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30-30remchester · December 21, 2010, 11:16 PM

I hope I dont burst your bubble but I knew a few old time real cowboys as well as some modern day cowhands. They used such a wide variety of guns. Most seldom used guns. I know only one true real cowhand that still works cattle daily and actually rides the high country on horseback on a weekly basis and after 50 years of riding says he has never had a gun on a horse. When asked what did he carries, he simply pulled out a stockman pocketknife. Says he has had to put down a crippled horse with it. One of the toughest cowhands I ever met passed away a few years back. Many years living on a ranch 47 miles from town, cattle and horses couldnt pay the bills so bounty hunting for lions, and bobcats was the meal ticket. Beef was never eaten as mule deer everywhere. A Savage model 1899 in 25-35 Win was the only big gun the ranch had. It cant be counted the number of deer, bear, and cats this one gun has taken since its owner aquired the ranch in the 40's. Did I mention that this tough hombre that lived such a primitive life was a woman. Her husband was busy with the ranch so she did the trapping and hunting. Lets see, another pool rider cowhand that worked the high pastures all summer long used a Mossberg 800 bolt action 30-06. Two sheep herding families that I know also lived the rugged Colorado mountain life. These people live for months at a time in the mountains and use guns more than cowhands do because coyotes and bears eat many more sheep than cattle. The first carries just one rifle, a single shot 22. The other buys the cheapest rifles available as they generally only last 1 to 2 years before they are destroyed. The last I talked to him he had a Remington 788 in 243 in his scabbard. This guns was UGLY. He is also the only rancher I ever knew who used a handgun. He carried it in his saddlebags, an old Colt Woodsman. A rancher I have coffee with on a daily basis says he has a couple handguns but hasnt seen or shot them in 30 years and not sure he even shot one of them. What I believe you are refering to isnt COWBOY guns but outdoorsmen guns. I have studied old and modern outdoorsmen and indeed many of these carried a gun daily. And the one thing I was able to determine in their choice of firearms was whatever was available at the time they needed one. Once purchased, seldom did they change guns.

December 21, 2010, 11:16 PM	#2
30-30remchester Senior Member Join Date: April 18, 2009 Location: mountains of colorado Posts: 977	I hope I dont burst your bubble but I knew a few old time real cowboys as well as some modern day cowhands. They used such a wide variety of guns. Most seldom used guns. I know only one true real cowhand that still works cattle daily and actually rides the high country on horseback on a weekly basis and after 50 years of riding says he has never had a gun on a horse. When asked what did he carries, he simply pulled out a stockman pocketknife. Says he has had to put down a crippled horse with it. One of the toughest cowhands I ever met passed away a few years back. Many years living on a ranch 47 miles from town, cattle and horses couldnt pay the bills so bounty hunting for lions, and bobcats was the meal ticket. Beef was never eaten as mule deer everywhere. A Savage model 1899 in 25-35 Win was the only big gun the ranch had. It cant be counted the number of deer, bear, and cats this one gun has taken since its owner aquired the ranch in the 40's. Did I mention that this tough hombre that lived such a primitive life was a woman. Her husband was busy with the ranch so she did the trapping and hunting. Lets see, another pool rider cowhand that worked the high pastures all summer long used a Mossberg 800 bolt action 30-06. Two sheep herding families that I know also lived the rugged Colorado mountain life. These people live for months at a time in the mountains and use guns more than cowhands do because coyotes and bears eat many more sheep than cattle. The first carries just one rifle, a single shot 22. The other buys the cheapest rifles available as they generally only last 1 to 2 years before they are destroyed. The last I talked to him he had a Remington 788 in 243 in his scabbard. This guns was UGLY. He is also the only rancher I ever knew who used a handgun. He carried it in his saddlebags, an old Colt Woodsman. A rancher I have coffee with on a daily basis says he has a couple handguns but hasnt seen or shot them in 30 years and not sure he even shot one of them. What I believe you are refering to isnt COWBOY guns but outdoorsmen guns. I have studied old and modern outdoorsmen and indeed many of these carried a gun daily. And the one thing I was able to determine in their choice of firearms was whatever was available at the time they needed one. Once purchased, seldom did they change guns.