Remember, there are no stupid questions

[carptrash]

This might be covered elsewhere but this forum seems so vast that I believe it is better just to start over. I am reading Carl Breihan's "Quantrill and his Civil War Guerrillas" and came across the following section. (I'll post a scan so everything is there) I am looking for another explanation as to what is going on, what type of guns were they likely to be using and anything else. You do not need to worry about talking down to me because I know nothing about firearms.

 

[johan_steele]

Pure moonshine. Carrying loaded and capped cylinders would be akin to walking around with a primed hand grenade.

Neither Colt, Remington or Whitney sold spare cylinders for the purpose of having the ability to swap out loaded cylinders.

 

[carptrash]

Pure moonshine. Carrying loaded and capped cylinders would be akin to walking around with a primed hand grenade.

Neither Colt, Remington or Whitney sold spare cylinders for the purpose of having the ability to swap out loaded cylinders.

Thanks, that's why I asked. It's the stuff of legends and myths, which are sometimes true, but . . . . ..............

 

[carptrash]

I didn't mean to post this (that) twice

 

[Jeff in Ohio]

Yes, as Johan Steele said.

Even without any firearms knowledge or historical knowledge, a strong clue that this is a tall tale is that the writer says two things that must be exaggeration, especially when stated about men riding horses at a full gallop :

• "Their aim was perfect" and
• "...most of their victims died shot through the head"

 

[carptrash]

Yes, as Johan Steele said.

Even without any firearms knowledge or historical knowledge, a strong clue that this is a tall tale is that the writer says two things that must be exaggeration, especially when stated about men riding horses at a full gallop :

• "Their aim was perfect" and
• "...most of their victims died shot through the head"

Well I have enough historical knowledge to question that stuff because these were shooters with handguns riding at full speed, but I still didn't (don't) want to dismiss everything the author had to say.

 

[Pollaco]

No doubt spare cylinders were carried but these cylinders each accompanied the rest of the framework as well, as in spare revolvers.

 

[Don Dixon]

Search the forum for "revolver" AND "cylinder" The search engine is your friend.

 

[carptrash]

No doubt spare cylinders were carried but these cylinders each accompanied the rest of the framework as well, as in spare revolvers.

Yes, everything I've read on the subject mentions that these guys all carried six or seven pistols, but this paragraphs suggests something else.

 

[rob63]

Yes, everything I've read on the subject mentions that these guys all carried six or seven pistols, but this paragraphs suggests something else.

It's worth remembering that prior to the internet everything was in print form, so the old time equivalent of a Facebook post can be found in books. Finding a paragraph that goes against everything else you have ever read could be evidence that everything else is wrong, or it could be evidence that the particular source is nonsense.

I think it's what makes history so darn interesting; endlessly evaluating new information, forming new ideas and tossing old ones, or, conversely, calling b.s. on the new source.

 

[OldSarge79]

two things that must be exaggeration, especially when stated about men riding horses at a full gallop :

• "Their aim was perfect" and
• "...most of their victims died shot through the head"

I strongly disagree. I have seen Roy Rogers shoot the gun out of a bad guy's hand, while at a full gallop many a time. Randolph Scott has done it too.

 

[Jeff in Ohio]

I strongly disagree. I have seen Roy Rogers shoot the gun out of a bad guy's hand, while at a full gallop many a time. Randolph Scott has done it too.

I guess that seeing is believing, eh?

But remember that Roy was riding "Trigger" and Trigger's nickname was "the smartest horse in the movies."

 

[carptrash]

I guess that seeing is believing, eh?

But remember that Roy was riding "Trigger" and Trigger's nickname was "the smartest horse in the movies."

Plus Dale wouldn't let him really hurt any one. When you shoot the gun out of someone's hand you never hit the hand, just the gun.

 

[OldSarge79]

Trigger's nickname was "the smartest horse in the movies.

Plus Dale wouldn't let him really hurt any one.

It just goes to show that behind every successful man, there is a smart horse and a domineering woman.

 

[bankerpapaw]

I guess that seeing is believing, eh?

But remember that Roy was riding "Trigger" and Trigger's nickname was "the smartest horse in the movies."

I've also seen Roy Rogers shot a man out of the saddle with a hand gun while the bad guy was one mile away about to ride over a ridge.

 

[carptrash]

It just goes to show that behind every successful man, there is a smart horse and a domineering woman.

That's one I would not touch with a ten foot Pole. Or a twelve foot Czech.

 

[Jeff in Ohio]

Plus Dale wouldn't let him really hurt any one. When you shoot the gun out of someone's hand you never hit the hand, just the gun.

I live in central Ohio. Back in 1993, there was a SWAT standoff, with a man sitting in a chair in the middle of a Columbus roadway who was holding a handgun and threatening suicide. A SWAT sniper shot that revolver out of his hand without any injury - but the gun ended up in pieces laying in the street. The Sniper had aimed and hit the end of the cylinder which knocked it out of the revolver frame!
I know some "use of force" trainers were concerned that seeing this on their TVs, the public would be less understanding of the usual training to aim for center mass.

 

[OldSarge79]

You are so right. We had an identical situation in the 90's, chair and all, in the parking lot of a restaurant. A sergeant decided to shoot the pistol out of the guy's hand, but, unfortunately, shot the guy in the hand instead. He actually held on to the gun and it made the situation worse. Eventually, they got it away from him and all was resolved. Shortly thereafter, they promoted the sergeant to lieutenant.
The idea of shooting a gun out of someone's hand was never even mentioned to us in training, always center body mass.

 

[rbasin]

Going off the name of this post, I have one.

What would a chair look like if your knees bent the other way?

 

[carptrash]

Going off the name of this post, I have one.

What would a chair look like if your knees bent the other way?

I await with baited breath.