SHOOTOUT: Wild West

Savage, sadistic, seldom justified. The western frontier triggered many a shootout. The motivation? Money, women, religion, sometimes just a dirty look.

Wild West shootouts were messy, drunken, and deadly affairs. The vision of two gunslingers meeting in the street at high noon is pure myth. Shootouts were typically up close and personal. They involved lawmen against outlaws, outlaws against outlaws and sometimes lawmen against lawmen.

This programme focuses on the famous Northfield Raid which saw the James-Younger gang take on the town of Northfield. It also examines the shootouts at Hanska Slough and the Ingalls Raid where the Doolin/Dalton gang were up against US Marshals.

This episode of Shootout scrutinises the motivation, strategy, tactics and firearms involved on both sides of each gun battle and details each phase of the combat and the aftermath.