The Red Dead Redemption series' Cattleman Revolver has been the trusty sidearm for players, from the first moments of the first game to Red Dead Redemption 2. Unbeknownst to some, this six-shooter is actually based on a real gun with an incredibly storied and iconic legacy.
The Cattleman Revolver is the first weapon players receive in both Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2, and it remains the go-to gun for the protagonist in almost every cutscene and promotional image. From the get-go, the Cattleman proves itself reliable in almost every scenario. It may not be the most accurate, have the longest range, or deal the most damage of any RDR handgun, but through proper aim and abuse of the Dead Eye mechanic, players can make the Cattleman a force to be reckoned with.
Like most other guns in the series, the Cattleman borrows its name and appearance heavily from a real life firearm, the Colt Single Action Army. The fact that the Colt SAA was chosen as the Red Dead heroes' starting weapon was no mistake on the part of Rockstar. The gun was popular for its time, and it has appeared in so many iconic pieces of Wild West media that it has earned the moniker, "The Gun That Won The West."
According to Popular Mechanics, the Single Action Army was originally developed in 1873 as an improvement on the percussion-cap system of preceding revolvers. At that point in time, bullets were somewhat less sophisticated than modern, self-contained cartridges. The user was required to assemble and load the separate parts of a bullet by hand. When this changed, and the pre-assembled, self-contained cartridge became a sensible option for frequent use, the U.S. Army wasted no time in contracting the country's arms manufacturers for new sidearm compatible with this kind of ammunition. The Single Action Army was one of Colt's earliest revolver designs of this kind, and the weapon continually proved itself accurate and reliable in many situations.
The Story Behind RDR's Starting Weapon
The Single Action Army's reliability made it a fairly common weapon for its time. The U.S. Army used it all the way into the early twentieth century, and many Old West gunfighters likely kept it as their go-to gun. Typical as the SAA was, however, it actually wasn't the most popular revolver of its time. Despite having the U.S. Army as a consistent customer, other arms manufacturers produced and sold much vaster quantities of revolvers. Other guns, such as the Schofield (another gun present RDR) established themselves as a comparably popular alternative to the SAA.
In truth, while the Single Action Army was popular, the real driving force behind its legendary reputation lies in the specific people who used it. Famous outlaws like Billy the Kid, as well as performance shooters like Annie Oakley, made the Single Action Army a cultural icon during the Old West. After the sun set on the Wild West era, the gun's iconic visage remained, and it became the unsung star of Western fiction in both novels and cinema. Films like True Grit and A Fistful of Dollars put the Single Action Army in the hands of A-list celebrities like John Wayne and Clint Eastwood, fully cementing the Single Action Army's legacy. Those same films would go on to inspire the Red Dead Redemption series, leading to the Single Action Army's inclusion.
A major appeal of Rockstar game is in how it allows players to fulfill a quintessential cultural fantasy. The Grand Theft Auto series focuses entirely on exploring the typical tropes of American gangsters. San Andreas, for instance, lets player play the part of a low-level street gangster, while they play a Miami high-roller in Vice City. The Red Dead Redemption series is no different. Just as John Marston resembles Clint Eastwood's iconic character, The Man With No Name, Rockstar arms all of its Western protagonists with the archetypal Excalibur of the cowboy as an homage to its genre predecessors.
Source: Popular Mechanics