Category: All About Guns
After World War I proved the utility of scoped rifles on the modern battlefield, the U.S. Army realized that it should build off the lessons learned in the mud and blood of the trenches and begin evaluating scopes and scoped rifles for future conflicts. Fortunately, the National Archives have records of some of these tests, both those conducted during the relative peace of the interwar years and the early years of World War II, when the need for a suitable sniper rifle was more acute.
A U.S. soldier takes aim with his M1903A4 sniper rifle.
Even better, the fine folks at Archival Research Group have started the herculean task of digitizing many of these fascinating primary source records for the casual armchair historian to pore over.
The 1925 Test
A test conducted by the Army’s “Department of Experiment” at Fort Benning, Ga., in 1925 determined that a “telescopic sight should be mounted and issued on a specially accurate rifle having a specially constructed stock with high comb and less drop at the heel…” and one also featuring a longer length of pull than the standard service stock. They felt these changes were necessary to get the greatest advantage out of the scoped rifle, and to make it more comfortable for a range of shooting positions.
(Photo courtesy of Archival Research Group)
Interestingly, they singled out a weapon already in production at Springfield Armory – the NRA “sporting type” rifle – as the ideal candidate. They noted it as the most accurate of all the Model 1903 rifles (even more so than ones specially selected for the National Matches they claimed), and further stated that “it is provided with the Model 1922 stock, having exactly that high comb, small drop at the heel, and length which experience indicates will be most satisfactory with a telescopic sight.”
A Springfield Armory Model 1922, .22-Cal., rifle with Winchester A5 Scope mounted. The NRA M1903 “sporting type” rifles looked very similar, and the stock of the Model 1922 was desired. (Photo courtesy of Archival Research Group)
In the end they came down on the side of the sniper rifle, stating that “In any future war it may or may not have a decided usefulness, depending on local conditions. It is therefore felt that this instrument [rifle scope] should be developed to an ultimate successful type”.
Despite this apparent interest in fielding standardized scoped rifles, the U.S. Army allowed its peacetime sniper rifle program to atrophy into functional non-existence. Only the Marine Corps fielded any real number of scoped rifles, and unlike the more compact scopes favored by the Army, they chose to use 16″ long target-style scopes produced first by Winchester and later by Lyman.
The 1942 Test
After the U.S. entry into World War II, the Army once again faced the reality that there was a need for a scoped rifle for use by snipers and other marksman on the battlefield. Unlike 1925, there was a pressing need to get an effective sniper rifle into the hands of soldiers and marines in a timely fashion. To determine what form that rifle should take, they once again embarked upon a series of tests at Fort Benning, now conducted by the Test Section of the Infantry Board. In these tests, dated Nov. 1942, they set out to settle three primary things: the rifle, the optic and the mounting location.
(Photo courtesy of Archival Research Group)
The Rifle
The first task was determining “the type of service rifle most suitable for the use of telescopic sights.” As the NRA Sporters had been discontinued, and the M1 Garand had officially supplanted the M1903 as the Army’s standard rifle, the Army test now considered three contenders: commercial style rifles, the M1903, and the M1. The Test Section received four Winchester Model 70 rifles, which came mounted with Weaver hunting style scopes. While pre-64 Model 70s are beloved and sought-after weapons today, the Army wanted nothing to do with them for simple logistical reasons (although the USMC, and eventually even the Army, would field small numbers of them).
(Photo courtesy of Archival Research Group)
In the 1942 report, they brusquely dispensed with them by stating “Manifestly, this equipment is not what is desired for the reason that the Winchester rifle is not standard and it is not desirable to add another weapon of this type to the rifle company.” Instead, they determined that both the M1903 and M1 were suitable for use by snipers due to them being “extremely accurate” and already part of the standard inventory. They did set forth certain criteria however, and stated that the rifles should be hand selected based on shot group size, and their actions be hand finished.
