My suspicion is that many people in the west used their existing firearms until they couldn't use them anymore. When you are poor in a rural area a gun is a survival tool, you don't replace until you have to. My grandfather was a farmer in Illinois. He bought a used 12-guage shotgun in 1936. He actively hunted with that gun until his death. Then my father, older brothers, and I all used it. That gun was still in active use until 1986 when it just stopped working. The gun smith my dad took it to in order to get it fixed said it was just completely worn out and that fixing it would cost more than buying a new gun. No idea how many shells were put through that gun over the years, but I'd guess the number was in the thousands.
@NikoMoraKamu11 ай бұрын
thats how it is in Spain normally ,we have hunting tradition in the rural areas and weapons pass trough family generations usually you will learn how to fire with the grandpa gun
@francisdec161511 ай бұрын
@@NikoMoraKamu Similar here in Sweden as well. And people used old black powder muzzle loaders well into the early 1900s.
@InrangeTv11 ай бұрын
Sadly I missed some audio leveling from ~9 minutes in for 1 minute. Rather than re-upload, lose views and cause confusion, I figured I'd just apologize. If you raise the volume for that one minute, it's all still there, just a mistake in leveling consistency. :( Also, yes - I realize that that revolver was provided to Geronimo as a prop in the Wild West show. That still speaks to the longevity and proliferation of these firearms well into the 1900's, considering that there were only a few hundred Dance revolvers ever even manufactured.
@Wigalot11 ай бұрын
Don't forget to pin this comment to top :)
@blvalverde11 ай бұрын
I'm Brazilian. Despite druglords buying M4s and even Ma Deuces, most crimes in my country are committed with 38sp revolvers old enough to have a midlife crisis.
@caylumhenderson939611 ай бұрын
Old enough to have a midlife crisis loll
@george211311 ай бұрын
Or even worse, the midwife crisis
@exploatores11 ай бұрын
thats nothing. one of my fathers hunting rifles is old enough for it´s great grand son to have a midlife crisis
@GrosvnerMcaffrey11 ай бұрын
If it ain't broke don't fix it
@blvalverde11 ай бұрын
@@GrosvnerMcaffrey yup. And a revolver can take a long time to break.
@chrisball377811 ай бұрын
Most people in the Old West weren't outlaws or lawmen, just ordinary working people. A lot of them owned guns as a deterrent against robbery and as a self-defence option in case they were attacked, but never fired them in anger their whole lives. Most really didn't need the latest state-of-the art weaponry.
@JamesThomas-gg6il11 ай бұрын
Oh definitely, the scene in the original true grit, where the duke exclaimed " that's a colts dragoon, why you're no bigger than a corn nubbin, what are you doing with all this pistol?" Nobody wants to be on the receiving end of that thing right in any time?
@plaguepandemic565111 ай бұрын
@@JamesThomas-gg6il definitely, the Dragoon and Walker were capable of putting out *almost* as much energy as a modern .357 magnum if loaded with max load conicals. The only things that make them obsolete today are a)how often you have to clean them and b)how slow they are to load. (They also don't perform well in wet conditions but better than you would probably think! There's a video here on KZbin of someone submerging a cap and ball revolver underwater and firing it no problem)
@christopherreed472311 ай бұрын
The modern guns were also expensive. A new cartridge revolver of the latest type might cost twenty dollars or more, even assuming you could find one. But weekly wages generally ran to five dollars or less. Out of which all the week's expenses had to be paid before you could even think of setting aside some money to buy your fancy new shootin' iron. Cartridges also weren't creap. So if what you had worked for what you were doing, you wouldn't be likely to change it for some new-fangled pistol that you had to save more than a year for.
@williamromine571511 ай бұрын
I would assume many went West with a percussion muzzleloader. They weren't gun fighters, and probably only used their guns to kill preditors. A muzzleloader was very easy to use. Ball and powder were available. They probably never had the need to defend themselves from gun slingers. The surplus guns were cheap and muzzleloaders were easy to come by. That was probably why the shotgun was so common. I am glad you made this video. I always thought that after the war, people going West only carried guns they could afford, and you filled in the reasons why I was right. Gun fights are greatly exaggerated in the movies.
