Cowboy Movie question

[ilikerugers]

caught a few minutes of a John Wayne movie today

why do cowboys in the movies always have one large bullet in their cartridge belt?

[BigDogatPlay]

It was a signal, supposedly, that they were getting down to the last gunload for their revolver. When you reach back there and feel the long round you know you're down to your last reload.

[Big Jake]

If John Wayne did it there was a good reason for it. He was and still is the man among men. No one like him before or since!

[Turbinator]

caught a few minutes of a John Wayne movie today

why do cowboys in the movies always have one large bullet in their cartridge belt?

Cartridge, not bullet. Back to firearms 101 for you

Turby

[30Cal]

You mean like a 45-70 cartridge in addition to the pistol ctgs? What BigDog said.

I will tell you that a loaded gunbelt is really heavy. You're carrying a full size revolver plus a full box of ammo on your waist in the heaviest leather you can find.

[IGOTDIRT4U]

You mean like a 45-70 cartridge in addition to the pistol ctgs? What BigDog said.

I will tell you that a loaded gunbelt is really heavy. You're carrying a full size revolver plus a full box of ammo on your waist in the heaviest leather you can find.

Yep, that is the reason. Usually the rifle round was also the right caliber for the lever action carbine rifle, too. Dual purpose!

[Black Majik]

Interesting Bigdog, thanks for sharing.

I have another question now, whats the reason for crossdraw? I can't imagine it being faster? Since the cartrige is usually on the right side for reloading is it to offset the weight of the ammo?

[TMC]

Wayne almost always had a 45-70 in his belt but he carried at pistol caliber rifle.

I think did it just for looks.

[cudakidd]

On a double rig, a cross draw is a must for the second firearm unless you shoot with both weak and strong hands...

On a single rig a cross draw is at an angle and is easier to draw while mounted since it doesn't stick straight down...simple...

[Rule .308]

Wayne almost always had a 45-70 in his belt but he carried at pistol caliber rifle.

I think did it just for looks.

While it does look cool, it does have the practical application of letting you know that you are half way through your cartridges, that's why it is placed in the middle.

[BigDogatPlay]

Interesting Bigdog, thanks for sharing.

You're welcome. My take on it came from something, I think, Rick Hacker wrote one time about the Duke and how authentic his gear was and was worn.

I have another question now, whats the reason for crossdraw? I can't imagine it being faster? Since the cartrige is usually on the right side for reloading is it to offset the weight of the ammo?

Crossdraw can be pretty fast. The main idea is to have the second gun so that it can be drawn and used with the strong hand, as mentioned above. A lot of CAS / SASS shooters use a crossdraw rig mixed with a strong side rig as their set up. While somewhat practical from that respect, I'm better disposed to train / shoot with both hands.

Of course crossdraw has it's disadvantages.... not the least of which is presenting the butt of your gun to a bad guy to take away in close quarters. This is why law enforcement pretty much went away from crossdraw in the 1960's and why you find nice old Safety Speed LEO duty holsters on Ebay all the time.