(Photo courtesy of Archival Research Group)
While they no longer desired the Model 1922 stocks from the NRA Sporters, they stated that “Stocks should be selected and carefully fitted” and that “In the case of the M1903, the National Match rifles with type ‘C’ stocks would be most desirable.” The “C” stocks featured a full pistol grip, instead of the original service rifle’s straight stock, and had found great favor with competition shooters during the inter-war years. As far as the rifle was concerned, the Test Section’s feelings were summed up when they said “All things should be done to insure smooth operation and greatest accuracy.”
The Optic
Now that they figured out the platform, they would have to “determine the most satisfactory type of telescope for sniping use.” In the end they would compare two scope designs: the higher magnification target style scopes used by the Marines, and the more compact but much lower magnification hunting type scopes. Alongside choosing what scope to use, they had to “determine the type of reticle to be used in the sniper’s telescope.”
(Photo courtesy of Archival Research Group)
The target type optic that was tested was a Unertl 6X magnification scope mounted on a M1903A1 rifle (the A1 basically being a standard M1903 mounted in a full pistol grip C stock). The Army testers quickly determined that the target style scope would not fit their needs, and noted two main issues that “preclude[d] its use as a ‘field service’ sight.”
First was the overall bulk and fragility of the scope, which while acceptable for the competition firing line, raised concerns about how they would hold up in harsh field conditions. Second was the size of the objective lens, and the type of mount required to attach it to a rifle. In the view of the testers this combined to force the shooter to adopt “awkward firing positions,” which were “uncomfortable, unsteady and slower” than other designs.
(Photo courtesy of Archival Research Group)
For the “hunting-type scope” however, they had high praise, calling it a “very compact, sturdy sight” which “has been used extensively by sportsmen in all climates and on all sorts of terrain.” The particular scope they used in the testing was a 2.5X magnification Weaver 330, but they noted that “prior study of other makes of hunting telescope indicates that any of the American makes of the same type would be satisfactory for sniper use,” and specifically called out Weaver, Lyman, Noske and Unertl as known suitable manufacturers.
(Photo courtesy of Archival Research Group)
The testers felt that this simple sight was rugged enough to withstand conditions in the field and, somewhat optimistically perhaps, hoped that “many inducted soldiers will already be trained in its use.” They also specially mentioned that the adopted scope should have “elevation and windage screws [with] knobs and clicks similar to the Weaver 330C,” something that would provide the shooter with tactile feedback when adjusting the scope, and allow them to make adjustments without having to closely eyeball hashmarks as they went.
(Photo courtesy of Archival Research Group)
As to the issue of reticle, the Test Section looked at three types: standard crosshair, flat top post and flat top post with a cross wire. While the report notes a preference for the crosshair type with medium thickness wires, it noted that the others would be suitable substitutes.
The Mounting Location
Finally, with the rifle and scope sorted out, the Test Section need to work out the most advantageous way to marry them together. In determined the following factors to be essential:
“(1) That due to the possibility of injury to the scope without disabling the rifle, the metallic sights must be instantly available for use with the scope mounted. (2) Mounts must be sturdy and rigid. (3) Since […] after dismounting and remounting it is necessary to make slight corrections from the former zero, the telescope should not be dismounted in the field. (4) The eye relief of the scope should be sufficient for use with high power rifles. (5) Scope should be mounted as close to the side of the barrel or receiver as the diameter of the objective lens will permit.”
(Photo courtesy of Archival Research Group)
Recognizing that even the hunting-style scopes of the day were still fairly fragile pieces of equipment, and that clip-loading was desirable (and essential on the M1), the Test Section deemed that a side mounted scope was necessary to free up the top of the rifle for aiming with iron sights and loading. They also departed from other nations’ designs by stating that instead of a detachable scope that would be stored in a protective case when not in use, the scope would be permanently fixed in a non-adjustable mount, with all windage and elevation adjustments being internal to the scope itself.