@natenotabot123410 ай бұрын
@@plaguepandemic5651the scene in both versions of True Grit the girl fails in the River shooting at the murderer and her revolver malfunctions. I saw a test of caps and ball vs cartridge guns in rain and it was nearly complete failure in the caps and ball. Moisture is definitely an other major reason to jump over. The price of a revolver however was high for most. It wasn’t worth the kind of upgrade. It’s like an old man holding onto a revolver today. It works, it just has trade offs many would rather not make if buying a new gun today.
@anangryranger11 ай бұрын
In 1958, my great uncle introduced me to the shooting world with his EDC weapon. An 1882 Colt SAA in 45Colt. He shot only black powder loads. He'd carried that weapon before the turn of the 20th century, as a peace officer and bounty hunter in the northern plains up until his death in 1963. During our many talks, he'd tell me of events he'd participated in or witnessed. Said his father (my great grandfather) carried a brace of 1851 Colt Navy revolvers even as late 1920. His dad got them in 1870 as a teenager, and didn't see the need for replacing what worked fine in the first place. 😏
@samparkerSAM11 ай бұрын
My family is similar, I grew up looking at my Great Uncles colt 44 from the first 20,000. He got it while driving wagons for the US Army... he had it with him when he was in the town near the wounded knee massacre. He passed down the Colt and his Testimony against the cavalry, he was sickened by what he witnessed. He told my grandmother in the 1930s about the drunken troopers returning to town bragging about their killing of braves. He was employed in collecting the dead natives and reckoned their casualties were closer to 400. He carried the colt with him to Anchorage Alaska and gave it to my Grandfather as a wedding gift in the 1930s.
@ronrobertson599 ай бұрын
I use 1860 Army revolvers an 1860 Henry and a double barrel hammer shotgun with all black powder for CAS. My percussion revolvers are as reliable as any of my cartridge guns. I did have to do work on them and go to slixshot nipples to get them that way. I use paper cartridges in them too it is a lot of fun.
@WurledPeas11 ай бұрын
One of my great uncles who traveled with my grandfather on a buckboard from Minnesota to California in the very late 1880s carried the same Colt percussion revolver he’d carried across country until he died in the late 1930s. He bought that pistol cheap before the turn of the century and held onto it because it did what he needed it to do.
@TUCOtheratt11 ай бұрын
Very interesting video and it was cool to see cowboy guns on what looks like USPSA/IDPA stages! I've always thought that would make cowboy matches much more fun..
@InrangeTv11 ай бұрын
Thank you! We've added a "Dead Eye" division for pre-1898 firearms and gear into InRange's Brutality matches - you should join us sometime! Here's a video all about Dead Eye: kzbin.info/www/bejne/roXSiIivmsx1nLs
@TUCOtheratt11 ай бұрын
@@InrangeTv I went and checked that out. Very cool!
@brandonha11 ай бұрын
@@InrangeTvbug match for a 32 top break when?
@Treblaine11 ай бұрын
150 years from now: "why is this holo-flick set in the 2020s got so many people armed with glock pistols? The FN Five-seveN had been on the market for years!"
@george211311 ай бұрын
Most people don't wear body armor, so most people don't need armor piercing weapons
@exploatores11 ай бұрын
I would more say, why pepole have 1911, when Glock and polymer framed guns have existed for decades.
@toddwebb752111 ай бұрын
Well shit j frame revolvers are still popular for self defense
@Treblaine11 ай бұрын
@@exploatores I know I'm gonna get flak for this but it'll be worth it: using a 1911 in the 2020s is like using a flintlock pistol in the 1870s.
