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nick_1

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Buffalow Bill was the most famous advocate of the 1858 . Claimed it never failed him.
I stole this shot off the internet from his Wiki page . Looks like two 1858's on the antlers, another 1858 without a loading lever. Possibly a cartridge conversion? 51 navy? No clue what the lower rifle is? the upper one looks like some kind of front stuffer big bore Hawken? the photo was dated 1871. looks like more pistols for faster reloads to me ;)
 
Buffalow Bill was the most famous advocate of the 1858 . Claimed it never failed him.
I stole this shot off the internet from his Wiki page . Looks like two 1858's on the antlers, another 1858 without a loading lever. Possibly a cartridge conversion? 51 navy? No clue what the lower rifle is? the upper one looks like some kind of front stuffer big bore Hawken? the photo was dated 1871. looks like more pistols for faster reloads to me ;)
Probably easier to understand your excitement if you included the photograph you talking about.
 
1733106267351.png
1733106267351.png
 
In the early photograph systems, they didn't have the negatives which then got printed into pictures like we had with film cameras. The picture they ended up with was the negative - in other words things looked backwards. Like a civil war picture of a soldier with a belt buckle that should say "U S"
would have a S U with the S backwards. Usually the photo studio would blur that out so it didn't show up.
If you could hold one of those pictures up to a bright light and look at the back side it would be right.
 
Well they sure had some strange ideas for photo setup back in the day. I assuage its a pile of dead animals. On the other hand not like backing over a cliff taking a selfie!

I sort of get the rifles, but 4 pistols? Kind of doubt that was the normal for taking game.

From memory the otohp (grin) method was a Daguerreotype or some such.
 
The lower rifle looks like an early air rifle. My dad had one he bought in a gun shop in New Hampshire back in the 70’s. It was made by Quackenbush, but it was made probably early 1900’s and call ed a bicycle rifle. Looks similar to the one in the picture.
 
Bill Cody was born in 1846 so if that picture is from 1871, he was 25 years old. Sort of a goofy picture, I wonder where and why it was taken.
 
The lower rifle looks like an early air rifle. My dad had one he bought in a gun shop in New Hampshire back in the 70’s. It was made by Quackenbush, but it was made probably early 1900’s and call ed a bicycle rifle. Looks similar to the one in the picture.

Lower rifle is a Frank Wesson two trigger tip up rifle. Front trigger opens the action, rear trigger fires the rifle.
 
In the buffalo bill museum in Cody they have the air rifle that was used by the Lewis and Clark expedition as a tactical weapon. It was .44 cal and would shoot about 8 shots? on an air charge. The stock was hollow tin and held the air. Gun was powerful enough to go through several inches of pine. Every time they met a new batch of Indians they put on a rapid fire demonstration. The Indians didn't know how many of their guns would shoot that fast and they credited the firepower demonstrations with keeping the peace.
 
I suspect the 4 pistols was for being a Indian scout for the army and the horse carried at least two of them..
 
I would love to go there someday. I was actually in Cody when I was 15 years old but wouldn't have known about the museum. I have a picture of me and my sister standing on a big statue of Buffalo Bill. We were on our way to the Seattle World's Fair in 1962 from here in Wisconsin. 8 of us in a 1960 Ford. I had to carry my little cousin most of the time cause she was too little to walk much.
 
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