Why am I drawn to the movie Tombstone?

Tombstone is the story of larger than life people. The two main characters, Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday, are heroes, full of courage, strong of soul. Yet, they are fully human, not classic movie heroes at all. They have faults, fears, misgivings, and their actions aren’t always heroic.

For instance, in his first scene in the movie, Doc Holliday gets in a fight over a card game (in which he may or may not have been cheating), stabs a man, and robs the casino on his way out, skipping town and leaving his belongings in the room lest his enemies ambush him there.

The movie’s greatest hero, Wyatt Earp, has his light side and dark side. When Curly Bill Brocius shoots Marshall Fred White in a drunken stupor, Earp makes it a point to capture Brocius alive and protect him from a lynch mob. Yet, later after the Cowboys ambush Wyatt’s brothers, he shoots Frank Stillwell in the back with a shotgun.

And, as in real life, allegiances can change. Sherman McMasters, Texas Jack Vermillion, and “Turkey Creek” Jack Johnson are all Cowboys in the beginning of the movie, but they side with Earp and Holliday in the end. And Sheriff Behan deputizes Curly Bill and other Cowboys later, as they go after Earp’s bunch.

Probably the thing that draws me most to Tombstone, is the well written dialog. The movie is full of memorable lines, made better by strong performances by Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday and Kurt Russell as Wyatt Earp.

One excellent example is Wyatt Earp’s first encounter with Billy Bob Thornton as Johnny Tyler, the Faro dealer.

TYLER: For a man that don’t go heeled, you run your mouth kinda reckless.

WYATT: Don’t need to go heeled to get the bulge on a dub like you.

TYLER: That a fact?

WYATT: Yeah. It’s a fact.

TYLER: Well I’m real scared.

WYATT: Damn right you’re scared. I can see it in your eyes. . . . Go ahead. Skin it. Skin that smoke wagon and see what happens.

TYLER: Listen Mister, I’m getting’ tired –

WYATT: I’m getting tired of your gas. Jerk that pistol and go to work. . . . I said throw down, boy. You gonna do something or just stand there and bleed? No, I didn’t think so.

Yes, there is the famous gunfight at the OK Corral, and it is given a fair accounting, from what I’ve read. But rather than focus on this one fight, the movie is mostly the story of the aftermath – the Clantons’ retaliation against Virgil and Morgan Earp, and Wyatt’s vendetta against the Cowboys.

Then there is the feel of the movie, the visual. I love the scenes in the wild west, the open spaces. I lived in the panhandle of Texas for a while, and it reminds me of the land there, the land of the Lonesome Dove cattle drive, the land of Red River. It reminds me of rugged individualism, of men who are their own masters.

Are there things wrong with the movie? Yes, of course. But, I will leave that discussion for another time.

And, perhaps thankfully for my Twitter followers, that discussion will stay off line.

Last night we were discussing our favorite movies, and the reasons why they were our favorites. This led me, as a recovering engineer, to look for a way to at least qualify, if not quantify, what makes a movie my favorite.

I thought about ways to classify my favorite movies. One way was whether I owned it on DVD. The problem here is that I own a lot of movies I don’t necessarily like a whole lot, and there are a lot of movies I love that I don’t own. (Take note, Hollywood.)

After some thought, I arrived at three categories of movies that define my favorites.

Class 1 – any time this movie is on TV, and I come across it, I stop looking for something to watch, and I put down the remote. It doesn’t matter much if I’ve seen it recently, or if I come in half way through.

Class 2 – if see this movie is going to be shown on TV, I will watch it from the beginning, provided I haven’t seen it in a few days at least.

Class 3 – I want to watch these movies at least once a year, from the beginning.

I will list my favorites in another post, soon.

So, you ask, why is this in a gun blog?

Because there is a fourth class.

Class 4 – these are movies I find are worth watching for their portrayal of firearms or firearms owners.

I use Class 4 movies as teaching tools as well. Well, let’s be honest – I criticize a lot of movie gun handling, and turn that into “you kids don’t do that!” If the gun handling is good, I point it out, too, but positive examples are not as common as negative ones.

Just like using the movies to teach us about anything else, learning gun safety or gun handling from them requires someone who knows what they’re doing, because there are a lot of bad habits to be learned if you’re not careful.

So, here are my Class 4 movies, in alphabetical order:

3:10 to Yuma (2007)
Bonnie and Clyde
Buckaroo Banzai and His Adventures Across the 8th Dimension
Die Hard
Full Metal Jacket
Heat
Last Man Standing
Miller’s Crossing
Pulp Fiction
Saving Private Ryan
The Big Red One
The Longest Day
The Outlaw Josey Wales
The Shootist
Tombstone

The discussion on each one is different. For instance, 3:10 to Yuma is on the list because of the varied types of guns used, from 1871 Single Action Army revolvers, to break top Schofields. Buckaroo Banzai is on there because it turns out that just about every character in the movie is carrying concealed.

Over time I figure I’ll talk about my favorite movies, and you’re welcome to comment or email me. If you follow me on Twitter (@FillYerHands) then you already know my favorite movie on the list. In fact, you may have already unfollowed me because you’re tired of reading the dialog every time it comes on, since it’s also a Class 1.

If so, well, bye.

A few weeks ago I was rearranging the closet, and I decided to lay out my collection for a photo. My wife came in and counted them. Thirteen holsters. She said, “13 holsters for 4 guns. Looks like someone has a Holster Problem.”

I tried to put on my best “how many purses do you own?” face, and explained my collection.

Because of its unique shape and size, the Buck Mark has a dedicated holster, a nylon belt holster that I had to modify to hold the red dot scope.

My Glock 17 and Glock 19 can share holsters, and for them I own a Glock factory polymer holster, a leather belt holster, a leather IWB holster, and two Kydex paddle holsters, one black and one painted tan. I also have an ankle holster that both will fit, but honestly, I would only carry the G19 in it.

My Glock 21 has a dedicated leather belt holster and a Kydex paddle holster.

All three Glocks can also share a thin leather IWB holster that I keep in the car, and a flap holster I use for open carry when I’m camping or hiking. (Is that a can of worms I smell?) They can also share a cheap shoulder holster I admit I have never used, and a holster with hook and loop on it, that I use inside fanny packs.

I suppose I should include the nylon belt holster that I got for the G17 when I first bought it. My son uses it for his Airsoft pistols, but we still have it.

Finally, I have a Bladetech double offset drop holster that I use for competition. I use it for the G17, but it fits the G19 right now, and the G21 with some adjustment. I also have a Kydex belt holster that I can use for IDPA.

So, there we are: 17 holsters for 4 guns, an average of about 4 each. Each has its purpose, its history, and a valid argument for owning it. No problem.

My wife shook her head and left. The day was mine.

Now, I’ve heard a lot of good things about these new IWB holsters . . . .