Billy the kid's rifle

[Tubac]

Hi gents,
Does anyone know if the Serial number of the Whitney-Kennedy Rifle taken from the kid by Sheriff van Patten is published
anywhere? Looked on google with no luck.
Thanks,

Tubac

[Tubac]

The (alleged) rifle is in the Gene Autry museum. Is there an inventory of the museum's firearms avaiable?
Thanks again.

Tubac

[St. George]

'Alleged' is an excellent term to use, when describing firearms of certain notables - there seem to be a helluva lot of guns around that were owned by them...

You might want to contact the Museum Curator and ask.

There should be an Inventory Control sheet readily to hand.

Vaya,

Scouts Out!

[Tubac]

Thanks St. George,
I didn't want to sound "snotty", but I don't know the provenance(spelling?) of the rifle.
A letter from van Patten saying that rifle #xxxx was taken from Wm. Bonney or a court document
listing evidence is one thing, "my granny said, that her uncle told her..." is another.

Tubac

[Tubac]

St. George and other gents,

If anyone cares, the serial number on the Whitney-Kennedy rifle that the Autry museum says belonged to
Billy the Kid is 808. Pat Garrett lists an 1873 Winchester captured and a .44/40 Colt SAA, but no Whitney-
Kennedy. Curious.

Tubac

[gunplay]

I saw the rifle in Nevada years ago with a painting of Billy  holding the rifle.  The painting certainly did not look like the one tintype of him..  Bad guys certainly owned a lot of guns.  Jesse James had dozens which his mother sold to tourists.  Bat Masterson in his later years in New York did the same.

[Harve Curry]

The way I understood it, the 1873 carbine and the Colt SAA in the famous photo of Billy standing, those guns were from the deceased Charlie Bowdre.

[Fox Creek Kid]

His '73 Win. was in the Texas Ranger Museum in 1996 if I remember correctly, as well as the shotgun used to kill Bob Olinger.