did old time cowboys carry screwdrivers?

[buck]

With all the tweaking and working on and fixing of our CAS guns going on...I was just wondering how the old time cowboys kept their guns running...ecspecially when they were out on the range.  We shoot for fun...they needed their guns just to survive!  I never saw John wayne or Clint Eastwood pull out their gunsmith screwdriver set.   

[Ozark Tracker]

Interesting question,
a lot of them guns probably had as many problems as we have now, but if you were out hunting for food you'd figger out how to make it go boom,  I've seen a few old guns that people have from some of thier folks from years past. some of them were wore-ass-out.  but they continued to use them because around the smaller places in the country, there wasn't many gunsniths around to take it to. and nobody had the money to take it anyway.  I've seen lever action rifles, that people had used as single shots when they quit feeding.
I think at times it was just how ever you could get by. not much like today where we feel like it's got to work perfect every tijme.

[Delmonico]

Gun savy folks sometimes did carry one or two, others used a pocket knifle like the Texas Ranger who tried to chamber a 45 Colt in his 73.  He took the sideplates off with his knife, pried out the jam and put it back together and went back to being a usful member of the company.

Check out the buggered up screws on many originals, even wild Bill's fancy 51 Navy has buggered screws.

[Hill Beachy]

Based on the condition of the screws on several of the originals I've handled, I'd guess that they carried a dull butter-knife!   

HB

[St. George]

The Army provided a large number of accouterments to the soldier - among them were combination tools for use in taking down the weapon that featured a screwdriver, a mainspring vise and sometimes, a pin punch.

The Model 1879 Combination Tool featured these and the screwdriver tips fit the screws of the Trapdoor Springfield, the Colt Single Action Army and the Smith & Wesson Schofield - all in current issue at that time.

Whether those tools were used by anyone other than the military is anyone's guess.

No one during the Frontier era ever shot as much as the C&WAS shooter - nor did they spend time tweaking for that millisecond of extra speed.

Most generally - if something wasn't broken - it wasn't addressed - and a firearm was looked upon as a tool and not something to compete with.

Keeping the bore clean and maybe some light oil in place was considered to be enough, and originals often have a heavy shellac of dried oil and dirt caking the internals - an indication that detail stripping wasn't a normal practice.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

I really doubt if the average cow poke did any gun maintenance at all. Most probably did not fire a whole box of ammo in an entire year, so they did not put a whole lot of wear on them. The image of cowboys fastidiously sitting around the fire at night, cleaning and caring for their weapons is mostly fiction. Most probably used their guns to try to shoot the occaisional jack rabbit or rattlesnake, most were not involved in gunfights at all. I don't think any would have bothered to carry a screwdriver.

[Capt. Augustus]

They probably did like the former owner of a 73that I have did, bang on the rifle with a hammer until it worked.

[Frenchie]

Capt., he must have been in the Navy. When I was in, we called that Navy Emergency Repair Procedure One (NERP 1).

[Ransom Gaer]

I would agree that detail stripping was not a common occurance.  Last fall I got a D model 1897 Winchester from 1906.  When I cycled the action it seemed fairly stiff.  Stiffer than it should be.  So I took it apart and detail stripped it.  Once completely disassembled, I cleaned it.  And boy did it need cleaning.  After I was done I reassembled and lubed the action and it was much better.  Definitely worth the time and effort.

Ransom Gaer

[Yellowhouse Sam]

If not, they all must have carried fencing pliers.  I base this on how many buggered base pins seen on old Colt SAA.

[St. George]

What's seen in a movie isn't what necessarily went on - it's just something for the protagonist to 'do' - to be seen readying his weaponry prior to the 'epic battle' ahead.

As to the buffalo hunters - like anyone at the time - they cleaned their weapons with hot soapy water - or hot water when nothing more was available.

It wasn't like today - with various types of brushes and rods and muzzle protectors and lubricants available.

They used a wiping rod or ramrod with a jag, some tow or rag that would wrap around the jag's tip and perhaps a screwdriver to insure that the lock mechanism was dry and oiled.

When their equipment's found, or seen on display - you'll see far more by way of skinning knives, sharpening steels - and reloading equipment.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[Capt. John Fitzgerald]

Here is a link to a picture of the screwdriver that Colt provided with the SAA's that were sold to the Army.  I would imagine that many of them found their way into civilian use as well.

http://www.19thcenturyweapons.com/tools305/coltscrews.jpg

[Capt. Augustus]

Judging from the condition of a '73 rifle I bought in a stupor, they didn't need any screwdrivers, just a big hammer.  The best I can figure out, it must have jammed, so someone beat on it til it opened.