Re: [DL] Re: [Savage_Worlds] Anyone watching Deadwood on HBO

["David L. Hoff" <dlhoff1@charter.net>]

Mike Buckalew wrote:

On 4/27/04 10:19 AM, "Marguerite Frey" <natasha_corey@yahoo.com> wrote:

  

I like the language in general, though.  I've taken to
watching the shows with a notepad nearby so I can jot
down cool lines just to see which ones show up in the
next Deadlands session.  ;-)
    

Keith Carradine's Hickock is amazing.  He feels absolutely legendary
compared to everything else around him.

I had sort of a 'Deadlands' moment watching this when I noticed he wore his
guns in a crossdraw rig.  From Deadlands, I recall that the crossdraw is
best for mounted use and that a gunslinger should have it set for a straight
draw.  Then it dawned on me that the advantage of the crossdraw was due to
being 'seated' on the horse and would therefore also be advantageous when
seated at a poker table...

Hm... I don't think so. When you are seated on a horse, you sit "bowlegged", with your knees out to the sides a bit, and your thighs in kind of an upside down V shape. A gun in a normal holster would be on top of your thigh, with the butt of the pistol tucked right up against your side. That would make it almost impossible to draw, which is why they came up with the cross draw holster.

Now, if you are seated at a poker table, you normally sit with your knees in front of you, and your thighs parallel to the floor. This would make a gun in a normal holster actually *easier* to draw and fire, because once it clears the holster, it is already pointed in the direction of the guy across from you. In fact, if you can manage to sneak it out of it's holster, you can fire it under the table at the other guy.  A classic example of this is the Cantina scene in the original Star Wars, when Han Solo shoots Greedo after he threatens to kill him.

Now, if you are seated at a poker table, and have your guns in a cross draw holster, you have to take the time to reach across your body to the other side to reach your gun, then bring your arm back around so the gun is now pointed at your enemy. Not only does it take more time, but you can't be sneaky about it. So, it is not really that practical. However, if you ride a horse often, and have trained yourself on how to do a quickdraw from a cross draw holster, switching to a normal holster when you are not on a horse would not work. Your training would make you reach across your body for your gun, even if the gun isn't there. For that reason, I could see how someone like Hickock might wear his guns in a cross draw, even when he isn't on a horse.

Then again, he might have done it just because it looked cool. :-)

--David L. Hoff
dlhoff1@charter.net