firearm manufacturers, Sturm Ruger.

The Ruger Mini-14 can fire both the .223 Remington cartridge and the similar military 5.56x45mm cartridge. The target model Mini-14 rifles are chambered only for the .223 Remington cartridge. The Mini Thirty uses the 7.62×39mm, and the Mini-6.8 fires 6.8 mm Remington SPC. Of course, being semi-automatic, they can handle 5, 10, 20, or 30 round factory box magazine. Numerous aftermarket magazines and drum mags, believe it or not.

In 2008, Ruger began marking many Mini-14 rifles as "RANCH RIFLE" instead of Mini-14 on the receiver.

Why, you ask? Well, these rifles are the most basic models. They generally come in a wood rifle stock and features an 18.5" tapered barrel - although some are available with a 16" barrel. These rifles feature an adjustable ghost ring rear sight and winged front sight. They are sold with a 20 round detachable magazine. However, in some states like California, where high capacity magazines are illegal, they are sold with 5 round magazines instead.

The Ruger "Ranch Rifle" variant has scope bases integrated into the receiver and an ejector that ejects the spent cartridge case at a lower angle to avoid hitting a low-mounted scope. The old original Ruger "Ranch Rifle" rear sight was a folding-type aperture, which would fit under a scope, and lacked a winged front sight. This model will chamber both .223 Remington and 5.56x45mm NATO ammunition.

So now you're asking, what's wrong with the Ruger -- after all, it sounds like a great rifle?

Yes, it is a great rifle! While a Ruger Mini-14, like an AR-15 or an SKS, obviously has higher capacity and removable mags, for a Ranch Rifle, I think that it comes down to a matter of taste like most things, preference, and practicality.

If it were a simple matter of choosing a home defense or self-defense weapon, I would prefer a pistol or shotgun for close-quarters defense and a semi-automatic rifle for longer ranges. Because I see a "Ranch Rifle" as more of a "Livestock and Game Rifle" that can also be used as a self-defense weapon, I prefer a lever-action rifle .44 magnum or the heftier .30-30 Winchester cartridge.

Since being involved with Cowboy Action Shooting, I've seen folks have problems with their pistol caliber lever-action rifles. Yes, parts do give out. But remember, most participating in Cowboy Action Shooting put thousands of rounds through their lever-action in a few months of competition. That's not the case for the average American.

I doubt if my Marlin 336 .30-30 has seen 500 rounds over the decades. Yet my 1894 Marlin chews up at least a few hundred rounds a month. That sort of wear and tear takes a toll on any piece of machinery, and after all, that's what a rifle is. Like all firearms, a rifle is a piece of machinery. It's a tool.

But unlike a semi-automatic rifle, which has a higher probability of something going wrong, lever-action rifles are less complicated and simply have less to go wrong. Simplicity is the ticket that makes lever actions reliable.

So let's talk ammo!

Ammunition is a concern. Since I don't foresee myself getting into a firefight with a rogue deer or terrorist mountain lion, I don't see needing more than a few rounds.

Also, round availability is a huge concern these days. While people are buying up the .223 supply because of fear of the government outlawing some rounds, .30-30 ammo is pretty much available anywhere. In fact, in my area that is definitely rural America, hardware stores always have .30-30 ammunition. And yes, I'm sure that's the way it is with the hardware stores in your part of rural America.

Since availability is a huge concern these days, I can testify from experience that I'd be more likely to find what my grandpa used to call a "common cartridge" such as a .30-30, .30-06., or .308, and .270 rounds for rifles, and .45 ACP, .44 Magnum, .357 Magnum, and .38 caliber rounds for pistols, than "exotic rounds."

More of what I call "exotic rounds," such as a 7.63x39 round for an AK or SKS, aren't usually available from local hardware stores. Not every hunter needs such a cartridge.

The two most popular rifles in the world, the Winchester Model 94 and the Marlin Model 336 are fast handling lever actions that are considered nearly perfect for woods and brush country hunting like we have around here. Both are chambered for the very effective .30-30 Winchester cartridge. Out to just over 200 yards, a .30-30 is all that is needed to bag most of the world's antlered game.

The .30-30 is a living legend and is certainly one of the most effective game cartridges ever designed. The .30-30 Winchester or .30 Winchester Center Fire cartridge was first marketed in early 1895 to be used in the Winchester Model 1894 lever-action rifle.

The .30-30, "thirty-thirty" as it is most commonly known, was the USA's first small-bore, sporting rifle cartridge designed for smokeless powder. Because it was chambered for the Winchester Model 1894 carbine and rifle, it was also known as .30 Winchester Centerfire or .30 WCF.

When the cartridge was chambered in the Marlin Model 1893 rifle, rival gunmaker John Marlin used the designation .30-30 or .30-30 Smokeless. The added -30 stands for the standard load of 30 grains (1.9 g) of early smokeless powder, according to late-19th century American naming conventions for black powder-filled cartridges.

Marlin and the Union Metallic Cartridge Company later dropped the Winchester appellation "WCF" on their rounds as they did not want to put the name of rival Winchester on their products.

The modern designation of .30-30 Winchester was arrived at by using Marlin's variation of the name with the Winchester name appended as the originator of the cartridge. However, the .30 WCF is still seen occasionally. This designation also served a purpose in avoiding a lot of confusion with the different yet similarly-shaped .30-40 Krag, which has been referred to as ".30 US" and ".30 Army".

The .30-30 is considered the "entry-class" for modern big-game hunting cartridges. It is common to define the characteristics of cartridges with similar ballistics as being in the ".30-30 class" when describing their trajectory. While it is very effective on deer and black bear-sized game, most commercial loads are limited in effective range to approximately 200 yards.

In Canada and the U.S., the cartridge has also been used on moose, caribou, and pronghorn. One source says that modern opinions in Canada on its suitability for moose are mixed. Yet, it appears many moose have been taken with the 30/30 to rule it out as good for this purpose as well.

In both Canada and the U.S., the .30-30 cartridge has a long history of use on moose. But at the same time, it is pretty much agreed that the .30-30 is not a good choice for hunters who wish to shoot animals at longer ranges.

The reason is that the cartridge, with its flat or round-nosed bullets, does not meet the minimum energy standards required for moose hunting in many places. In fact, while the .30-30 is legal for hunting moose in Newfoundland, Canada, game authorities do not recommend its use.

One of the primary reasons for the .30-30's popularity among deer hunters is its light recoil. Average recoil from a typical 150-grain in a 7.5-pound lever-action rifle is about half that of a comparable rifle chambered for the .30-06 Springfield.

Because most rifles chambered in .30-30 are lever-action rifles with tubular magazines, most .30-30 cartridges are loaded with round-nose or flat-nose bullets for safety.

What does this have to do with safety? Well, round-nose or flat-nose bullets prevent a spitzer-point bullet from setting off the primer of the cartridge ahead of it in the tube magazine during recoil, resulting in potentially catastrophic damage to both firearm and shooter.

When the Savage Model 99 was introduced in 1899, it came with a rotary magazine to avoid that issue. A notable exception to the "no pointed bullets" guideline for bullet selection in rifles with tubular magazines are the new flexible "memory elastomer"-tipped LEVER Evolution cartridges as produced by Hornady.

The soft rubber tips of these bullets easily deform under compression, preventing detonations while under recoil in the magazine, yet also return to their original pointed shape when that pressure is removed, thus allowing for a more efficient bullet shape than previously available to load safely in such rifles.

The more aerodynamic shape results in a flatter bullet trajectory and greater retained velocity downrange, significantly increasing the effective range of rifles chambered for this cartridge. Yes, the new type of round increases the hunter's range.

The .30-30 is by far the most common chambering in lever-action rifles such as the Winchester Model 1894, the Savage Model 99, and the Marlin Model 336. However, the .30-30 is by no means the only option left to someone who is in the market for a lever-action Ranch Rifle. Lever-action Ranch Rifles can be had in pistol calibers as well.

Marlin Model 336 Lever-Action Rifles

From my experience, among lever-action rifles out there, Marlin Firearms Company lever-action rifles simply can't be beaten. From deer to mountain lions, from wild hogs to bears, Marlin lever-action rifles have been proven successful for generations.

It all started with John M. Marlin. He was born in Connecticut in 1836 and served his apprenticeship as a tool and die-maker. During the Civil War, he worked at the Colt plant in Hartford, and in 1870 hung out his own sign on State Street, New Haven, to start manufacturing his own line of revolvers and derringers.

