Henry McCarty, alias William H. Bonney, better known as Billy the Kid, was an American outlaw and gunfighter of the Old West who is alleged to have killed 21 men before he was shot and killed at the age of 21. He is also known for his involvement in New Mexico's Lincoln County War, during which he allegedly committed three murders.
Portrait attributed to Ben Wittick, c. 1880
Henry Hooker, one-time employer of Billy the Kid, at his Sierra Bonita Ranch in southeast Arizona
John Henry Tunstall, 1872
Dick Brewer, c. 1875
Gunfighters, also called gunslingers, or in the late 19th and early 20th century, gunmen were individuals in the American Old West who gained a reputation of being dangerous with a gun and participated in shootouts. Today, the term "gunslinger" is more or less used to denote someone who is quick on the draw with a handgun, but this can also refer to those armed with rifles and shotguns. The gunfighter is also one of the most popular characters in the Western genre and has appeared in associated films, television shows, video games, and literature.
Gunslinger portrayed by Justus D. Barnes from The Great Train Robbery
Wild Bill Hickok after killing Davis Tutt in a duel. Harper's New Monthly Magazine, February 1867
A cowboy action shooter brandishing his revolver
