The Legend Lives On

• G u n s O f T h e G u n f i g h t e r s •

wounded and King dead. The injury left Masterson with a permanent limp and thus the need for what would become his THE LEGEND trademark cane. Taming Dodge City LIVES ON When Bat returned to Dodge City in the EMF Company offers a tribute to Gene Barry’s portrayal of Bat Masterson. late spring of 1876, he found an unruly town with little law enforcement, a town that the Hays City Sentinel had chris- BY DENNIS ADLER tened “the Deadwood of Kansas…Her ack in the days of black-and-white its of television censorship and guidelines, to rob banks, hold up stagecoaches, rus- corporate limits are the rendezvous of all television, our heroes were larger meaning rarely did anyone bleed when tle cattle, steal land, embezzle and, of the unemployed scally-wagism in seven B than life, despite being confined shot, no one ever swore, and the seedier course, cheat at cards. The bad guys were states. Her principal is polygamy, her to the small screen. In our house, our TV side of life was portrayed by manner-less thwarted each week by Bat’s cane, pistol, code of honor is the morals of thieves, was a Packard Bell in a mahogany cabi- characters planning unscrupulous crimes fists or wits. Buffalo Bill himself probably and decency she knows not.” The Kinsley net. It was a handsome- would have called it good Graphic newspaper was somewhat less looking time machine that theater of the West. kind, naming Dodge the “Beautiful, could, on a given night, The real-life Bat Bibulous Babylon of the frontier.” And it travel back to Dodge City Masterson had proven was in Dodge City where Bat Masterson, and follow the exploits of himself with both the Wyatt Earp, Charlie Bassett and Bat’s a man who represented Sharps rifle as a hunter younger brother, Ed, would earn their law and order in a lawless and the Colt revolver as early reputations as lawmen by settling town—Bat Masterson. a U.S. cavalry scout hired this untamed berg. The real William in 1874 by Col. Nelson A. During his tenure in Dodge City, Barclay “Bat” Masterson Miles. Masterson scouted which was also the county seat and home was a gentleman honed for the cavalry until the to the Ford County Sheriff’s Office, Bat from frontier life as a spring of 1875, when he appointed many of his old associates as roughneck, buckskin- returned briefly to buf- special deputies when situations became clad buffalo hunter, skin- falo hunting. A year later, thorny. Ford County encompassed some ner and cavalry scout—a he was involved in his first 9,500 square miles, a large portion of Here you can see one of Masterson’s eight known Colt Peacemakers (top) as it life Masterson lived long shootout in Sweetwater, southwestern Kansas—a lot of territory compares to the Pietta-made model (bottom) designed after Gene Barry’s TV persona. before his days as sheriff in Texas, with a cavalry ser- into which outlaws could quickly van- the Queen of Cowtowns. geant named Melvin A. ish. In their pursuit, Bat called upon In the TV series, Bat kept this all in boys on rampages through Dodge and The Bat Masterson of TV King. The fight was over Wyatt Earp and appointed his younger check, dealing out law and order, which pursued murderers, bank robbers, cattle fame was a song-and-dance man named Gene Barry (below left) based his a woman named Mollie Brennan, and brother, James, and friend Bill Tilghman had been quite a bit more difficult in rustlers and thieves, and like the real-life Gene Barry who had the look, demean- portrayal of Bat Masterson (below right) as Wyatt Earp wrote of the event, King as deputy sheriffs. Bat’s other brother, the Dodge City, Kansas, of the 1870s. Bat Masterson, Gene Barry’s Bat never or and style that the real-life Bat on Masterson’s own writings and walked into the Lady Gay saloon and Ed, had been appointed city marshal. On TV, he faced down countless cow- killed anyone he apprehended. Many Masterson had publicized in his photographs. Barry was also opened fire on Masterson and were wounded, but none were shot dead. photographs and writings. Bat correct in carrying his Brennan, killing her and hitting SPECIFICATIONS: His reputation for having killed 27 men became a journalist after he sixgun crossdraw-style Bat in the hip. Masterson managed as a peace officer was all legend. The real with the butt forward. (Gun hung up his sixguns, and a lot to get his gun into action and cut EMF Great Western II Bat Masterson Bat Masterson had been wise enough to belt and holster courtesy

▼ Caliber: .45 Colt of what was portrayed on the Legends in Leather.) King down with a clean shot to the let the tales stand, as fear of his gun was

television series was based on his heart. There are several ver- ▼ Barrel: 3½ inches as effective a weapon as the gun itself.

real life. The same was true of The sions of how the shootout ▼ OA Length: 9 inches Bat only killed one man in a shootout:

Life and Legend of unfolded, some with King ▼ Weight: 34 ounces (empty) Melvin A. King.

Wyatt Earp, starring ambushing Masterson ▼ Grips: Imitation stag As noted by TV Western authorities

Hugh O’Brian as Earp. and Brennan, others ▼ Sights: Fixed Doug Abbott and Ronald Jackson, between The stories were based on as a standup gunfight 1949 and the end of the 20th century, there ▼ Action: SA his real life, or his life as in the Lady Gay, but were more than 145 shows either based ▼ Finish: Nickel written by Stuart Lake. they all end the same, in the Old West, about the Old West or ▼ Capacity: 6 Both shows depicted the Old with Mollie Brennan modernized to the present day but still

▼ MSRP: $705 West as they could within the lim- killed, Bat severely Westerns at heart. The show Bat Masterson

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The author draws the EMF Bat Masterson single action from the replica of Gene Barry’s holster crafted by Jim Lockwood of Legends in Leather.

