What mistakes have you noticed in movies/tv shows that happen in the BP era like Daniel Boone, Patriot etc?

[Cori]

In Season 6, episode 7 of Daniel Boone, "The Grand Alliance," at 4:26, Josh Clements says, "I seen a lot of things, but I never saw a Indian doin' anything like that." Of course he hadn't. They are firing repeatedly without reloading in an era of single shot guns.

 

[Cori]

Okay, question. I just watched the pilot of Little House on the Prairie for the first time in about 50 years and noticed Pa toting a powder horn. Were people still using powder horns in the early 1870s or had everyone switched to more modern guns? This was possibly meant to show Pa was from the backwoods and couldn't afford a modern gun, or was possibly a mistake. I don't know what kind of gun he owned in real life, and remember very few details about guns from having read the books decades ago. People might want to check out the movie. The gun in shown in detail, particularly in the scene where Pa is gone and Ma is waiting in the house alone. Guess he either didn't have his gun with him or they had a second gun...I think he's supposed to have left her with the gun. Oh, and yes, there is one scene in which he fires directly at the camera, luckily without the tragic consequences that have accompanied other such actions. Thanks for any insights.

 

[Kenn]

Okay, question. I just watched the pilot of Little House on the Prairie for the first time in about 50 years and noticed Pa toting a powder horn. Were people still using powder horns in the early 1870s or had everyone switched to more modern guns? This was possibly meant to show Pa was from the backwoods and couldn't afford a modern gun, or was possibly a mistake. I don't know what kind of gun he owned in real life, and remember very few details about guns from having read the books decades ago. People might want to check out the movie. The gun in shown in detail, particularly in the scene where Pa is gone and Ma is waiting in the house alone. Guess he either didn't have his gun with him or they had a second gun...I think he's supposed to have left her with the gun. Oh, and yes, there is one scene in which he fires directly at the camera, luckily without the tragic consequences that have accompanied other such actions. Thanks for any insights.

It's possible with the family's low economic situation that Charles Ingalls owned a Civil War surplus weapon — most likely a muzzleloader. I don't recall seeing Michael Landon carrying one, but I've not viewed every episode of the series. Rather than pre-made paper cartridges, he may indeed have used a powder horn during its use. Maybe there's information online to answer your good question. It'd really be nice to know.

 

[Kansas Jake]

I have a powder horn from my family who immigrated in the 1870s. It still had powder in it when I got it as a kid. I have no idea what gun they used it with. I suspect a smooth bore. They settled in Nebraska after Indian threats were mostly gone. They had very little money so whatever gun it had to be cheap.

 

[Marplot]

Don't know it was fake or not. Daniel Boone had shot an indian and was reloading his rifle. He was tamping down his ramrod when attacked by another indian with a tomahawk, he shot through the indian with his ramrod. Stuck halfway through and killed him.

Wondering if that really had happened would the ramrod would go all the way through? But I watched a lot of DB movies after that!

 

[Cori]

Don't know it was fake or not. Daniel Boone had shot an indian and was reloading his rifle. He was tamping down his ramrod when attacked by another indian with a tomahawk, he shot through the indian with his ramrod. Stuck halfway through and killed him.

Wondering if that really had happened would the ramrod would go all the way through? But I watched a lot of DB movies after that!

Was this in a book or a movie? Because it wasn't in the TV series.

 

[Cori]

It's possible with the family's low economic situation that Charles Ingalls owned a Civil War surplus weapon — most likely a muzzleloader. I don't recall seeing Michael Landon carrying one, but I've not viewed every episode of the series. Rather than pre-made paper cartridges, he may indeed have used a powder horn during its use. Maybe there's information online to answer your good question. It'd really be nice to know.

I'll see about contacting the Laura Ingalls Wilder Association. Also, this was the pilot movie only. I'll continue watching the series and see what shows up.

 

[Marplot]

Was this in a book or a movie? Because it wasn't in the TV series.

This was in the 1950s and I saw it on television. It was imprinted in my young mind.

I also saw Davy Crockett (Fess Parker) and Jim Bowie (Buddy Ebson) got killed at the Alamo. Maybe 1955? I was 12 and almost cried.

At the time, I thopught that people really died in the movies.

My father was a serious John Wayne cowboy addict. Mostly we went to drive-in movies and John Wayne got killed, I he was a hard-hat diver and died in the "Sea Witch?" Did cry at that time. My father tried to tell me it was fiction, but I SAW him drown!