@george211311 ай бұрын
@@exploatores some people are into old technology
@63DW89A11 ай бұрын
Well done, professional video, and a superb presentation of historical FACT. One of the reasons I'm a subscriber and a regular visitor to InRange TV. The last manufacturer of revolver combustible cartridges, H.W. Mason of Connecticut, did not cease production until 1888, and that was upon the death of Mr Mason, the company ending with him. One of my pet peeves is the constant referencing of the Western Frontier as the "Cowboy Era". In reality, the American Cowboy frontier cattle-drive era only lasted about 14 years, 1866 to 1880. The most influential era on the Western Frontier, post Lewis & Clark, was the Fur Trapper / Mountain Man era roughly 1807-1840, because the Mountain Men blazed all the main trails westward. Following the Mountain Man Era the most influential era by far, was the "Gold Rush & Silver Strike Era" roughly 1848-1900! The prospectors were roaming all over the frontier establishing new trails, filling in the vast areas between the earlier main trails, and establishing mining camps and towns, stage lines, freight lines and law and order. The "Gold Rush & Silver Strike Era" arrived about the same time as the 1851 Colt Navy revolver, and it was the Navy Colt that firmly established the era of the "sixgun-packing frontiersman. Mining Camp / Town law and order was often via "Vigilante Committees", because "The Territories" were lawless, and news of a gold or silver strike drew the criminal element worldwide. The most violent towns on the Western Frontier weren't cow towns like Dodge City or Abilene; the violent places were mining camps and towns like Hangtown, Virginia City, Deadwood and Tombstone! OK rant finished! I can't brag on your channel enough. The mix of modern and old is beyond fascinating. All I can say is if the History Channel needs to learn how to present history properly, then they need to look at your channel. Along with The History Guy, Cap and Ball, Duelist1954, Hickok45 and many others. I'm amazed at how much better the content is of all of you independent KZbin guys, compared to supposedly mainstream TV programs! Keep up the great work you do! And thank you!
@georgg37210 ай бұрын
as a German speaking Central European who grew up with narratives of the Old West that were written by people that had never been there (Karl May e.g.) I sincerely thank you for this short but yet concise overview!
@DeviantOllam11 ай бұрын
Absolutely cool. These subtle bits of historical minutia are the kinds of details so many of us live for. 😁👍
@ArizonaGhostriders10 ай бұрын
Excellent information about this part of the period.
@InrangeTv10 ай бұрын
Thank you!
@456eec11 ай бұрын
I have an original copy of Clyde Baker's "Modern Gunsmithing" published in 1933. In it he states that the single most common handgun that came through his shop was still percussion Colt revolvers.
@Miningpastpresentfuture11 ай бұрын
I grew up close to the ruins of Virgil Earp’s cabin where he lived in the very late 1880s and early 1890s. This is after his “recovery” from being crippled by a shotgun blast in Tombstone Az. He returned to the Prescott Az area from his families home in California. There were lots of old brass laying around the cabin site. Not like most old cabins where you might find a shell casing or two. The most common brass was .22 long or long rifle, and 16 gauge paper shotgun base brass. The next most common was .45-70 followed by a bottle necked case that might have been a sharps or Winchester .40 caliber based on a .45-70 base case. There were several .44 Henry rim fire cases with the double firing pin marks from a Henry or model 1866 rifle. I found and kept a .20 all brass shot shell in very good condition, did not find any other 20 gauge shells. I found a very few .41 colt shells but no .45 colt or 44-40 WCF shells. I wondered over the site many times as a gun and history fascinated teenager and compared brass to cartridges of the world drawings. This was back in the 1960s and early 70s. So even a knowledgeable gun fighter still used “out of date” firearms.
@grisslebear11 ай бұрын
Louis L'Amour once said in an interview, "There are many so-called 'experts' that decry the range & power of the black powder revolver. There are hundreds of men in boot hill that wish that was true."
@jerrysmooth2411 ай бұрын
People have this idea because most modern shooters always have access similar guns also movies but the same year that the famous cattleman 1873 Colt SAA came out there was also a massive bank crash and depression so most people couldnt buy them until decades after.
@samuelhowie454311 ай бұрын
Always gets me when they show a gunman using a cap and ball pistol but they're pistol belt has full cartridge loops on it.
@jacobmarley490711 ай бұрын
Great video and spot on info. James Butler Hickok used a pair of percussion .36 cal Colt Navy revolvers up until he was shot in Deadwood in 1876. He shot and killed Dave Tutt in 1865 at a distance of 75 yards, the bullet entering between Mr. Tutt's 5th and 7th ribs.
@neilbodwell917211 ай бұрын
We see that even today. I remember when 6.5 creedmore came out, I worked at a gun shop at the time and folks were all nervous about .308 and what's gonna happen with it and on multiple occasions had to say "that caliber is going nowhere. It's been around way too long and NATO is still going to be rocking their equivalent for a long time. Old stuff does not mean bad stuff. Love your content keep it up.
@BillyJ24411 ай бұрын
So goes that concept for today as well. I'm disabled and have less money than I used to. Just about everything I own is obsolete. From my weapons to my automobile. This was a very good, informative video. Thank you. I love history. You presented this very well! 😁
@2011Matz11 ай бұрын
Surplus Civil War weapons were shipped in huge numbers to Australia and the Pacific Islands where they remained in common use up to 1900 and beyond.