With an outstanding team of inventors, they developed breakthroughs and enduring models, such as the Model 1891 and 1893 rifles. Both were updated as Models 39 (.22 caliber) and Model 336 (.30-30 Win).

When using the word enduring, we should understand that these two models are the oldest sporting shoulder arm models still in current production by their original maker. In fact, the lever-action 22 repeater, which is now the Model 39, was the favorite of many exhibition shooters, including Annie Oakley. 

The Marlin Model of 1893, later designated the Marlin Model 36, was heavier than the Winchester 94, which was then the dominant lever-action hunting rifle. It also featured a semi-pistol grip wooden stock and solid top receiver with side-ejection, in contrast to the Winchester 94 carbine's straight grip stock and top-ejection receiver.

The Model 36 was updated as the Model 336 in 1948, continuing the main differences with the Winchester. The solid, flat top receiver and side ejection of the Model 336 allowed Marlin to sell to the growing number of American hunters who preferred optical sights over the traditional iron sights.

The Model 336 is a direct development of the Marlin Model 1893 rifle which was produced from 1893 to 1936.

In the mid-1950s, Marlin incorporated its proprietary Micro-Groove rifling system into the Model 336. Microgroove rifling with many shallow grooves was designed to work better with jacketed bullets than more traditional rifling with fewer but deeper grooves originally developed for use with lead bullets.

The design of the Marlin 336 allows the user to remove the lever pivot screw with a common screwdriver, allowing the removal of the lever, bolt, and ejector for maintenance. This design allows the user to clean the barrel from the breech, like a bolt action rifle, avoiding wear to the muzzle.

Disassembly of the Winchester 1894 usually requires the services of a gunsmith. Anyone who has tried to take apart a Winchester '94 realizes very quickly why they say a user seldom disassembles the rifle and usually cleans the barrel from the muzzle.

American black walnut pistol-grip stocks with fluted combs, cut checkering, rubber butt pads, and sling swivel studs. They also have adjustable, semi-buckhorn, folding rear sights and ramp front sights with brass beads and Wide-Scan™ hoods, which are standard features on a Marlin.

Their solid-top receivers are tapped for scope mounts. 20" barrels have 12-groove Micro-Groove® rifling.

The Model 336C

Marlin Model 336C

The Model 336C, this rifle is truly the flagship of Marlin's Model 336 family. This rifle is known for its rugged styling, pinpoint accuracy, ease of use, and incredible dependability. This popular "pistol-grip" or "Monte Carlo grip" carbine has a flat, solid-top receiver and hammer-block safety.

The 336C has become one of the most popular rifles in North America. In addition to .30/30 Win., the 336C is also available in .35 Rem., a cartridge favored by many hunters because of its reputation as a hard-hitting brush-buster.

The Model 336W

Marlin Model 336W

The Model 336W is a no-frills hunting machine. And yes, I love mine.

The Model 336W is chambered for 30-30 Win. and features a 20" Micro-Groove® barrel with adjustable rear and ramp with hood front sights. Plus, its receiver is drilled and tapped for scope mounts. The walnut-finished hardwood stock and fore-end have cut checkering and come with a padded nylon sling included. The rifle is also available with a factory-mounted and bore-sighted 3-9x32mm scope.



Among its other 336 models is the Model 336SS. This is a foul-weather rifle because foul weather won’t faze this stainless version of the field-proven Model 336 chambered in .30/30 and .308 win. Most of its major metal parts are machined from forged stainless steel. Others are nickel-plated.

Marlin has also made many of these lever-action rifles for mass marketers like Sears, Western Auto, K-Mart, and Wal-Mart. These models have walnut-stained hardwood stocks instead of American Walnut stocks and were sold for significantly lower prices than standard Model 336's.

Other than the less expensive wood, these rifles are mechanically identical to the Model 336. Many of these rifles were sold under the names Glenfield, Glenfield Marlin, or Marlin, as Models 30, 30A, 30AS, and 30AW. The Model 30AW package includes a gold-plated steel trigger, a 3-9x32 factory-mounted scope, a padded sling, and an offset hammer spur. It is identical to the current Marlin Model 336W. The new Model 336BL is a big-loop lever for faster, more efficient chambering and ejection with gloves on, plus striking laminated woodwork that improves weather resistance and adds aesthetic appeal.

Its 18½" barrel is handy in the brush, and the full-length magazine tube gives you six rounds of .30-30 Winchester assurance at the moment of truth.

The Model 1895

Marlin Model 1895

This is a great gun! And yes, I own one as well!

Introduced in 1972 and named in honor of the Marlin Model of 1895, which was produced from 1895 to 1917, the current Model 1895 rifle is based on the final design of the Model 336.

The difference is that it is enlarged and strengthened for more powerful, big bore cartridges. It was initially chambered in the .444 Marlin developed specifically for the new Model 1895, then in the traditional .45-70.



As for today's Marlin Model 1895 in .45-70, well, in my first-hand experience, my Marlin 1895 in .45-70 is a tried and true configuration of this famous 45–70 rifle. It features a 22" barrel with deep-cut Ballard-type rifling and an American black walnut pistol grip stock with cut checkering and swivel studs. The .45-70 was originally a black powder cartridge, and most factory ammo is loaded moderately for safety in older rifles, including the original Model of 1895 way back when.

Today is a different story. With increasing numbers of modern .45-70 rifles built with high strength actions - including the current Model 1895, the Ruger No. 1 single shot, the Browning BLR, or the Siamese Mauser conversions.

Reloaders and specialty ammunition makers like Hornady, Buffalo Bore, and Garrett produce high intensity big .45-70 loads that may equal or exceed the power of the .444 Marlin.

Some approach the power of the .458 Winchester Magnum and are effective against dangerous game up to and including elephants. Use of such loadings in older .45-70 firearms is dangerous and should not be attempted. For that reason, Marlin introduced the .450 Marlin, a belted version of the .45-70 cartridge that will not chamber in older .45-70 rifles.

Many .45-70 Model 1895 owners like myself chose to use the traditional .45-70 Government round for deer-sized game and elk. Of course, my Marlin Model 1895 gives me the option of using beefier .45-70 loads for the more dangerous game like the bear in Alaska.

For me, while the .45-70 Gov't is a traditional round that was once a US Cavalry issue used for everything from buffalo to attacking Indians, the big .450 Marlin is too much gun as a Ranch Rifle. Besides, most of us don't have problems with raging elephants.

One recent innovation growing in popularity is the Marlin 1895 "Guide Gun" concept. The name most probably originates from the types of long arms favored by Alaskan hunting and wilderness guides as a defense against attacks by bears.

The Guide Gun concept consists of a handy, short-barreled (usually 16-19") lever action in a large caliber such as .45-70 or .450 Marlin with a 3/4 length magazine tube. These guns are usually fitted with fast open sights such as ghost rings or express sights. Frequently these sights make use of tritium or fiber optics.

Marlin's Guide Guns are usually equipped with a scout rail allowing the mounting of optics such as long-eye relief scopes or parallax-free optics such as reflex sights or holographic weapon sights.

Marlin 1895 actions are popular bases for this type of firearm. Marlin itself offers the 1895G, 1895GS, and 1895SBL fitting this mold. Previously offered models such as the 1895SDT and 336SDT also fit the mold.

All have roots in the Model 336, so yes, without question, the Marlin Model 336 Series of lever-action rifles is the way to go when looking for a Ranch Rifle. 

The Marlin 336 is, without a doubt, one of the most popular hunting rifles in North America. Offered in one of America's favorite cartridges, the .30-30 embodies Marlin's dedication to dependability, pinpoint accuracy, good looks, and rugged reliability.

The Model 1894

Marlin Model 1894

In 1963, Marlin added the .44 Magnum cartridge as an optional chambering in the Model 336T carbine, which featured a straight grip, a 20-inch round tapered barrel and a full-length magazine. However, the rifle experienced continuing problems in loading and chambering the short .44 Magnum cartridge, so in 1964 Marlin abruptly dropped the .44 Magnum option.

Marlin was well aware of the continued demand for a lever-action carbine in .44 Magnum and began searching for a replacement. Then in 1969, Marlin introduced the New Model 1894 in .44 Magnum/.44 Special.

