Wyatt Earp Commentary

[41magfan]

A short, interesting little read;

http://looserounds.com/2015/04/23/wyatt-earp-on-shooting-vs-gunfighting/

[Peally]

The more things change the more they stay the same, you could swap everything in that write-up with modern pistols and situations and it'd still make plenty of sense.

Great link!

[TR675]

The more things change the more they stay the same, you could swap everything in that write-up with modern pistols and situations and it'd still make plenty of sense.

Very true - as shown by this exhaustive, weeks-long pretrial hearing that followed the OK Corral shootout (http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/earp/earphome.html)- where the question was, were the Earps & Holliday going to be tried for the murder of the Clanton boys, or were they acting within the confines of the law?

Especially interesting in light of current use of lethal force controversies.

[Malamute]

The more things change the more they stay the same, you could swap everything in that write-up with modern pistols and situations and it'd still make plenty of sense.

Great link!

I keep thinking that when reading nyetis and other experienced comments here.

[Drang]

The page linked in the OP seems to be dead.

However, it has been posted at Wyatt Earp on Gunfighting Interview - Abe's Gun Cave (http://abesguncave.com/wyatt-earp-on-gunfighting-interview/). (Saw it linked from Instapundit (https://pjmedia.com/instapundit/307644/) a few days ago.)

And, yes, I think that, after he got over the new technology, that old Wyatt would have fit in here.

(Edit to ad: It's on other sites, too. I guess it's probably no longer under copyright. Wyatt Earp Interview on GunFighting (http://americanshootingjournal.com/wyatt-earp-interview-on-gunfighting/), Lessons on Gunfighting From Wyatt Earp | Gun Carrier (https://guncarrier.com/lessons-gunfighting-wyatt-earp/). There seems to be some discussion as to whether the interviewer, Stuart Lake, put words in Earp's mouth, and if so, how many.)

[RevolverRob]

I've always felt the take away from Earp's most famous gunfight - was that the surest way to kill a man dead is with a double load of buckshot to the chest (unless he's wearing armor, then two loads of buckshot to the face). 30+ rounds were fired in 30-seconds in that fight, most of them large caliber handgun rounds. Three men died that day, the first of them died more or less instantly from being shot by Holliday with a shotgun. The second was shot by Earp (Wyatt, by all accounts) in the chest and belly multiple times (he died later at the doctor's office) and the third was shot by either Virgil Earp or Doc Holliday with a shot to the head.

Moral of the story - buckshot > handgun bullets and handgun bullets to the head > handgun bullets to just about anywhere else.

[Casual Friday]

That was a good read. The first comment gave me brain cancer though.


Donald Livingston JULY 17, 2017
My stepson is all about ammo capacity in a gun and is always telling me how much better a gun is the more ammo it can hold. He is always questioning my preference of revolvers,bolt actions,lever rifles and single shots to semi autos. I never can get him to understand that one shot is all that is needed if you are good. I’ve tried to explain to him that semi auto guns usually make a person a poor marksman because they tend not to concentrate on their first shot because they know they have quick follow up shots. I’ve read about a hunting guide that makes anyone who brings a semi auto rifle to hunt with load only one bullet and he keeps the rest. I think he has the right idea. Wish I could get thru to my stepson and others that more isn’t better. Loved the article. Thanks.

[Hambo]

I don't have much faith in anything from Lake's book.

[Summerhelp]

I just read “Texas Ranger: The Epic Life of Frank Hamer, The Man Who Killed Bonnie and Clyde”. In it Frank is quoted as saying he preferred a rifle over a six gun. But when using a six gun make the first shot count, take it slow and cool. Don’t get excited. Hold it steady and not shoot to quick.

That seems to fit with what Wyatt Earp is credited with say.

[RevolverRob]

I just read “Texas Ranger: The Epic Life of Frank Hamer, The Man Who Killed Bonnie and Clyde”. In it Frank is quoted as saying he preferred a rifle over a six gun. But when using a six gun make the first shot count, take it slow and cool. Don’t get excited. Hold it steady and not shoot to quick.

That seems to fit with what Wyatt Earp is credited with say.

I never put much stock in anything said about Hamer. The evidence doesn't back up the "dozens of gunfights" he was in. But he was clearly a good Ranger, bushwhacking bandits and due process violations aside.

FWIW, the general indication is excellent and rapid aimed fire is preferable to everything else. Cirillo's Stakeout Squad interviews, post-action accounts of Jelly Bryce shootings, support a fast and accurate first shot is what matters.

Accuracy and taking the time for it, seems to reign supreme. Hell, legend has it that Doc Holliday, when he was shot at the OK Corral (grazed his hip) by Frank McLaury proclaimed, "That son of a bitch has shot me, and I mean to kill him." while chasing after McLaury and shooting at him (before either he or Virgil Earp, fatally wounded McLaury with a shot to the head). Point is an excited man under pressure is probably not going to proclaim something so matter of factly while shooting (if it happened at all, probably not, but it makes for good lore).

[shane45]

Necropost to add a narrated version.
https://youtu.be/DEJNpWBcvQE

[UNM1136]

One of my favorite Wyatt Earp quotes....

Fast is fine, but accuracy is final...you must learn to take your time in a hurry....

Reading SOG memoirs....hip shooting was considered the standard, but many of those heroes went on to 1 SFOD-D where aimed fire was the new standard.

Most SFOD-D guys I know are huge fans of aimed fire.

pat

[0ddl0t]

Was Wyatt Earp a horse thief? https://truewestmagazine.com/article/was-wyatt-earp-a-horse-thief/

[HCM]

Was Wyatt Earp a horse thief? https://truewestmagazine.com/article/was-wyatt-earp-a-horse-thief/

Yes. And pimp.

Welcome to the old west where people playing both sides of the law was common.

On another note, sad to see a thread so full of derp being resurrected.

[Dog Face Gremlin]

......any way to make a buck back then.