Gunman was a much more common term utilized for these individuals in the 19th century. Today, the term gunslinger is used to denote an individual that is fast on the draw with their handguns, but can additionally refer to riflemen and shotgun carriers.
Gunfighters vary from various occupations such as a lawman, outlaw or a duelist, however are a lot more commonly synonymous to a hired gun who made a living with their weapons in the Old West. Like cowboys, gunfighters have become a cultural symbol in modern times, and are a photo of the American folks abroad and of American warrior society.
Etymologist Barry Popik has actually mapped the term "gun slinger" back to its usage in the 1920 Western motion picture Drag Harlan. The word was quickly adopted by other Western authors such as Zane Grey and became usual usage. In his introduction to The Shootist, author Glendon Swarthout claims that "gunslinger" and "gunfighter" are modern terms which the more real terms through would certainly have been "gunman", "pistoleer", "shootist" or "bad man" (sometimes created as "badman"). While Swarthout seems to have been right concerning "gunslinger", the term "gunfighter" has existed in several newspapers in the 1870s, and as such the term existed in the 19th century. Bat Masterson used the term "gunfighter" in the news article he created concerning the lawmen and hooligans he had actually known. However, Joseph Rosa noted that although Masterson made use of the term "gunfighter", he "chose the term 'mankiller'" when discussing these individuals. Clay Allison (1841-- 1887), a well-known New Mexico and Texas gunman and cattleman originated the term, "shootist".
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