Have Gun Will Travel

[Prof Young]

Shooters:
What kin of gun is it that Paladin used in the old Have Gun Will Travel TV show?
Both the six shooter and the derringer?
Thanks
Live Well, Be Safe
Prof Young

[shafter]

Don't know about the derringer but the six gun looks like an 1873 Colt Peacemaker.

[Hardy]

It was a piecemaker with brown grips made either by Pietta or Uberti or some Italian Comp--I think-- because there was an article about it a year ago in the mag "Guns of the Old West" which I gave away. Now I have CRS:D BUT it was not a black grip!

[Hardy]

I meant peacemaker. Hawg/Fingers/Mckeal and other greats here probably read it and still have the info. They will clarify I'm sure
WBH

[Old Grump]

It was a Great Western made here in the states. It was a replica of the Colt SAA. There were 4 guns known to be made for the show, and some talk of a 5th gun. The Pietta gun came later and was a replica of the shows gun. He used a Arvo Ojala gunbelt and holster set, a cutaway holster specially made for fast draw but unfortunately not to good for retention during normal use.

[mykeal]

I believe there were either 4 or 5 guns used by Boone as the primary revolver; all were either replicas of or actual .45 Colt Single Action Armies, aka the 1873 Peacemaker. Two or three were kept pristine for use in closeups and two were beaters used in action scenes where they landed on the ground or the floor, etc. One is supposed to be in the Cody museum.

I've never really seen any definitive data as to who the manufacturer(s) of the guns were. Both Great Western and Colt have been mentioned; I don't recall the magazine article.

The color of the grips is also something I can't recall - the show was in black and white. But, there's no doubt the Peacemaker was the design.

Edit: For you trivia fans, Richard Boone was a 7th generation cousin of Daniel Boone; he was descended from Daniel's younger brother, Squire Boone.

[Hellgate]

I thought the derringer was a Remington double barrel. 41 cal?

[Hawg]

I think it was a Hawes but I can't find anything to prove it.

[RonC]

This is the one in the Cody museum in Cody, WY:
http://img37.imageshack.us/img37/6022/508havegunwilltravelpal.jpg

Ron

[DrLaw]

Paladin, Paladin, where do you roam
Paladin, Paladin, far, far from home

Have gun, will travel, reads the card of a man
A knight without armor in a savage land
His fast gun for hire heeds the calling wind
A soldier of fortune is the man called Paladin

Paladin, Paladin, where do you roam
Paladin, Paladin, far, far from home

He travels on to wherever he must
A chess knight of silver is his badge of trust
There are campfire legends that the plainsmen spin
Of the man with the gun, of the man called Paladin

Paladin, Paladin, where do you roam
Paladin, Paladin, far, far from home
Far from home
Far from home

The Doc is out now. :cool: (great theme song :D )

[Prof Young]

Cowboy Shooters:
Thanks for the info.
So, question two: Is there a modern made equivalent that I can buy new?
Prof Young

[kwhi43]

And I believe the caliber was a 44-40 as I remember.

[Aguila Blanca]

So, question two: Is there a modern made equivalent that I can buy new?
How authentic are you looking for, and are you looking for authenticity to the movie gun, or to what it was supposed to be?

What it was supposed to be was a Colt SAA (Model 1873) with the 7-1/2" "Cavalry" barrel. There are probably a dozen or more companies currently selling reproductions of it. Most are made by Uberti and Pietta Arms in Italy, but they sell to other companies who rebrand them, such as Cimmaron, EAA, and others.

[Lee McNelly]

Arvo Ojala

IN SOME OF THE GUNSMOKE OPENINGS IT IS HE WHO DRAWS DOWN ON MATT DILLON IN THE OPENINGS REMEMBER SOME

[Prof Young]

Thanks for the info.
I see Colt still sells a Peacemaker p1870 with an MRSP of over $1200. If that's the kind of price I'm looking it . . . it may be a while!
Thanks again.
Prof Young

[Hawg]

You can get a Uberti Cattleman for less than half that. It's a realistic clone right down to the firing pin on the hammer and patent dates. Or for a little more you can get the same gun sold by Cimarron but it's hand picked and the Uberti markings are hidden. It has Cimarrons address on the barrel like Colt did in the same style. It will have wood grips tho.

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y269/rebel727/Colt/100_3608.jpg

[Lemmon]

When I was a kid, Dad bought me the Paladin toy set that included the pistol, holster, derringer and the Have gun will travel business cards. That was my favorite TV show. Wow Not sure how old I was but I just turned 60 this past May. Not sure what ever happened with that set up but I loved it.