 

[Cori]

This was in the 1950s and I saw it on television. It was imprinted in my young mind.

I also saw Davy Crockett (Fess Parker) and Jim Bowie (Buddy Ebson) got killed at the Alamo. Maybe 1955? I was 12 and almost cried.

At the time, I thopught that people really died in the movies.

My father was a serious John Wayne cowboy addict. Mostly we went to drive-in movies and John Wayne got killed, I he was a hard-hat diver and died in the "Sea Witch?" Did cry at that time. My father tried to tell me it was fiction, but I SAW him drown!

I wonder if the ramrod scene could possibly have been in the Disney Daniel Boone series although it sounds pretty violent for Disney, especially at that time, or whether it could have been a TV airing of one of the Daniel Boone movies from 1936 or 1956 or possibly something else. The Fess Parker version did not come on till 1964 and included no such scene.

 

[Cori]

Discover Laura Ingalls says, "To my knowledge Laura never describes it in any of her books. She does describe him making bullets in the book Little House in the Big Woods. In the book These Happy Golden Years she does talk about Uncle Tom’s experience and how he carried a Winchester. That is all I know of." Making bullets would seem to imply muzzleloader.

 

[Marplot]

I wonder if the ramrod scene could possibly have been in the Disney Daniel Boone series although it sounds pretty violent for Disney, especially at that time, or whether it could have been a TV airing of one of the Daniel Boone movies from 1936 or 1956 or possibly something else. The Fess Parker version did not come on till 1964 and included no such scene.

I watched Davy Crocket and Daniel Boone interchangeably. All I remember I was very young and saw it. They seemed to be about the same character. Guys with long rifles and similar outfits. It is also possible I just dreamed it. Do understand this was about 70 years ago!

 

[2001guns]

This scene is from an very early John Wayne movie filmed in 1930, "The Big Trail" about a wagon train headed for Oregon. This is a most impressive account of real Conastoga " Prarie Schooners", lots of 'em, and all the stuff it took to make a wagon train survive. Some of those wagons were huge! You do not see them in movies now. Women chopping wood and sawing logs.

The scene that's a real grin is when an Indian in full headress is crouched down, shooting at the settlers with a bow. He took a full draw, but the arrow came un- nocked from the string and when the let go, the arrow just flopped over and went nowhere. The camera was right on him. The scene kept rolling and he successfully made the shot. The director should have cut this cause it looks so silly.
For a film made this early it has a kind of wide format and the quality is very good. Scenery is outstanding. The story is a little hokey. The guns seem correct. The audio is typical for movies of that era. You can see it on Youtube.

 

[Dark Angel]

Don't know it was fake or not. Daniel Boone had shot an indian and was reloading his rifle. He was tamping down his ramrod when attacked by another indian with a tomahawk, he shot through the indian with his ramrod. Stuck halfway through and killed him.

Wondering if that really had happened would the ramrod would go all the way through? But I watched a lot of DB movies after that!

Had a friend, many years ago, BP hunting deer in Oklahoma, during 'Primitive Season.' Shot at an according to him, a 10point buck from a tree stand and missed. The buck ran about 20 yards, then stopped. Hoping for another chance, my friend was in the process of reloading, when the buck, out of curiosity, I suppose, turned and came back toward my friend. With the ramrod still in his rifle, he fired, killing the buck with his ramrod. Seems like in his haste to reload, he had forgot to put a ball on top of his powder. So, anything is possible, even killing with a ramrod fired in haste.

 

[ronaldrothb49]

Had a friend, many years ago, BP hunting deer in Oklahoma, during 'Primitive Season.' Shot at an according to him, a 10point buck from a tree stand and missed. The buck ran about 20 yards, then stopped. Hoping for another chance, my friend was in the process of reloading, when the buck, out of curiosity, I suppose, turned and came back toward my friend. With the ramrod still in his rifle, he fired, killing the buck with his ramrod. Seems like in his haste to reload, he had forgot to put a ball on top of his powder. So, anything is possible, even killing with a ramrod fired in haste.

Shooting your ramrod probably happened more often than we would like to believe. In the inventory of rifles picked up off the fields after the battle of Gettysburg the most common problem was rifles with multiple charges one if memory serves me had 17 charges. The second most common was the ramrod was missing. You have to wonder how many new ramrods had to be suppled after a battle?