@csipawpaw792111 ай бұрын
To give you an idea how long people held onto and used old pistols. I remember when I was a small child in rural Oklahoma in the mid 1950s my family attended a wedding at an old farm house. I was sleepy and so they put me on a bed. As the reception party went on for hours into the night. suddenly I was awakened by gun fire as the party goers started shooting into the air. Then an old man came into the room, opened a cedar chest, and removed an old converted black powder pistol. Loaded it with old ammo and went out to fire it. A few minutes later he and my father were at the kitchen table trying to get the corroded empty brass out of the cylinder chambers!
@markeastman618711 ай бұрын
In the 1930's my dad as a young teenager worked for a farmer part of his pay was a muzzle loading double barrel shot gun which he used for ducks and rabbit hunting
@mathewparrish937711 ай бұрын
I live in Kentucky, here and in Tennessee and other Appalachian areas folks in the mountains were still using cap lock long rifles up into the early 1900’s. They kept them working and they were reliable, so they kept using them. Often they were called hog or bear rifles.
@johncanzoneri477110 ай бұрын
Amen. My grandad born 1883 was raised with Bannerman cap locks converted shotguns from smoothbore Civil war muskets, Woodruff County, AR
@alun700611 ай бұрын
Good stuff, Karl. Your point can be proven even today - look how many people opt for the century-plus-old .45ACP, .30-06, .357 etc. Just because something new comes along doesn't mean that the old thing vanishes. Indeed, many people prefer to stick with what they know.
@bobhill394111 ай бұрын
Exactly, dad hunted with a Winchester 88 in .308 and he loved it. He said, it's the most versatile hunting round.
@wallyzworld710811 ай бұрын
I grew up in the Owens Valley (Eastern Sierra) in the 70s and early 80s and many a Rancher still had their family's originally purchased Winchester 1892s in their trucks back windows. One of these old gentleman's truck pistol was a percussion revolver, but never got to see it close enough and was too young to know what specific model it was. Colt 1873s in 45 Colt or even 44 WCF were quite common.
@dorisjohnson885711 ай бұрын
I had been under the impression that the reason the military flap holster was worn on the right side and reversed was because the saber was worn on the left side for "cross draw" with the strong arm as these two weapons were primarily issued to cavalry troops and officers. i always enjoy your historical presentations immensely Thank you for them.❤DJ
@nomadmarauder-dw9re11 ай бұрын
The draw described was called High Cavalry for a reason. Because it was better for a seated person, especially with those long barrels. And a cavalryman spent a lot of time where? Sitting on a horse! And the saber was more often carried on the saddle. Men wouldn't be using pistol AND saber. That's ridiculous. The old reins between the teeth thing wasn't to guide the horse, but to keep the reins from tripping your mount. So you'd need one hand for driving anyway.
@theknifedude18819 ай бұрын
Thank you Karl. I really enjoy your sharing of the History of The American West.
@InrangeTv9 ай бұрын
Thank you!
@Tornado186111 ай бұрын
The average person had little need for pistols. The shotgun and rifle were far more useful, therefore handguns were they were last gun to acquire. Surplus C&B revolvers were about $6 versus about $15 for a new Colt SAA.
@JamesThomas-gg6il11 ай бұрын
Yep but three and New York reload twice before having to re feed the rifle if needed.
@gregzeigler385010 ай бұрын
Quite true. My grandpa made due with a .410 shotgun and a bolt action .22 rifle during the great depression and as far as I can tell, never owned any other guns(both of which still go bang, though the rifle is from 1917, and the shotgun from the 1920's). I have of course given them to my grandchildren, so they'd stay in the family. I expect, if they take care of them as well as I did, they will be handed down to their children.
@jhackett948210 ай бұрын
I have a 99 gmc pickup. It’s 24 years old and still in use and there are many around. It’s the exact same thing. I’m only suspicious of firearms when I see a picture where the gun someone’s holding hasn’t been invented yet.
@lewissmith874310 ай бұрын
Thank you for the accurate historical look into the reality of what the old west really was like. As Clint Smith has said old does not mean obsolete. It is just a different weapon system to learn. I look forward to similar videos.
