Customer Reviews

Guns of the Wild West : A photographic tour of the guns that shaped our country's history

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The curator of the firearms museum of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, David Kennedy, has written a masterful but all too slim volume about the guns that won the Wild West.

Included here are the Sharps Buffalo Rifle used in great effect in the tragic decimation of the buffalo, the LeMat Revolver and Carbine, used in varying degrees of success by the Confederacy during the Civil War, the 1866 "Trapdoor" Springfields, which were used by Custer's men at the Big Horn, the "pepperbox" pistols (so small they could fit in a pepperbox...and sometimes so dangerous even to the user, as all four shots could go off even if the owner intended on firing only one), the oh-so-familiar Colt Navy Revolvers - used mainly by Army Forces! (I have a replica of Confederate 1860 Navy Colt in my possession), and so many more.

Kennedy has also opined that Custer and his men were done in by sheer numbers of Sioux and Cheyenne, not that the single-shot weapons used by the 7th Cavalry, or that the majority of Braves had repeating rifles. In fact, according to Kennedy, only 30-50% of the Sioux and Cheyenne even possessed firearms. Custer and his men were done in chiefly by the bow, the arrow, and muzzle-loading trade guns.

Kennedy also adds interesting and intriguing vignettes about the owners and users of the guns of the Wild West, from George Custer to Buffalo Bill to Gary Cooper, from Frederick Remington to Dick Cheney, the notorious - Wild Bill Hickok, John Wesley Hardin, and William "The Kid" Bonney, and the great - Annie Oakley.

My only problem is that the volume, while chock full of facts and data, and very informative trivia, is too slim - and does not enough period illustrations. Still, it is deserving of a five-star review.

Required reading for those visiting the wonderful "Guns and Gamblers" exhibition at the Desert Caballeros Museum in Wickenburg, Arizona.

This is a beautifully produced book, and David Kennedy, of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center (BBHC), Cody, Wyoming, is a true expert on his subject.The photos are excellent, and the book makes the perfect guide to a tour of the BBHC- definitley the wildest and most complete museum of Western history and firearms in the world. The only drawback is, in my opinion, that it relies entirely on the photos for the power of the book- the visuals are impressive, but the history seems kind of short. If you can tour the BBHC, this would not be a problem- you can get all the history you can handle there, and more. The book is best as a companinon piece to the museum, which I think is why it was written. But it stands alone, too, for the beauty of the photos.

Hal Herring

[...]

A very good book.Full of interesting facts.Could have been a bit more comprehensive, but its a must have for any western ethusiast.

my girl really loved this book. when i got this she just couldn't stop reading it. by what she told me the information in the book was very good and the pictures where great and interesting. i good buy for anyone that is in to the wild west she says.