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The Guns of Billy the Kid: A DVD Exploration of the Real Guns of the West

Varmint Media, Pasadena, Calif., 2006, 50 minutes, $29.95.

 Henry McCarthy, alias William Bonney but best known as the Kid, lived and died by the gun. It is hard to ascertain where amid his short, violent life facts leave off and legend runs wild, but in the DVD The Guns of Billy the Kid, Peter Sherayko, an actor and historian who provides guns and gear for Western films, and master gunsmith Larry Zeug try to glean some of the former from the Kid’s own arsenal.

The one known tintype made of the Kid reveals his staple weapons of choice: a Winchester Model 1873 repeating carbine with a 20-inch barrel and 10-round capacity, and a Colt single-action revolver, probably capable of firing the same ammunition. With production values at History Channel level, The Guns of Billy the Kid is what it is: an artifact for the Wild West and firearm buffs, neither of whom should be disappointed. Besides the 50- minute re-enactment of the Kid’s shooting sprees and how each gun performed in them, one of the DVD’s extras provides a look at Sherayko’s gun collection.

 

Originally published in the December 2007 issue of Wild West. To subscribe, click here