@gmclucy11 ай бұрын
love your old firearms history stuff as well as the new, I learn something every time
@bryangonzalez139811 ай бұрын
Another fantastic video and I really can't wait to try Dead eye sometime! I really love how you're highlighting the wide variety of firearms used on the American frontier, one of my favorite examples of a mix of technology is that when the famous Californio Tiburcio Vasquez was captured in 1874, the posse that caught him stated they seized a “six revolvers, two Winchester rifles of the model of 1873, then considered the best weapon made, and a Spencer seven-shooter". And while his rifles were the newest model, Tiburcio's personal pistol was a second model Colt Dragoon. Maybe for Dead Eye I'll try and run with the same setup Vasquez had.
@davewright636811 ай бұрын
Great video. This era is one of my favorites for firearms history.
@johnedgar795611 ай бұрын
Thank you for this one. 🙂 I love your historical & Old West videos. Thanks!
@jasonprosser739211 ай бұрын
I actually do appreciate and enjoy the history videos over anything else you do sir.
@InrangeTv11 ай бұрын
Glad you like them!
@garrow1222511 ай бұрын
This is my favorite period also. A rolling block 50-70 and a new model army is what you would see me with in western Kansas near New Mexico. Of course, I still would have had my percussion Sharps carbine from the war as well. :)
@kregchrist282611 ай бұрын
great video as always. I would expect another reason percussion guns, both long guns and revolvers stayed common in the west is because if you're in a fairly remote location it would be a much easier to get lose powder and caps than it would a specific cartridge.
@ArizonaGhostriders4 ай бұрын
Love the info, the firearms, and them moccasins!
@tballstaedt780711 ай бұрын
I really like your real world historical presentations.
@SatansPooper11 ай бұрын
Great content Karl. Thanks for doing what you do!
@robertrobert792411 ай бұрын
Excellent historically based video. I really like those Apache boots. I made a pair similar to them when I was an Anthropology Major in college in 1966. I have an Uberti 1860 Henry in .44-40 that I have shot with BP cartridges and smokeless. That slightly necked cartridge expands in the breech sealing the black powder gases in the barrel, so little to none blows back into the brass breech block. It makes it very easy to clean the rifle with soapy water.
@prestongarvey774511 ай бұрын
I just happened to be working on a project set in the early 1870s so this video is quite handy. Thanks.
@danbradley65539 ай бұрын
I just think the smoke puffs coming out the sides of the revolvers loaded with black power look SO COOL !
@navajoguy810211 ай бұрын
There are famous photos of Geronimo, along with other Apache fighters, posing with their rifles. His was a trapdoor Springfield carbine, single shot. Now I remember that you guys actually did a video of that one too. Interesting bit, those pictures of Geronimo and his followers were taken while they were still enemies of the United States. Most other photographs of chieftains or leaders in from those days were taken before or after hostilities stopped. An interesting detail I think is his headdress, its very Plains Indian style like what the Comanche or Shoshones would wear. In his "retirement/imprisonment" Geronimo was very aware of his celebrity with Americans. So he became something of a hustler. Wearing Apache or Indian style clothing, appearing in Western shows, and posing for photographs. He was able to make a little money for himself doing all that. He actually really liked White Americans apparently and didn't harbor too much animosity though Teddy Roosevelt denying him leniency to return to Arizona was really fucked up.
@Fredninja2210 ай бұрын
Here in Canada, my great-grandfather bought a surplus WW1 bolt action 303 for moose hunting. My grandfather said he would have continued to use it if he could only attach a scope to it. Until that point, they took down loads of moose with only irons.
@Mad_ox811 ай бұрын
Love this content! My county’s sheriff Harry Mose had an 1866 Winchester (referred to it as an “improved Henry”) and an 1860 army until he upgraded to S&W American in the 1870s.
@willros612811 ай бұрын
I enjoy these little table talks. I say keep them peppered in.
@ElChris81611 ай бұрын
These are some of my favorite videos to post on this channel. Well done as always.
@pmgn844411 ай бұрын
Excellent analysis! The average person in the 1870s didn't have the disposable income of post-WWII or 2020s USA. Go visit an accurate recreation of an 1870s or 1880s homestead and see how sparse it is. "Make it do, use it up, wear it out" was a necessity. Our modern 'planned obsolescence' is a post-WWII phenomena.
