The great gun fighters

[the_skunk]

Lots of talk about hero gunfighters -





Frank Hammer

 





Melvin Purvis

The truth be told, that everyone of them from Wyatt Earp to Frank Hammer, to Melvin Purvis,  never gave their opponents a chance. I can picture Edgar J Hoover with a pair of six shooters in Dodge City.

[DDGator]

I had an opportunity to have dinner and sit and talk for a couple of hours with Jim Cirrillo, one of the great modern gunfighters.  I am so glad I had that chance.  He was a great story teller and it was an honor to get some perspective from a man who had deadly encounters in the streets of New York many, many times.

[the_skunk]

I had an opportunity to have dinner and sit and talk for a couple of hours with Jim Cirrillo, one of the great modern gunfighters.  I am so glad I had that chance.  He was a great story teller and it was an honor to get some perspective from a man who had deadly encounters in the streets of New York many, many times.

I bet these guys know their guns, and tactics. I'd rather catch a criminal coming out of Dunkin Donuts, unaware, with his hands full, then go banging on his door at midnight.

[DDGator]

I don't know if you have read any of Cirillo's books.  He was on the infamous NYPD "Stake Out Squad."  They would set up on businesses in high risk areas and wait for armed robberies to occur and shoot it out with the perps.  Seriously dangerous stuff.  Ultimately the squad was disbanded because they shot too many perps.

[tracker]

 As noted in some earlier posts, Colonel Jack Hays, Texas Ranger, has to rank as one of the greatest gunfighters of all time. He took delivery of a shipment of Paterson Colts and used them in an Indian battle in 1844, effectively saving Colt Firearms. He is legendary in fighting Indians and Mexicans from horseback, most notably in the Mexican War.

http://jack0204.tripod.com/gen/Heskew/jack_c_hays.htm

[backupr9]

Excellent read tracker...thanks!  My mother's dad was a Pinkerton man for a while, but owned two ranches in NM (One was White Sands, which he lost during the depression).  His father was the sheriff in the county next to Lincoln Co. during the Lincoln county war...apparently he also chased Billy the Kid, but was gunned down from behind on a street corner in his town one night by a fellow he had jailed in the past.  The deceased sheriff and his brother were both lawmen, and were described in an old regional history book of New Mexico thusly:  "the Dow brothers were effective and relatively honest for lawmen"! 

My father's great uncle left Appalachia to avenge the shooting death/murder of his brother who was a mining engineer in Colorado.  Was given his deceased brother's 1902 Savage 99 SRC in .303 Savage by the widow to do the job, but failed when the perp was sentenced to the penitentiary first.  I now have the rifle.

Love the old west stories!

[the_skunk]

Great gunfighters - I still think 'situational awareness' is the key. Look at any hood-rat, they just walk up behind you and pop you. A hood rat with a .22 revolver can outdo Wyatt Earp.

[tracker]

Wyatt Earp and Jack Hays each survived over 100 gun battles, of different kinds. I would think their instincts and situational awareness was quite exceptional. They both died of natural causes in California.

[backupr9]

Planning ahead helps too...arrange for the gunfight to be at 50 yards, bring a revolver with a 12" barrel and shoot from a conveniently placed rest would be my advice (unless, of course, a rifle was handy).

[MRC]

Planning ahead helps too...arrange for the gunfight to be at 50 yards, bring a revolver with a 12" barrel and shoot from a conveniently placed rest would be my advice (unless, of course, a rifle was handy).

Or you could be like Doc Holiday and bring a 12 gauge.

[the_skunk]

The idea of any forum is to learn from others

I am telling you bothers that these 'Great gunfighters' would never walk int a bar full of 'Crypts', Bloods', or 'Hells Angels'. They would be in the bushes at the leader's house with a Tommy Gun and bushwhack them.  The lesson here is strictly 'Situational awareness', a gun that's dependable, and 'fast into action' (From your pocket to the other guy's face). And what's your biggest danger? Probably 'Road Rage'

[tracker]

 Different era, different rules, different weapons; Earp, Holiday, and Hays had a lot of situational awareness and didn't sit in the bushes taking potshots and carving notches on their gun handles. This is not a valid comparison of gun fighting skills and instincts if you have read any history; everyone to their own opinion.

[backupr9]

Agree with Tracker but there was also a lot of back shooting done in that era also,  my great grandfather, a sheriff in New Mexico was one of those victims.

[the_skunk]

Different era, different rules, different weapons; Earp, Holiday, and Hays had a lot of situational awareness and didn't sit in the bushes taking potshots and carving notches on their gun handles. This is not a valid comparison of gun fighting skills and instincts if you have read any history; everyone to their own opinion.

I would like to believe that Wyatt went out into the street and 'Pulled his coat to one side and said draw', but the truth is that he would be dead. Wyatt, Doc, etc never let the other guy get their gun out. Not that the heroes killed the other guy, they simply arrested them. You go around shooting people, and their relatives will kill you. You shoot someone in a bar, and their friends will kill you. Even if Doc Holiday was greased lightening, the other guy's brother would just walk up and shoot Doc.

The real bushwackers are the so called Melvin Purvis, and Frank Hammers (Bonnie and Clyde).

[tracker]

May we politely end this boring and pointless discussion? Be careful out there.