Guns of the Old West: An Illustrated Guide [Paperback]

Charles Edward Chapel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 21, 2002

Definitive, scrupulously researched work not only tells the dramatic story of shoulder arms, hand guns, percussion and cartridge weapons but also describes the hunters, settlers, peace officers, soldiers, range detectives, rustlers, and outlaws who used them. An invaluable guide for collectors, dealers, enthusiasts and students. 499 black-and-white illustrations. Bibliography. Index.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Chapel's 1961 study profiles a wide range of firearms from early flint and matchlock guns that shooters could just about knock their own hats off with to Sharps rifles capable of taking game at 500 yards. The text is illustrated with numerous photos and drawings and offers a good treatise on the subject, intelligently disregarding all the pulp nonsense about gunfighters, etc., and handling the topic from a scholarly point of view.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Dover Publications (May 21, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0486421619
• ISBN-13: 978-0486421612
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,626,738 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A few pictures were labeled wrong, August 2, 2005

By 

Deputy (Silver City, NM USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Guns of the Old West: An Illustrated Guide (Paperback)

Overall a good book with lots of information on the subject. A few of the pictures in the book were labelled with the wrong descriptions. Otherwise, worth the money.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The history is lively and well done, December 5, 2002

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Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Guns of the Old West: An Illustrated Guide (Paperback)

Firearms played an important role in the West, guarding against animals and outlaws alike. Guns Of The Old West is an informative survey which will interest a wide range of readers; from those interested in early firearms, to others who want an accurate narrative of those who used them. Descriptions accompany black and white drawings of rifles, revolvers and other weapons. The history is lively and well done and will interest a large audience.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Good...but, October 28, 2007

By 

John Watts (Cincinnati, Ohio) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Guns of the Old West: An Illustrated Guide (Paperback)

Since this is a reprint of a 46 (1961) year old publication my main criticism is that it was just copied and all of the original omissions and mistakes are presented again, just as they were in 1961. As a collector of 19th century Smith & Wesson's and it's predecessors, this book misses the factual marks of that manufacturer repeatedly. It lists the products of the first Smith & Wesson company (1852-1854) as being produced by another company (Volcanic Arms) and it plays down the significance of the development of self-contained cartridge firing handguns by Smith & Wesson throughout it's presentation. It truly glorifies the development of the cartridge firing revolvers by Colt's and almost ignores those by Smith & Wesson even though the number of Smith & Wesson revolvers produced prior to the turn of the 19th century was far greater than the number produced by Colt's. No wonder most uninformed people believe that the Single Action Army revolver was the only gun popular in the Old West when there were far more Smith & Wesson's produced and sold during that time period.

The sections on pre-Civil War arms was well done except I did notice the very limited mention of the U.S. Model 1841 so-called Mississippi Rifle which was very important during both the War with Mexico and the Civil War.

If you are looking for a definitive reference on the Guns of the Old West, this really isn't it, however some of the background information and stories are wonderful.