OK Corral gunfight: 138 years ago today

[Hopalong]

The Last Gunfight by Jeff Guinn is a really good read.

https://www.amazon.com/last-gunfight...&rh=n%3A283155

[Wyatt Burp]

Thank you for the post.

I was down there once and watched the "re-enactment". A bit cheesy, but still fun too watch (had a photo taken with a couple of the dance hall girls that I sent to the wife thinking I'd make her all jealous. She just sent me back a self video of her laughing somewhat hysterically. A bit of a ego bust, but I had it coming . The show did get me more interested in reading up, and learning about, the actual event. It was very surprising to me that the whole gunfight occurred in extremely tight quarters.

I watched it, too but it was pretty lame. As I recall the guys I saw doing it tried to be funny until the shooting started. This was a rare time where I didn't mind all the tourist stuff. Besides the gunfight, I liked checking out and standing right where Luke Short shot that gambler drawing on him with Bat Masterson trying to separate them. And the Crystal Palce saloon was a blast. I asked the bartender if I could borrow the very realistic fake colt he was playing with and I started spinning and tossing it around. I just couldn't help doing that there.

[azshot]

I live near Tombstone, and have ridden our mules into town. You used to be able to ride in armed, then check your gun at a local general store on Allen street. They'd give you a brass number tag, and hang your gun on a peg. It was pretty cool, but I think those days are over.

The town "too tough to die" has several other ghost towns nearby that had much more violence than that one shootout. And are now totally melting into the weeds. Lots of cool artifacts to be found in those. A guy brought an 1849 Colt in once that he found in one of them. I look, but usually just find cartridge cases from the 1870s-1880s.

[Dr.Rob]

(posted this on InRange as well) When I was 9 or 10 (1976 or so) I went to Tombstone armed with the map of the shootout I had traced from the time life book The Gun Fighters and found the original site, marked with a brass plaque and spent the afternoon placing myself in the position of each of the adversaries. I am sure I was not the first kid to do so, but I had the site to myself for hours and reveled in make believe for an entire afternoon. There was no fence no fanfare just a dirt half lot as pictured above.

As an adult the event is far more somber and complicated to dissect and remains one of the most fascinating moments in old West lore.