Comanche Moon

[TXGunNut]

Recently ran across the last (written) of Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove series, Comanche Moon. Have read all the rest, the last is as good as the first. I was wondering as I neared the end of the book if there had been a movie made, last week I spotted it while cruising the $5 DVD's at Wally World.:bigsmyl2: Excellent book, excellent movie. Story line was changed a fair bit for the movie but they got the guns right in the movie, as far as I could tell. Had one closeup of a mockup rifle but the others seemed quite good, even the Indians' weapons seemed correct. Mistakes in this area distract me, I love it when a movie gets the guns right!

[popper]

You mean that 200 round peacemaker isn't correct? I always thought it was silly of cap&ball shooters to raise the pistol over their head before firing - possible to loose a cap? Yes I do understand the leverage cocking thing. I was always amused by the 'shoot the gun out of the hand' stuff - not talking about that guy who ate roots and drank milk with a human hair in it. I agree period correct movies are much better.

[TXGunNut]

Shooting the gun out of the hand is a tactical error that has been committed for many decades, it simply illustrates where a person's attention is sometimes drawn in a gunfight. Most gunfights were probably lost by the guy who fixated on his adversary's gun and subconciously tried to hit it. The guys who pulled it off were lucky, center mass is easier to hit and will stop the fight much better than an iffy shot at a gun that is moving about, often rapidly.

[waksupi]

Raising the revolver with cap and ball is indeed intended to hopefully expel the fired caps. I have had them tie up on me before.
The only way I'm going to be shooting a gun out of anyone's hand, is if they are holding it center mass.

[Char-Gar]

It is not uncommon for caps to fragment and/or become loose after firing. The US Cavalry taught their trooper to raise the pistol to the vertical position when cocking the hammer so that any loose caps or fragments would fall free and not jam up the sixgun.

[WILCO]

Comanche Moon is available to stream on Netfilx. I started watching it the other day.

[KCSO]

You raised the pistol over your head to make sure the cap didn't fall into the action as you cocked the gun. It was done with cap and ball but was not necessary on the ctg guns. This was even mentioned in "A History of Colt Revolvers".

[Just Duke]

We have the movie. It's great.

[popper]

I am now officially chastised and properly educated. I needed it. I was referring to all the bollywood stuff like shooting off gun belts, in the hand, hats, etc. a that make absolutely NO sense to me or any actual cowboys or marshals. I also enjoy watchng the horses full gallop 20 mi without a lather or dropping dead. But hey it's just fictional entertainment.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

I always thought it was amusing how men in western movies would raise a pistol to head high, cock the piece then flip it forward as they fire. I wondered if they were trying to give the bullet a little boost.

[km101]

Great book. I have read all of his books. (Well, the westerns anyway.) I thought they changed the story line too much in the movie version. I didn't like it as well as the book.

[waksupi]

I think the supreme boolit thrower was Gabby Hayes. He always really whipped out his shots.

[blackthorn]

I find that reading a book before seeing the movie always leaves me with a bad taste in my psyche because of all the bits and pieces they left out. The movie that comes to mind was about Tom Horn.

[KYCaster]

I think the supreme boolit thrower was Gabby Hayes. He always really whipped out his shots.


I think Jingles Jones did it best.

Jerry

[TXGunNut]

Great book. I have read all of his books. (Well, the westerns anyway.) I thought they changed the story line too much in the movie version. I didn't like it as well as the book.

The problem with McMurtry's books is they often don't transition well to a movie. Impossible to get all the musings, killing, sex and observations onto the movie screen. Still makes for an awesome movie but the book is worth reading as well. I liked the changes made for the screenplay but the grit and tenacity of Scull in Ahumado's camp would have a good movie by itself, no way to fit the entire book into a movie.

[LUBEDUDE]

The movie seemed just too short, or rather not all tied up and put in place. Don't know if it was poor editing or if they ran out of budget or story?

I did enjoy the movie, that's why I feel this way. I wanted more.

[TXGunNut]

The movie seemed just too short, or rather not all tied up and put in place. Don't know if it was poor editing or if they ran out of budget or story?

I did enjoy the movie, that's why I feel this way. I wanted more.


I wanted more as well but it was a pretty long movie as it was. I didn't expect all the subplots and underlying story lines to make it, that would take a 6 hour miniseries.

[LUBEDUDE]

Well for me, to put it into perspective, it was a miniseries. It is part of the Lonsome Dove Series; Lonesome Dove, Return To Lonesome Dove, Streets of Laredo, and Dead Mans Walk.

This is why it fell short for me when stacked against these.

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Long after seeing the miniseries, Lonsome Dove my brother loaned me a book which was a biography of Charles Goodnight, a Texas cattleman,who with his partner Ralph Loving started a ranch. While reading the book about a big cattle drive they made to New Mexico It began to seem as though I was reading Lonsome Dove, especially after loving was shot in the right arm by the Comanches. They hid in a creekbed while fighing off the indians. I remember Loving lost his arm but I don't remember if he died at that time or not. I think he did. Goodnight made several cattle drives after that and later established a large ranch in Palla Dora Canyon forty miles out of Amerillo, Texas. He lived well into the 20th century.

[rbertalotto]

The original Lonesome Dove where Gus gets shot with a arrow in the knee and they escape in a flash flood;

In the flood he has a lever action 1866 that has the forend removed to look like a 1860....but when he is walking out and using the rifle as a crutch, it suddenly turns into a Rolling Block....Guess a lever rifle was too short... :-)

[M-Tecs]

I think Larry McMurty read everything, history, biographies, short stories, and then used them for ideas in his novels.

If you ever have a chance get Black Range Tales. There is a story in there of two guys horse back that were being chased by a grizzly bear for miles and miles. The bear was just having fun.

You can get a copy here http://www.amazon.com/Black-Range-Tales-Chronicling-Adventure/dp/1163146528