The Birth of the M1903A4 – And Some Significant Deviations from the Recommendations
Like any government acquisitions program, there will typically be some deviation from what the requesting agency asks for and what they ultimately receive. While the reasons for such differences can be legion, so often it boils down to time, simplicity, and money – which appears to be the driving factors behind what became the most common sniper rifle that was fielded to American forces in World War II and Korea.
The Rifle
The first concession to ultimately be made when actually producing the new sniper rifle was the selection of the M1903A3 instead of the M1903 or M1903A1 as the bolt-action sniper platform. While a fundamentally similar rifle, the M1903A3 was created an expedient variation to increase production speed and decrease cost during the war, and generally isn’t quite as finely fitted and finished as peace-time production M1903s. In particular it makes extensive use of stamped parts, to include the integral triggerguard and floorplate, barrel bands and sling swivels.
The Author’s Remington M1903A4 sniper rifle.
The feature most notable from a distance is the substitution of a rear receiver mounted aperture sight, something that removed the need for the traditional ladder-type sight, which had its space filled with an extended hand-guard. And since M1903 production had long since ended at Springfield and Rock Island, two commercial firms had been selected to produce the M1903A3 – Remington and Smith-Corona. In the end, only Remington would be contracted to produce sniper variants, while Smith-Corona only produced the regular service rifle.
A close-up view of the barrel markings on the author’s M1903A4, with “RA” for Remington Arms, ordnance bomb and Aug. 1943 production date.
Also, despite the recommendations that rifles be hand-selected for accuracy, have their actions hand finished and be carefully fitted with specially selected stocks, there is no indication that any of this was done, with Brophy noting in his seminal work “The Springfield 1903 Rifles,” “[t]he rifle was a Model 1903A3 without any special attention paid to its accuracy, or suitability for such use.”
A circled “P” firing proof cartouche at the bottom of the “scant” semi-pistol grip stock.
Additionally, while many M1903A4s were fitted with the full pistol grip “C” stocks as called for, a fair number were (like the main example photographed here from the author’s collection) were placed in the “scant” semi-pistol grip stocks. The stocks had their own interesting story of government frugality and compromise born from stock blanks cut too shallow (in the style of the original straight stocks) to accept a full “C” pistol grip.
The Optic
The scope itself generally followed the specifications dictated, with the final optic being a militarized variant of the Weaver 330C, named the M73B1 (although some standard 330Cs were fitted to the earliest rifles). Having a relatively low fixed 2.5x (some say 2.20x) magnification, and a narrow 0.75″ diameter tube, it is completely archaic by today’s standards both for magnification and light transmission.
Even when compared to the common foreign sniper scopes of the day, it certainly would not come in as best-of-show, but was in the end an available and economic optic. It did however prove to be somewhat fragile in field conditions, prone to moisture seepage and difficult to use in low-light situations.
A closer look at the World War II era M73B1, a militarized variant of the Weaver 330C, mounted to the author’s M1903A4.
While the M73B1 would serve as the primary optic for the duration of World War II, as the service life of the M1903A4 continued, it would also occasionally mount the M81, M82 or M84 telescopes. While each was an incremental improvements over the last, they all were narrow-diameter and low-magnification optics that were generally not widely beloved.
The Mounting Location
Probably the most obvious departure from the Test Section’s recommendations was the location of the scope itself. Despite the Test Section stating that a side mounting was “necessary” because “it is imperative that the metallic sights be immediately available for use…,” and that clip loading was desired, the decision was ultimately made to mount the scope in a low “scope over bore” configuration.
The mount chosen was a Redfield Jr. model, which was attached on the front via a hole drilled into the receiver and at the rear via a dovetail type base that is integral to the rifle. The mount and mounting location did present a unique problem to Remington, the solution to which still helps collectors to this day.
A close-up view of the back-rear portion of the receiver, with the back end of the Redfield Jr. mount dovetailed into what would have been the spot for the adjustable peep sight on a standard M1903A3.