 

[CaptainVane]

Okay, question. I just watched the pilot of Little House on the Prairie for the first time in about 50 years and noticed Pa toting a powder horn. Were people still using powder horns in the early 1870s or had everyone switched to more modern guns? This was possibly meant to show Pa was from the backwoods and couldn't afford a modern gun

I’ve seen pictures from the 1930’s Appalachia with many holding an old muzzleloader. Great Depression. Those people were dirt poor. Still using 100 yo guns handed down thru the family.

 

[earlwb]

Yes, muzzleloaders were still being used until sometime after WWII. Probably into the 1950s or so. They mostly used them to get meat for the table or to put a farm animal down if needed or to get rid of predators. Not so much for shooting people. Smoothbores would have been the most common as it is quite versatile. As mentioned during the Great Depression most people could not afford a cartridge gun. Many guns were war surplus as leftover from the Civil War etc. at the time you could buy them cheap.

I still crack up at the actors using modified trap door rifles as muzzleloaders. But it really makes sense as they could use blanks and they didn’t have to teach anyone how to load them. Plus the trap doors were dirt cheap after they were obsoleted. The trap door rifles were really converted civil war guns too.

 

[Cori]

I watched Davy Crocket and Daniel Boone interchangeably. All I remember I was very young and saw it. They seemed to be about the same character. Guys with long rifles and similar outfits. It is also possible I just dreamed it. Do understand this was about 70 years ago!

So it could have been Davy Crockett? Both were (confusingly) played by Fess Parker but Davy Crockett was earlier.

 

[Cori]

This scene is from an very early John Wayne movie filmed in 1930, "The Big Trail" about a wagon train headed for Oregon. This is a most impressive account of real Conastoga " Prarie Schooners", lots of 'em, and all the stuff it took to make a wagon train survive. Some of those wagons were huge! You do not see them in movies now. Women chopping wood and sawing logs.

The scene that's a real grin is when an Indian in full headress is crouched down, shooting at the settlers with a bow. He took a full draw, but the arrow came un- nocked from the string and when the let go, the arrow just flopped over and went nowhere. The camera was right on him. The scene kept rolling and he successfully made the shot. The director should have cut this cause it looks so silly.
For a film made this early it has a kind of wide format and the quality is very good. Scenery is outstanding. The story is a little hokey. The guns seem correct. The audio is typical for movies of that era. You can see it on Youtube.

If the movie showed huge Conestoga Prairie Schooners on the Oregon Trail then the wagons were incorrect. Those were further east. The Oregon and California Trails used lighter and smaller wagons due to the huge mountain ranges they had to cross. Did John Wayne get his ramrod back after shooting the Indian, and if not I wonder how he continued to use his gun?

 

[Cori]

Yes, muzzleloaders were still being used until sometime after WWII. Probably into the 1950s or so. They mostly used them to get meat for the table or to put a farm animal down if needed or to get rid of predators. Not so much for shooting people. Smoothbores would have been the most common as it is quite versatile. As mentioned during the Great Depression most people could not afford a cartridge gun. Many guns were war surplus as leftover from the Civil War etc. at the time you could buy them cheap.

I still crack up at the actors using modified trap door rifles as muzzleloaders. But it really makes sense as they could use blanks and they didn’t have to teach anyone how to load them. Plus the trap doors were dirt cheap after they were obsoleted. The trap door rifles were really converted civil war guns too.

You should look at the Little House on the Prairie movie in the scenes where the gun is shown close. It looked authentic to me. It is free with ads on Amazon through Freevee or if you have the paid version of Peacock. Should I try to grab a screenshot?

 

[Cori]

Yes, muzzleloaders were still being used until sometime after WWII. Probably into the 1950s or so. They mostly used them to get meat for the table or to put a farm animal down if needed or to get rid of predators. Not so much for shooting people. Smoothbores would have been the most common as it is quite versatile. As mentioned during the Great Depression most people could not afford a cartridge gun. Many guns were war surplus as leftover from the Civil War etc. at the time you could buy them cheap.

I still crack up at the actors using modified trap door rifles as muzzleloaders. But it really makes sense as they could use blanks and they didn’t have to teach anyone how to load them. Plus the trap doors were dirt cheap after they were obsoleted. The trap door rifles were really converted civil war guns too.

That is surprising. It reminds me of the time when the TV game show Family Feud had on real descendants of the Hatfields and the McCoys. They had them holding period guns which were apparently either authentic or very good reproductions and one guy badly wanted one of the guns.