Now, let's clear up something one reader wanted me to clarify, the New Model 1894 is not based on the Model 336 mechanism. That is, instead, it uses the old short-receiver Model 1894 action incorporating the flat-profile bolt, which received minor improvements before being reintroduced in .44 Magnum caliber. The decision to use the original Model 1894 action, a design originally designed to accommodate pistol-length cartridges such as the .38-40 and .44-40, proved a complete success.

For me, I have owned a few Marlin lever-action rifles in my time. I absolutely love the feel and balance of my Marlin Model 1894 in .45 long colt, which I use for Cowboy Action Shooting.

For those who think the .45 long colt cartridge is gone the way of the dinosaur, folks should know that the .45 long colt remains in use 140 years after its introduction.



Besides in sport shooting like Cowboy Action Shooting, it is still used as a hunting load on animals the size of deer and black bear. Of course, depending on the load, heavier loads will take the same range of big game animals as the .44 Magnum. The short action rifle is the part of the design based on the Model 336.

The Model 1894 is chambered in rimmed calibers commonly associated with revolvers such as the .38 Special/.357 Magnum, the .44 Special/.44 Magnum, and the .45 Colt.

This model is popular with Cowboy Action Shooters, as well as ranchers in rural areas where carrying a lever gun and a revolver in the same caliber is pretty common. The concept of a dual-purpose handgun/rifle cartridge has been popular since the Old West, with cartridges like the .44-40 Winchester, whose "High-Speed" rifle loads were precursor magnum loads. 

Some past dual-purpose cartridges, like the .44-40 Winchester, gave their manufacturers trouble when people loaded the "High-Speed" versions designed for rifles into handguns. Since the .44 Magnum was designed from the start as a revolver cartridge, such issues are moot, and SAAMI-compliant ammunition should fire from any handguns or rifles chambered for the .44 Magnum.

As a lever-action rifle or carbine cartridge, the .44 Magnum is sufficiently powerful for medium-sized game yet fits easily into a compact, lightweight package. As with the Marlin Model 1894, with significantly longer barrels than revolvers, they will generate a significantly higher velocity than a revolver loaded with the same ammunition. 

The Model 1894 in .44 Magnum is well-suited for the game up to elk size. With deep penetration, it has even been used to take the larger game. In addition to beating the ballistics of the old .44-40 rifle loads, long considered a top deer cartridge year ago, the heavy, flat point bullets typically used in the .44 Magnum have an additional advantage. 

As you can see, Marlin's Model 336 design is the gun for all seasons. It is the quintessential woodland hunter and a great self-defense weapon.  

Your choice might be the tried and true .30-30 for livestock and game control, or you may opt for a .44 Mag/.44 Spl dual rifle/pistol combination that fits your concerns for self-defense. The choice is there when choosing a lever-action rifle.

Fact is, loaded with performance and accuracy features, a Marlin lever-action rifle will help you put meat in the freezer, protect your herd from predators, or defend your family in a tight situation. All with one rifle.

I believe any Marlin Model 336 in .30-30, or a variant like the Model 1894 in .44 mag, would make a great Ranch Rifle. And yes, that's just the way I see it.

Tom Correa

Guns: The Ruger Vaquero

The Ruger website has it right when it states, "Original Old West Single-Action look, size and feel. The Ruger Vaquero combines the original Old West single-action look and feel with new features.

Since its introduction in 1993, the Ruger Vaquero has dominated the Cowboy Action Shooting world and earned its reputation for rugged reliability due to its strength and mechanical superiority. And yes, it has been referred to as "'the gun that won the New West" because of its widespread popularity among single-action shooters and cowboy action competitors.

In reality the mid-size steel frame and cylinder are scaled-down to the same size as the original 1955 Ruger Blackhawk, closely resembling the classic single-action revolvers of the late 1800's.

In the early 1950s, Westerns like High Noon and television shows like Have Gun Will Travel created a new interest in the single-action six-guns of the Old West. 

Bill Ruger led the charge to create them, beginning with his .22 caliber Single Six revolver in 1953, and following two years later with the first of his center-fire Blackhawk series in the same vein. Though beefier, sporting improved sights, and a stronger mechanism including, for example, coil springs, Ruger left them otherwise true to the original Colt design.

Because of demand for the Colt Single Action Army, Colt Firearms soon brought their equipment out of mothballs and began producing another generation of the original. As with their Single Action Army. Uberti, Great Western, and other manufacturers got into the game too, but there is nothing like a Ruger Vaquero.

The Ruger Vaquero is a six-shot single-action revolver manufactured by Sturm, Ruger based on the .357 Magnum New Model Ruger Blackhawk frame that was introduced in 1973. Today they are available in .45 Long Colt as well.

The original Vaquero came only in blued steel, case colored, and a gloss stainless finish. The gloss stainless finish is intended to resemble closely a 19th Century nickel-plated finish. And yes, all of which are available with wood, hard rubber, simulated ivory or black micarta grips and fixed sights.

The Ruger Vaquero is a New Model Blackhawk with fixed sights consisting of a front blade and a notch milled into the frame at the rear. These initial Vaqueros have only two hammer positions: fully down, and fully cocked.

The first version was a 7+1⁄2 inch barrelled revolver chambered in .45 Colt with a simulated color case-hardened frame and a blue barrel, grip frame, and cylinder. This was followed by models with a 5 1⁄2 inch barrel and a 4 5⁄8 inch barrel based on the other common barrel lengths of the Colt SAA.

The three versions were offered in stainless steel and other calibers including .44 magnum, .357 magnum, and .44-40 Winchester.

Originally all Ruger Vaqueros were shipped with walnut grips incorporating a Ruger logo in a medallion. In 1998, some models began shipping with a "faux-ivory" grip -- and limited runs with gold inlay and engraving were offered.

Like the New Model Blackhawk, the Vaquero does not require the hammer to be half-cocked for loading and unloading because it uses a transfer bar mechanism which prevents the cartridge under the hammer from being fired without the trigger being pulled.

The "New Model Vaquero" comes with checkered black plastic grips, which look similar to the checkered black rubber grips Colt used in the late 19th Century.

Ruger placed the safety warning which used to appear on the left-side of the barrel beneath the barrel on these models to make the gun more aesthetically pleasing.

The original Vaquero, what is now known as the "Old Model", was marketed from 1993 until 2005, and was slightly larger than the Colt Single Action Army. The New Vaquero, produced from 2005 to the present is closer to the dimensions of the orginial 1873 Colt Single Action Army.

The original Vaquero was built to safely fire higher pressure .45 Long Colt ammunition. This means that the original Vaquero was built to withstand much higher pressure than the Black powder chamberings can put out. The reason for this is that the original Vaquero was built with significantly thicker cylinder walls than other revolvers.

Many reloading manuals contain Ruger-only recommended handloads that are considered unsafe for use in other than Ruger Blackhawk, Redhawk, Thompson/Center,  and Ruger Vaquero model revolvers.

Ruger's "New Model" Vaquero model revolvers, having thinner cylinder walls, are not considered safe for use with the Ruger-only loads taken from the older editions of these manuals. Ruger states that the "New Model" Vaquero will handle +P and +P+ ammunition without any issues, but they warn users not to shoot reloads in any of their guns as it will void the warranty.

It is interesting to note that unlike original Colt Single Action Army revolvers, both Vaquero versions are safe to load all six cylinders because Ruger incorporates a transfer bar safety design in it's pistols.

Also, both Vaquero variants permit reloading by simply opening the loading gate, thereby freeing the cylinder to rotate freely, without pulling the hammer into the half-cock notch. As for other new features, the Vaquero includes a patented Ruger Reverse Indexing Pawl which allows for easier loading and unloading, while the traditional beveled cylinder simplifies holstering.

The New Model Vaquero also has an Internal Lock unobtrusively located beneath the right grip panel. It provides an added measure of security. The standard grip is very similar to the grip on the original Single Action Army revolver.

The Bisley variant incorporates the target grip that was incorporated on the Bisley variant of the Single Action Army revolver that was intended for target shooting. It has a lower profile hammer spur, and the Bisley grip is also better suited for users with larger hands having a longer frame that better fits larger hands.

Users with smaller hands may not find the trigger to be comfortable to shoot on Bisley variants, by reason of not being able to place their trigger finger properly on the trigger, the trigger being located further from the grip.

