The laws did not ban guns. Owning a gun in the Old West was a matter of survival. The laws simply stated where and how you could carry them. Guns and knives were not allowed within town limits. Visitors were required to leave their weapons with the sheriff, livery or saloon upon entering town.

Carrying any kind of weapon, guns or knives, was not allowed other than outside town borders and inside the home. When visitors left their weapons with a law officer upon entering town, they'd receive a token, like a coat check, which they'd exchange for their guns when leaving town.

But the Old West did have its fair share of laws regulating firearms, and many of our favorite gunslingers were caught up in the game of gun control. Cities and towns like Tombstone, Dodge City, and Deadwood banned guns outright within their borders.

Gun ownership was commonplace in the post-Civil War Old West, but actual gunfights were rare. One reason was that, contrary to the mythology, many frontier towns had strict gun laws, especially against carrying concealed weapons.