Because the mount would fully obscure the standard service rifle markings, Remington chose to dramatically offset their manufacturers info and rifle model to the left side of the mount, and the serial number to the far right, in order to ensure that all were fully visible. This leaves, when the mount is removed, a large blank space smack-dab in the middle of the receiver (in addition to the mounting hole).
A modern collector can be sure they have a rifle originally configured as a M1903A4, and not a more recent “clone”, if it features this unique stamping pattern. Interestingly, Remington chose not to change the stamped nomenclature on these rifles, and all will bear factory “MODEL 03-A3” markings, although it’s not unheard of for rifles to have a hand-stamped “4”, possibly added later either during the refurbishment process, or by a diligent unit armorer seeking to square his rifles with his supply record.
A closer look at the moved receiver roll marks on the left side of the receiver.
While the scope over bore positioning did present less risk of damage when compared to the high mount, it did prevent the use of both the iron sights and clip loading. In fact, on the M1903A4 the Army decided to omit iron sights entirely, leading to the rifle becoming mostly useless if the comparatively fragile scope became damaged by rough handling or environmental conditions. One other interesting side effect of the scope position is that it interferes with the safety operation, while you can wedge the safety into a 3/4 vertical position, it if far from secure or ideal.
This Rifle
The pictured rifle was produced in 1943, with a barrel dated from August of that year. It shows a correct mix of parkerized and blued parts, as well as the “scant stock“ variant that provides a semi-pistol grip. It has a number of clear cartouches, including “RA” – Remington Arms, “FJA” – Frank J. Atwood (the inspector), an ordnance wheel, and “S.A.” in a 3-sided box.
A closer look at the three main cartouches on the left side of the stock ahead of the wrist, with “RA” standing for Remington Arms, an ordnance wheel and “FJA” – Frank J. Atwood – inspector mark.
The final cartouche indicates that it was inspected / overhauled at Springfield Armory post-war, although it doesn’t look like too much refurbishment was done given the condition of the stock and the metal finish being generally consistent with wartime production.
The “S.A.” cartouche inside an open square on the stock, indicating a post-war rebuild at Springfield Armory.
WW2’s Best Sniper Rifle?
Was the m1903A4 the perfect sniper rifle? No, absolutely not. In fact, Colonel Brophy considered it “at best a poor excuse for a sniper rifle”. But I’d suggest that, in light of the failure to adopt a superior sniper rifle and develop a sniper training program during the inter-war years, it was a suitable response by an Army that needed to put functional scoped rifles into the hands of soldiers rapidly and in great numbers.
A U.S. soldier cleaning his M1903A4 during World War II. Note the standard M1903 rifles in the hand of the others in the background.
While entering the war with a well-developed and thoroughly tested sniper would have unquestionably been better, having this imperfect but serviceable rifle in the field during the bulk of US combat operations was certainly better than fielding the ultimate sniper system in Aug. 1945.
I beg to differ in that all things considered. I think that this “imperfect but serviceable rifle” was the best that we could do. Also since I own a couple of Sporterized 1903 myself. I have found them to be absolutely fine and really accurate rifles. Which hopefully (NOT) if it were to SHTF , I would gladly grab one of them over a whole lot of other firearms out there. Grumpy
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We’ve long held a fascination for the gunmen of the Wild West, and firearms enthusiasts have been especially interested in the hardware used by them.
Unlike most Wild West gunmen, who left behind scarce detailed accounts of the guns they had used during their tumultuous careers, John Wesley Hardin is known to have owned or used several solidly documented guns.
Furthermore, thanks to his autobiography, in instances where his hardware is not known, we can guesstimate what arms were most likely used on given dates, based on firearms production records and other known historical facts relating to firearms chronology. (Keep in mind though, Hardin describes some shootings that have not been documented elsewhere and are thus suspect.)
