Slightly off topic, but I remember watching cowboy movies
when I was a kid and seeing indians using Winchester 94s.
They were probably '92s, which are pretty difficult to distinguish from '94s, especially at a glance. The 1892 Winchester was exceedingly popular in films due to its ability to ingest the popular "Five-in-One blanks" that were used on the sets. Same with the Colt SAA.
One of the most infamous cases was
The Commancheros, a John Wayne offering set in 1836.
Yep and I saw another John Wayne Movie- I forget the title- set in post Civil War 1866-1867
the Duke was packing a '73 Colt SAA and a model '92 Winchester...
He was ahead of his time....
was set in the period of 1851 through 1865. It's not listed on the IMdB Guns in Movies site, so I'll have to rely on my own eyes. In it, Duke uses what appears to be a Trapdoor Springfield Carbine 22 years before it existed or possibly only fifteen years before it did. Duke also taught us in this movie that SAA's were common in 1865 along with '92 Winchesters. In 1851, he and Walter Brennan are wearing revolvers of some sort. At the time, a smattering of Colt Pattersons would have been available, plus the Walker, Dragoons and Baby Dragoon model. Neither looks big enough to be a Walker or Dragoon and the Navy wouldn't have made it to Oklahoma yet.
Then there is
The Undefeated, set right after the War Between the States.
Rio Lobo is too.
The Searchers is an otherwise excellent movie.
I don't know why Duke, when he set
The Alamo in daylight, didn't go for it and arm the Texicans with '92s and SA's. If he'd have went whole-hog and brought in a couple of Gatling Guns, who knows?
