MarshalandformerTexas
RangerBassOutlaw.
DallasStoudenmire,
another former Texas
Ranger, El Paso city marshal
and deputy U.S. marshal,
carried a 2-inch-barreled
.44 Colt Richards-Mason
1860 Army, though with the
stock grips, and other law-
men like Pat Garrett were
drawn to guns with bird’s-
head grips by manufactur-
ers like Merwin, Hulbert
& Company. The Merwin
Hulbert (and Hopkins&
Allen) models were offered
in various calibers, but often
in .38 and .44-40 (referred
toon MerwinHulbert
modelsasthe“Winchester
Caliber1873”).Garrettcar-
ried a .38-caliber model.
Billy the Kid favored
the Colt Lightning, as did
John Wesley Hardin, butthe
guns, regardless of maker
or gunsmith, all had one
thing in common: They
were easier to carry and
ready to be drawn if things
went south. Which brings
me back to the cautionary
tale in the shootout photo
fo r this article, where a U.S.
marshal (portrayed byyours
tr uly) was taken by surprise
and wounded after anunas-
suming afternoon turned
into a gunfight when gang
members tried to free oneof
their locked-up compatriots.
Thankfully, the marshalhad
a bird’s-head-gripped Colt
.45 tucked into a small hol-
ster on his left hip.
The outcome is up
to your imagination, but
the gun is real. And ina
moment when everything
goeswrong,a bird’shead
inthehandis worthtwo
sixgunsina holster.✪
A Bird’s Head In The Hand
8 GUNS OF THE OLD WEST
Thebird’s-head-grippedMerwinHulbertPocketArmyin
.44-40wasa naturalforconcealedcarryina shoulder rig.
A bird’s-headgripwaseasiertoconcealundera coat,and
short-barreledrevolversdidn’tneedmuchofa holsterat all.
(HolsterandbeltcourtesyofSpain’sGarciaBrothers)
