Probably one of the most proficient gunfighters. Accounts I've read indicate he practiced with his handguns (1851 Navys for most of his career, one of which I saw at the Buffalo Bill Museum in Cody, WY) religiously, and, until he got to Deadwood, was very careful about not providing his enemies an opportunity to blind side him. Don't think the manner in which he carved his first notches was anything to write home about.