Lemmon

[BillCA]

Typical of Hollywood, one of the earliest shows indicated that his revolver was a custom job to Paladin's specifications with a "one-ounce trigger" pull. Hollywood hype at it's best (such a trigger would be dangerous in his line of work).

One of the guns used for close-ups was a Genuine Colt SAA, beautifully finished with a deep bluing. Other guns used in the series, as mentioned, were Great Westerns for general scenes and where he might be required to drop/lose the gun.

IIRC from an article on the show, the original Derringer was a .41 Rimfire Remingtion double derringer. The problem in the show was that even blank ammo was hard to find or make and expensive when found. One solution was that they used a .38 Special Derringer, bored out the muzzle to .41" for appearances and fired a .38 Special squib load to emulate the .41 short. Boone only carried the derringer when a scene required him to use it because it was uncomfortable after a while.

More Trivia:
Most of the 1st Season of the show was directed by Andrew McLaglen - son of movie actor Victor McLaglen whom many of you have seen in John Wayne movies as the Irish Sergeant Quincannon.

Some of the other shows were directed by actress Ida Lupino, a close friend of Boone's and one of the earliest successful woman TV directors. William Conrad (Cannon; Jake and the fat man) also directed half a dozen episodes.

A fledgling script writer named Gene Roddenberry wrote 24 scripts for the show as well.

Boone really was fast on the draw. Since he rarely had to draw & shoot, he'd practiced his draw until it was very fast. When he had to actually draw and shoot, he said it took him some more work to make that look smooth and natural.

[Hardy]

I just watched a rerun of this show. A man hired him and asked for his gun to look at. Boone handed it over and the man said"What gunfighter would hand over his gun?" Boone replied by saying that his peacemaker was redesigned and rifled to his specifications and the trigger responds to 1 oz of pressure as he also pulled out his derringer and said "hand it back!" The grip was brown by the way.
WBH

[Gatofeo]

My father had a Colt Single Action Army made in 1974, in excellent shape. It was one of those "Martial Models" reworked by the arsenal in the late 1800s or early 1900s, with a 5-1/2" barrel.
Dad was given that pistol in 1931 by his uncle, a logger near Mt. Rainier, Washington.
About 1960, Dad wanted a holster made for the family heirloom. Somehow, he learned of a guy in our city -- Spokane, TV series that Dad enjoyed.
Dad stood in our living room while the holster maker pinned a pattern around him like a dressmaker. Dad always got a kick out of that.
There was quite a science to the design.
The maker put loops for 10 .45 cartridges off to one side, "So when you sit in a chair you don't beat it or the cartridges up," the maker explained.
The holster hung low. Dad protested that he wasn't looking to be a gunslinger but the maker explained, "It's low, so when you carry a rifle the two don't bang against each other."
The holster is a typical Buscadero rig, with the holster attached to the belt as one unit. The Buscadero design is not authentic to the Old West.
The final touch was the first initial of the family name carved on the leather band around the holster, where the chess piece is seen in the series.
The entire holster is hand-stitched from premium leather. An identical holster today would cost about $500, I'd guess. I recall that Dad paid $40 to $50 for it about 1960 or 1961.
My brother has the holster and pistol, locked in a gun safe.
Two notches are cut into the walnut grip.
This old Colt is known to have killed two burglars in a logging camp near Eatonville, Washington at the turn of the century. They fired first, the Colt's report was final.
But that's another story ...

[Crunchy Frog]

I knew a retired businessman who was a fan of the show when he was young. He eventually acquired a Colt SAA and tracked down the guy who made Paladin's belt and holster and convinced him to make a replica. Quite a nice set.

Professor, if you'd like to see these guns in action find a SASS or NCOWS club in your area. These old style guns are a lot of fun to shoot and you'd be amazed how well (and quickly) the cowboy shooters run them.

[Hardy]

As I speak now--Paliden says his gun was HANDCRAFTED to his specifications and trigger still responds to one oz of pressure--got to go now and watch it.

WBH

[Shotgun693]

In the real world a 1 oz trigger on any handgun is a good way to accidently shoot yourself.

[BillCA]

^^^^^ What he said.

1 oz isn't even sufficient to prevent accidental discharge if the gun is moved abruptly. A 1 pound trigger is even dicey on a SAA.

[Hawg]

Well it is/was just a tv show.:rolleyes: