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Posted: 5/31/2014 6:43:58 AM EDT
Here's my latest Michigan Firearms Examiner article on the guns of Bonnie and Clyde and the Frank Hamer posse. (It was supposed to go up on the actual 80th anniversary, but got delayed by other priorities)
The guns of Bonnie and Clyde 80 years later "This month marks 80 years since the crime spree of notorious Depression-era outlaws Bonnie and Clyde ended in a firestorm of law enforcement gunfire in rural Louisiana. Even now, eight decades after their deaths in the May 23, 1934 ambush, the pair are pop-culture icons. To commemorate the anniversary of the duo’s fate let’s take a look at the guns used by Clyde Barrow, Bonnie Parker, and the lawmen who brought them to their end." |
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Great article OP! Some more facts on them..http://www.biography.com/news/bonnie-and-clyde-9-facts-lifetime-movie-video#awesm=~oFRhYLuuMf6zXO
Of course being in Michigan you probably know about the supposed letter to Henry Ford that's on display at the museum in Dearborn extolling the virtues of the then Ford V8 roadster. All folks agree they knew their guns at a time when most bad guys thought of Thompson''s as the ultimate in firepower they stole BAR's from the National Guard Armories .. At the end of the day they mostly just were cop killiers and most of their robberies were small time compared to folks like Dillinger etc. but a legendary myth has built up around them..the original "Natural Born Killers." |
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My FIL also has a gun that belonged to his distant relative Bob Alcorn. It was supposedly tucked into his holster during the shootout. .38sp revolver IIRC. He keeps it in great shape tucked away in his safe.
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Good article. Bonnie and Clyde are a fascinating bit of history.
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My grandmother stated that Clyde was a distant relation of ours. I know of at least two friends who are related to the Parkers.
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Awesome article. Chopped BARs for the win. The lever action 10 gauge is similar to what Arnold carried in Terminator 2.
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I just looked up the price and they are well over $1k if you can find one. That's an expensive magazine!
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Very cool.
Makes me want to get a Remington model 8 in 35 rem to go with my 1952 marlin 336 in 35 rem. |
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Didn't he have a F/A .38 Super, or was that Dillinger? View Quote That would be Dillinger and Baby face Nelson..guns created by Hyman Lebman..a whole nother article! http://www.guns.com/2012/09/26/lebman-1911-machine-pistol/ |
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One of Clyde's cut down Browning shotguns is in the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco, Texas, along with Captain Hamer's Colt Monitor.
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That would be Dillinger and Baby face Nelson..guns created by Hyman Lebman..a whole nother article! http://www.guns.com/2012/09/26/lebman-1911-machine-pistol/ http://www.guns.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/nelsonslebman19113.jpg View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Didn't he have a F/A .38 Super, or was that Dillinger? That would be Dillinger and Baby face Nelson..guns created by Hyman Lebman..a whole nother article! http://www.guns.com/2012/09/26/lebman-1911-machine-pistol/ http://www.guns.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/nelsonslebman19113.jpg that is freaking amazing. |
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An elderly man came and gave a talk to our high school in the late 80's.He knew Bonnie and Clyde before they knew each other. He was once a career criminal and inmate in several prisons. He also knew the birdman of Alcatraz.
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I am sorry to hear that. It is a bit surprising your grandmother would admit it! Years ago folks kept stuff like that to themselves! View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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My grandmother stated that Clyde was a distant relation of ours. I know of at least two friends who are related to the Parkers. I am sorry to hear that. It is a bit surprising your grandmother would admit it! Years ago folks kept stuff like that to themselves! And the fact that Clyde took it up the ass while in prison and was widely known as bisexual....... |
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Quoted: And the fact that Clyde took it up the ass while in prison and was widely known as bisexual....... View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: My grandmother stated that Clyde was a distant relation of ours. I know of at least two friends who are related to the Parkers. I am sorry to hear that. It is a bit surprising your grandmother would admit it! Years ago folks kept stuff like that to themselves! And the fact that Clyde took it up the ass while in prison and was widely known as bisexual....... |
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Didn't he have a F/A .38 Super, or was that Dillinger? That would be Dillinger and Baby face Nelson..guns created by Hyman Lebman..a whole nother article! http://www.guns.com/2012/09/26/lebman-1911-machine-pistol/ http://www.guns.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/nelsonslebman19113.jpg that is freaking amazing. machine pistols were pretty popular back then. |
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The Colt Monitor and its Whippet variant are cool as hell.
So is Frank Hamer's Model 8 with the extended mag. |
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Not to be a dick, but how was the quote from Ayoob supposed to read?
