There was some falling out between Mal and his dad, and Mal and Rae. But what was it?
And he was working in the slaugherhouses in Chicago, cutting up cows. How the hell did he become such a sharpshooter? Big and strong, sure. But a sharpshooter?
I asked the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.
Because he didn't like working on the farm. Same reason for Rae, which is why the father thought she had come back at first. Not sure about the background though, but we don't know why Jake wears two guns either, or how Cobb became sheriff, alot of things in westerns aren't really explained in detail. They're more like campfire stories.
shareI dunno; some things you can accept, and others not. I don't have a problem with Jake wearing two guns, or Cobb being sheriff. I don't have a problem with Jake being able to shoot two guys simultaneously at a 90 degree angle. That's cool Western sh!t that's just fun, and seeing Jake's entire personality, and how often he gets into deadly trouble - twice in the span of a couple of days in the movie - he would have to be just that good in order to still be alive.
But Mal was an ex-slave (it is, at most, 20 years after the Civil War, and probably less), who left the farm and went to work at the stockyards of Chicago, where he became handy with a knife. None of that life experience gets you to being a deadeye sharpshooter.
I asked the doctor to take your picture so I can look at you from inside as well.
His dad was "someone who knew how to use a Henry rifle." His dad probably taught that skill to him.
shareThe best marksmen will tell you familiarity with a weapon goes a long way toward proficiency. Mal growing up with a Henry rifle and presuming this is the only firearm he has ever used, would explain his comfort level being very high when using this rifle. As the poster above stated, if Mal had a good teacher this would also greatly increase his marksmenship.
shareMy guess is that Mal was simply taught by his father (it's suggested his father is just as good) while growing up. That skill likely stayed with him during his time in the Chicago stockyards. As to why he left in the first place, perhaps he just wanted to try something different than working on a farm and see some of the big cities.
shareAnd, although it may have been only 20 years or so after the Civil War, there's no saying his family wasn't a family of Freemen who went west with everyone else.
Fight the FOCA
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As far as shooting 2 guns at once you can see it happen for real on the History channel on"Top Shot" or and even see more difficult shots on the outdoor channel impossible shots.
Of all the things I have lost I miss my mind the most
His dad probably taught that skill to him.Passed from father to son is what I always thought. share
Bad examples.
Kasdan gave us the feeling that there's something behind that part of the story, like something were about to find out.
he gave us the dog story that explains something about Paden, the McKendrick father story that explains something about Ementt and Jake and i was sure we about to hear some story from Rea side to Stella or something like that.
it's definitely not cause he left the farm, cause Rea left the farm to and she was ferious for is leaving.
People back then were "Jacks of all trades". Buffalo Bill had been a scout and buffalo hunter, and many other things, in his career.
Unc John "We makin' trouble?"
Stacy "Yeah"
Unc John "What kind?"
Stacy "...The forever kind"
I just watched it again tonight and what I'd like to know is why Mal and Rae left town at the end of the movie. I mean, the bad guys were gone, and they had the land their family owned...do we presume they sold the land to fund their trip? Or that they just gave up the land for lost? That seems a bit silly...but then the land records were destroyed in the fire so maybe they figured that even with Paden's help they'd never really get the land back?
"It's my duty...my duty as a complete and utter bastard."
I think it's because, as their father said earlier, Rae hated working on the farm. She wanted to live "in town", although that meant being a "soiled dove" (I'm sure Mal wouldn't have let that happen with him). Mal may have gone along with his sisters wishes, if that's what it took for them to be family again. He also had worked in the Chicago stock yards, so was no stranger to city life. The main reason he came to Silverado was to be with his family, not because he was enthusiastic about farm life. The only family he had left was Rae.
Also, it made a better, more resolved ending to show them leaving town. The only person who stayed was Paden.
Unc John "We makin' trouble?"
Stacy "Yeah"
Unc John "What kind?"
Stacy "...The forever kind"
I always thought that they were going back to their family's land which was outside of town.
"Good night, and grease for peace."
http://youtu.be/TBAuO1McLxg
We'll never know for sure, but on the way to Chicago, it would take time which would allow for one to take up things like buffalo hunting, which entailed hours of shooting hundreds of buffalo for their hides. A sharps, or even a Henry Yellow Boy would become pretty familiar.
Also skinning all those hides, would enable a man to walk up to the feed lots and say, "I'm pretty handy with a knife", and get a job, eventually learning to be a pretty fair butcher.
His old man had the same rifle - so I'll assume that Mal learned how to shoot and hunt from him.
As for leaving, a lot of kids grow up and want to get away for a while, see the world, sh!t like that.