Pistols from Outlaw Josey Wales

[Vanatru]

Anyone know what type of pistols Josey Wales is using?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Joseywales2.JPG

[Kentuk]

Looks like a Walker one of the first Colts.

[Cav Guy]

He uses a variety. The main ones are Walkers, as Kentuk noted. The smaller one is one of the .36 police versions, if memory serves. He also uses 1860 Army pistols on a couple of occasions.

[Little Red Barn]

Anyone know what type of pistols Josey Wales is using?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Joseywales2.JPG

Ohh Van, interesting.

My hubby has Jesse James gun and a pair of bone dice that was passed down from his father..

Jessie got shot in hubby's hometown in late 1800's about 1858 and hid out in hubbys Great Grandparents house. ...Til Frank could come get him.

His family nursed him-- and he slept in the same bed with hubby's then 5 yr. Grandfather.

One morn, they woke up and found a letter of thanks, a small gun and bone dice... to give his grandfather...I'll get the make..Tiny silver with old wood handle and the dice are really tiny... One of those gentleman guns that fit in your hand--no value but the history.

I have had them on lone to a museum the last 5 years...I guess I need to get them back some day...

[Vanatru]

VERY cool story Kimmi. :)

I find the historical stories that are the most interesting........to me.........are the personal ones. I love those history programs that have the people telling their own stories rather than the overall picture alone.

[Mr. Jinx]

There is an article on the "Guns of Josey Wales" in the latest issue of Guns of the Old West. In fact, I think its the cover story.

According to the article he used a brace of Colt Walkers in the film. There is also the other revolver he starts the movie with and a Colt pocket revolver. His Sharps rifle is discussed in the article too. I dont have the magazine with me right now so I cant be more specific.

Its a pretty good issue though so you might want to flip through it at a Borders or B&N someplace. Those are the only places I have run into it on the newstand in my neck of the woods.

[Vanatru]

Very cool. I'll have someone swing in and get it. Damn firewalls won't even let me go the website and look at it online.

thanks.

-Bill

[Cav Guy]

I believe he started the movie with a Patterson (sp?) Colt, then moved to the Walkers (also called Dragoons by some) and then added the pocket pistol and 1860 Army versions.

[Jamesaritchie]

It's been a while, but I seem to remember him using Dragoon Colts, which are not the same thing as Walker Colts. The Walker came first, and the Dragoon was its successor. The Dragoon was big, but a smaller than the Walker, and had some minor improvements.

Toward the end of the movie, I remember him swapping cylinders as if he had Remington .44s, but that was just a bit of movie magic, I think.

[Mr. Jinx]

According to the article they were Walkers but I dont remember the source they used. I hate to admit that I dont actually know what the physical diffeences are between the Walker and the Dragoon.

One thing they did mention is that the Sharps rifle he uses to shoot the rope on the swing-ferry didnt come out until much later than the movie's setting. Oh well, still a fun scene though.

@Vanatru
If you have trouble finding the mag you might want to subscribe. I subscribe to GotOW since its a quarterly the subscription isnt too expensive. Its always a fun read.

[Vanatru]

According to the article they were Walkers but I dont remember the source they used. I hate to admit that I dont actually know what the physical diffeences are between the Walker and the Dragoon.

One thing they did mention is that the Sharps rifle he uses to shoot the rope on the swing-ferry didnt come out until much later than the movie's setting. Oh well, still a fun scene though.

Yep........almost as good as The Good, The Ugly, and the Bad.


@Vanatru
If you have trouble finding the mag you might want to subscribe. I subscribe to GotOW since its a quarterly the subscription isnt too expensive. Its always a fun read.

Mail service sucks here, but I have an "in" with some pilots that can pick it up and bring me a copy.

[Mr. Jinx]

Okay, so I have the magazine in front of me now. Here is what it lists as the weapons he carries.

Pair of 1847 Colt Walkers
1860 Army
1874 Sharps (Oops - a little late in period)

His shoulder holster pistol alternated between a:
Colt pocket pistol (.38 cal)
Pocket Navy revolver (.36 cal)
and an 1860 Army with a cut down barrel

The article runs three pages long. It was fun to read and it also talks about the types of repicas and original pistols they must have used in the movie based on what was being manufactued when it was made.

Just FYI :)

--Dev

[dpaterso]

I'm just saying, I was drifting around the 'net clicking on this and that, and ended up on the Florida Reenactors Online site, a nicely presented info resource:
http://www.floridareenactorsonline.com/

...which includes an article about Civil War revolvers and their manufacturers:

Civil War Revolvers
Of The North And South
by Robert Niepert
http://www.floridareenactorsonline.com/revolvers.htm

...and plenty of other stuff, including campfire cooking for companies of hungry men! Makes for interesting reading. Probably old news to you seasoned veterans :) but maybe useful for those of us just getting into the genre and looking for that extra bite of hard info to add a little realism.

-Derek

[Cav Guy]

Okay, so I have the magazine in front of me now. Here is what it lists as the weapons he carries.

Pair of 1847 Colt Walkers
1860 Army
1874 Sharps (Oops - a little late in period)

His shoulder holster pistol alternated between a:
Colt pocket pistol (.38 cal)
Pocket Navy revolver (.36 cal)
and an 1860 Army with a cut down barrel

The article runs three pages long. It was fun to read and it also talks about the types of repicas and original pistols they must have used in the movie based on what was being manufactued when it was made.

Just FYI :)

--Dev
I need to watch this again sometime. They were at least close with the Sharps, since the rifle did exist during this time and was in military use. Not the "Big 50"-style that they implied he had in the movie, but at least the Sharps was contemporary. Now if it had been a Winchester....:rant:

Now the use of the Gatling guns in the opening is another story. Those weren't even tested by the army until May 1866. Given the political nature of the Redlegs it's possible they might have gotten their hands on some very early test models, but they would have been larger (most of the early ones were .50 caliber or one inch) and Jose wouldn't have been at all familiar with them.

Sorry...the historical side in me coming out. Didn't hinder me enjoying the movie.

[Jamesaritchie]

According to the article they were Walkers but I dont remember the source they used. I hate to admit that I dont actually know what the physical diffeences are between the Walker and the Dragoon.

One thing they did mention is that the Sharps rifle he uses to shoot the rope on the swing-ferry didnt come out until much later than the movie's setting. Oh well, still a fun scene though.

@Vanatru
If you have trouble finding the mag you might want to subscribe. I subscribe to GotOW since its a quarterly the subscription isnt too expensive. Its always a fun read.

I've read that, but I've also read other sources that say he used different revolvers. I can't find good quality still shots that will tell me for sure.

I do know this. The movie is not terribly accurate where firearms are concerned, and I'm not at all sure he used the same firearms from scene to scene.

[Kentuk]

I've read that, but I've also read other sources that say he used different revolvers. I can't find good quality still shots that will tell me for sure.


I blew that picture up in photoshop to try and see the details and compared it to auction pics but won't swear they are Walkers but they are big early Colts.