When did the Old West truly begin, and when did it finally come to an end? Some trace the Wild West’s start to the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, while others think it was much late,r as cowboys started trailing herds out of Texas. As for the end, many point to 1890, when the U.S. Census Bureau declared the frontier closed and Wounded Knee marked the last big clash between the Indigenous and the U.S. Army. But where does the true lie? Did the Old West really begin with the Lewis and Clark Expedition, or was it much earlier when the acquisition of the horse forever changed the landscape of the Great Plains? And if the Old West was over by 1890, then why did stagecoach robberies and gunfights continue well into the early 1900s? Also discussed are Apache raids from the 1930s, the Billy the Kid wannabe John Miller, Billy Dixon, Clay Allison, my favorite drink of choice, and much more!

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When most folks think about the Old West, they almost immediately envision daring lawmen and bloodthirsty outlaws. But did you know that the frontier was filled with ordinary people who also lived truly extraordinary lives? Today, we’ll shine a light on four such characters. First up is the legendary fur trapper, James Beckwourth. Born a slave, Beckwourth trapped beaver with Kit Carson and Jim Bridger, fought battles from Florida to Montana, and rose to become a leader of the Crow Nation, only to meet a mysterious end in the wilderness. Next, we’ll turn to William Bigfoot Wallace, a Texas giant who survived a Mexican prison, battled Comanche warriors, and helped shape Texas history from the Revolution all the way to the dawn of the automobile. But was Bigfoot Wallace truly a hero, or is there a darker side to his legend? I’ll also share my personal take on mixing history and politics, no holds barred. After that, we follow buffalo hunter and frontier scout, Billy Dixon. Outnumbered 20 to 1 at Adobe Walls, Dixon made the shot of the century, dropping a mounted warrior from nearly 1,500 yards with a Sharps rifle. He went on to become one of only eight civilians in U.S. history to receive the Medal of Honor for heroism under fire. Finally, meet the one and only Stagecoach Mary Fields, born a slave but remembered as one of the wildest (and toughest) women in the Old West. Stagecoach Mary drank hard, fought harder, and conquered everything from Montana blizzards to packs of wolves, yet she still found time to hand out candy and babysit the local kids, including one who’d become a Hollywood legend.

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At just 21 years old, Dan Bogan was already facing a death sentence. After a drunken rampage in Texas ended in murder, he and his partner were found guilty and ordered to hang, but Dan wasn’t the type to go quietly. In a chaotic courtroom escape, he grabbed a guard’s pistol, fired wildly, and leapt to freedom out of a second‑story window. From there, his life turned into pure frontier legend. Using aliases like Bill Gatlin and Bill McCoy, Bogan drifted through the roughest corners of the West, cowboying, picking fights, and causing trouble from the Texas Panhandle to Wyoming. He crossed paths with Pat Garrett and the Pinkertons, dodged more than one noose, and earned a reputation for being as unpredictable as he was dangerous. But even with detectives on his trail and a thousand‑dollar bounty on his head, Dan Bogan always managed to slip through the cracks. And to this day, his fate remains a mystery.

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Did Bounty Hunters really exist in the Old West, or is that just another invention of Hollywood? The truth is a lot more complicated than the movies make it seem. Law enforcement in the Old West was patchwork at best, often made up of part-time sheriffs, underpaid marshals, and ramshackle jails. With courts just as unreliable, ordinary citizens and private companies like Wells Fargo began offering cash rewards for outlaws. These rewards gave rise to a system of bounties that blurred the line between justice and profit. But the iconic lone gunman chasing fugitives for money? That’s mostly fiction. In reality, bounty collection was done mostly by deputy U.S. marshals, sheriffs, or detectives from agencies like the Pinkertons and Wells Fargo. Figures such as Charlie Siringo, Bass Reeves, and Pat Garrett did collect bounties, but as part of their official duties, not as freelance bounty hunters. Even the few who did, like Jack Duncan of Texas, earned little compared to the risks they faced.

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Barney Riggs was one of the Old West’s most notorious and controversial gunfighters. Born in Arkansas in 1856, Riggs moved to Texas as a child, where violence quickly became a family tradition. At just 18, he killed a friend in what was called an accidental shooting. By his twenties, Riggs was in Arizona, working as a cowboy, stealing horses, and allegedly committing multiple murders. After being convicted of murder and sentenced to life at Yuma Prison, Riggs won a full pardon by saving the warden’s life during a bloody escape attempt. He returned to Texas, where he continued his violent ways, becoming embroiled in the infamous Frazer-Miller feud and serving as a deputy under a controversial sheriff. Repeated arrests, deadly shootouts, and family drama followed Riggs until his tragic demise in 1902.

