Yellowstone was one of the biggest hits of the last five years. It’s a massive show and made Taylor Sheridan enough money to buy the biggest ranch in Texas. The man is a machine in terms of creating successful shows and great movies. So far, he’s produced two spin-offs of Yellowstone: 1883 and 1923. Both tell the tales of different generations of the Dutton family and their trials and tribulations of owning a massive ranch in different historical eras.
As you’d imagine, these Western shows were filled to the brim with frontier violence and justice. They are the cowboy, and Indian-type action shows that also focus on the human element of violence in a rather impressive way. It’s not just fun gunfights where the heroes always win. It gets to the point where the action isn’t always desired by the viewer because you truly don’t know who will live or who will die.
As you’d imagine, it’s also a series of shows chock full of guns. Western guns are often a different kind of cool, so let’s dig into the guns of 1883 and 1923.
The Guns of 1883
1883 is basically Oregon Trail, the TV show. I mean, it’s not really the Oregon Trail as we know it, but it’s a trip out to Oregon led by Shea Brennan and Thomas. They are leading a group of German immigrants out west to claim land. It’s a brutal journey with untrained, ill-prepared travelers. He’s joined by the Duttons as they leave the East for the West following the Civil War. The journey is brutal and violent.
The Colt Single Action Army
The Colt Single Action Army (Colt SAA) seems to be the gun of choice for the TV show, or at least the Uberti replicas are. We don’t see many alternatives outside of a Colt 1860. The Colt Single Action Army is used by everyone, both good guys and bad. We see a wide variety of different barrel lengths, from the short to artillery. The Colt SAA was a popular pistol of the era but was known for its high price.
The high price came from its excellent and robust design. There is a reason why plenty of these guns are over a century old and still function. The Colt SAA was the Glock 19 of its era, and it came in a ton of different calibers, the most popular being the .45 Colt. Many of the once-popular calibers are no longer in production. These revolvers are robust, accurate, and easy to use, plus they have the classic cowboy aesthetic every Western needs.
Winchester 1866
Shea’s right-hand man, Thomas, carries a Winchester 1866 as his main rifle. He’s quite the shot with the rifle and is very effective with the weapon. Not a man you’d want to cross. The 1866 was Winchester’s first lever action rifle and was a dramatic improvement on the original Henry rifle. It was called the Yellow Boy due to the gold nature of the receiver, which occurred due to the bronze and brass alloy mix. The rifle held 17 rounds of .44 Rimfire, making it quite capable in close-range encounters, and it packed a punch that was perfect for defensive use. The Winchester 1866 remained in production for over 30 years due to its lower price.
Winchester 1873
Shea, the Duttons, and many more carry Winchester 1873 rifles. The Winchester 1873 is likely Winchester’s most famous rifle. It’s known as the gun that won the West and was the star of a 1950s cowboy flick known as Winchester ’73. The gun was originally chambered in the .44-40, which was the first successful centerfire cartridge. Throughout its lifespan, it would be produced in numerous calibers and configurations.
We see two configurations in the show. The first is the full magazine model, with the magazine going all the way to the end of the barrel. We also randomly see the half-mag model in what appears to be continuity errors. If the Colt SAA is the Glock 19 of its era, the Winchester 1873 is the AR-15 of its era. It was powerful, capable, very accurate, and very reliable.
Winchester 1885 High Wall
The Duttons have a very interesting scoped rifle that James Dutton uses with great precision to pick off threats. The rifle wears a massive scope that only provides a six-power level of magnification. The Model 1885 is a falling block, single-shot rifle that fired full-power cartridges like the .45-70. It was quite accurate, and its use in the show is accurate to its capabilities. You might be asking why a rifle named the Model 1885 is in a show called 1883.
Well, as hard as the show tried, it couldn’t help but include an anachronistic rifle in the mix. It stands out among so many lever-action rifles. It’s the designated sniper rifle of the show, and similar falling block rifles weren’t uncommon at the time. The Wicnehster 1885 High Wall doesn’t make much sense in the show, but it stands out and does its job well.