MASTERSON” engraved on the backstrap. To test the new revolv- er, I borrowed an exact when he left the confines of Dodge City copy of Gene Barry’s holster and belt and headed out after an outlaw. Life dur- from holster-maker Jim Lockwood, who ing the Golden Age of TV Westerns, on has duplicated nearly all of the famous the other hand, was a lot less complicated TV and movie Western rigs over the years. in 30 minutes. The Bat Masterson rig, as shown in the photos, is much like the one Gene Barry and Wyatt Earp. The subtle impact of EMF’s Edition wore on the TV series. The 3½-inch- that marvelous invention called television If you’re looking for a revolver like the barreled revolver was a perfect fit—quick was that a lot of people took Westerns one Gene Barry uses in Bat Masterson, on the draw and easy to reholster. for historic gospel (especially shows like EMF Company is now offering a “Bat The Great Western II’s construction Bat Masterson and The Life and Legend Masterson” version of its Great Western II is excellent, and it comes right out of the of Wyatt Earp). Creating memorable TV built by Pietta in Italy. Available for $705, box with a tuned action. At the range, the Western character required three essential the revolver comes with imitation stag hammer draw averaged a genteel 4.23 elements: a memorable gun, an interesting grips, a 3½-inch barrel, a full-length ejec- pounds with an average trigger pull of holster and an even more interesting hat. tor and a bright nickel finish with “W.B. 4.53 pounds. The hammer offers four Bat Masterson’s real-life story supplied all “clicks” when you thumb it back, just like three! And they almost got it right. a Colt Peacemaker, and the sights are as As for the holster Gene Barry used as true as any short-barreled SAA, meaning Bat Masterson, it was strictly a fast-draw the gun shoots a little low. There were no TV rig with a steep crossdraw cant and windage issues with the gun, and once I worn on a narrow trouser-width belt got a handle on the aiming correction, Wyatt Earp (seated second from left) and Bat Masterson (back row, third from left) pose for a photograph—known as the “Dodge City along with the seldom seen ammo slide which was 6 inches above where I wanted Peace Commission”—around June 10, 1883, with others who helped Luke Short resume ownership of the Long Branch Saloon. that carried an extra dozen rounds. In the rounds to hit, (short of filing down the the show, Bat was good with his fists and sight) the gun delivered very predicable lasted for 108 episodes (which would be crossdraw style. That was the only fact were durable, inexpensive and easy to his cane, and he rarely reloaded. In real accuracy with consistent five-shot groups anywhere from eight to 10 seasons by that the TV series got right. replace if damaged. Franzite grips were life, Masterson carried plenty of ammu- measuring 1.75 to 2 inches. today’s standards), but only aired from Gene Barry’s Bat Masterson, properly hollow, which made them light and easy nition for his Colt Peacemaker and his I shot the entire test using Ten-X’s October 8, 1959, to September 21, 1961. dressed with his cane and derby hat, was to break if the gun got dropped hard. But famous “Big Fifty,” a .54-caliber Sharps 165-grain, hollow-base, flat-point (HBFP) armed with a nickel-plated, 3½- or 4-inch- they were inexpensive, and an extra pair rifle that was never too far from hand smokeless-powder cartridges. These are Bat Gets His Gun barreled Colt throughout the show’s 108 was always on hand for the prop man lightweight rounds suitable for Cowboy It’s a shame that with so much docu- episodes. And adding insult to injury, to replace. Of course, stag grips weren’t Action competitions or just plain plink- mented history on Bat Masterson and rather than Colt’s handsome, black rubber really used on Colt revolvers back in Bat ing. I fired all of the groups one-handed, his choice in firearms, no one writing, Eagle grips, or Bat’s occasional preference Masterson’s day—they were either wal- and despite the short barrel and rudimen- Bat Masterson producing or directing the TV series was for mother-of-pearl grips, the plain nickel- nut, ebony, mother of pearl, hand-carved tary SAA sights, nine out of 10 rounds had his name able to get it right when choosing a gun plated TV gun used stag grips. The latter ivory or the latest Colt hard rubber Eagle engraved on were in the 10 and “X” rings. This isn’t and holster for Gene Barry’s portrayal of was one of the most popular features of and shield grips, introduced in 1882 and the backstraps a target pistol, but at 10 paces (between Masterson. The real Dodge City lawman a hero’s gun during the great era of TV offered by Colt up to 1896. of his guns 25 and 30 feet) it gets the job done, just carried nickel-plated, 5½-inch-barreled Westerns of the 1950s and 1960s. More to the point, the characters in (above), and like short-barreled Colt Peacemakers did Colts and favored drop-loop holsters with Gene Barry’s nickel-plated Peace- Western movies and TV shows were just Pietta copied back in Bat Masterson’s day. For more deep recurved throats for a quicker draw. makers were actually fitted with Franzite that—characters—even the ones who this detail for information, visit emf-company.com or And Masterson always wore his holster (molded plastic) stag-pattern grips that were once real people like Bat Masterson the EMF gun. call 800-430-1310. ✪

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