Another variant, and my favorite, is the Birdshead grip, similar to the pattern found on the Colt M1877 and M1878 models.

The last variant is the SASS (Single Action Shooting Society) model of Vaquero. It has the Old West feel and handling featuring the pre-1962 "XR-3" style, steel grip frame and black, checkered grips with SASS logo grip medallion, and just as with the Bisley model it includes a lower wider hammer spur.

In 1999, a limited run of 500 guns in stainless steel and 500 guns in blue with color case hardened frames were offered by Davidson's with a 3 3⁄4 inch barrel and a shortened ejector rod and housing.

These were called the "Sheriff's Model". And yes, in 2005, this short barrel Vaquero was added as a standard option to Ruger's catalog that year.

As stated before, the Vaquero was introduced in 1993 to meet the growing demand for quality modern firearms used in the growing sport of Cowboy Action Shooting. In 2005, Ruger introduced the "New Vaquero" which incorporated a smaller frame, based on Ruger's XR-3 grip frame, making the pistol closer to the size of the original Colt Single Action Army revolver of 1873. And yes, the Vaquero will accept two-piece grips made for the Colt Single Action Army.

The Firearms Distributor known as Davidson's offered two exclusive chamberings of the Vaquero with convertible cylinders. An additional special Commemorative Edition chambered in .40 S&W was ordered by the San Diego Sheriff's Association in 2000 to celebrate the agency's 150th anniversary.

The San Diego Sheriff's Association wanted the Vaqueros to use the same caliber as their normal service weapons. The original order was placed for 500, but later was increased to 800 due to overwhelming response from the association's members and alumni.

Sources conflict on the reasoning, but either to ensure plenty were available for members, or due to a minimum 500 production run size limitation, Ruger went on to produce an overrun of about 200 for a total of 1000 models. Some of those overrun models were taken by the SDSA members. All of the models sold to the SDSA members were embossed with the SDSA logo on the right side of the barrel and came in a special display case along with an acrylic encased badge.

Approximately 125 of the extras were eventually released through select Ruger distributors in standard black plastic cases and with no SDSA logo. Most had the safety warnings on the left side of the barrel like normal Vaqueros and the original SDSA guns.

However, Ruger ran out of the .40 S&W barrels before the frames and cylinders and later produced extra barrels to finish the remaining few guns, some of these were released through select distributors as late as 2009. Those are referred to as "cleanup" models, something all manufacturers do as the production run of a model is winding down. And yes, on those approximately 25-30 cleanup models the warnings normally stamped into the left side of the barrel were moved to the underside of the newer barrels leaving the side clean and completely smooth.

While all of these models are desirable for their unique caliber, the few that escaped without any markings on the left side of the barrel are now sought after collectibles, not only for the unique caliber but for the smooth barrel that many collectors feel adds to the overall beauty of the guns.

What are the Ruger Vaquero specifications? 

Origin: United States of America
Designer: Bill Ruger Sr.
Year Designed: 1993
Manufacturer: Sturm, Ruger
Produced: 1993-Present

Type: Revolver
Caliber: .357 Magnum/.38 Special, .45 Long Colt, and .45 ACP
Action:  Single-action
Feed System: 6-round cylinder
Sights:  Fixed
Barrel Lengths: 3+3⁄4 in, 4+5⁄8 in, 4+3⁄4 in, 5+1⁄2 in, and 7+1⁄2 inch
Weight: 36–48 oz
Variants: Convertible, Montado, Bisley, Birdshead

With the popularity of Cowboy Action Shooting, the Ruger Vaquero found a following. And really, it's a pretty justified following.

The reasons are simple. First there still is a demand for a single action revolver that is more traditional in appearance than say the Ruger Blackhawk. And second, the Vaquero has a winning design that sports a bar safety that supersedes the drawbacks of the Colt Single Action Army's 1873 design.


So why is the Transfer Bar Safety Mechanism, the hammer block bar safety, so important?

All Ruger Vaqueros have the patented Ruger transfer bar mechanism and loading gate interlock that provide an unparalleled measure of security against accidental discharge. And yes, that's is very important.

If you want an example of why that is so important, take for example what happened to infamous Wyatt Earp. Yep, Wyatt Earp.

From a news clipping of the time, the January 12, 1876 edition of the Wichita Beacon:

“Last Sunday night, while policeman Earp was sitting with two or three others in the back room of the Custom House Saloon, his revolver slipped from its holster, and falling to the floor, the hammer which was resting on the cap, is supposed to have struck the chair, causing a discharge of one of the barrels. The ball passed through his coat, struck the north wall then glanced off and passed out through the ceiling. It was a narrow escape and the occurrence got up a lively stampede from the room. One of the demoralized was under the impression that someone had fired through the window from the outside.”

Earp had in fact admitted that it happened when his biographer Stuart Lake asked him about it, and in a note asked Lake to leave out “the little affray with the chair.”

When Lake’s Wyatt Earp, Frontier Marshal did come out a few years later, Earp was emphatically quoted in it as saying "professionals would never carry a live round under the hammer of a single-action revolver."

If Wyatt Earp were carrying a Ruger Vaquero, he won't have had experienced a dropped-gun accidental discharge as he did with his Colt.

And yes, that's only one aspect of the great design that makes the Ruger Vaquero the superior single-action that it is.

But for me, the transfer bar safety is probably the most important part of their pistols.

Now, for full disclosure, I own a "few" Ruger Vaqueros. I bought my first Vaquero in the late 1990s. Now referred to as an "Old Model," I loved the heft of the piece, the balance, the feel and the durability. It is a great single-action in .45 long colt. One that can definitely take the higher pressure rounds.

In 2007, when I got into Cowboy Action Shooting, I bought another Vaquero. But since I liked the "Old Model", because I liked the extra heft, I really wanted to get another "Old Model".  But, when I couldn't find one, I opted for the lighter "New Model" Vaquero in .45 long colt.

The "New Model" Vaquero is a great pistol, wonderful balance, and great handling. The only drawback is that I've been told that it can't take the higher pressure rounds.

Lately, I bought another Ruger Vaquero from one of Ruger's exclusive distributors. It is a Vaquero that I have been looking for for a long time. It is a "Birdshead" Vaquero. And yes, add the fact that a "Birdshead" Vaquero fires the .45 ACP round, which of course is also use in 1911s, and it is one sweet piece.

To me, any purchase of a Ruger Vaquero is a smart buy. They are simply what they are; well made, reliable, durable, and cost effective.

All in all, Ruger Vaqueros are great guns!

And yes, that's just the way I see it.
Tom Correa

RANDOM SHOTS! Guns Banned In California, Lincoln Screenwriter Admits Changed History In Film, California Dumbing Down Kids, and More!

FIRST SHOT!

Guns Banned In California?

California's Democrat lawmakers seek toughest gun laws in nation

Just weeks after the state of New York enacted the nation's toughest gun laws, California lawmakers now say they want California to do even more in response to recent mass shooting in Connecticut.

Democrats overwhelmingly control the California State Legislature, and now residents of California are about to see how it feels to have the Democrats in complete control.

This week they revealed 10 proposals that they said would make California the most restrictive state for possessing firearms.

As if in competition with New York as to who can circumvent the US Constitution the best, Democrats held a news conference at the State Capital with San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and other anti-gun politicians and police chiefs in attendance.

Sounding like he was truly in some sort of competition, Villaraigosa said, "California has always been a leader on the issue of gun safety. New York has stepped up and stepped forward. California needs to answer the call."

And friends, if you don't think the Democrats at the State Capital have lost their collective minds, you should be very scared at what they are coming up with.

Among the measures is one that would outlaw the future sale of ALL semi-automatic rifles with detachable magazines - no matter if it is strictly a hunting rifle or not. The restriction would prevent quick reloading by requiring bullets to be loaded one at a time.

Lawmakers also want to make some prohibitions apply to current gun owners, not just to people who buy weapons in the future.

Like New York, California also would require background checks for buying ammunition and would add to the list of prohibited weapons.

Something California has been doing for a long time now, but they are trying to make it sound like they are just starting it - all for politics.

Those buying ammunition would have to pay a fee and undergo an initial background check by the state Department of Justice, similar to what is required now before buyers can purchase a firearm.

No kidding, Democrats want Californians to go through background checks when buying ALL ammunitions - including shotgun shells, and pellets for air rifles.

