The Gunsmith's background is a little mysterious. Clint Adams was raised in the East and came West at an early age when he discovered an affinity for guns. Not only was he able to take them apart and put them together again, but he could hit anything he targeted, no matter how small or how far away it was. Once he put on a holster, he discovered he could also draw a gun with amazing speed.
As the series began, Clint was driving a wagon around the West, plying his trade as a gunsmith. His big black gelding, Duke, would usually be tied to the back of the wagon, which was pulled by a team of two horses. When Clint found that his help was needed, or he simply found a cause he chose to champion, he'd saddle Duke and ride him until the matter was settled. As the series has progressed, Clint's left the wagon behind and simply began to travel around on Duke—and more recently on his new horse, Eclipse.
Early on—in GUNSMITH #4: THE GUNS OF ABILENE—Clint lost his best friend, Wild Bill Hickok, when Hickok was shot in the back by the coward Jack McCall. He's never forgotten that, and his one fear is of being shot in the same way. That's why whenever someone tries to bushwhack him he becomes incensed.
The Gunsmith is not afraid to take on any man—or woman—and he'll ride until the day he dies...later rather than sooner, if he has anything to say about it.
- Clint Adams modified his own Colt, turning it from a single-action into a double-action weapon. He tries never to draw his gun unless he's going to use it. No one has ever come close to outdrawing him.
- He almost got married once, in GUNSMITH #12, but his bride was killed.
- His best friends are other legends of the West with whom he has something in common, most notably Bat Masterson and Luke Short.
- When he's not traveling around the West, Clint tends to stay in the town of Labyrinth, somewhere in West Texas. His friend Rick Hartman owns the saloon and gambling hall Rick's Place, and even though Rick never leaves Labyrinth—except in GUNSMITH #54: HELL ON WHEELS—he is able to reach out across the country to get Clint information that he needs.
- Clint has played in all the major gambling halls in the country, be it Denver, San Francisco, or New Orleans. He's also been to England, Australia, and South America.
- He has met Mark Twain, Teddy Roosevelt, P.T. Barnum, Annie Oakley, Lily Langtry, and many other famous personalities.
- When it comes to sex, he never pays for it. He sleeps with women because they want to sleep with him.
- He often does jobs for the Secret Service, usually at the behest of his friend Jim West, who never actually appears in the books.
- His big black gelding, Duke, was given to him by Jesse James. Later, Duke is put out to pasture when P.T. Barnum presents Clint with a Darley Arabian stallion which he calls Eclipse, because he's as black as Duke, but has a crescent moon-shaped flash of white on his nose.
- During one particular mission, Clint discovers he has a teenage daughter whose mother, bounty hunter Anne Archer, is dead.
- The Gunsmith is content to travel around the West, occasionally resting in Labyrinth. He's satisfied that this is his lot in life. He will never settle down. He'll most likely die in the saddle, or from a bullet.