Hardin, arguably the most deadly of the Old West’s gunmen, was a notorious desperado whose career spanned three decades (minus almost 16 years in prison) that ranged from the end of the percussion era of the late 1860s to well into the age of metallic cartridge arms in 1895.
Although firearms were probably nothing more than mere tools to him, there is little doubt that Hardin was a man who appreciated the mechanics as well as every line and curve of his weapons, as his adept handling of his firearms testifies.
“Hardin was an awful quick man”
To say that Hardin was good with his guns would be an understatement. During his lifetime he was considered to be the best shot, the fastest draw, an excellent horseman and the deadliest gunman in the West—and not simply through hearsay. Hard men of arms, who had witnessed and respected his six-gun handling, recorded his abilities.
Late in his lawless career, in 1877, when Hardin was a captive of the Texas Rangers, famed Ranger James B. Gillett was among a group of Rangers who unchained Hardin and watched him in amazement as he demonstrated his skills with a pair of empty Colts. The Ranger remembered he handled the Colts “as a sleight-of-hand performer manipulates a coin.” They also noted his tricks: “The quick draw, the spin, the rolls, pinwheeling, border shift—he did them all with magical precision.”
A Smiley, Texas, man told Hardin’s great grandson he remembered seeing young Hardin “…get on a horse and run that horse at a pretty good speed by a tree, and unload his gun in a knot on the tree.”
Another contemporary recalled that Hardin was so fast that, “When he was young he could get out a six-shooter and use it quicker than a frog could eat a fly.”
In his El Paso years, despite aging and being away from guns for nearly two decades in prison, Hardin was still lightning fast. One eyewitness, who saw Hardin in action in 1895, said, “Hardin was an awful quick man. I was in Mexico one night with him when a policeman started to arrest Hardin for carrying a gun. The policeman made a break for his gun, but he didn’t have time to pull it. Hardin hit the man in the face and then, pulling his gun, told the Greaser to get out of town, at the same time informing him who he was. The Mexican never did come back, and he hasn’t stopped running yet, I bet.”
While in El Paso, Hardin must have felt himself slipping as he passed into his early forties, for in his autobiography he writes of his earlier abilities with guns, “In those days I was a crack shot.…”
In El Paso, he practiced daily in front of a mirror in his boarding room. He wore a special “calfskin vest with built-in holsters containing his two Colt .41 caliber revolvers,” according to contemporary accounts, although neither this vest, nor a bulletproof vest he was supposed to have worn, have ever turned up.
When interviewed for the August 23, 1895, edition of the El Paso Daily Times (just four days after Hardin’s death), his landlady, Mrs. Williams of the Herndon House, stated: “Yes, Mr. Hardin was certainly a quick man with his guns. I have seen him unload his guns, put them in his pocket, walk across the room and then suddenly spring to one side, facing around, and quick as a flash, he would have a gun in each hand, clicking so fast that the clicks sounded like a rattle machine.”
She went on to say, “He would place his guns inside his breeches in front with the muzzles out. Then he would jerk them out by the muzzle, and with a toss as quick as lightning, grasp them by the handle and have them clicking in unison.”
As a final testimony to Hardin’s speed and skill with his guns, El Paso Constable John Selman, a noted gunman himself, would kill Hardin by shooting him in the back!
Hardware for a Young Shootist
Much of Hardin’s early career—from 1868 to 1877—largely involved the use of cap-and-ball revolvers, since the self-contained metallic cartridge arms were relatively new and were not yet nearly as plentiful as they were in later years.
In his life’s story, he frequently makes mention of Colt’s revolvers. Based on the dates of his gunfights, these likely would have been the Model 1860 Army .44s or the 1851 and 1861 Navy models in .36 bore, or possibly cartridge conversions.
Hardin is known to have used at least one 1851 Navy .36, which is identified by serial number in a letter handwritten by Joe Clements, Hardin’s cousin. In the letter, Joe writes that Hardin gave him the gun after Joe had broken up a fight in Gonzales, Texas, and that Hardin got a newer model revolver.
