Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! This is Pat Garret’s Colt 1873 Single Action Army that he used to shoot and kill Billy the Kid. Billy was shot in Fort Sumner, New Mexico in 1881. It was late at night in a dark doorway of a trusted friend’s bedroom. Pat Garret tracked him down and laid in wait with his 7.5” Colt Single Action Army in 44-40 drawn and pointed at the doorway. When Billy entered looking to wake his friend and cook up a steak for a late-night meal he spoke “Quién es?” (who’s there in Spanish). Pat Garret fired and hit Billy in the heart, sending him to the floor like a sack of potatoes. Allegedly, according to Pat Garret himself, Billy was holding a steak knife, but in his pants pocket, he had a nickel-plated Colt 1877 (in .41 Colt, a “Thunderer”).
THE GUN THAT KILLED BILLY THE KID: PAT GARRETT’S COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY REVOLVER USED TO KILL BILLY THE KID. – Serial number 55093 for 1880, .44-40 caliber 7 1/2 inch barrel, one line Hartford address crescent ejector rod head. (n.d.). Bohams Auction. photograph. Retrieved July 16, 2024, from https://www.bonhams.com/auction/27262/lot/11/the-gun-that-killed-billy-the-kid-pat-garretts-colt-single-action-army-revolver-used-to-kill-billy-the-kid-serial-number-55093-for-1880-44-40-caliber-7-12-inch-barrel-one-line-hartford-address-crescent-ejector-rod-head/.
