Posse rifles described

The Cody Firearms Museum houses the most comprehensive collection of American firearms in the world. The experts who Staff the museum are widely considered to be among the most knowledgeable firearms people anywhere to be found.  We once spent two days visiting The Buffalo Bill Center of the West and came away dazzled by the grandeur of the museums there.

We've been looking at the above timeless photo of Buckey O'Neill (second from right) for more than 30 years. In early January 2020 we thought perhaps we might solicit the learned advice of the Cody Firearms Staff regarding the make and model of each of the rifles in the picture.

Much to our surprise and delight, we received a kind and thoughtful reply from Dan Brumley, a Curatorial Assistant at the Cody Firearms Museum.  Dan said, "It is hard to tell in the picture, but my guess would be “St. Clair “ a Winchester Model 1873, “Holton” a Winchester Model 1873, “O’Neil” a Winchester Model 1886, and “Black” a Winchester Model 1876. Based on cartridges visible on the cartridge belts, I would guess the 1873’s to be in .44-40, the 1876 to be in .50-95, and I do not see rifle cartridges for an 1886 in O’Neil’s belt."

 Although Dan noted "These are just guesses,"  we will use his guesses in our forthcoming book about the saga.  Dan and The Cody Firearms Museum will also be cited in the "Acknowledgements" section of the book.  We are deeply grateful and appreciative of Dan's assistance.

The Center of The West can't really be seen in a mere two days.  We'd recommend giving it a minimum of a week...or longer.  The museum complex is truly a destination unto itself, well worth going to Cody just to see and enjoy.  Mere words can't possibly describe what you will see, feel and experience there.  We are looking forward to our next visit and we can guarantee you it will be considerably longer than just two days.

Here is the main website for the museums:

https://centerofthewest.org/