Old West Symbolism - The Six Shooter
Perhaps no other firearm is more closely associated with the American West than a six shooter revolver. Revolvers were first developed in the early 1800s, and by the end of the Civil War, the six shooter was practical and cheap and became the weapon of choice for legendary gunfighters like Wild Bill Hickok, who carried at Smith & Wesson No. 2 at the time of his death.
Although used elsewhere in the world at the time, the quick draw gunfight and gunfighter became such a part of the mythology of the West, that the revolve still evokes images of that time and place. In particular, the image of two crossed six shooters appears on t-shirts, in sculpture, and even on gravestones (including Hickok’s) across the West.
