Look at a handgun or a long gun... What comes to mind?
You could think of the destructive power it contains and how it has the capability to be used to end or alter the life of a victim.
You could think of the protective power it contains and how it has the capability to be used to SAVE or alter the life of an intended victim.
I do think of those things when I consider the "business end" of the gun.
But what I FEEL is a romantic connection. I don't feel much attraction for the M-16, AK-47, and most other modern guns (that's just me) but show me a Colt 45 Peacemaker, an 1858 New Army Remington, an 1860 Army Colt 44, Wild Bill's brace of Navy Colt 36's, an old Walker Colt, a S&W Schofield 45, any old flintlock pistol or Kentucky long rifle... a warm feeling rushes over me.
I don't know where it comes from. Could be the TV Westerns that I grew up with where the gun is romanticized so eloquently. Could be the paternal connection and bond that gun collecting, target shooting and hunting provided with my father. My first gun: a .22 LR Remington single shot bolt action rifle that he brought home to me after work one day. I stared UP at the end of the barrel; it was an inch or so taller than me... I was five years old.
Reflecting on stories of Early America and the Old West, a character seems naked and out of place to me if he is not "heeled". We discuss our fascination with the Johnny West action figures... how empty would it have been if there was no Colt sidearm or '73 Winchester rifle in the accessory kit?
But I don't really want it to be necessary for that lead slug to tear through the flesh and bone and rip at the arteries of a live human being; even if they are a bad guy I don't want that to HAVE to happen... I would rather that everyone just behave. So, maybe the romanticism is from the notion that the gun was a life-saver or defender to the good men, women, and children at a time when it is all that stood between life and death. There was no 911. Also in our modern day at times when 911 is not practical to preserve life or prevent injustice.
I'm not sure to whom I'm responding, but I do like your input. You're right: Johnny West would have seemed pretty incomplete without the '73 Winchester, Colt Peacemaker and Remington derringer he came with. I would have been downright devastated if I got one in our current politically correct times and opened the box to see that all his firearms had been removed because they "were evil."
I, like you, am in love with the romantic look of Old West guns. I have 30 or 40 guns (maybe I shouldn't admit that in a public forum--might get the ATF people on my tail, or plain old burglars). I have the majority of them because of their appearances, because somewhere in my childhood I got enamored with the graceful beauty and sense of authority associated with those old pieces of what I consider artwork. My dad also had guns, and he taught me to respect them. Honestly, a gun is less deadly than a semi truck by far, and they aren't trying to outlaw semi trucks--or trains!
I love the feel of an old, or simply old style, firearm in my hands. It makes me think of Matt Dillon, Davy Crockett, and yes, Johnny West. Thanks for posting this. Why don't you sign your name next time so I can call you by name? I like to know who's hanging out here.