After a few background checks, your name goes into a Criminal Database sort of setup as if law abiding citizens are Criminals. Subsequent background checks would be done instantly by an ammunition seller checking the Justice Department's records.

The California Democrats also would ban possession of magazines holding more than 10 bullets, even by those who now own them legally. All would have to be registered.

Sam Paredes, executive director of Gun Owners of California, promised that gun proponents will fight the measures in court if they become law.

"It strikes me as if these folks are playing some sort of game of one-upsmanship with New York at the expense of law-abiding citizens, and that's just unconscionable," he said about lawmakers.

Republicans are saying that Democrats Legislators are exploiting the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary to push their own anti-gun agendas.

"The laws they are (proposing) would have made no difference in the Connecticut shooting whatsoever," Sen. Dan Logue said.

He added that lawmakers need to focus on other issues that lead to violence. "We've got the issue of PlayStations, where there is violent games," Logue said. "I mean, what about Hollywood and what they are putting out?"

Three bills have been introduced, with others to come before this month's deadline for submitting legislation.

The measures are the most stringent to date among numerous proposals introduced this year all in an effort to completely ban firearms and ammunition from law abiding citizens in California.

Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said he is confident Democrats can use their majorities in the Assembly and Senate to send the measures to Democratic Gov. Jerry Brown this year.

Brown has declined to comment on weapons legislation before it reaches him, but it is pretty certain that he will sign anything his political party puts in front of him regarding anything part of the ultra-liberal agenda.

Other proposed measures in California would ban so-called "bullet buttons" that can be used to quickly detach and reload magazines in semi-automatic rifles, and update the legal definition of shotguns to prohibit a new version that can rapidly fire shotgun shells and .45-caliber ammunition.

The state also would restrict the lending of guns to keep weapons from felons, mentally ill people and others who are prohibited from ownership.

Instead of fixing a horrible economy, prison overcrowding, gang violence, an increasing crime rate, bankrupt cities, wasteful spending, political graft, hunger and homelessness, the Democrats want to deflect their inability to deal with California's real problems and instead try to pull the public's attention of something that California already has - the strictest gun control laws in the nation.

We here in California are under attack from our own state government. Yes, our rights are under attack by a state government who caters only to the 44% who are Democrats - those who put them in office.

And yes, California politicians wonder why more and more people today are either buying more and more bulk ammunition and preparing for civil unrest - or leaving the state all together.

It seems that a war of some sort is on the horizon in California. Whether it is political or civil in nature, I do not know for certain. But I do know this, because of their blatant lack of representation and respect for our rights as Americans, I can really understand all the talk regarding people preparing for the worse to take place here.


SECOND SHOT!

Screenwriter Admits He Changed History - "Lincoln" Film Factually Inaccurate

Tony Kushner, the screenwriter for the movie "Lincoln," has conceded that he was not accurate in his portrayal of a 19th century vote on slavery.

While facts are not correct, he said his changes adhere to widely accepted standards for the creation of a historical drama. Imagine that, you are not depicting events accurately - but he still believe that its OK to do so.
One US Congressman that doesn't think so is U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney. He has actually taken the time to point out an important flaw in the fictional movie which represents itself as historically accurate.  

And yes, now Congressman Courtney has said that he was pleased screenwriter Tony Kushner acknowledged that the Connecticut Congressmen who was depicted in the movie did not vote against a Constitutional Amendment outlawing slavery - as it is depicted in the film.

Joe Courtney said he hopes a correction can be made before the film is released on DVD.

"My effort from the beginning has been to set the record straight on this vote, so people do not leave the theater believing Connecticut's representatives in the 38th Congress were on the wrong side of history," Courtney said.

After watching the movie over the weekend, Rep Courtney praised the artistry of the film about President Abraham Lincoln's political struggle to abolish slavery, but he took issue with a scene that shows two Connecticut congressmen vote against the 13th amendment.

Rep Courtney asked the Congressional Research Service to investigate, and it reported that all four Connecticut congressmen backed the amendment in a January 1865 vote.

In a letter to the film's director, Steven Spielberg, the congressman includes a tally of the 1865 vote by the state's congressional delegation and a passionate defense of the state's role in emancipating millions of blacks.

A spokeswoman for Disney, which distributed the DreamWorks film, had no comment on whether any changes will be made to the film either theatrically or in DVD form. My bet is that since it cost too much to edit something like that, that it won't be corrected. It would be nice if I were wrong about that.

Tony Kushner, the "Lincoln" screenwriter, said in a statement Thursday that the film changed two of the delegation's votes to clarify the historical reality that the 13th Amendment passed by a very narrow margin. He said the film "made up" new names for the men casting the votes so as not to ascribe actions to real people who did not perform them.

"In making changes to the voting sequence, we adhered to time-honored and completely legitimate standards for the creation of historical drama, which is what 'Lincoln' is. I hope nobody is shocked to learn that I also made up dialogue and imagined encounters and invented characters," Kushner said.

Kushner said he disagreed with Courtney's contention that accuracy is "paramount" in historical drama and said Connecticut should not feel as though it is defamed in the film.

He also said Courtney was incorrect in saying Connecticut was "solidly" pro-Lincoln, saying he received 51.4 percent of the state's vote in the 1864 election.

Courtney, who represents eastern Connecticut, said there was some local opposition to Lincoln but also noted the state lost more than 4,000 soldiers on the side of the Union in the Civil War.

"Their sacrifice emphatically demonstrates Connecticut's fidelity to the struggle to preserve the Union and end slavery, which is represented in 'Lincoln' dramatically by the House's vote on the 13th Amendment. The four members of Connecticut's delegation reflected that commitment on January 31, 1865, and they deserved a better legacy than the screenplay portrayed," Courtney said.

I find it interesting that this screenwriter can admit to being responsible for "made up dialogue and imagined encounters and invented characters" yet wants to argue the amount of support Abe Lincoln got from Connecticut in the 1864 election - which by the way, according to the papers at the time, Lincoln was supposed to lose.

In my opinion, if you are doing a historical piece of work, then a writer is responsible for getting the facts right.

Instead of having to use "made up dialogue and imagined encounters and invented characters," and yes also have Lincoln using vulgar language which he was known not to use, he should have went simply with what we know - or can be researched and verified.

As one noted Lincoln Historian has said regarding the movie, "One thing the movie leaves out is his [Lincoln] relationship with Frederick Douglass. Lincoln came to know Douglass and admire him greatly, and Douglass did come to the White House."

But then again, since the "Lincoln" screenwriter admits to changing history for his own reasons, he obviously doesn't care about getting things right.

In the screenwriter's response to Rep Courtney, published in the Wall Street Journal, Kushner wrote: ...

"I respectfully disagree with the Congressman’s contention that accuracy in every detail is 'paramount' in a work of historical drama. Accuracy is paramount in every detail of a work of history. Here’s my rule: Ask yourself, 'Did this thing happen?' If the answer is yes, then it’s historical. Then ask, 'Did this thing happen precisely this way?' If the answer is yes, then it’s history; if the answer is no, not precisely this way, then it’s historical drama."

In other words, being correct, honest, accurate, precise, factual, are things that he doesn't concern himself with.

It seems that he can make up dialogue, imagine encounters, invent characters, make an audience think that Abraham Lincoln was some foul mouth megalomaniac, and all the while change historical accuracy because his screenplay is not history but instead a historical "drama".

The problem here lies in the fact that many will take this movie as factual and believe it. And yes, there lies the responsibility of the film maker to get it right. He owes it to the public to get it right. If he has any sense of right and wrong, he will try to depict it factually.

NEXT SHOT!

State of California No Longer Requiring Eighth Grade Algebra

California will no longer require eighth-graders to take algebra — a move that is line with the Common Core standards being adopted by most states, but that may leave students unprepared for college.

Last month, California formally shifted to the Common Core mathematics standards, which recommend that students delay taking algebra if they aren’t ready for it. Previously, algebra class was a requirement for all eighth-graders in the state.

The Common Core State Standards Initiative, which is sponsored by the National Governor’s Association, is an effort to unify diverse state education curricula. Forty-five other states and the District of Columbia have signed on so far.

But some education experts worry that the change will further damage struggling students’ college chances, since early proficiency in Algebra I is an excellent predictor of college graduation, according to the Mercury News.

Black and Latino students in California are significantly more likely to fail eighth-grade algebra, and 80 percent of those who fail it once will fail it again when they take it in high school.