Hardin mentions using a Colt .44 (most likely the 1860 Army model) in his first killing, in 1868, involving a freed slave who had assaulted him. Shortly thereafter, he may well have relied on the same six-gun when a posse of three soldiers discovered his whereabouts and came to arrest the 15 year old for the shooting. The teenaged fugitive selected a spot by a deep creek bed, where they would have to cross, and waylaid the troopers.
In this ambush, which young Wes described as “war to the knife with me,” he killed the three men by “…opening the fight with a double-barreled shotgun and ending it with a cap-and-ball six-shooter.”
Several years later, when Hardin was captured in Pensacola, Florida, on July 23, 1877, he had a ’60 model, .44 cap-and-ball Army Colt revolver on him. He had been unable to draw his six-shooter, since it was strapped to his galluses—much to the relief of the arresting officers.
In recounting his many other fracases, Hardin does not go into detail as to the particular type of weapons used. Like many other Westerners of the day, Hardin referred to them as a cap-and-ball six-shooter or, simply, as “my pistol.” Texas’s Public Enemy No. 1 also spoke of shooting a man with a derringer. Again, he doesn’t stipulate the type or caliber, and such a weapon at that time could have been any of a myriad of hideout pocket pistols.
One of Hardin’s known six-guns is a Smith & Wesson Model 3 Russian First Model, in .44 Russian chambering, which he used to kill Deputy Sheriff Charles Webb in Comanche, Texas, on May 26, 1874. This shooting brought about Hardin’s eventual capture and jailing. It is perhaps the only documented metallic cartridge six-gun from Hardin’s pre-prison era of lawlessness.
Although he preferred handguns, he was known to have also used longarms in several shoot-outs. Beside the above-mentioned incident in 1868, when he used a double-barreled shotgun to kill some soldiers, Hardin also used a shotgun to kill Jack Helm in July 1873.
Helm, a former Texas police captain and the DeWitt County sheriff, was also a deadly rival of Hardin’s in the notorious Sutton-Taylor feud. Hardin, who fought for the Taylors, gave Helm a broadside with a British W.&C. Scott & Son, double-barreled, 12-gauge percussion shotgun as Helm approached him. Hardin’s partner, Jim Taylor, then shot the sheriff several times in the head with his six-gun. This Hardin shotgun is on display at the Buckhorn Saloon & Museum in San Antonio, Texas.
On another occasion, the failure of the cap to ignite the main charge on a double-barreled caplock scattergun saved one lawman from joining Hardin’s long list of victims. During a running horse battle in drizzling rain, Hardin and Jim Taylor were escaping after shooting Deputy Sheriff Webb. When Texas Ranger Capt. John R. Waller caught up to the fugitives, he rode hard at them. The outlaw later recalled “…I wheeled, stopped my horse, and cocked my shotgun. I had a handkerchief over the tubes [nipples] to keep the caps dry, and just as I pulled the trigger the wind blew it back and the hammer fell on the handkerchief. That saved his life. Waller checked up his horse and broke back to his men.”
Rifles also sometimes made up Hardin’s personal arsenal. In his autobiography, he gives an account of firing at some pursuing lawmen with a “needle gun,” a frontier term for the .50-70 Allin conversion of the Springfield rifle—an early trapdoor model.
On another occasion, while trailing cattle to Kansas in 1871, Hardin holed up with his Winchester rifle in the bushes of his campsite and got the drop on a group of men who were after him. Based on the date of this incident, this likely would have been Winchester’s 1866 Model—originally dubbed the “Improved Henry.”
Last Guns of the Last Gunfighter
After Hardin’s release from prison in February 1894, the governor of Texas granted him a full pardon. Passing the bar soon afterwards (while in prison, Hardin had made an attempt at reforming by studying law and theology), the ex-convict began practicing law. Yet his inner demons were still plaguing him, and the hair-trigger-tempered Hardin quickly reverted to his old ways of gambling and drink.