Colt Model 1878
There are only a few shotguns in the show, and as you’d imagine, they are all double-barrel guns. The most prominent being the Colt Model 1878 12-gauge shotgun. The Duttons use the Colt Model 1878 quite frequently. While we see James kill a pickpocket with the gun, we see his wife use it more often than not. It seems to be her favorite gun.
The big dual-barrel gun features a sidelock and uses the famed rabbit ear hammers. It’s got a straight stock and was a very durable weapon. Colt isn’t well known for its shotguns, but the few they made are well regarded and would be well suited for frontier life. From hunting to blasting bandits off of horses, the 1878 would work quite well.
The Guns of 1923
The show 1923 is an interesting time to set a Western. We know Westerns by their lever-action rifles and revolvers, but by 1923, the world was seeing a mix of automatics and revolvers, the rise of double-action side-opening revolvers, and, of course, machine guns and automatic rifles. It’s a new era, and the show portrays it well.
Holland and Holland Double Rifle
Troubled World War 1 veteran Spencer Dutton travels to Africa, going where he needs to kill big, man-eating cats. His rifle of choice is a double-barreled Holland and Holland rifle, or H&H. These are the quintessential African big game rifles. They are English-made and designed to fire massive, bone-shattering, muscle-ripping rounds into big and dangerous game. They are quick on target and fire devastating rounds.
We don’t get a clue as to what caliber his rifle could be, as there are several variations and options. It’s an appropriate rifle for the job he does. The H&H brand continues to produce high-end hunting rifles and shotguns, and its reputation is nearly flawless. I can’t wait to see the rifle make its appearance against the villains of the series.
Winchester Model 1894
The Winchester 1894, an invention of John Browning, was the most widely produced rifle of the Winchester lever guns. The Model 1894 was the first civilian rifle to utilize smokeless powder cartridges and offered a very efficient rifle platform. It keeps the cowboy motif but blends in with the changing world.
Winchester chambered the Model 1894 in several calibers, but the most popular was the .30-30. It’s not clear what caliber the Dutton men are carrying, but it could be .30-30, .32 Winchester Special, .35 WCF, or numerous other options. The 1894 was the first civilian rifle to sell one million units and remained in production until 2006!
Thompson SMG
The Thomspon submachine gun would be high-tech in 1923 and extremely expensive. We only see one, and it’s wielded by one of the series’ villains. He uses it to great effect against the Dutton men and their lever-action rifles. It spews lead from its drum magazine and is fired from the hip. The beefy submachine gun would have been a force to be reckoned with in this era.
The Thompson SMG came around too late for World War 1 but became the weapon of choice for outlaws. Well, kind of. It wasn’t super common, but several high-profile incidents spurred the weapon into the limelight for better or worse. Thompson embraced the cowboy image and, at one point, advertised the weapon as a rancher’s best friend to ward off desperados.
S&W M&P
A few decades before the show began, the S&W 1899 became the model modern firearm. It was a six-shot, .38 caliber revolver with a swing-open cylinder and double-action mechanism. It was a modern option for the more modern man, and Jacob Dutton chose the S&W M&P model, a derivative of the 1899 Hand Ejector, as his sidearm of choice.
Jacob is no spry chicken, so it’s interesting he’d trade in his Colt SAA for a double-action revolver, but understandable. It’s easier to shoot and quicker to reload. Plus, double action was a fancy concept and improved the rate of fire. This gun would go on to become the S&W Model 10, a legendary weapon in its own right.
M1911
By 1923, the M1911 was old hat but it’s not a surprise to see it make an appearance. It’s Spencer Dutton’s sidearm of choice. It’s not a big surprise since he served in the war. The M1911 is a semi-automatic, magazine-fed pistol. It held more ammo than the revolvers of the era and was much faster to reload. It hardly needs an introduction and is still produced by dozens of manufacturers to this day.
We don’t get to see it used much, but I imagine season two of 1923 will be a bit more bloody.
The World Of Yellowstone
Yellowstone is giving the Marvel Cinematic Universe a run for its money with the various spin-offs and shows that are jumping into the game. It’s quite interesting to see the show evolve into so many spin-offs, which, in my opinion, outshine the original show. I’m excited to see the second season of 1923, as well as whatever Bass Reeves and 1944 hold for us.
