Did the western cliche of two men facing off to see who could draw the fastest happen all the time or is this mostly an exagerrated myth?
2007-06-21 06:00:30 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ History
Believe it or not, it did happen. My great-grandfather wrote of such a duel in 1888 (and it really was a duel). The two fellows got into a fight in a bar and one called the other out. They did it a couple of hours after sunrise. Unfortunately, not all the rules of dueling were observed.
One of things that a SECOND must do in a duel is examine the weapons to make sure they are in working order. This wasn't often done in the west and it wasn't done in this case. One guy had his gun tampered with during the night and it would not fire so he was basically murdered by his opponent except..... well, he didn't die. The bullet lodged in his windpipe. They had to keep this guy still and alive for two days while they fetched a doctor. Unfortunately, the doctor lost his grip on the bullet and THEN it strangled the poor guy.
I don't know for sure, but I think the other guy was tried for murder since the gun had been tampered with. This happened near Casper, WY in 1888.
Dueling was considered an honorable way to settle differences. Even when it had been outlawed in the East, it still happened. In the West, it happened quite a bit. The difference is hired guns were often brought in to eliminate someone under the pretext of a duel.
2007-06-21 07:13:59 · answer #1 · answered by loryntoo 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Western Duels
2016-12-10 13:14:55 · answer #2 · answered by oritz 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This Site Might Help You.
RE:
Wild west duels: Were there many accounts of them really happening?
Did the western cliche of two men facing off to see who could draw the fastest happen all the time or is this mostly an exagerrated myth?
2015-08-16 16:16:26 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Other names for gunfighter included gunslinger, gunman, shootist, pistoleer. Some believe the term "gunslinger" to be a more modern term. We do know that Bat Masterson used the term "gunfighter" in the newspaper articles he wrote about the lawmen and outlaws he had known.
The names were given to men in the American Old West who had gained a reputation as being dangerous with a gun. Often "gunfighter" was applied to men who would hire out for contract killings. But, a gunfighter could either be an outlaw or a lawman depending on the chore at hand. Outlaws most often engaged in murder or robbery, while a sheriff or lone avenger faced or tracked down the outlaw and brought him to justice, either legally or by execution.
2007-06-21 07:01:19 · answer #4 · answered by sparks9653 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mostly exaggerated. If it did happen, it would certainly not have looked like the duels in movies. They wouldn't have tried to shoot the other guy's gun out of his hand, because a gun is a small target compared to a human body, and it's much easier to just shoot the guy. And they wouldn't try to fire a revolver with one hand and constantly work the hammer with the other. If you do that, you run the very likely risk that the hammer will stick when it is half-****** and it won't fire. Not a very smart thing to do.
2007-06-22 09:11:33 · answer #5 · answered by John 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Mostly myth. It was more likely that individuals would shoot someone from cover and often without warning.
It was also more common for people to miss rather than hit what they were shooting at.
2007-06-21 06:08:15 · answer #6 · answered by Randy 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
yes
2007-06-21 11:20:40 · answer #7 · answered by coolcube1234 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