Gun Fighting Secrets – Straight From The Wild West

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I have long been a big fan of the Old West. The ingenuity, perseverance, practicality and sheer grit that went into the westward expansion of our Republic are nothing short of admirable. Also, the mark that this epic undertaking left on the character of the nation is indelible. A theme that I revisit often in my homesteading endeavors is the philosophy of making more out of less. In the Old West, many folks even applied this philosophy to weaponry. Furthermore, they often emphasized the advantages of pairing your handgun and your rifle in terms of caliber. In this article, we will seek to uncover some of these long lost gun fighting secrets from the Wild West.

Gun Fighting Secrets: Pairing Your Handgun With Your Rifle

The primary advantage of this philosophy is that you need to stock less ammo if both your main weapons eat the same thing. It also makes reloading on the fly more convenient, quicker, and less confusing. You can feed both weapons from a single cartridge belt, and you can load either weapon without looking down to see what you are grabbing. This is a big bonus in a high-stress situation.

Another benefit is that pistol caliber ammo is generally more compact than rifle cartridges, so you can fit more in less space. Firing the same caliber ammo through the longer barrel of a rifle or carbine gives it more juice. (Translated: greater muzzle velocity, greater terminal energy, greater “Stopping Power,” and greater effective range and accuracy). All this leads to a huge advantage in terms of effective use of ammo supplies. These gun fighting secrets are as manifest in packing a 21^st century get home bag as they were in packing for a 19th-century cattle drive.

How to hide your guns, and other off grid caches… ^[1]

My First Dynamic Duo

My first venture into this concept was a salute to my cowboy spirit. In a deplorable act of impulse buying, I found myself in possession of a Winchester Legacy Edition Model 1894 chambered in .45 Colt (.45 LC). I fell in love with this little rifle and with modern loads. In fact, I have taken game as large as wild boar and even deer at moderate ranges. The natural evolution was to add a Single Action Army revolver in the same chambering. The winner was the Uberti Cattleman Patron, which is a beautiful rendition of the 1873 Colt. With this pair of weapons, I’ve equipped myself for a lot of eventualities in a survival situation. I’ve prepared myself for hunting, bear attacks, as well as personal defense against two-legged predators.

Lever guns are still a quick handling and practical defensive arm. In addition, with a (good) bit of practice, the SSA is an adequate defensive handgun. I shy away from recommending the single action as a primary handgun in most situations. Nonetheless, its rugged durability, simplicity, and dependability make it a reasonable choice for wilderness scenarios where high volume firefights are less likely than hungry mountain lions. A full cartridge belt and a couple of spare 50-round boxes of shells in the bottom of my pack or saddlebags is a lot of shooting with these guns. This is especially true with regard to the relatively low weight and volume.

Gun Fighting Secrets: Applying Them To More Modern Guns

But what if you aren’t ready to go all Cowboy Retro? The good news is that there are some great choices for paired pistol/carbine combos in modern configurations. These combos often have the added bonus of magazine compatibility. This feature offers a savings both in space and capital outlay when you are gearing up.

I have said it before and here it goes again — I am an unapologetic fan of Hi-Point’s guns. I have seen all the negative posts, and while I don’t discount them I have to say that I have two of their 9mm pistols and one TS9 carbine. Moreover, as long as I feed them +P ammo ^[2] in new brass, I have found them flawless through thousands of rounds. I have had a few failure-to-feeds with less expensive ammo in once-fired brass, but this isn’t the ammo I would bring to a gunfight anyway.

I like the Hi-Point carbine a lot. For starters, it is quite inexpensive. It is also American made and sports a lifetime warranty. It is eerily accurate. Best of all, the magazines from the carbine function flawlessly in Hi-Point pistols of the same caliber. In practical terms, you can view the benefits aside from the saved expense of buying a bunch of magazines of two different types. What this means is that, if I am in a hairy spot and my carbine becomes non-functional, I can fight on with the pistol and reload from the same pouches. This is a good deal. It means that if the long gun goes down, I won’t have to convert all those magazines to useless anchors.

The Kel-Tec Sub-2000 Series

If you are a Glock guy and have caught the pistol caliber carbine bug, you should take a serious look at the Kel-Tec Sub-2000 series. Although not as inexpensive as the Hi-Points, these are a fairly economical alternative. They are made in 9mm as well as .40 S&W, which are both practical and ubiquitous defensive handgun calibers. The 9mm Sub-2000 can be configured for use with Glock 17, Glock 19, S&W 59, Beretta 92 (M9), or Sig 226 magazines. The .40 S&W Sub-2000 can be configured to use Glock 22, Glock 23, Beretta 96, S&W 4006, or SIG 226 magazines. If you currently own any of these handguns or are considering them, the addition of a Sub-2000 is very useful. It is eminently practical in both ammunition and magazine compatibility, conferring all the advantages previously discussed.

The Sub-2000 series has developed a solid reputation as a very reliable and accurate weapon. Kel-Tec has taken the concept a step further and made these little carbines foldable. This feature makes them a great trunk gun, and they can even be concealed or stored in your bug-out bag or backpack. This keeps your weapon out of sight until conditions warrant having it at the ready. This is an awesome feature in my book.

The Beretta CX4 Carbine And Other Varieties

Beretta has also entered a horse in this race, the CX4 carbine. This is the priciest of the carbines discussed here, but it is also the most aesthetically pleasing. Disclaimer: aesthetically pleasing is the last concern where any tactical weapon is concerned. However, let’s face it, cool is cool and sharp is sharp! Fortunately, the CX4 has shown itself to have all the quality and reliability that we have come to expect from Beretta. The CX4 also comes in both 9mm and .40 S&W. It is also adaptable to accept any full-size Beretta PX4, 90-series, or 8000 series magazines using optional adapters. This could make the weapon even more magazine-versatile, but you have to have the right adapters. I think if I were to acquire this weapon, I would make it a point to have every adapter made.

These are just a few of the options available in pistol caliber carbines. Furthermore, there are a lot more out there including those (like the old Marlin Camp carbine and some past and current offerings by Ruger) that afford many of the same benefits in a more “sporting” and less paramilitary configuration. I am a firm believer in this concept, in that it gives you more bang for your ammunition buck and more mileage from your magazines. Without question, you should learn more about gun fighting secrets from the Old West. They can provide you with an effective way to use your firearms in tandem with one another.

You may also enjoy reading an additional Off The Grid News article: 10 Practice Drills Guaranteed To Make You A Highly Skilled Concealed Carrier ^[3]

What tips would you add for pairing rifles and pistols in the same caliber? Tell us in the comments section below. 

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