The firearms from this notorious Texas pistoleer’s final years are solidly documented through the official court records resulting from an arrest and his murder. They present an interesting assortment of handguns.
Among these was a nickeled 2½-inch, ejectorless, .38 caliber Model 1877 Colt Double Action “Lightning” with two-piece pearl stocks. This six-shooter was presented to him (along with an engraved and gold-filled Elgin pocket watch, a watch chain and coin watch fob) from his cousin by marriage, “Killer” Jim Miller, for representing him in a legal dispute. Hardin also owned two .41 Long Colt-chambered 1877 Colt Double Action “Thunderers.” One was a 4½-inch barreled, ivory stocked and nickel plated pocket revolver (with ejector) and the other had a barrel of five inches and was nickel plated and ornately engraved with two-piece pearl grips.
Hardin also owned an ivory-stocked, 4¾-inch barreled, 1873 Colt Single Action Army in .45 Colt chambering, in nickel finish, with the ejector housing removed (quite possibly by Hardin himself, for an easier and faster draw from his pocket). Hardin’s 1873 Peacemaker, as well as one of his .41 Long Colt 1877 Colts (the ivory-stocked 4½-inch model), are on display at the Autry National Center’s Museum of the American West in Los Angeles, California.
At the time of his death, 42-year-old Hardin was packing a Smith & Wesson Double Action “Frontier” in .44-40 chambering, with black factory hard rubber grips. On the afternoon of August 19, 1895, Hardin threatened the lives of Constable John Selman and his son. That night, Selman walked into the Acme Saloon in El Paso, where the noted gunman was drinking and rolling dice, and coolly shot Hardin in the back of the head with a Colt .45 Peacemaker, killing him instantly.
Ironically, Selman claimed that Hardin had seen him come in to the Acme and went for his guns, although few believed this story. As a matter of interest, Episcopal Minister E.H. Higgins, who had been called to the Acme to attend to Hardin after the shooting, suggested that if Selman had shot Hardin through the eye from the front, “it would be remarkably good marksmanship,” and if Selman had shot him from behind, “it was probably remarkably good judgment.”
Had Selman indeed faced Hardin in a fair fight, the outcome might well have been different. J.W. Hardin was a bona fide expert with his six-guns. In his last year of life, he put on a number of shooting exhibitions during which he shot holes in faro cards, then signed them and gave them away as souvenirs. Most historians, including this writer who has carefully measured the bullet holes in some of these cards, feel that Hardin used his .41 caliber Double Action 1877 Colts to perform these shooting feats. A handful of these unique gunfighter mementos still exist and bring a premium price with collectors, as do any of Hardin’s firearms.
Like so many other shootists of the Old West, Hardin had many guns during his long and violent career. Thanks to court records, Hardin relatives and dedicated historians and collectors, like El Paso’s late Robert E. McNellis, who uncovered several of Hardin’s documented guns and other personal memorabilia, several examples of the Texas gunman’s weaponry have survived. These valuable artifacts not only reveal the types of arms used by Old West gunfighters, but also provide the rare opportunity to see the actual tools of this deadly gunman—one of the frontier’s most notorious shootists—in his violent profession.
Phil Spangenberger writes for Guns & Ammo, appears on the History Channel and other documentary networks, produces Wild West shows, is a Hollywood gun coach and character actor, and is True West’s Firearms Editor.
Photo Gallery
This five-inch barreled, nickeled and engraved, pearl-handled .41 Colt “Thunderer” was taken from Hardin in May 1895 by Deputy Sheriff Will Ten Eyck for “unlawfully carrying a pistol” in the Gem Saloon in El Paso, Texas. It was never returned to him, and Ten Eyck later repaired the cracked grip.– Courtesy Kurt House Collection / By Paul Goodwin –
