In the 1970s, John Denver recorded a song called "I'd Rather Be A Cowboy". Well, long before that song came out, kids were pretending to be cowboys with a vengeance. And to meet that need and desire, toy companies came out with quite a number of toy guns and accessories for the young cowpoke. We'll take a look at just a few of the hundreds of western guns and sets you could get, 40 or 50 years ago.
Let's face it. Old west guns were just so cool. Nothing else looks like them and the care that was used to make replicas of these guns by many of the manufacturers was nothing short of amazing. Some of these rifles and pistols were so realistic looking that you couldn't tell them apart from their real counterparts.
One of the most popular of these rifles was the M1865 Remington Rifle. This was no light weight gun. It was 44 inches long and weighed five pounds. This was a replica of the very first cartridge firing system, rolling block sporting rifle. This was a very realistic looking gun and quite durable, made of very hard wood.
Want to shoot more than one bullet without having to reload? No problem. You also had the M1850 Revolving Musket. This was a replica of the six shot infantry rifle of the era. It was built with a revolving cylinder firing system that was very realistic. The gun was 42 inches long and weighed 5.5 pounds. It was also made out of very hard wood.
Looking for a lever action rifle? There were plenty of them too. One of them was the 1882 Lever Action Carbine. The gun is 37 inches long and weighs 5.5 pounds. The gun was known as the "Little 86" because of its very fast action. The gun is made out of wood and has a real working lever. This was probably the most popular model of western gun during the time it came out.
If you wanted something from the Civil War, you could get that too. There was the 1860 Enfield Civil War Musketoon. The gun was 40 inches long and weighed 5 pounds. The percussion lock is stamped by the London Armory with the Royal Crown. It's a two band musketoon. This is an actual replica of the gun they used to fight in the US Civil War.
If you wanted something a little smaller than a rifle, you could get them too. Back in the 1950s, there was a pair of six shooters that came out that were sold under the title "Western Man" made by Roth American Inc. The guns shot roll caps, which were very popular in the 60s and 70s. Today, it's almost impossible to find these caps. The set came with two guns. Both had pearl handles and metal barrels and each one had its own holster. These were without any doubt the most popular six shooters made during the time. The roll caps made quite a loud noise and aided to make these guns very realistic sounding to add to their realistic look.
These guns only scratch the surface of the number of western guns that had come out during the time. Yes, John Denver was so right. Kids would rather be cowboys.
Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Toys