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Not to be a dick, but how was the quote from Ayoob supposed to read? View Quote Dang, I really borked hat quote when I transcribed it, didn't I? Thanks for the catch. I just fixed it. And thanks for the kind words everyone. Glad you liked the article. One thing I'll add is the whole "who in the posse had what gun" think is a morass. Everyone contradicts each other and it's possible, for instance, that Hamer had a Colt Monitor instead of the Remington Model 8, or that some other posse member had something else. It's just so hard to weed through it all and figure it out so much later. |
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Quoted: Looks like the front sight was removed. Not going to win much with that. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Awesome article. Chopped BARs for the win. The lever action 10 gauge is similar to what Arnold carried in Terminator 2. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Awesome article. Chopped BARs for the win. The lever action 10 gauge is similar to what Arnold carried in Terminator 2. |
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Quoted: Did they invent firing pistols front sight to the side as well? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Awesome article. Chopped BARs for the win. The lever action 10 gauge is similar to what Arnold carried in Terminator 2. |
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I agree that the BAR provided great firepower for the time.
Something I didn't include, but maybe should have, is that one of the Texas Deputies (Hinton) present at the ambush had previously shot at Clyde's car in another failed ambush in Texas. The police had at least one Thompson and a BAR. The .45 ACP rounds didn't penetrate the car enough to cause any injuries, but a single '06 round from a BAR hit both Bonnie and Clyde in the leg. Hinton learned and brought a BAR next time... |
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http://www.guns.com/2012/09/26/lebman-1911-machine-pistol/ http://www.guns.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/nelsonslebman19113.jpg View Quote I wonder where handgun development would have gone had the NFA not intervened. Once everyone figured out that pistols are mostly two-handed weapons I think we'd have seen a lot of variants of that. |
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The Ranger HOF is a fascinating place. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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One of Clyde's cut down Browning shotguns is in the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco, Texas, along with Captain Hamer's Colt Monitor. The Ranger HOF is a fascinating place. It's 1911 nirvana. |
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One of Clyde's cut down Browning shotguns is in the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco, Texas, along with Captain Hamer's Colt Monitor. The Ranger HOF is a fascinating place. It's 1911 nirvana. Definitely one of the highlights of a day in Waco. |
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Great write up.
Gotta admit...Bonnie and Clyde were fuckhead copkillers...I don't understand the fascination. |
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I believe that was an African-American innovation. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Awesome article. Chopped BARs for the win. The lever action 10 gauge is similar to what Arnold carried in Terminator 2. Actually, it started as a way to fire accurately with your weak hand if your strong hand is injured. This is the only way to line up the sights with your strong eye w/o parallax. |
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Great write up. Gotta admit...Bonnie and Clyde were fuckhead copkillers...I don't understand the fascination. View Quote I will say that the more I learned about them, the less sympathetic they seemed, and the more I was rooting for the cops. There's a decent book, "Going Down Together" about them that, even though it is sympathetic to them, shows what scum they were. |
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I will say that the more I learned about them, the less sympathetic they seemed, and the more I was rooting for the cops. There's a decent book, "Going Down Together" about them that, even though it is sympathetic to them, shows what scum they were. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Great write up. Gotta admit...Bonnie and Clyde were fuckhead copkillers...I don't understand the fascination. I will say that the more I learned about them, the less sympathetic they seemed, and the more I was rooting for the cops. There's a decent book, "Going Down Together" about them that, even though it is sympathetic to them, shows what scum they were. Its sorta funny how we are coming full circle. Cop killers, and murderers in general are increasingly being viewed in a positive light (look up Carl Drega). |
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With a little help from the Depression era gangsters. They were the media darlings of the day. Flash, money, sizzle, just like today's rappers and media sluts. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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you can thank all those fokes for NFA 1934 With a little help from the Depression era gangsters. They were the media darlings of the day. Flash, money, sizzle, just like today's rappers and media sluts. The media made the depression era bandits popular.........in order to boost sales. All the flashy nick names like Pretty Boy , Baby face etc where media inventions. Nobody even knew much about Bonnie Parker till after their death. Hoover made Mama Barker into household name...even though she had nothing to do directly with the Barker-Karpis gang. T o quote Havey Bailey (one of the deans of bandits) "Mama Barker couldn't plan breakfast...let alone a bank job". |
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And the fact that Clyde took it up the ass while in prison and was widely known as bisexual....... View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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My grandmother stated that Clyde was a distant relation of ours. I know of at least two friends who are related to the Parkers. I am sorry to hear that. It is a bit surprising your grandmother would admit it! Years ago folks kept stuff like that to themselves! And the fact that Clyde took it up the ass while in prison and was widely known as bisexual....... Not intentionally.....he did kill an inmate for attacking him though. A tender named Ed Crowder came after Clyde while in Eastham, and Clyde beat him to death with a lead pipe. |
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Quoted: Actually, it started as a way to fire accurately with your weak hand if your strong hand is injured. This is the only way to line up the sights with your strong eye w/o parallax. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Looks like the front sight was removed. Not going to win much with that. Actually, it started as a way to fire accurately with your weak hand if your strong hand is injured. This is the only way to line up the sights with your strong eye w/o parallax. |
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Someone just pointed me to the vintage film of the ambush posse inspecting the B&C death care after the ambush. If I would have seen this sooner I would have put it in the article, so i thought I'd share it.
Film of the Bonnie and Clyde death care after the ambush |
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