@wigon11 ай бұрын
This is the type of history that I had no idea about. I absolutely love your historic videos like this (well actually all of your historic videos). Keep up the awesome historic videos. Super cool stuff. I've just barely gotten into lever action guns (after decades of owning AR's) and I am absolutely hooked on Old West guns. I'm now really excited about exploring single action revolvers and eventually, black powder firearms. So the history behind these firearms for me is just amazing to learn and appreciate.
@reak51411 ай бұрын
Thank you InRangeTV, very cool!
@rjoetting759411 ай бұрын
There were a lot of gunsmith conversions to, before the drilled through cylinder patents, ran out. American ingenuity was amazing, especially in the early years of the old west. Do whatever is necessary to get the job done. Also, when the 1873 SSA came out they were very rarely found in civilian hands. Supply and demand basically only the military had access to them earlier in production.
@andrewdamore257111 ай бұрын
Loving the old west historic content Karl, keep it up! Cheers from OV
@karsonbranham390011 ай бұрын
Excellent video, and history lesson! Thank you professor Karl!
@antonioadinolfi405211 ай бұрын
That's a great video. It takes skills to seamlessly blend firearms and history. Thanks
@JohnTBlock11 ай бұрын
As a Westerner like yourself, (Cali) I enjoy your trips into Western lore and history. Hope you continue these, Karl!
@noahcount713211 ай бұрын
Fascinating and appropriate history lesson, Karl! 👍
@tacman289311 ай бұрын
I am still one of those rocking an 1873 Winchester! Sure, have plenty of modern options but just seem to go with the classics more than ever.
@johncanzoneri477110 ай бұрын
I think of this. Reproduction cap and ball are big sellers today. Good point Karl. You give excellent examples. .
@ECJ177611 ай бұрын
The TV show, Hell on Wheels, portrayed this fairly well actually. They did get some names of the guns wrong like using an 1860 army with a brass frame and calling it a Griswold and Gunnison revolver. It takes place right after the Civil War so most guys are carrying cap and ball revolvers. A little later in the show as the years start to pass, some guys start using cartridge conversion guns.
@Hanks1938ELKnucklehead11 ай бұрын
A brass framed 1860 is exactly what a Griswold and Gunnison Confederate made revolver was..
@anthonyhayes126711 ай бұрын
In one of my favorite scenes in that show, the camera pans over the Mormon militia standing guard at Ft Smith. You can see a proper variety of common civilian arms of the period in their hands.
@ECJ177611 ай бұрын
@@Hanks1938ELKnucklehead kzbin.info/www/bejne/r4nIaKatgpqGoLsfeature=shared Not really. At first glance, yes they look similar, but no it isn't just a copy and paste Colt Army with a brass frame. The Army is in .44 and the Griswold is in .36 to name one difference. This youtuber explains this in this video and does reference the Hell on Wheels inaccuracy on the Griswold and Gunnison. Fastforward to about 2 minutes and 50 seconds into the video and you'll see him explain it.
@justalurker348911 ай бұрын
@Hanks1938ELKnucklehead I believe it was a brass-framed .36 1851 Navy Colt with a round barrel, not the .44 1860 Army
@NahBro-kv1yc11 ай бұрын
@@justalurker3489 If we are being pedantic, it was a scaled down Walker/Dragoon to .36 cal..The 1851 Navy was a .36 cal. scaled up version of the scaled down .31 cal. Baby Dragoon/Colt Pocket revolver. Basically just skipped a step because infringing patents is fun
@gregzeigler385010 ай бұрын
"My Confederate friend, is your holster snapped or unsnapped?" "Snapped. I guess he's my pigeon."-John Wayne, The Undefeated. A lot of people carried 1851 Navy pistols clear into the 1880's.
@paulcrusse780011 ай бұрын
Thank you for all of your hard work.
@terryschiller262511 ай бұрын
Wonderful video Karl. Thank you Sir. History must never be silent. And as I believe you mentioned people we're dirt poor back then and need the money they had for other things. Maybe that's we're the phrase came from "if it's not broke don't fix it!" Again thank you Karl for all your hard work and time Sir. You are appreciated!
@asorbus196611 ай бұрын
All well stated points. There is a great historical resource at Library of Congress called American Memory. Included in this database are WPA interviews of old timers done in the 1930s to preserve the history of the old west. One fellow whose interview I downloaded a transcript of says he kept his cap and ball revolver well into the 1890s simply because it cost less to shoot. Economics certainly a factor. People normally don't have huge amounts of money to spend on guns in an era when subsistence level life pretty much the norm. As you point out, it was a long process to switch over to the new firearm technologies. Keep up the good work.
