Customer Reviews

Packing Iron: Gunleather of the Frontier West

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the book you need if you want to know what real people in the 19th century west used to carry their guns and ammo. I bought it to help document my choices for leather gear for my Cowboy Action Shooting character, Marshal Thos. C. McGavin. There is everything you need to know about the holsters, belts, scabbards and slings used by cowboys, soldiers, lawmen and outlaws from just before the Civil War to the turn of the century.

Lavishly illustrated in color, the descriptions and text detail all the great makers including the annonymous ones who didn't sign their work. Originals of this art form, and it is art, are getting quite expensive. Several contemporary leather workers are producing high quality replicas or reproductions using this book as a guideline. They will even cite the page number where the original can be found.

Anyone with an interest in the Western Frontier, the Civil War, Indian Wars or Spanish American war, reenactors, film buffs (and film propmasters, who could definitely learn from this book) will find this a fascinating and authoratative tome.

As a leather craftsman specializing in authentic reproductions of frontier gunleather, I consider Packing Iron to be a must-have -- the bible of holsters and cartridge belts. The pictures show great detail and the text reveals the significant history of the development and the impact of various holster designs. It's my #1 reference material.

One of the most visually spectacular books on the old west I have read. Each and every photograph is of the highest quality, none are equal! You can almost smell the aroma of freshly tanned leather as you page though this story of old west leather work. Reading this book takes you back to the days when all men carried a sixshooter on their hips and gun fights in the town square settled disputes. Also explained in detail the evolution of gun leather and how functional it became, along with how it became a work of art a owner could wear with pride, most certanly also a statis symbol. A book not only a old west buff would enjoy but anyone with a love of leather work and its artistry.

This is a one-of-a-kind look at gun leather. As a leather crafter for over 20 years I use this book as a guide and a catalog of sorts for my customers. I recommend it highly and often. Stan Freeman Freeman Leather Co. Whitefish,MT

Many of us who grown up watching western movies ( most of wich made before the "Spaghetti westerns era") really have no clue about how were guns holsters in the old west and surely thought that Hollywood made good researches about these important details in cowboys gear.
This book will make you change your point of view offering the most complete display of models from the early 19th century to Hollywood era in the 20th century.
Loads of pictures with brief descriptions offer you the knowledge about the historical holsters either military or civilian and very good suggestions if you want to make yourself a nice gun holster to show when at shooting matches to all friends.
A great book in my personal opinion, useful when peoples ask you for a holster (to make for cheap price of course...LOL) but have no idea on what they're asking about.
I make my holsters by myself (as T.Roosvelt did )and not just for a price reason but mainly to have the most comfortable way to carry my guns at matches: this book will allow me to improve historical details and offer a further service to friends who ask me for gun leather.

I purchased a copy of this book when it was first published during the early days of the Cowboy Action Shooting craze. I was blown away by the beauty of the photgraphy. I have been viewing the pictures over the years since then\, and they never loose their power. I began making holsters for others and use this is a "catalog" of sorts and it has proven to be invaluable to me.

I saw this book several years ago in a book catalogue, I put off buying it because there really didn't seem to be enough subject matter to justify such a book. I could not have been more wrong. When I finally had one in hand I realized there really was a rich wealth of interesting material especially historically. This book shows the colorful evolution of holsters in the American West tradition. This is a fascinating collection of color and detail that leaves the reader in awe concerning this little known facet of traditional Western Americana. Well worth the price. Hours will be spent studing the beautiful illustrations and carefully researched text. You don't have to own a Colt sixshooter to apprecicate this beautiful book that faithfully follows and matches the tradition of the R.L. Wilson publications on the art of firearms.

This has rapidly become a favorite book of mine and, judging from the constant references to it from holster makers, has become a widely-used reference source. The quality of the book itself is excellent, with lots of crisp, large pictures and good accompanying text. The "frontier" period covered is pretty wide, really the colonial period into the pre-WW2 era. The emphasis, however, is on the 1800s. The first section of the book mostly covers military gunleather and its transition into civilian forms and usage. The bulk of part two is on California and Mexican Loop pattern holsters of the 1800's and early 20th century, although there is good material on a number of other subjects (all gun-related). The holster photo captions in part two tend to be very repetitious as there are numerous style variations presented, but ultimately don't detract from the pictures themselves or the text. This is not a book to buy if you are interested in costume or accoutrements other than gunleather, and you should pass it by if your primary interest is Western film and TV versions of gunleather - the buscadero, or drop-loop style is barely mentioned.

Excellent book on period gun leather. It was a great help to me in establishing period items for cowboy shooting.

There are hundreds of works describing the weapons used in the Old West, yet those treating the subject of how those arms were carried are few and far between--a handful of articles in magazines and collector's journals that defy easy access on the part of the average reader. Enter "Packing Iron," a single source examining frontier gunleather from early saddle and belt holsters of the early nineteenth century to the end of the cowboy era and beyond (20th century examples from Hollywood and television receive some coverage). The book is copiously illustrated with full-color photographs of historical pieces from a variety of collections supplemented by period images illustrating gunleather as it was worn in both studio and field. For the western historian or enthusiast "Packing Iron" is a fascinating book, and for Cowboy Action Shooting participants seeking authenticity in their interpretaions it is almost indispensable.