Posted on 04/08/2021 8:17:31 AM PDT by w1n1
Lessons from Yesteryear that still Apply Today - Due to the political climate and potential gun bans, revolvers have become fashionable for concealed carry once again. So I thought I would add my two cents on the subject.
The first thing that needs to be addressed is why we are 1) practicing with revolvers (or any gun for that matter), and 2) carrying them. Yes, shooting guns safely both in practice and competition is fun, but really the intent is for self-defense purposes.
Many a well-known lawman of yesteryear made the revolver famous, including James Butler Hickok aka Wild Bill, Wyatt Earp, Frank Hamer, Bill Jordan, Jim Cirillo and Edmundo Mireles Jr. These men are all legends in the law enforcement world and have the most quantified performance and experience using revolvers, as they used them for their intended purpose: surviving gunfights.
IN REGARDS to Hickok, Earp, Hamer and Jordan, all references and advice in this article are from their written accounts, as these men were born before my time. However, the late Jimmy Cirillo and Edmundo Mireles are another matter, as I have interviewed, trained with and become friends with both. Cirillo’s book, Guns, Bullets, and Gunfights: Lessons and Tales from a Modern-Day Gunfighter, should be required reading, as should Mireles's book, FBI Miami Firefight: Five Minutes That Changed the Bureau. These books should not just be read, but reread, highlighted and used as a bible on the subject of gunfighting. Mireles and his FBI team were in that horrible gunfight and are the true fathers of reality gunfighting training.
Cirillo, meanwhile, was part of the famed New York City Police Department stakeout squad whose unit was involved in 252 armed confrontations. Cirillo himself was involved in 17 armed confrontations, including 11 gunfights that resulted in the deaths of 11 felons.
Hickok was said to be a virtuoso with any kind of handgun. When Tom Lewis, a magazine writer who knew many famous gunfighters of the Old West, asked Earp, Bat Masterson, Billy Tilghman and Charlie Siringo who was the deadliest shot of them all, all four without hesitation said Wild Bill.
As a lawman, Hickok was described as a walking arsenal, originally sporting a pair of .44s (carrying a backup gun is something most gun aficionados do; you will see this again). He also carried two .41 Derringers in his side pockets, a Bowie knife in his belt, and either a shotgun or repeating rifle in his arms when walking the beat as a police officer. Hickok believed in firepower and it was reported that when he cut loose, it sounded like a Gatling gun spraying the landscape. It was rumored Hickok did that for psychological effect, as such a fusillade was often necessary not only to dispose of one opponent but to dissuade the man’s friends from joining in the argument.
As a civilian, his very first lethal encounter was against three men, of which he killed one and wounded two. Hickok would often come up against multiple adversaries in these encounters. Hickok was a firm believer in shooting his antagonists in the head, saying, "A man shot in the torso can keep firing, even if fatally wounded, but a bullet in the head usually put him out of action." In FBI Miami Firefight, Mireles describes how one cop killer was shot a total of 12 times before he stopped fighting and died. The other was shot six times and died quicker. Why? He was shot four times in the head and neck! Read the rest of revolvers and gunfighting.
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Bass Reeves was the greatest of Western lawmen.
The First Black Deputy U.S. Marshall West of the MississippiWhat a shame he isn’t famous. Sounds like an amazing manThe inspiration for The Lone Ranger... The Odysseus of cowboys... The James Bond of U.S. Marshalls...
Bass Reeves was a lawman for a total of 32 years with over 3,000 felon arrests and killed 14 outlaws in the line of duty, all without ever being shot himself. Bass had to overcome, prejudice, betrayal, and some of the worst criminals in Oklahoma, the most dangerous district in the country.
"Bass Reeves is the greatest Deputy U.S. Marshal of the Old West." - Dave Amis
Bass Reeves is known by people who dig in to Old West history.
Also Nat Love, a significant cowboy.
Jim Beckwourth, a notable Mountain Man.
There are really plenty of blacks in America who made significant contributions. And maybe they get a little mention somewhere during “Black History Month”. But they are mostly excluded, by Leftwing academics, so that the Leftwing academics can then complain about the racist exclusion of blacks in America who made significant contributions.
Who controls media? Who controls education? If these people are not well known, who should be blamed for “hiding” them? The Left wants blacks to be victims. Celebrating their accomplishments doesn't advance the Narrative. And that's why most people have never heard of Bass Reeves.
I like your analysis there, CGG. That makes a lot of sense and is very plausible.
Going back in time, why was information about notable blacks in Western history suppressed? Say from 1900 to 1960?
there is nothing semi about that.
He is the weight of a full auto.
Of course a lawman has a different goal from law enforcement.
LE’s goal is to subdue, my goal is to get the hell out of there.
If some of these experts would acknowledge this some he-man opinions would change especially in terms of the fairer sex.
I was born in 1960, so the world I grew up in was affected by the Civil Rights struggle. That skews my perception of the century, in a way.
However, I was always bookish and I read many books written before I was born. In Jr High School I kept taking out a particular book from the school library. It was about dinosaurs, written by Roy Chapman Andrews, and published in 1928. I think I was the only person who had read it since the 1930s (checkout dates were on the card in the back in those days). I couldn’t believe it. I thought is was a fascinating book. Years later I found out that Roy Chapman Andrews wasn’t just some guy. He was a big deal. But that has nothing to do with blacks showing up in history.
However, as I grew up, I read a lot of other stuff just because it was interesting. Books about Toussaint L’Ouverture and the revolution in Haiti, Old West heroes (inclusing Bass Reeves, Nat Love, Jeff Beckwourth), I had a kids book about Blues musicians (they lived hard lives and the kid’s book didn’t cover all that much, but it told me enough). Also jazz musicians, including James Reese Europe and his role in WWI. Also Benjamin Banneker, George Washington Carver, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth and others.
These were not just a bunch of books rushed into publication because Martin Luther King had a dream. Some of these books were published before I was born and purchased for a number of libraries (public and school libraries) in my MA suburb. I don’t think it was about being “woke”. It was about acquiring books worth reading.
I never really thought much about it. I liked reading about famous people. These were famous people. I figured everyone should know about them.
But, in my opinion, perhaps starting in the 1970s, it became actually LESS common to talk about them. They became forgotten. And then the activists started complaining about how our racist country had scrubbed blacks from US history. Pretty convenient, right? Well, I know who was doing the scrubbing.
I thought Bill preferred .36 caliber Colt Navy revolvers...
You beat me to it.
Hickok did carry a pair of .36 Colt Navy revolvers. A pair, not for the firepower as the author states, but because in the percussion cap and ball era reloading a revolver took some time. He never pulled both revolvers at the same time, the other was a back up.
When Hickok was shot and killed in Deadwood in 1876, the only weapon found on his person was a Smith & Wesson .32 cal rimfire "Old Army" cartridge revolver that was in his coat pocket.
‘Am Shooting Journal’ is not known for historical accuracy.
After the Miami shootout several changes occurred at FBI.
Revolvers out, .40 S&W in. (now 9mm as well)
Shotgun and AR in every trunk.
The shooting/combat school adopted a new tactic: shot for the groin if you don’t have a shot at the head. A broken hip bone will drop any man instantly and allow for more effective follow up.
That is what I call a stable firing platform.
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