A Full Cylinder of Readiness Advice from Old West Lawmen by Mark Hatmaker

 

Arguably, Lawmen of the Frontiers [American, African, Australia’s Outback, et. al.] may have had to keep a weather-eye on trouble more than those similarly occupied in more civilized regions.

Frontiers often had an armed populace, not to mention a populace that was made up mostly of folks with a bit of rambunctious spirit, after all, it takes a certain sort to leave comforts behind and pursue the life of the rugged and often unforgiving.

Add to that, just outside of these pockets of kinda-sorta civilization that were frontier towns, there often resided roving bands of marauders [both Native and “On the prowl” former “citizens”] and many a lawman also had to deal with angry befuddled livestock and other animals out of their weight-class in unsuspected quarters. An angry Longhorn turned loose in a saloon in Topeka, to the lions prowling Nairobi streets at night.

From these early badged and semi-badged Gents, we can draw many lessons, today let’s cut it to six. Six we can use in our far more civilized everyday lives to add a bit of circumspection with an historical bent to our Tenderfoot Toolboxes.

#1 “What’s he packin’?”

With a mere glance, one can scan the beltline and pockets of all that one meets to see the obvious gun on hip in the old days [and now seen more commonly today—my state is an open-carry zone.]

Many in hunting regions will see the fixed blade hunting knife on the belt [up to 6” is legal in my state], the tactical folder slid into the pocket with its telltale top showing, or the offset diagonal outline of those who carry it inside the pocket.

Our frontier lawmen were scanning for firearms on belts, in sashes, hole guns in vest pockets, strapped knives, leg knives, belt knives, neck knives, and patch knives.

We may have less to scan for but, scanning often quickly becomes an easy and automatic thing.

Just as then, most we see packin’ mean you no harm, but if [if] push comes to shove, it’s best to know what side to expect trouble and that informs our jam, slam, muffle, and “This is mine.”

#2 “Stop outside hand-reach.”

When encountering someone new, even in friendly scenarios, it was advised to stop just outside of hands-reach, that is hitting range. As we use small talk to make our assessments of the Hombre[s] before us, if we’re going to be hit, at least make them have to lunge for the opportunity of it.

#3 “Back to the wall, eyes on the door.”

Likely we have all heard iterations of this one. A gunfighter was wise to go back to the wall to prevent “reputation makers” from making themselves infamous in a Dime Novel.

Mr. Hickock was said to be scrupulous about this rule until he wasn’t.

The second half of this advice reminds us, it’s not merely the position of back to the wall that preserves life, it is the addition of the cold-blooded casual scan of each and every soul that enters a door—and what do we look for in that scan?

Well, we implement Rule #1, of course.

#4 “Keep the sun at your back.”

Again, when encountering anyone new when outdoors, stopping out of hands-reach was the watchword, as was casually maneuvering so that the sun was at your back. If there is to be action of any kind, seize all the tactical advantage that you can.

#5 The “I before E except after C” Exception: “Skylining.”

There are times when you do not keep the sun at your back.

When outdoors and you must approach the unfamiliar from a distance, sticking to high ground with the sun behind you was known as skylining, that is, making your approach easier to see from a great distance.

It was best to ride off the crest of a hill and stick just over the slope so that the sun does not have the opportunity to highlight your approach and make you an easily assimilated target if that is the intention.

For today’s world, we often see skylinin’ behavior when one enters a restaurant, store or club by allowing those inside to view them from the picture window with the outdoor light or streetlight standing in as our crest-of-the-hill approach.

If someone is waiting inside a business for the next victim to arrive, the one who walks to the inside of the sidewalk and skylights is easier to see than the one who sticks a bit to the outside and makes a slight just-past-the-door and then oblique entry making  the “Is he or isn’t he coming in?” a bit less obvious.

#6 “Enter shallow, go left.”

When a long-lived lawman or gunshark had to enter a dark and dusky  establishment from a bright sunny street he knew that he would be a bit sun blinded upon entry.

It was advised to not simply enter and go deep into the saloon where your vision did not adjust until well into whatever trouble may happen to be there.

Rather, wise lawmen, entered shallow, that is, took a few steps inside, broke left and leaned against the wall just long enough to allow the vision to adjust.

This shallow break for the wall was not made willy-nilly in furtive tactical fashion, rather a casual, step in, go left, lean, look copacetic, adjust the hat all the while observing Rules #1 and #3.

If a lawman was known in the town, he would vary his right or left break to become less predictable, but breaking left for new situations was the first choice as humans in many Western cultures have a tendency to break right, hence the layout of many stores and supermarkets.

There are many more tips and tactics from these early Law Dogs: The “False Blink,” “The Casual Question”, Casual Ambidexterity, and much more.

We’ll leave those to another day.

In the meantime, it’s mighty rewarding to snag a piece of tactical history that you can practice day-in and day-out while having a bit of role-playing fun to float your boat to boot.

[For more Rough& Tumble history, Indigenous Ability hacks, and for pragmatic applications of old school tactics historically accurate and viciously verified see our RAW/Black Box Subscription Service.]

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