@gussie88bunny11 ай бұрын
Karl, your pragmatic deep dives Into history and practical application are great. I detect from various comments and other videos that there are dramas in your KZbin and shooting sports life. I truly hope they don't get the better of you and decrease your entertaining and informative output. Thanks and respect, Gus
@seewaage11 ай бұрын
Thanks for the cool video. I learned a lot. I have one of those loop holsters with the flap that fit the gun belt. Now I know why they did that.
@SnausageKing11 ай бұрын
Love the history stuff Karl, good video
@InrangeTv11 ай бұрын
Thanks 👍
@christopherreed472311 ай бұрын
The classic Western "The Sacketts" kind of shows this. The younger Sackett brother carries either a short Colt .44 percussion revolver or a Richards-Mason conversion of one.
@Dan-be7iu5 ай бұрын
Yes and the oldest brother Tell has a percussion Navy Colt belt gun and a 1873 Winchester rifle. Ur rifle is important u want the best available, pistols much less so as long as it works.
@geronimo97065 ай бұрын
Great video! Thanks and greetings from Germany!
@guardianofgoblins68211 ай бұрын
They are still relevant even today i know a large amount of people who use percussion revolvers as their daily carry gun for many reasons i myself use and carry a 1860 konverted as well as a few other percussion replicas I got in trade or purchased back when i was still a fellon ( im no longer a felon but im still poor) and other reasons that they remain relevant is traveling i cant tell you how many people in the military or truckers that own and carry these guns
@bobhill394111 ай бұрын
Fantastic video, I loved the history and I agree with the belief that if something is doing it's job perfectly for you, why upgrade, particularly if you don't have the money. I learned alot, thanks. I also was intrigued at the differentiation between "obsolescence" and "obsolete".
@edwardbarton168011 ай бұрын
I feel like a good comparison might be revolvers vs semi-auto pistols. Semi-auto pistols have been around for over 100 years, but you still find a lot of revolvers.
@KossoffFan10 ай бұрын
One of the very few heirlooms I have is a H&R copy of the S&W pocket hammerless breaktop. It's in .32 S&W the action no longer rotates the cylinder. From what my dad tells me, it was his grandmother's "apron gun" and it had been in the family before that. We didn't live in a throwaway society back then. Speaking of which, a few years ago a waitress saw my flip phone and said "I love your retro phone, where did you get it?" I looked up at her and said "the AT&T store". I'm 39 and I still don't own an Iphone lol.
@MrWarwick1511 ай бұрын
Thank you Karl. Richard.
@TubeRadiosRule10 ай бұрын
I have a S&W Model 2 that was made in late 1864, in .32 long rimfire. Pocket sized cartridge in a belt-sized handgun (6 inch barrel).
@Sphinx-1911 ай бұрын
46 rimfire was being made in the late 1860s as well , reminngton new model armies fired it, i think they only stopped making it in like 1916.
@connect441911 ай бұрын
I've actually been getting your video notifications lately!
@mariodias619711 ай бұрын
Amazing content. One of the best about the old west
@jacobstaten236611 ай бұрын
Makes perfect sense. I never got around to playing the Red Dead Redemption games, but I was pleasantly surprised to see someone carrying a flintlock while other people have cartridge fed revolvers. Revolvers stuck around a long time even though mag fed pistols were better. People are still using bolt action guns even though many semiautomatics are just as accurate.
@dylanbrown143911 ай бұрын
Love historical inrangetv content!
@ringogringo81411 ай бұрын
Cool video, it made me wonder if the picture of Geronimo you showed was from the 1904 World's Fair. One of my ancestors led the delegation from Oklahoma to three different world's fairs from 1893 to 1904. Geronimo went from Fort Sill Oklahoma with them. He had his own Pavilion, and sold daquerreotypes of himself. Grist Mill Jones and 8 other Okies on the delegation ran the Golden Grain Pavilion at the 1904 World's Fair. They took home gold medals for Best grain and sorghum of the Great Plains. I'm still shooting black powder with my 1863 Zouave Antonio Zoli reproduction.
@InrangeTv11 ай бұрын
It probably is, but that still speaks to the reality of these things, and these guns circulating.