A study published by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area claims that some minority students who score well enough to place into advanced math classes are often mistakenly held back.

“School districts have been disproportionately requiring minority students to repeat Algebra I even after they scored proficient or advanced on the Algebra I California standardized tests,” said Kimberly Thomas Rapp, executive director of the committee, in an interview with The Daily Caller News Foundation.

The new standard is a step back for California, and may leave students, particularly minority and low-income students, unprepared for college, said Rapp.

“Back in ‘97 when the state went to a standard that expected students to take Algebra 1 in the eighth grade, that was really about looking forward to college competitiveness and preparing our public school students to be ready to compete to access college systems after high school,” she said. “The reality is what we’re now doing is lowering the standards.”

Instead, Rapp proposed that California schools improve the mathematics curriculum for students in the fifth, sixth and seventh grades, so that they are better prepared for Algebra I in eighth grade.

I believe that California will simply reject any suggestion to make students work harder.

My information tells me that many students entering Junior Colleges after High School are ill prepared for what is expected by them there. I'm told by using test scores from Junior Colleges, it is evident that students lack the basics of English and Math when leaving High Schools.

By cutting back Algebra requirements, we are only dumbing down our kids even further. Too bad the Democrats who run California don't care about strengthening education instead of the weakening it.

NEXT SHOT!

Poll: Most women believe they should not be forced into combat

The majority of American female voters support the idea of women serving in combat, but not being drafted, according to a national poll from Quinnipiac University released Thursday morning at the National Press Club.

Seventy-seven percent of female voters indicated that they favor the combat policy change, the poll showed.

When asked about the reinstatement of the draft, only 28 percent of American voters were in support. Despite widespread favor toward women in combat, only 48 percent of females supported women being drafted, while 59 percent of men supported the idea.

“There is a sizeable difference in how men and women feel,” said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, in the press release. “There’s clearly a gender gap,” Brown later told The Daily Caller. “But we couldn’t ask why. … We do data, we can’t read minds.”

Women were also timid supporters on the question of whether women in combat will improve military effectiveness. Only 46 percent saying it would.

The data reveals that female voters may believe that women should be allowed to serve in open combat alongside men, but they should not be forced to do so through a draft.

Brown also said he had “no idea” how voters would have responded if they had been asked about whether or not women were capable of performing the same as men in combat. Imagine that!

LAST SHOT!
CA assemblyman proposes “marshal program” in California schools

California Assemblyman Tim Donnelly held a press conference to announce the introduction of the School Marshal Program, created to “protect children from violent intruders in the classroom.”

Similar to federal air marshals who are meant to “blend in” with passengers, this measure authorizes school districts, county offices of education, and charter schools to use general purpose funds to provide training to qualified, volunteer teachers, administrators, or janitors who are willing to carry firearms on campus as part of the school marshal plan.

The proposed law builds on the 1995 Gun Free Zone Act, which permits teachers and school staff members to carry concealed firearms if their district permits it.

“We’re not proposing to simply arm teachers,” Donnelly told me, “we’re going to train them to use the CCW they are already have…In 1995, they obviously felt it was important to not deny that right to teachers who felt that need, A.B. 202 just reiterates existing law.”

I asked Assemblyman Donnelly how this potentially controversial approach will protect both students and faculty.

“This is going to build an invisible line of protection around kids by protecting the identity of the marshals,” Donnelly said. “A killer’s goal is to kill. Now he’ll know there are sharks swimming with the fish. The killer isn’t going to know if there’s one gun on campus or 10.”

“Politicians have been exploiting the tragedy in Connecticut and have threatened to ban ammunition, create even more restrictions—none of which would have saved the lives of the children and teachers at Sandy Hook,” he said .An important part of the measure is to protect the identities of potential marshals so they don’t become targets.

Assemblyman Donnelly became emotional as he talked about the courage of the Sandy Hook teachers.

“Talk about heroism—we have a moral obligation to people like young Vicki Soto, who flung herself in front of her students at the cost of her own life,” Donnelly said. “We need to make sure others like her won’t be defenseless when faced with a deranged madman, looking into the face of inexplicable evil.”

UPDATE from Assemblyman Donnelly:

”This is not a state mandated program. AB202 simply empowers local school districts to designate teachers, administrators and staff, who currently have a CCW permit, and volunteer to undergo additional training. Current law allows any school personnel who have a valid CCW permit and permission from their district to conceal carry on campus now. (Ironically, that exemption was protected in the Gun Free School Zone Act of 1995).

We envision that local districts who choose to adopt this plan will obtain training for those volunteers who agree to be designated, “School Marshals” from their local police or sheriff’s training officer at little to no cost.

AB202 does protect the identity of all School Marshals from public disclosure, thereby creating an invisible line of defense around the kids because the perpetrator will never know which teacher is armed, much like the Air Marshals program. Godspeed.”

For more information about the School Marshal Program visit his California Assembly website: http://arc.asm.ca.gov/member/AD33/

I really believe that any protection in today's schools can't hurt.


Story by Tom Correa

Old West - Interesting Facts - Part Three

 Myths and trivia of the Old West seems to linger long and hard.

One huge myth about the Old West has to do with how many murders did those old Western towns see in a year?

If say we take the bloodiest, gun-slingingest of the famous cattle towns with the cowboys doing quick-draws at high noon every other day, would it be a hundred? Two hundred? More?

Just last month in Chicago, this year 2013, that city saw over 40 murders in one month. So how many did those supposedly "violent" Old West towns see?

How about 5. Yup, just five. The average is five in one year. That was the most murders any Old West town saw in any one year. That's where myth is defeated by fact.

Fact is, most towns averaged about 1.5 murders a year, and not all of those were shooting.

You are much more likely to be murdered in Chicago today in 2013 than you were back in Tombstone in 1881, the year of the famous gunfight at the OK Corral.

How many dead at the most famous gunfight in the Old West, thanks to Hollywood, three. That town's most violent year ever.

As for the traditional Western gunfight as depicted in movies, the inaccuracy of those using handguns at the time are legendary. And yes, as for those who would use a quick-draw - good luck with that one.

It was simply extremely unlikely that the "average" man using a gun would be able to hit an assailant on the first shot using a quick draw from any real distance other than up close where you can draw and shove your pistol into someone's chest like say Luke Short did in one of his shootouts. 

Though, as it still is today, almost all attercations with firearms take place within 3 to 7 feet of each other, there are all sorts of stories of two guys shooting at each other across a poker table and neither hitting the other - and emptying their guns while firing at each other.

The closest history got to high-noon show downs was "dueling" where two men just stood across from one another with their guns out, aimed and fired until one or the other got lucky and someone was hit or dead.

And yes, we can all forget about "fanning" a pistol. Like the low slung holster, it was a Hollywood invention. Rapidly cocking a single-action revolver between rounds by fanning your single-action and you'd be lucky to hit anything close to what you were aiming to hit. It just wasn't done.

So why do people believe that the Old West was so violent? Hollywood and television mostly. If you've seen Young Guns on cable, you probably know the guy was gunning somebody down every ten minutes!

In reality, according to researchers, Billy The Kid's lifetime kill count was four.

In the Old West, it was nothing out of the ordinary for a criminal to inflate his murder stats for the same reason a guy in prison might want to appear tougher than he really is: survival.

Almost none of the so-called gunfighters of the Old West killed the numbers of men that they are purported as having done. Sure, there are a few exceptions to that rule, such as John Wesly Hardin or Kiler Jim Miller.

On the overall, men who lived in saloons and gambling parlors and on the either side of crime talked up their violent lawless natures in order to be intimidating to those who they may cheat or rob or steal from.

The Old West, with little or no government, was a generally peaceful place, and not the violent frontier often depicted in movies.

The frontier West was not the violent "Wild West" depicted by the press and history teachers who don’t know history.

Before 1900, there were no successful bank robberies in any of the major towns in Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, the Dakotas, Kansas, Nebraska, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Nevada, Utah, or New Mexico, and only a pair of robberies in California and Arizona.

They were relatively very few bank robberies at all in the entire period from 1859 through 1900 in all the frontier West.

In the Old West, even with No Carry Laws like the local Gun-Control laws instituted by the Earps in Tombstone, most people in the Old West carried concealed weapons.

