Shoot Outs

Two gunmen with ice-cold eyes, a heated Sunday afternoon duel. Although this terrifying scenario makes for gripping, edge-of-your-seat drama, this type of battle was uncommon because the majority of cowboys were not proficient shooters. Top hired laborers were more likely to make a fistful of silver dollars with their mastery of the lariat than a six-shooter on a cattle drive. In addition, having a gun entailed serious implications.

In the 1870s, a big sign that proclaimed "The carrying of Firearms Strictly Prohibited" welcomed visitors to Dodge City, Kansas. In Wichita, similar signs that read "Leave Your Revolvers At Police Headquarters, and Get a Check" were also visible. "Places like Tombstone, Deadwood, and Dodge had the most stringent gun control laws in the country," writes historian Adam Winkler.