@tigerkrag11 ай бұрын
Very good information! Things I take for granted that people don't know
@jacka55six6011 ай бұрын
Dad paid $15 in 1977 for a 1893 7mm Mauser made in Berlin. It was my first deer rifle as a young lad, we modified the heck out of it. Chopped 6" off the barrel and 2" off the stock. Turned the bolt and tapped for a scope. I'm in my 60's now and never felt the need to upgrade since it always got the job done.
@martingindulis531011 ай бұрын
ENJOY YOUR WORK THANK YOU.
@InrangeTv11 ай бұрын
Thank you!
@milesh.112511 ай бұрын
I have some caps given to me by an old timer that were made in the teens or twenties, his dad had an old muzzeloader given to hime by a civil war vet, the caps were his. furthermore those suckers still work, this oldtimer fired one a few years ago in a old shotgun he had.
@ooloncaluphid11 ай бұрын
In the climactic 3-way duel at the end of The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly, there's a closeup of Lee Van Cleefe's character's revolver, which was a Remington percussion revolver being carried in a cartridge belt. I always thought that that was an oops on the part of people who didn't know any better, or thought the audience wouldn't know any better, but at this point I can't really say whether it was a oops or consciously done for authenticity.
@ringoworkagain10 ай бұрын
Period accurate was percussion revolvers for that movie, however it's extremely unsafe to fire black powder(even without a projectile) on set, so they used blank cartridges when they needed to shoot, and even they weren't absolutely safe.
@ringoworkagain10 ай бұрын
And maybe cartridges were for henry rifle, since it's 1862 in the film
@SSHitMan11 ай бұрын
In a lot of these old photos the gun is a prop supplied by the photographer for dramatic effect.
@WhatIfBrigade11 ай бұрын
In the wilderness I'd probably prefer a smoothbore so I could shoot both ball and shot depending on various game, but an 1860 Henry and 1860 Colt would mean you could shoot cartridges if they were available and shoot muzzle loading if that was all that was available. You've also got 22 shots on tap which is more than most people have loaded even in the present day.
@herknorth869111 ай бұрын
Years ago, I took your advice and installed an ad blocker. As of today, ironically, it looks like I won't be able to watch YT without removing it.
@InrangeTv11 ай бұрын
I don't know what ad blocker you're using, but Brave browser is still being effective against KZbin's nonsense.
@herknorth869111 ай бұрын
@@InrangeTv Thanks!
@Hunter-ck3ty11 ай бұрын
Nice history lesson, thanks 👍
@InrangeTv11 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it!
@KR-hg8be11 ай бұрын
Good content, a percussion revolver is a useful tool even now.
@lizb727111 ай бұрын
This is also true of other technologies like cars and trains. Steam trains continued to be used far after both electric and diesel trains became a thing.
@jonathantatler11 ай бұрын
Excellent as always 👍👍👍👍
@InrangeTv11 ай бұрын
Thank you so much 😀
@jonathantatler11 ай бұрын
@@InrangeTv I'll probably never own a gun but I love your videos every time 👍
@cal30m111 ай бұрын
I compare this to the use of revolvers with Police departments. Even though the ubiquitous “Glock”, (modern semi auto), came out in the 80’s, many departments still used revolvers into the 21st century. Even the NYC police didn’t “start” issuing semi autos until 1993 and allowed veteran officers to still carry them as service weapons until 2018…
@crunchytheclown969411 ай бұрын
Thanks Karl
@steveneldred892810 ай бұрын
Brilliant! Thank you!
@j.bowman869911 ай бұрын
Don't forget Elmer Kieth and his book hell I was there
@argyle181211 ай бұрын
Always love the old west stuff
@frankrives9964Ай бұрын
The Colt 1871 revolver was not the first revolver to be chambered in the same cartridge as a rifle. The S&W No. 3, which came out in 1869, was chambered in .44 American, but some revolvers were also chambered in .44 Henry. About 100 of the First Model and about 3,100 of the Second Model were chambered in .44 Henry.
@FastNBulbous11 ай бұрын
Spot on. Just because something is “viable” doesn’t mean it’s “adopted.” There were viable red dot rifle siting systems in the 1980s, but there wasn’t widespread US military use until 2005-2007, and the civilian market picked up slightly after that. Now we consider red dots to be ubiquitous, but many people are still using iron sites just fine.
@aac718311 ай бұрын
Another excellent video Karl . I am really enjoying your recent content . Keep up the good work 👍🏼