Fact is, in the Old West, criminals not wanting to get hurt doing their criminal acts were not as likely to pick on a  prey that appears willing to fight back. And yes, most were armed because they were definitely willing to fight back.

There is no evidence anyone was ever killed in a frontier shoot-out at "High Noon." And no, not even the Dave Tutt ambush by Wild Bill Hickok was at High Noon.

Billy the Kid was a pyschopathic murderer, but he didn't kill 21 people by the time he was 21 years old, as the legend says. Authorities can account for three men he killed for sure, and no more than a total of six or seven.

Wild Bill Hickok claimed to have killed six Kansas outlaws and secessionists in the incident that first made him famous. But he lied. He killed just three—all unarmed.

Bill Cody's reputation as a gunslinger was mostly from his own fiction.

He freely admitted that he fabricated all the excessive shooting in those dime novels. But he was a good shot and is said to have proved it repeatedly at the bison-killing contests where he earned the nickname Buffalo Bill.

But he didn't kill many Indians, and when he was old, his estranged wife revealed that he had been wounded in combat with Indians only once, not 137 times as he claimed.

In 1880, wide-open towns like Virginia City, Nevada, Leadville, Colorado, and Dallas, Texas had no homicides. By comparison, Cincinnati, Ohio, had 17 homicides that year.

From 1870 to 1885, the five Kansas railheads of Abilene, Caldwell, Dodge City, Ellsworth and Wichita had a total of 45 homicides, or an average of three per year - a lower homicide rate than New York City, Baltimore and Boston for those same years.

Sixteen of those 45 homicides were committed by duly authorized peace officers, and only two towns  Ellsworth in 1873 and Dodge City in 1876 ever had as many as five killings in any one year.  

Before the advent of vigilante committees, banditry was a major issue in California after 1849.

As thousands of young men detached from family or community moved into a land with few law enforcement mechanisms. San Francisco solved the problem with informal citizens' vigilance committees that gave drumhead trials and death sentences to well-known offenders.

 The California Gold Rush of 1849 wasn’t America’s first gold rush. Fact is that it wasn’t even the second.

When young Conrad Reed found a large yellow rock in his father’s field in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, in 1799, he had no idea what it was. Neither did his father, John Reed.  

The family reportedly used it as a doorstop for several years, until a visiting jeweler recognized it as a 17-pound gold nugget. The rush was on.  

Eventually, Congress built the Charlotte Mint to cope with the sheer volume of gold dug up in North Carolina.  

In 1828 gold was discovered in Georgia, leading to the nation’s second gold rush.  

The first gold strike West of the Mississippi River was made by Jose Ortiz in 1832 south of Santa Fe, New Mexico, in what would quickly become the boom town of Delores.  

Finally, in January of 1848, James Marshall struck it rich at Sutter’s Mill in California, and tens of thousands of Forty-Niners moved west to seek their fortunes.  

Phoebe Ann Mozee (Moses in some accounts), born on August 13, 1860 in Paterson Township, Ohio, was later known as the great Annie Oakley, expert rifle and shotgun markswoman.

In 1880, Judge Roy Bean found $40.00 and a six-gun on a deceased cowboy. Judge Roy charged the corpse with carrying a concealed weapon and fined him $40.00.

Bean once killed a Mexican official in a dispute over a girl in California. A friend of the Mexican official hanged Bean, but, before he died, he was cut down by the contested damsel. Ever after, Bean was unable to turn his head due to the injury.

One pivotal Civil War battle was fought in, believe it or not, New Mexico.

In a bold move designed to fill rebel coffers with Cripple Creek gold, Confederate General Henry Hopkins Sibley invaded New Mexico Territory from the south in early 1862, believing he could march right up the Rio Grande and take Colorado.

Unbeknownst to Sibley, however, the First Regiment of Volunteers in Colorado caught wind of the scheme and marched 400 miles south in just 13 days to join the Yankees at Fort Union, near Santa Fe.

Instead of a cakewalk, Sibley’s forces wound up fighting what many historians call the “Gettysburg of the West.”

After just two days of skirmishing, Union troops, who most likely relied on local ranchers as guides, outflanked the Confederates and burned their supply train. After that, it was a long slow march back to Texas for the rebels who never returned.
It is believed that Billy the Kid was born in New York City on September 17, 1859.

Established in 1827, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas is the oldest military post in continuous operation West of the Mississippi River.

The oldest human skeleton ever found in the Western Hemisphere was discovered in 1953 near Midland, Texas.

It was first believed that the skeleton, the remains of a 30-year-old woman, was 10,000 years old. However, the latest estimates are that it is much older.

Estimates of how many people lived in North America before the arrival of the European explorers vary, but are thought to be in the millions. Whether that is true or not, no one knows for certain.

It is simply a hypothesis that that was the population divided among about 240 tribal groupings speaking an estimated 300 different languages. Who knows how they come up with that?

Buffalo carcasses were strewn across the Great Plains after the mass buffalo hunts of 1870-1883. They were later bought by Eastern firms for the production of fertilizer and bone china. "Bone pickers” earned eight dollars a ton for the bones.

Around 1541, the present state of Texas was called Tejas, a Spanish version of the Caddo word meaning "allies."

Wyatt Earp was indicted for horse theft in Van Buren, Arkansas on May 8, 1871. He escaped trial by jumping bail and fleeing to Kansas. Just a damn horse thieve!

Rumor has it that the tradition of spreading sawdust on the floors of bars and saloons started in Deadwood, South Dakota due to the amount of gold dust that would fall on the floor. The sawdust was used to hide the fallen gold dust and was swept up at the end of the night.

More on Deadwood. It certainly was a man's world. Deadwood in the late 1870s had 200 men for every woman.

In Deadwood, a prospector could find $20 to $25 worth of gold a day in the early days of the gold rush. He often lost it in the saloons and brothels in Deadwood.

If he managed to not lose it on the many vices available he would probably lose it buying food. Fact is that 100 pounds of flour started at $10 and went as high as $80. Fresh eggs sold for several dollars apiece.

Seth Bullock became Deadwood’s first sheriff in 1877. He and Theodore Roosevelt were good friends. Seth rode in Roosevelt’s 1905 inaugural parade, leading 50 cowboys.

A small pox epidemic hit the Black Hills in 1878.
This sounds ify, but supposedly Wyatt Earp spent the winter of 1876-77 in Deadwood. Since no claims were left, he started a business hauling winter stove wood to the residents. It was cold hard work, but in the spring he supposedly left Deadwood a lot of money.

The queen of female gamblers, “Poker Alice” Ivers was known to make up to $6,000 a night at the height of her career. She became a legend in the Black Hills and often sat in on big stakes games.

The Sundance Kid spent time in the Lawrence County jail in Deadwood in 1897 for a robbery of a bank in Belle Fourche, South Dakota. After several weeks he escaped.

A man who stood only four foot three inches tall, known as Potato Creek Johnny, aka Welshman John Perret, was the stereotype of a well-worn prospector.

His fame exploded when he found the largest gold nugget ever discovered in the Black Hills. It weighed 7 ¾ troy ounces. A replica of the nugget is on display in the Adams Museum in Deadwood. The real one is in their safe.

After serving more than twenty years in prison, Cole Younger got a job selling tombstones, worked for a while in a Wild West show with Frank James, and died quietly in 1916 in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, where he was known as an elderly churchgoer.

Wyatt Earp was neither the town marshal or the sheriff in Tombstone, Arizona at the time of the shoot-out at the O.K. Corral.

His brother Virgil was the town marshal. He had temporarily deputized Wyatt, Morgan and Doc Holliday just prior to the gunfight.

The Oregon Trail, from Independence, Missouri to Fort Vancouver, Washington measured 2,020 miles.

An estimated 350,000 emigrants took the Oregon Trail but one out of seventeen would not survive the trip. The most common cause of death was cholera.

Harry Longabaugh became known as "the Sundance Kid” because he served a jail term for horse stealing in Sundance, Wyoming.

Mike Fink was a keel boatman along the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and an expert marksman.

However, he loved his drink and was a known brawler. One of his favorite games was to shoot a mug of brew from the top of some fellow's head.

However, on one night in 1823, Fink had drank so much that it didn't matter how good were his shooting skills. This time he missed and killed the guy who was wearing the mug on his head.

In no time, the dead man's friends retaliated by killing Fink.

For whatever reasons, his legend was being told for decades along with the likes of Paul Bunyan and Pecos Bill.

