I thought the classic Western face-off is in The Virginian, and the technical term for it is the Trampas Walk, after the character in the novel. Or am I misinformed?
Smile ,when you ask that, Pilgrim!
Seriously, welcome to the board. It helps to post a link to Cecil’s(or anyone’s) column to which you’re referring. It gets everyone on the same page.
It’s as simple as cutting and pasting a link to your post. You can dress it up if you play a bit. Did Western gunfighters really face off one-on-one?
I always heard it called a “walk down,” but what do I know. I’m an easterner.
That would make you a tenderfoot, pardner 
I thought duels were common in the US, usually resulting in both parties firing off their rounds and making up afterward, but rarely ending with someone getting shot(i.e. Alexander Hamilton). Was this type of duel not common in the Old West?
I don’t know that “common” is the word. There was a bit of prejudice against that specific sort of duel in the US, as it was seen as “aristocratic”. What Cecil is talking about, of course, is the Hollywood “fast draw” duel (99% myth), and especially the Hollywood image of it as a tool of law enforcement (100% myth).
Duels have been around since before medival times. A show of strenth and skill. If you picture in your mind two men dueling with swords over a misunderstanding…it is not far fetched to imagine a western gun fight. A show down would show nerve and skill.
My question is, has anyone out there ever shot a real gun? If so, how much? If you are a good to great shot, then one bullet through the heart at 50 yrds is not to hard. Remember that the same rifleing in a rifle was also in a pistol. With practice, a person could hit a grapefruit sized [ human heart sized] target 8 or 9 times out of ten. The wild west could be a very dangerous place. To set the record stright, as most of the people there were good shots, it was not a place to be a show off. You never knew just who was near you who might take offense.
Are you seriously suggesting that out of 4000+ subscribed members there aren’t any with firearms experience? Please. I’ve burned more powder than 99 out of a hundred people I’ve met. I prefer shotguns for sport shooting, but I’m very familiar with handguns.
50 yards is an extremely long pistol shot with open sights, especially if the shooter is under stress.
And especially if you’re shooting something like .44 or .45 caliber with a double-action revolver – from the hip.
The bulls-eye of a pistol target is about the same size as the whole target for a rifle.
This one made me de-lurk!
Some observations:
Any of the revolvers under consideration here would have been single action, requiring the shooter to draw and cock the weapon before firing.
The bullets of the time would most likelyhave been hand cast lead ball, not the sleek, copper jacketed aerodynamic wonders we have today.
Likewise, the cartridges would have been loaded with black powder (not nearly as consistent in its combustion characteristics as contemporary smokeless powder) and without the benefit of modern precision loading equipment.
While the barrel was indeed rifled, it was only 4 to 6 inches long as opposed to a long gun. Even a cabine like the Winchester Model 94 had a 20" barrel. The increase in accuracy imparted by rifling is highly dependent on barrel length.
A long gun also has the benefit of a much more secure shooting stance with the offhand securing the foregrip. The “bird’s head” grip profile of late 19th century handguns is never going to a case study in ergonomics and heavy loads make the gun attempt to pivot between the thumb and forefinger. A good grip is crucial to handgun accuracy today, and was even more of a challenge then.
Today, a competitive shooter who can acheive consistent accuracy at 50 yards or more - with the benefit of highly customized multi-thousand dollar guns and match grade ammunition - is considered at the top of the sport.
However, I suspect that most gunfights occured at ranges between 15 and 50 feet.
More often than not, I can put a full clip in the “10” ring at 25 yards with a modern semi-auto pistol. As much as I love the form and style of the vintage single action revolvers, even with a modern “cowboy” style gun; if required to defend myself with it, I’d probably be better off unloading it and throwing it at an attacker. Hey, even Superman - who was impervious to bullets - ducked when the bad guys threw their empty guns at him!
Joe
Not so. Self-cocking and double-action revolvers existed before the Civil War.
The Smith & Wesson Model 1, which came out in 1857, used the very same .22 Short cartridge you can buy today (except for the powder). “Ball” only in the military sense of “ball” meaning “not incendiary, tracer, etc.”.
Mikefoto:
Yes, there are doubtlessly a few members in the wild, uncivilized (Mid)Western United States with firearms experience. As has been pointed out, double action revolvers existed and fifty yards is a very long pistol shot.
By all accounts, Wild Bill carried two single action revolvers, meaning that he first cocked the hammer before firing, making for an easier shot. What everyone seems to be accepting as gospel is the range of fifty yards and that Wild Bill could reliably produce heart or head shots at fifty yards. Odds are he could not, but Bill may have been lucky that day.
My own contribution here are three stories passed along to me by my great-grandfather, who prospected for oil in the West and slept with a pistol under his pillow at night. On one occasion he witnessed a gun fight between two cowboys who shot and killed each other in the street one afternoon somewhere in South Dakota. Both men bled to death in minutes. The second event was when great-grandfather was awakened in the middle of the night by a drunken Indian climbing through his hotel room window. Granddad pulled his pistol and shot, killing the Indian who was intent on murder and robbery. Third, and finally, Granddad was riding along somewhere in Oklahoma when he came upon some men target shooting. He stopped and shot at targets with them, acquitting himself pretty well. He learned later on that he had been shooting with the Dalton gang.
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no, buy most people were shot in the back…ie. Wild Bill Hickock"
at DEADWOOD
THE HBO SERIES IS TRUE TO HISTORY
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WELL WHAT ABOUT US MILItary (retired persons?)
i am an expert with many firearms
and grenade launching
Southeast Asia taught me alot
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well, i could hit the head of a sillouette at 40 meters
with a .45 Gov. issued
not only under stress, but shooting from the hip and (maybe) fanning too boot.