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Who was the deadliest gunfighter of the Old West? Legends like Wild Bill Hickok, Billy the Kid, and Jesse James all have larger-than-life reputations, but the truth is often a lot messier. Join me as we break down the facts and attempt to separate myth from reality on the West’s most notorious shootists. We’ll talk confirmed kills, unverified stories, and the wildest rumors around names like Johnny Ringo, Butch Cassidy, Clay Allison, Jesse James, Bass Reeves, Deacon Jim Miller, Tom Horn, and John Wesley Hardin. And along the way, you’ll get a closer look at who really deserves the number one spot on this list. Got an opinion? Drop your picks in the comments. If you think someone should be added or taken off, let me know who and why. Make sure to stick around to the very end for a bonus gunfighter most folks have never heard of.

Johnny Ringo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6glLij_YCY

Billy the Kid - https://youtu.be/J3yBXIa7ZuQ?si=VTHTr-JpT30wT2Cu

Jesse James - https://youtu.be/mUK8HWd53Z8?si=Pv2EVBcuH3P768Ic

Wild Bill Hickok - https://youtu.be/i-1Jgn4lrXU?si=-XCS4lQXwHj9ik_R

Clay Allison - https://youtu.be/7ozJkHNtmzc?si=k-mLFEcRut_RTIiD

Bass Reeves pt 1 - https://youtu.be/2lN-fRmjg6g?si=D_mjPt2X4Q5YCj9z

Bass Reeves pt 2 - https://youtu.be/YByfhYo_7as?si=_xOj_XjwDttx7al0

Deacon Jim Miller - https://youtu.be/i_sXfXiDjDw?si=9IuhsixsdTiRuLZt

Tom Horn pt 1- https://youtu.be/Bp7q97-ctlE?si=4XNuEn8yApVcypCH

Tom Horn pt 2 - https://youtu.be/2yF3Qr9_SFA?si=wuAPD1Ul_PMyFWGz

Tom Horn pt 3- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmuN4PME8NY&t=50s

John Wesley Hardin - https://youtu.be/MiPA_9R2mys?si=OIO2hSydV7I2JETZ

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On June 27th, 1874, a handful of buffalo hunters found themselves surrounded by hundreds of Comanche at a place called Adobe Walls. Outnumbered more than twenty to one, the odds of survival looked slim. Nevertheless, it was here that Billy Dixon stepped forward and made what’s become known as the “shot of the century,” dropping a mounted warrior at nearly 1,500 yards. Join me as we examine the life of Billy Dixon, from his hardscrabble childhood to his time as a buffalo hunter, scout, and Medal of Honor recipient. Also discussed are how Dixon and his companions survived the siege at Adobe Walls, what really happened in the infamous buffalo wallow fight, and how these events helped shape the final days of the Southern Plains tribes.

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What really happened to Jesse Evans, the outlaw who once rode with Billy the Kid and helped ignite the Lincoln County War? He shot up dance halls, rustled cattle, and left a bloody trail from New Mexico to Texas, only to vanish without a trace. And to this day, nobody knows his true fate. Was Jesse Evans really a childhood friend of Billy the Kid? Did he spend his final years as Joseph Hines in Florida, or die hiding out on a Texas ranch? Join me as I attempt to separate fact from fiction and explore every wild theory about Jesse’s origins, his crimes, and his legendary disappearance.

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Billy the Kid - https://www.wildwestextra.com/billy-the-kid-compilation/

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For generations, rumors have swirled that Old West outlaw Billy the Kid’s grave at Fort Sumner was swept away by a massive flood. But is there any truth to the legend, or does Billy still rest beneath his famous gravestone? Also discussed are fellow Lincoln County Regulators Charlie Bowdre and Tom Folliard.

Chasing Billy YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@chasingbilly

Billy the Kid’s Grave by David G. Thomas - https://www.abebooks.com/9781542404723/Billy-Kids-Grave-History-Wild-154240472X/plp

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Was José Chavez y Chavez really part Navajo? And what about Billy the Kid’s famous escape from Lincoln? Was that Young Guns 2 scene with the pistol in the outhouse true, or did he overpower his guard? Who actually killed Deputy Carlyle at White Oaks? These are just a few of the questions I discussed with historian and author James B. Mills. His book, Billy the Kid: Bandido Simpatico, is one of the most definitive biographies on William H. Bonney, and his new release, In the Days of Billy the Kid, explores the lives of Chavez y Chavez, Juan Patron, Yginio Salazar, and the underrated Martin Chavez. We cover everything from the Society of Bandits to the Battle of Lincoln, whether Billy and Jesse James ever met, John Chisum, and even the White Caps uprising.

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