The oldest settlement in the United States is Acoma Pueblo. Yes it is.

It’s no revelation that Native American settlements predate European ones, but it may surprise some people that Acoma Pueblo, west of Albuquerque, New Mexico, has been continuously occupied since the 12th century.  

The Acoma still inhabit their “Sky City,” a settlement of about 4,800 people that sits atop a 365-foot high mesa.   Traditionally hunters and traders, the Acoma people now make their income from a cultural center and casino complex. That's right, Indian gambling.  

Coincidentally, the oldest state capital in the United States is Santa Fe, which recently celebrated its 400th anniversary.

The Colt Peacemaker, a .45-caliber single action revolver, was manufactured by Colt Firearms Manufacturing Company in Hartford, Connecticut in 1873.

At the time it sold for $17.00, which was about  half a month's pay for the average laborer in 1873.

On average, cowboys earned $30 to $40 per month, because of the heavy physical and emotional toll, it was unusual for a cowboy to spend more than seven years on the range.

As open range ranching and the long drives gave way to fenced in ranches in the 1880s, the glory days of the cowboy came to an end. It was then that the myths about the "free living" cowboy began to emerge.

Samuel Clemens, struck by silver fever, tried his hand at prospecting in the town of Unionville, Nevada in 1862.

Having more luck in trading mining claims than actually producing silver, he wound up leaving the area.

A short time latter Clemens, started using the pen-name Mark Twain and becomes one of the greatest writers of American Literature.

Too bad Mark Twain's books are now being banned in the United States because of "Political Correctness" over Twain's 19th Century use of the word "Nigger".

On December 21, 1876, Clay Allison shot and killed Deputy Sheriff Charles Faber at the Olympic Dance Hall in Las Animas, Colorado.

If it weren’t for Allison purposely stomping on the feet of other dancers, the law probably would never have been called.

Was he a mean one? You bet he was.

It was reported that after sitting in a dentist’s chair in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Clay Allison turned the tables on the dentist and started to forcibly pull one of the dentist’s own teeth when the doctor accidentally started drilling into the wrong molar in Clay's mouth.

He would have continued pulling the dentist's teeth, except the doc's screams brought in people from the street and Clay Allison let things be.

If you've watched as many old Westerns on television as I have, you'd probably start thinking that the infamous Dalton Gang was around for years.

Fact is that that outlaw gang only operated for only a year and five months.

They began with a train robbery in Wharton, Oklahoma on May 9, 1891 and ending at the shootout at Coffeyville, Kansas on October 5, 1892.

There seems to be some disagreement as to the origin of the term "red light district."

Some say it came from the Red Light Bordello in Dodge City, Kansas. The story is that the front door of the building was made of red glass and produced a red glow to the outside world when lit at night. The name carried over to refer to the town's brothel district.

Another explanation is that the Railroad used to stop a while at bordellos along its route, the brakemen (or signalmen) of the time used a red lantern to signal the conductor to either stop and start the trains.

It became common place for a red brakeman's lantern to be hung near the door of a bordello to signal trains -- letting them know that business can be had there.

It was in the news today that the US Post Office may discontinue Saturday mail delivery. The announcer on the radio said that Saturday mail delivery is going the way of the Pony Express. 

So I started wondering, how long was the Pony Express in operation?

Well, fact is that the Pony Express was in operation for only nineteen months from April 1860 through October 1861.

The Pony Express ran 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

The Pony Express carried almost 35,000 pieces of mail over more than 650,000 miles during those nineteen months and lost only one mail sack.

At the start of the Pony Express, the cost to mail a letter was $5.00 per ½ ounce.  By the time the Pony Express ended, the price had dropped to $1.00 per ½ ounce.

The typical Pony Express rider was nineteen years old and made $50 per month plus room and board.

According to a newspaper ad in the Sacramento Daily Union, the pay for riders and station keepers was $50.00 per month.   This amount would equal $850.00 per month today.

So now, how many riders were Pony Express riders?

Well, if you count everyone in the Old West who said they were than the number is probably in the tens of thousands.

But in reality, only about 186 men are known to have ridden for the Pony Express during its operation of just over 18 months.

And no, Buffalo Bill Cody and Wild Bill Hickok were not Pony Express riders. 

Now as for the imagine of a rider throwing himself off one horse and onto another at breakneck speeds then taking off like a bat out of Hell, well though Pony Express riders changed horses every 10 to 15 miles - their speed was not exactly all out.

Fact is that their horses reached an average speed of 10 miles an hour. That's right, just 10 miles an hour on average.

So how fast is that on a horse? Well, obviously a horse's speed varies with their stride length, body build, and other factors. But basically, in miles per hour, horses move at their various gaits:

At a Walk, they roughly move at between 3 to 4 mph. A pleasure show horse can go as slow as 2 mph. Gaited horses, who do not trot, can do what is called a "running walk" as fast as 15 mph.

At a Trot, horses move out at roughly 8 to 10 mph. Again, a shorter striding horse could trot slower, and a horse with a long stride could move faster.

At a Lope or Canter, which are the same speed a Lope being Western and a Canter being English riding terminology, a horse is moving out at 10 to 17 mph.

At the Gallop, full out, which most think the Pony Express riders did travel at but in actuality they didn't, is run at about 30 mph.

And realize this, some horses are not built to run fast and may only do a fast canter at their best.

Thoroughbreds, which are bred for running distance but not speed, have been clocked at over 40 mph.

Quarter horses, bred and raced for short quarter mile distances, can reach 50 mph in short bursts according to the AQHA's website.

So you might ask, why did they move so slow riding at speeds between a trot and a lope?

That answer has to do with the approximately 400 horses, Thoroughbreds, Mustangs, Pintos, and Morgans, that were purchased for the Pony Express.

Since there were approximately 165 stations along the route, and Pony Express riders changed horses every 10 to 15 miles on a trail almost 2,000 miles long, it was all about knowing exactly how much time it would take to cover the needed distance and still not burn out the available stock.

Horses were not expendable.

Besides, it is said that a good Express Rider knew how to gauge his horses.

A trot or lope was the usual, to a horse this is the easiest gait to use when covering vast miles.

Of course this also depended on the terrain and the distance between swing stations. A gallop was used when needed to get the rider out of harm's way.

One researcher found out that the qualifications for the riders were: "Wanted. Young, skinny, wiery fellows. Not over 18. Must be expert riders. Willing to risk death daily. Orphans preferred."

Most of the riders were around age 19. The youngest rider, Charlie Miller also known as Broncho Charlie was only 11 years old.

The oldest was a man whose name is presently unknown, he is said to have been 45.

To give folks an idea of how important it was not to completely play out your horse, take for example what happened in June of 1876 when George Custer's command was looking for a fight.

After moving 72 miles in three days, they found their fight on the Little Bighorn.

On June 25, Custer stumbled on one of the largest Indian camps the Plains had ever seen–around 7,000 strong, made up of Sioux, Cheyenne, and Arapaho bands.

With all sorts of self-confidence and political ambitions, he split his troops into three columns to encircle the Indians.

Yes, believe it or not, he took his tiny force and decided to encircle the largest gathering of Plains Indians on record.

While Custer may have been brave, he was not very bright. It's no wonder he failed tactics at West Point. 

Custer led roughly 200 men toward the camp because he was afraid the 7,000 Indians there would run away from his tiny force of a few hundred men.

He, counting on his two other columns to encircle the Indian warriors, instead found himself surrounded by well-armed Indians atop what is today called Custer Hill.

Most historians agree the battle was quick – about 20 minutes. Custer was found two days later, stripped naked and shot in the left temple and chest. Every one of his 210 men was killed and mutilated.

One reason this massacre took place was that Custer pushed his mounted troops, and more importantly their horses, to such a point of exhaustion that his men were completely unable to retreat if they needed to.

The movies show a charge at the Little Big Horn river by Custer's troops, but witnesses there say that the horses in his command could not have preformed a charge because they were so spent.

As for a last bit of trivia, George Armstrong Custer got his appointment to West Point even though his family was widely known to be staunch Democrats and the Ohio Congressman who made the appointment was a Republican.

It’s believed a constituent recommended Custer in order to keep him away from his daughter.

For more, click:

Old West - Interesting Facts - Part One

Old West - Interesting Facts - Part Two

And yes, that's the way it was!

Tom Correa