Wyatt Earp (1848 – 1929) was a lawman of the Old West and best known for his involvement in the gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. This shoot-out is regarded as the most famous gunfight in American Wild West history, resulting from a longstanding feud between the Earp brothers and a gang of outlaws known as the Cowboys. As the story goes, on the good side you had Doc Holliday, alongside Virgil, Morgan, and Wyatt Earp. On the bad side were Tom and Frank McLaury, Billy and Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne. The gunfight lasted just 30 seconds, ending with the deaths of Tom and Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton. Over the following months, the outlaws retaliated by maiming Virgil and assassinating Morgan.
Wyatt Earp Shotgun
Wyatt and Doc Holliday formed a posse and set out to even the score against those responsible, ‘Curly Bill’ Brocius and the Cowboys. Wyatt borrowed Fred Dodge’s (an undercover Wells Fargo agent) shotgun, for the showdown that would avenge his brothers. When the posse came across Brocius and the Cowboys another shootout ensued… three outlaws were killed, including Brocius.
The Stevens double-barreled 10-gauge shotgun that Wyatt used to kill “Curly Bill” Brocius recently came up for sale and blew away the estimate, as more than two dozen bidders competed for the historic weapon. The shotgun had impeccable provenance dating back to Dodge’s death in 1938 when he left his guns and other artifacts to his son, Fred. Jr. Although it has sold several times since Fred, Jr. owned it, its history is recorded by more than 25 documents included with the shotgun. The gun was expected to sell in excess of $100K and really did not disappoint when it shot to $375K! (w/p).