The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James

The following guns were used in the film The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James:

The Last Days of Frank and Jesse James (1986)

Smith & Wesson Schofield Model 3

Jesse James (Kris Kristofferson), uses a Smith & Wesson Schofield Model 3 as his sidearm in the film. The Schofield was also the real Jesse's preferred sidearm along with the Colt Single Action Army.

Smith & Wesson Schofield Model 3 - .45 Schofield.

Jesse armed with his Smith & Wesson Schofield during a bank robbery.

Major Edwards (Ed Bruce) holding a Smith & Wesson Schofield.

Jesse with his Smith & Wesson Schofield during the train robbery.

Smith & Wesson Model 1881 Double Action

Bob Ford (Darrell Wilks) carries a Smith & Wesson Model 1881 Double Action Revolver with a nickel finish as his sidearm in the film. This gun is likely standing in for the Smith & Wesson New Model No. 3 Ford really used, possibly because the actor had difficulty cocking the hammer and so a double action gun was chosen instead.

Smith & Wesson Model 1881 Double Action - .44 Russian

Bob Ford (Darrell Wilks) fires his Smith & Wesson Double Action Frontier.

Bob Ford after murdering Jesse James.

Griswold & Gunnison 1860

Frank James (Johnny Cash) is seen carrying a Griswold & Gunnison 1860 in some scenes.

Griswold & Gunnison 1860 revolver - .36 caliber. Confederate manufacture

Frank points his Griswold & Gunnison 1860 a Jesse.

Frank tries to draw his Griswold & Gunnison 1860 during Bob Ford's re-enactment of when he murdered Jesse.

Remington 1858 New Army

In some scenes Frank James (Johnny Cash) is seen using a Remington 1858 New Army revolver. The real Frank James had used Remington revolvers since his service in the civil war. To quote Frank: "The Remington is the hardest and the surest shooting pistol made." Frank did carry a Remington New Model Army during his career, but he was better known to carry a Remington Model 1875 revolver chambered in .44-40 Winchester Center Fire.

Remington 1858 New Army - .44 caliber.

A Remington 1858 New Army is seen in a holster attached to Frank's plow.

Jesse pulls the Remington 1858 from Frank's holster when he approaches him.

Frank fires off his Remington 1858 to start a horse race.

Single Action Army

Single Action Army revolvers are used by the James' gang including Frank (Johnny Cash) and Jesse (Kris Kristofferson) themselves. None of them are genuine Colts. Frank's SAA in particular is either a copy by the Great Western Arms Company, or J.P. Sauer & Sohn (imported by Hawes) as revealed by looking at the hammer when he cocks it (see the caption in the fifth picture below for more information).

Colt Single Action Army 4 3/4" Quickdraw - .45 Long Colt.

One of the James gang members armed with a Quickdraw Single Action Army.

Two James gang members firing their Single Action Armies into the air.

Jesse fires a Single Action Army at a gunman in a window.

Frank with an Artillery Single Action Army. The dead give-away (besides the brass grip frame/trigger guard) that this is a copy by Great Western or J.P. Sauer is the firing pin. An authentic Colt from the Old West-era would have had a hammer-mounted firing pin. By looking at the hammer you can see that, instead of a firing pin, there is a flat-ended striker for a frame mounted firing pin on the hammer. These were typical of Great Western and J.P. Sauer, and while there were other smaller, foreign companies that did this, Great Western and J.P. Sauer are the most likely makers of this gun because plenty of these were used in a lot of cinema from the 50s, 60s, and even into the late 70s, ( typically on television shows like Gunsmoke and even full-length feature films such as their use by John Wayne in his final film, The Shootist) making them readily available from film armorers and cheap too.

Jesse shoots candle wicks with a Single Action Army.

Jesse unloads the Single Action Army and surprisingly uses the ejector rod.

Frank shoots a man on the train with his SAA.

Frank loads his SAA in the barber shop, 10 years later.

Colt Walker 1847

A showman offers people to shoot candles while holding a Colt Model 1847 Walker. This is likely a copy and it isn't exactly historically correct. It isn't anachronistic, but it isn't perfectly historically accurate either. In the real Old West very few people had ever even seen a Walker. The reason for this is that there were only 1,100 of them made during the Mexican-American War and 500 of them were lost when one of the ships delivering them to the army sank.

Colt Walker 1847 - .44 caliber.

The showman shows off the Colt Walker 1847 to the crowd.

The showman offers Jesse a try.

Winchester 1894

Winchester 1894 rifles are seen a few times in the film. This is anachronistic, as the film is set in 1877-1892, but this model (along with the Winchester Model 1892) was readily available from armorers because they were the most recent Old West rifle produced and were cheaper to get than the earlier models such as the Winchester Model 1866 "Yellowboy" and the Winchester Model 1873.