Texas Kid gun

[kiser159]

www.coltforum.com/forums/new-members-introduction/136633-old-family-gun.html

[kiser159]

I am new to the forum. I have an old family gun. We have had this in our family for over 50 years. The gun has Texas, with 5 notches on the right side of the handle, and Kid on the left side of the handle with three notches. It is a Colt Thunderer, .41, made around 1894. If anyone has any information, it would be appreciated. Thanks 

[mckinley412]

I believe you can contact Colt and give them the serial numbers and they can tell you who it was sold to, it may cost 200-300 dollars but they can do it. As far as it being Billy the Kid's he either died in 1881, or 1950. He really wasn't known to carry one of those but supposedly one was found on his body when the sheriff murdered him in 1881. If the Kid faked his death he could have owned a gun made in 1894 but I doubt he would carve his name into it, maybe somebody else did. There were many many people that went by the nickname KID. It might have been as common as calling someone with red hair RED. Some say Brushy doesn't look 90 years old, well Shatner doesn't look 85 years old, this is him when he pitched at a ball game the other day.

[kiser159]

Thank you for the information. I am trying to scour everything I can on Brushy and Billy. This is what I found on Military Wiki:The "Lightning" was the favored personal weapon of famous Manchester (UK) Victorian detective and then head of CID, Jerome Caminada. Old West Outlaw John Wesley Hardin frequently used both "Lightning" and "Thunderer" versions of the Colt 1877 revolver.[2] Likewise the 1877 "Thunderer" in .41 caliber was the preferred weapon of Billy the Kid and was his weapon of choice when he was killed by Pat Garrett in 1881.[5][6][7]

[mckinley412]

Likewise the 1877 "Thunderer" in .41 caliber was the preferred weapon of Billy the Kid and was his weapon of choice when he was killed by Pat Garrett in 1881.[5][6][7]

Usually people say he preferred .44's, the ammo could also be used in his rifle. They say in the tintype his pistol is a .45. When he escaped from the court house 2 months prior he took some guns from the armory but the .41 wasn't one of them. There is a story that he got the .41 from Cherokee Davis about 10 days before he was killed but I don't believe this because if the version I heard is accurate, it says Davis kept the gun afterward, but Charles Siringo said the gun was auctioned off and Billy Burt got it. Siringo also jokes that wagon loads of guns were passed off as being the gun Billy held in life and death. It was believed the gun John Mack Brown used in the 1930 movie Billy the Kid was Billy's but later they found it was manufactured after 1881, but maybe it was his gun. John Mack Brown interviewed people that knew Billy before he made the movie, for some reason the movie ends with Pat Garrett firing shots over the Kid's head as he rides away on July 14th 1881. Good luck with your research. This is a great site to learn about Billy and Brushy. If you have any idea how much fake stuff has been written about Billy the Kid, just remember it's starting to get that way with Brushy also. You almost have to verify everything yourself.  I tend to believe they were one and the same.

[kiser159]

Thank you. In the long run, I doubt I will ever really know who the gun belonged to. It is, though, a very interesting piece of Americana and from the feel of the gun, it has been well used.

[MissyS]

kiser159, Welcome to the board,
This gun is interesting, Brushy I believe had used the name "Texas Kid" before?, so it could possibly have been Brushy's?, There is some Colt Museums you could contact, maybe send them a photo, here's a link to one museum that has a collection of Colts
museumofcthistory.org/colt-collection/
There's also an NRA museum, on their online site it looks they research guns and the owners. I hope you get answers and if you do you will share it with us.

[kiser159]

Thank you MissyS, for that information. I will look into it.