Wild Bill Hickok. James Butler Hickok, or Wild Bill as most folks knew him, was a gunslinger. He was fast, considered the fastest shot in the West, but likely a result of his overinflated reputation. The biggest contributor to that mystique was Bill himself. The tales that he killed some 100 people or so was the wildest lie told about him. He maybe took out seven people, tops, during his time on the planet.