Do modern day cowboys carry guns?
I can’t say for all cowboys in the USA but the ones I know in Montana carry a rifle when herding cattle in remote areas and some do pack a sidearm. If they find say a cow that’s hurt beyond healing they put it down with a rifle or handgun, they may also need to shoot coyotes that will kill a young calf. And they do have bears and mountain lions that they may have to deal with. So at least in Montana a firearm is among the tools of the cowboy. There are still rustlers who steal livestock and many of these criminals are armed. Here in Alaska many people carry a handgun for protection. But its more of a protection from bears or an angry moose than criminals. I do carry when out in the woods and I certainly don’t consider myself a cowboy although I have worked on ranches as a young buck and did break horses and herd cattle. I considered myself a ranch hand then and not a cowboy. EDIT Cowboys today don’t go around with a gun on their hip as the movies portrayed they did in the old west. And
