As a freelance writer, Betty Wilson has written hundreds of articles for
newspapers, written and published a newsletter as secretary for Arizona Arms Association and recently True West Magazine as "Shotgun" Betty. Her articles are about Old West history, Arizona western history, and history of guns of the Old West. She also has written two columns, "Guns & Lace" and "Guns of the West" for newspapers in Apache Junction (The Pinal Visitor, and The Arizona Territorial).

Betty published a small book called The Best of Guns & Lace, now long out of print.

She and her late husband owned Wilson's Gun Shop in Apache Junction, Arizona. The shop is closed now.

At the Western Writers of America
Convention, held in Wichita, Kansas in June, 2002, Betty spoke about weapons, as well as how to  research for weapons to be used in Literature. 

Professional Memberships:
WWA-Western Writers of America

SSA- Society of Southwestern Authors

NOLA-National Outlaw & Lawmen Association

Life Memberships
NRA-National Rifle Association

ASRPA-Arizona State Rifle & Pistol Association

AAA-Arizona Arms Association

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A widely accepted practice among lawmen in the old west, was the carrying of a pocket pistol. A pocket pistol was also referred to as a "bellygun." These guns were exactly as the name implies. A generally accepted practice by Dallas Stoudenmire was the carrying of two pocket pistols in leather lined pockets. This practice allowed a lawman to go about town, attend church and still be fully armed. The pocket pistol, bellygun, or concealed weapon were for close shooting. The gun could be brought out quickly and possibly shoved into the belly of the opponent and the trigger pulled.

The large calibers, of course, would do more damage than the smaller calibers in most cases, however all calibers can kill. Some are just more deadly than others. For instance, in espionage, a spy might place a small .22 caliber pistol in his enemy's ear and pull the trigger. A .22 caliber is manufactured in a number of lengths. The .22 caliber long rifle is a popular round and is interesting because the bullet can enter and go straight through the body or can become a scrambler. If the bullet hits a bone at a glancing blow, a spinning deadly missile goes out of control to scramble the brain or other organs depending on where it enters.

An El Paso gun collector by the name of Gordon Frost described the 71-72 / .44 cal. Colt, as six shot, single action, with an open top as having a 7 and 1/2 inch barrel. Mr. Frost had purchased one, described as a sawed off 2 and 7/8 inch barrel with the sights and ejector removed. This enhances the pocket gun's movement out of the pocket without hanging up on any material. This is recommended today when carrying concealed to avoid hanging the gun on the holster when a large sight is attached to the barrel. Pocket guns have been made in a range of calibers from .22 caliber rimfire to .32 caliber rimfire which were popular calibers in the 1880s. There was a squeeze palm pistol which came in a range of calibers from .22 rimfire to .32 rimfire and were popular in the 1880s.

C. Sharps 4 barrel pistol came in a variety of calibers. The barrel slides forward to load and the firing pin rotates to fire each barrel. C. Sharps was best known for his falling block rifles and the ingenious four barrel breech loading pocket pistol which measured around three inches long.

The Lincoln assassination weapon was a .42 caliber Derringer pistol. Remington made a popular over/under .41 caliber Derringer 1867-1888.

The Derringer was a type of pocket pistol named for Henry Deringer, Jr., a Philadelphia gun maker, whose name is spelled with one r, but the Derringer is spelled with two. These pistols were most popular from 1856 to 1865.

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Information for this article obtained from:

Dallas Stoudenmire, El Paso Marshal, by Leon Metz, University of Oklahoma Press, 1979-original copyright 1969 by Pemberton Press and transferred to University of Oklahoma Press in 1979. Antique Guns, Soft cover Fawcett Book #323, by Hank Wieand - edited by Lucian Cary, copyright 1953, second printing 1956. The Revolver 1865-1888, by A.W.F. Taylersen, Bonanza Books. Famous Guns From the Harolds Club Collection (Reno), by Hank Wieand Bowman, Fawdett Book#518, 1962. Pageant of the Gun by Harold L. Peterson, Doubleday, 1967. i.

Copyright © 2003  Betty Wilson. No unauthorized reproduction or transmission by any means whatsoever permitted under federal criminal law.