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When did Texas prohibit "open carry" ending the times when cowboys/anyone could carry following the days of the Old West?
Was it around 1933?

Reconstruction.

1871.

http://www.saf.org/LawReviews/R_Newman.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

- Jim

I'm good with 1871. Thanks!

One thing to remember is even before 1871 there were towns that did not allow you to open or concealed carry. When you came into town you had to turn in your guns at the designated location (sheriff's office, livery stable, stage office, etc.) and then pick them up again when you left town.

Keith B wrote:One thing to remember is even before 1871 there were towns that did not allow you to open or concealed carry. When you came into town you had to turn in your guns at the designated location (sheriff's office, livery stable, stage office, etc.) and then pick them up again when you left town.

Which, of course, the law abiding citizens did and the law breaking citizens did not. Seems like nothing has changed.

Keith B wrote:One thing to remember is even before 1871 there were towns that did not allow you to open or concealed carry. When you came into town you had to turn in your guns at the designated location (sheriff's office, livery stable, stage office, etc.) and then pick them up again when you left town.

Common sense gun laws and reasonable restrictions.

Anygunanywhere

anygunanywhere wrote: Common sense gun laws and reasonable restrictions.

Anygunanywhere

Nope, rowdy Cowboys and Whiskey.

Keith B wrote:

anygunanywhere wrote: Common sense gun laws and reasonable restrictions.

Anygunanywhere

Nope, rowdy Cowboys and Whiskey.

Even then they knew alcohol and gunpowder don't mix. Not much more dangerous than a 19 year old with a snoot full and a shootin' iron.

Keith B wrote:One thing to remember is even before 1871 there were towns that did not allow you to open or concealed carry. When you came into town you had to turn in your guns at the designated location (sheriff's office, livery stable, stage office, etc.) and then pick them up again when you left town.

I had read somewhere or perhaps heard it, that many of those towns that banned the carrying of firearms only banned strangers/outsiders from doing so? Towns people and those viewed as being responsible were not affected. (Law Enforcement could and did profile quite extensively back then). Although I also believe that the carrying of pistols was not as wide spread as modern T.V. portrays it, most folks, especially family types had rifles, couldn't afford too much. Many towns that banned carry also allowed individuals to carry during certain holidays, such as the 4th of July or 19th of January. Again can't prove it, just what I was told and have read. I do know that my friend in Lampasas did metal detecting during one of their road repairs and found multiple lead bullets from the 1800's. When Gatesville repaired their Courthouse and took down lady justice from the top, it had multiple bullet holes in it. Probably folks didn't view firearms as evil tools of the devil as they are today. Many on this forum can probably relate to what, especially rural Texas, was even like in the 1970s.

I can tell you what hill country Texas was like in the late 40's, to mid 60's., west of what is now I-35, north of San Antonio, up west of Austin, Kerrville, Fredericksberg, Junction, and northwards.

Seeing a pickup truck with a rifle in the rack, or several, driven by a leathery skinned old man (probably in his 40's!) with a Stetson on his head was as common a sight as there was.

We had pick up trucks in the HS parking lot with rifles on the rack across the back window. Nobody would mess around..... somebody might get hurt! I did not hear of a single problem. More kids rode to school on Mustangs than in one back then.

In 1966, when Whitman opened up from the UT Tower, quite a few pulled rifles out of the car and returned fire, ineffective except to distract Whitman, sadly, but they did the best they could with the situation. I wonder what would happen today if something similar occurred.

In the late 50's sometime, I was a delivery boy at a drugstore where some of the old timers used to gather for breakfast on Saturday mornings, and swap stories. One fellow had stories about how he caught some college boys rustling cattle off his ranch northwest of New Braunfels-San Marcos area in the late 20's-early 30's, and the ringleader was a tall skinny drink of water named Lyndon Johnson!

Interesting bit of history. Thanks for sharing.

JALLEN wrote:I can tell you what hill country Texas was like in the late 40's, to mid 60's., west of what is now I-35, north of San Antonio, up west of Austin, Kerrville, Fredericksberg, Junction, and northwards.

Seeing a pickup truck with a rifle in the rack, or several, driven by a leathery skinned old man (probably in his 40's!) with a Stetson on his head was as common a sight as there was.

We had pick up trucks in the HS parking lot with rifles on the rack across the back window. Nobody would mess around..... somebody might get hurt! I did not hear of a single problem. More kids rode to school on Mustangs than in one back then.

We also had plentiful, open display, gun racks in the 70's here in north Texas. I won/earned a .22LR Winchester 190 rifle at high school by selling magazines in FFA in 1975. My friend won 30-30 that fall. Good times.

bigbigtex wrote:

JALLEN wrote:I can tell you what hill country Texas was like in the late 40's, to mid 60's., west of what is now I-35, north of San Antonio, up west of Austin, Kerrville, Fredericksberg, Junction, and northwards.

Seeing a pickup truck with a rifle in the rack, or several, driven by a leathery skinned old man (probably in his 40's!) with a Stetson on his head was as common a sight as there was.

We had pick up trucks in the HS parking lot with rifles on the rack across the back window. Nobody would mess around..... somebody might get hurt! I did not hear of a single problem. More kids rode to school on Mustangs than in one back then.

We also had plentiful, open display, gun racks in the 70's here in north Texas. I won/earned a .22LR Winchester 190 rifle at high school by selling magazines in FFA in 1975. My friend won 30-30 that fall. Good times.

You can still legally carry one in a rack today. A school can even give guns as awards if they want. Nothing illegal about it, just too many anti's that would complain.

I read "I'm Frank Hamer" last week. He was one of the first Texas Rangers beginning in 1906. Amazing good read. Stories are told of him fighting organized crime in Borger, TX, and Mexia, TX in the 20's. In 1934, he tracked down and he/his men killed Bonnie and Clyde,too.

In the early 1900's he chased down Mexican bandits raiding Texas. The bandits openly carried. Surprise, surprise.

Here is his wikipedia page...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Hamer" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;