John Wesley Hardin, American Wild West outlaw and gunfighter who claimed 42 kills, photographed c. 1871 [900×900]

Been reading into the real kill counts of the most famous Wild West gunslingers and the gap between legend and reality is wild.

Hardin claimed 42 kills — historians verify 20-30+ Hickok claimed dozens — only 7-10 documented Billy the Kid was credited with 21 — real number is 4-9

Half the Wild West legend was self-promotion through 19th-century newspapers. Which gunslinger do you think had the biggest gap between myth and reality?

I put together a full documentary video covering all of this here too, if your interested in watching: [https://youtu.be/rMhaLEHckbE](https://youtu.be/rMhaLEHckbE)

REAL HISTORICAL RECORDS & SOURCES

* John Wesley Hardin: [https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/august-19/john-wesley-hardin-killed-in-texas](https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/august-19/john-wesley-hardin-killed-in-texas)
* True West Magazine on Doc Holliday: [https://www.truewestmagazine.com/article/how-many-men-did-doc-holliday-kill/](https://www.truewestmagazine.com/article/how-many-men-did-doc-holliday-kill/)
* HistoryNet on Doc Holliday: [https://historynet.com/doc-holliday/](https://historynet.com/doc-holliday/)
* EBSCO research starters on Wild Bill Hickok: [https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/wild-bill-hickok](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/wild-bill-hickok)
* EBSCO research starters on John Wesley Hardin: [https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/john-wesley-hardin](https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/john-wesley-hardin)

Fun fact, Hardin is the gunfighter Mel Gibson plays poker against in the movie [Maverick](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgjIUxb2Hbg)

I put together a full documentary video covering all of this here too, if your interested in watching: [https://youtu.be/rMhaLEHckbE](https://youtu.be/rMhaLEHckbE)