I hear a lot about how sword fights on television and in movies are built up to be dramatic, so I'm curious to what extent this was done to guns in a period similar to what it was like in late-1800s American West. How did an event like the Shootout at O.K. Corral really play out? Are there any fictional portrayals you think come closest to best representing this?
So, I will do my best to answer this. There is only one recorded event of two men meeting in the street. That was in 1865 in Springfield, Missouri. So, not your typical western town. But! It did involve Bill Hickcock...who won. It is hard to define a typical gun fight in the old west. More often than not it was alcohol fueled, and some sort of an insult or woman could be involved and they would usually be over very quick, not like the drawn out gunfight in say 'Open Range' with Kevin Costner and Robert Duvall. Someone would be drunk, some sort of slight, perceived or real and boom boom boom, just like it could be over.