Originally posted by Sparko
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Shootouts at high noon, the trademark of western movies, were rare in the Old West. One stood a better chance at seeing horseflies in December
Crime in general (including murder) was much lower than in the large cities back East (especially crime-saturated New York City, which already practiced strict gun control). And daring daytime Bank robberies were also very rare despite movie depictions -- and for good reason. As the James-Younger gang discovered during the 1867 Great Northfield Minnesota Raid (the first daylight bank robbery), most people in the West had easy access to firearms and knew how to use them. When the attempted robbery was discovered, someone ran out into the street yelling, "Get your guns boys! They’re robbing the bank!" The townsfolk grabbed hunting rifles and rifles handed out by the hardware store and the town's people drove off the robbers (three of the gang were killed and all others except Jesse James were wounded).
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