G.S. McLelland's OldWestHistory.Net
The Buntline Myth
One of the most frequent questions I am asked by people is what kind of gun Wyatt Earp used. Many out there still believe that Wyatt Earp used a Colt Buntline Special with a 12" barrel. As the story goes, Wyatt and other "worthy" Dodge City Lawmen were presented with these special pistols by dime-novelist Ned Buntline in 1876. The origin of this story started with Stuart Lake's book where Lake supposedly quoted Earp as saying that the Buntline was his favorite weapon. Researchers in later years pointed out several reasons why such a weapon was unlikely to have existed, not the least of which is that no "Buntline" was ever found in Earp's belongings when he died. Another problem was that the only place this weapon was mentioned was in Lake's book "Frontier Marshal." Many quotes in the book attributed to Earp were later shown to be incorrect at best or possibly even made up by Lake himself. So what kind of gun did Wyatt use? The matter is still being debated to this day. John Gilchriese, who was given Wyatt's belongings when John Flood died, stated the gun in question was a Smith and Wesson .44 pistol with an 8" barrel.
Respected historians, Lee Silva, Casey Tefertiller, and Jeff Morey stated that the "Buntline Special" indeed may have existed. At this point, we simply do not know for fact what weapon Wyatt used at the time. There are vocal proponents of the Smith and Wesson theory as well as the Colt "Buntline" theory. Unless an actual weapon is produced, or a picture turns up of Wyatt holding a specific pistol, this argument will most likely continue for years.
One of the popular takes on the controversy for years was a book written by William Shillingberg in which he outlined the reasons why he believed the "Buntline" never existed. Shillingberg's findings have come under fire recently. For the sake of providing both sides of the argument to Earp students, here are some of the items Shillingberg published:
1. Wyatt was almost unknown except in local circles in 1876. He was not the national figure at that time that would have come to the famous Buntline's attention.
2. Colt records show that the original Buntline Specials were made with 10" and 16" barrels but none with 12".
3. Colt did not ship any 12" Peacemakers until August 30, 1892.
4. When Earp died he left his entire personal collection to friend John Flood, Flood was unable to find any such gun. Flood would also go on to say that he and Earp talked about guns often and Earp never mentioned such a pistol.
5. Earp would later tell a friend, "I don't like a gun with a longer barrel. Sometimes an inch or two makes a difference when you want to jerk it quickly."
6. Earp never stated to anyone, except in Frontier Marshal that he used a 12" Buntline Special.
OldWestHistory.Net believes the Buntline never
existed.
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