Coach gun
| Coach gun | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Type | Shotgun |
| Place of origin |
 United States
|
| Service history | |
| Used by |
Various law enforcement agencies Stagecoach Companies |
| Production history | |
| Designed | 1850s |
| Manufacturer | Various |
| Produced | 1850s–present |
| Specifications | |
| Length | 39 in. (995mm) |
| Barrel length | 18 in. (450mm) |
|
|
|
| Caliber | 10 and 12-gauge |
| Action | Break-action |
| Sights | Bead |
Various law enforcement agencies
A coach gun is a modern term, coined by gun collectors, for a double-barreled shotgun, generally with barrels from 18" to 24" in length placed side-by-side. These weapons were known as "cut-down shotguns" or "messenger's guns" from the use of such shotguns on stagecoaches by shotgun messengers in the American Wild West. They came in 10 and 12 gauge blackpowder.
The terms "cut-down shotgun" or "messenger's gun" were coined in the 1860s when Wells Fargo & Co. assigned shotgun messengers to guard its shipments on stagecoaches in California. The company issued shotguns to its guards for defense. The guard was called a shotgun messenger although the phrase riding shotgun was not coined until 1919. Shotgun messengers guarded express shipments, not stagecoaches.
There was no single manufacturer for the traditional messenger's gun, as it was a generic term describing a class of shotguns offered in a variety of barrel lengths from 18 to 24 inches (460 to 610 mm), either by the factory or from owners and gunsmiths cutting down the barrels.
These shotguns featured external hammers and were manufactured primarily by Remington Arms, Ithaca, Colt's Manufacturing Company, Parker, L.C. Smith, and several Belgian makers. Contrary to myth, Wells Fargo shotguns were not purchased by local agents; prior to 1900 they were purchased from San Francisco gun dealers because Wells Fargo's headquarters were located in San Francisco. From 1908 to 1918 all Wells Fargo shotguns were made by Ithaca. [
According to one account, Doc Holliday used a 10 gauge Wm. Moore & Co. coach gun to shoot Tom McLaury point-blank in the chest with buckshot during the Gunfight at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, on Wednesday, October 26, 1881. They stood in such close proximity that the town mortician was able to cover McLaury's wound with one hand."Wyatt Earp also used both barrels of a 10 gauge coach gun to kill Frank Stilwell at a Tucson, Arizona rail yard & to kill "Curly" Bill Brocius point-blank the next year during the shootout at Iron Springs. However, according to another account, both men used Greeners.
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Wikipedia