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William F. Cody hunted often outside of Yellowstone using a Winchester rifle

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Later in life William F. Cody hunted often outside of Yellowstone using a Winchester rifle

A Museum Minute

By Olivia Weitz
Wyoming Public Media
August 16, 2024

A 1-minute audio snapshot highlighting a museum object from the collection of the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.

In 1901, William F. Cody was photographed on a group hunting trip near Yellowstone National Park’s East entrance. Cody Firearms Museum Curator Danny Michael said he’s carrying an 1895 Winchester rifle.

“It has all of the dings and dents and scratches and all of the wear that you would expect of somebody that took this gun out into the woods and carried this around Wyoming,” he said.

Michael said this firearm portrays how Cody’s relationship to hunting changed over the years. Early on in his career he was paid to hunt bison to feed railroad workers as westward expansion displaced Native Americans.

“Hunting transfers from this job to pay the bills to a refuge to find some peace and relaxation away from the show, and away from the spotlight,” he said.

In between touring with his Wild West show, Cody spent time at his hunting lodge and ranch in Wyoming near Yellowstone.

This firearm is currently on display as part of exhibition sharing the guns associated with performers in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show.

William F. Cody, Chief Iron Tail, and Mike Russell (lower left front) with a hunting party of Native American and European American men holding rifles in a snow covered wooded area. Handwritten caption, "The life I love. Camp head of Shoshone river Wyo. Nov. 20th 1901. W. F. Cody." MS 6 William F. Cody Collection. P.69.1062
William F. Cody, Chief Iron Tail, and Mike Russell (lower left front) with a hunting party of Native American and European American men holding rifles in a snow covered wooded area. Handwritten caption, "The life I love. Camp head of Shoshone river Wyo. Nov. 20th 1901. W. F. Cody." MS 6 William F. Cody Collection. P.69.1062

About Olivia Weitz

Olivia Weitz is a Multimedia Journalist for Wyoming Public Radio. She works out of a recording studio inside the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody. She covers Yellowstone National Park, wildlife, and arts and culture throughout the region. She produces the “Museum Minute” series, which features objects from the Center of the West’s collections.

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