Colorado Gold Rush guns

[kidicarus13]

What guns would have been most prevalent during the Colorado Gold Rush years?

[ChunkyMonkey]

What guns would have been most prevalent during the Colorado God Rush years?

One of our clients pretty much collect everything from that era. He has few original pepperbox pistols - unmarked/branded. He said, those are what most miners used to defend himself. These are light enough to lug around and still deadly.

[ray1970]

No real knowledge but I bet a lot of them used shotguns. Versatile tool for putting food in the pot and also protecting your claim.

[BPTactical]

Ray is spot on, a shotgun could shoot anything. Consider a prospector was a dirt poor man working his ass off. With the timing of the Colorado rush, 1859 front stuffing rifles, trade guns and shottys would be prevalent.
Leman, Derringer trade rifles, 1803 Harpers Ferry surplus rifles, probably a Brown Bess or two, whatever was cheap and could be fed easily.
Hell, probably a few Pennsylvania and plains type rifles, maybe a Hawken or to as Jacob had a shop in Denver near what is now 14th and Auraria Parkway. Old Hawkens of the fur trade era were 35+ years old at the time and cheap.
Handguns? Whatever was cheap.