Shooting Sixguns of the Old West - Softcover

Venturino, Mike

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1879356872 ISBN 13: 9781879356870

Publisher: Wolfe Pub Co, 2012

Synopsis

Introduction
Until recently if someone judged the Old West by television and movie prtrayals, there was only one sort of handgun in use.

That, of course, was the Colt Single Action Army which was also commonly called the Peacemaker. In truth it was the premier revolver produced during the heyday of the Frontier Era. Considered in all its styles and calibers more SAAs were made from 1873 to 1900 than any other single type of American revolver.
However, it was not the only handgun about, nor was it the first revolver to take the then new metallic cartridges. In fact it was not even the only revolver being manufactured in considerable numbers by Colt during the same time frame. From 1870, when the era of metallic cartridge firing sixguns began until 1900 which is generally considered the end of the Wild West, Colt, Remington, Smith and Wesson, Merwin & Hulbert, and a few other lesser known companies collectively produced hundreds of thousands of metallic cartridge firing sixguns. These handguns were at least of comparable quality to the Colt SAA, and some exceeded it by a wide margin. The primary target market for all of those revolvers was the American West.
For almost a century now all of these 'other' sixguns have merely been historical oddities to most shooters. In fact, other than avid collectors, few have even cared enough about them to learn the differences between various versions of say the Smith & Wesson Model #3, or how to operate one of Merwin & Hulbert's uniquely functioning handguns. As far as actually shooting such guns, aside from the Colt Peacemaker, very few Old West sixguns have ever been put back into use.
That has started to change, and I feel that this has come about from the enthusiasm generated by the great sport of cowboy action shooting. This new game, which has actually been played by some people for nearly 20 years as of this writing (1997), has caused many of its competitors to focus on the types of guns, clothing, leather gear, and even horse equipment that was actually used during the taming of the American West.
Table of Contents

Part One: The Guns

Introduction

Colts

Cartridge Conversions

Modern Cartridge Conversions

The Peacemaker

Modern Peacemaker Clones

Model 1877DA

Model 1878DA

Smith & Wessons

Model #3

Model #3 2nd and 3rd Model Russians

Model #3 Schofields

Modern Schofields

New Model #3

Model 1881DA

Remingtons

Model 1875

Modern Model 1875

Merwin & Hulbert

Pocket Army
Part Two: RELOADING
Introduction

Blackpowder Cartridge Background

Blackpowder Reloading Basics

One Day's Accuracy Tests
DATA SECTIONS

.32-20

.38 Long Colt

.38-40

.41 Long Colt

.44 American

.44 Colt

.44 Russian

.44-40

.45 S&W

.45 Colt
PART THREE: MISCELLANEOUS
Holsters, Belts, & Grips

Old West Shootists & Their Sixshooters

Cleaning

Conclusion & Comparisons
Appendix

Bibliography

About this title

About the Author:

Mike Venturino was born and raised in Mingo County, West Virginia, and graduated from Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia, in 1972 with a BA degree in Journalism. Always attracted by the West, he started working summer vacations in Yellowstone National Park in 1969 and moved to Montana immediately after graduation.

His first magazine article, written as part of a class project, was printed in Guns and Ammo in 1972, and in 1999 his 800th magazine article was published. Unlike most shooting sports writers, Mike actually set out as a teenager to become a full-time gunwriter, and has pursued that single goal throughout his life. However, before attaining that goal, he also wrangled dudes, taught high school, drove a truck, and was even proprietor of his own movie theater.

In 1977 Mike met his wife Yvonne, a Missouri farm girl, also working in Yellowstone Park. They were married on April Fool's Day, 1978, and he credits her with giving him the ambition to follow his dreams. "Before Yvonne," he says, "it was easy to sit around and talk guns with my buddies. After we were married, I knew I had to get serious about some sort of career." Although not a shooter before marriage, Yvonne thoroughly enjoys shooting alongside Mike.

The Venturinos have no children but share their 70 acres near Livingston, Montana, with a vast assortment of dogs, cats, and horses.

About this edition

• Publisher: Wolfe Pub Co
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1879356872
• ISBN 13: 9781879356870
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 220