Dennis Adler, award-winning author and photographer, and contributing editor to Guns of the Old West magazine, has woven together enthralling tales of the guns and gunmen who made the Wild West wild. Beginning with the early western expansion and the California Gold Rush, Guns of the American West takes you through the development of America's most legendary handguns, rifles, and shotguns and the roles they played in our nation's history. As the Civil War erupts, the author follows the politics of a country divided and how North and South chose to arm their soldiers. In the aftermath of this great conflagration, Adler takes you step-by-step through the evolution of loose powder cap-and-ball revolvers, rifles, and shotguns to the conversion to self-contained metallic cartridges and the sweeping changes that resulted in firearms design. With a nation intent on its belief in Manifest Destiny, the author follows legendary lawmen, soldiers, and outlaws as America moves west in the 1870s and 1880s. Skyhorse Publishing is proud to publish a broad range of books for hunters and firearms enthusiasts. We publish books about shotguns, rifles, handguns, target shooting, gun collecting, self-defense, archery, ammunition, knives, gunsmithing, gun repair, and wilderness survival. We publish books on deer hunting, big game hunting, small game hunting, wing shooting, turkey hunting, deer stands, duck blinds, bowhunting, wing shooting, hunting dogs, and more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Dramatic story of shoulder arms, hand guns, and other weapons also describes the men who used them. Detailed descriptions and illustrations of the Kentucky and Sharps rifle, Colt revolver, and much more. 499 black-and-white illustrations.

Guns of the Wild West brings the nation’s westward expansion and growing need for weaponry to life in an illustrated guide to the history of American firearms. Through vibrant imagery, Bruce Wexler showcases weapons such as the classic Colt Single Action Army and the iconic pepper-box revolver, which made their way into both military and civilian hands during the settling of the frontier. Exclusive archive photographs link the guns to famous heroes and villains, places, and historical events—from Wyatt Earp’s Smith & Wesson Model 3 to John Wilkes Booth’s Philadelphia Derringer. Wexler profiles the notable gunsmiths that hold a place in Western history, including the great American manufacturers such as Colt, Smith & Wesson, and Winchester, as well as lesser-known ones such as Merwin Hulbert and Henry Deringer. Wexler’s thorough research shows how the widespread use of new firearms—fueled in part by advances made during the Civil War—played a definitive role in America’s growth and identity. The reader is presented with detailed depictions of the various weapons used by cowboys, lawmen, soldiers, gunslingers, and Native Americans. Guns of the Wild West is a treasure for gun collectors, history buffs, and fans of Western novels and movies.

A “well-researched and very readable new biography” (The Wall Street Journal) of “the Thomas Edison of guns,” a visionary inventor who designed the modern handgun and whose awe-inspiring array of firearms helped ensure victory in numerous American wars and holds a crucial place in world history. Few people are aware that John Moses Browning—a tall, humble, cerebral man born in 1855 and raised as a Mormon in the American West—was the mind behind many of the world-changing firearms that dominated more than a century of conflict. He invented the design used in virtually all modern pistols, created the most popular hunting rifles and shotguns, and conceived the machine guns that proved decisive not just in World Wars I and II but nearly every major military action since. Yet few in America knew his name until he was into his sixties. Now, author Nathan Gorenstein brings firearms inventor John Moses Browning to vivid life in this riveting and revealing biography. Embodying the tradition of self-made, self-educated geniuses (like Lincoln and Edison), Browning was able to think in three dimensions (he never used blueprints) and his gifted mind produced everything from the famous Winchester “30-30” hunting rifle to the awesomely effective machine guns used by every American aircraft and infantry unit in World War II. The British credited Browning’s guns with helping to win the Battle of Britain. His inventions illustrate both the good and bad of weapons. Sweeping, lively, and brilliantly told, this fascinating book that “gun collectors and historians of armaments will cherish” (Kirkus Reviews) introduces a little-known legend whose impact on history ranks with that of the Wright Brothers, Thomas Edison, and Henry Ford.

Covering a wide range of firearms, from the smallest pistol to the rifles of the buffalo hunters used by plainsmen and settlers, gamblers and engineers, Native Americans and the soldiers of the United States Army. Meticulously researched by a foremost authority on firearms, this is an indispensable guide to the opening of the American West. John Walter examines pre-Civil War mass production and technical advances, and the effect of readily available post-war surplus weapons on life in the Midwest. He traces the swift expansion of the West, which led to a perpetual struggle against the Native Americans and brought the United States Army in its wake. John Walter also examines whether law was dispensed at the point of a gun and whether it was the Colt or the Winchester that reigned supreme at the OK Corral. Describing particular Western desperadoes and the most popular Wild West firearms, he goes on to investigate how gun design influenced use and use influenced design. With detailed descriptions and performance evaluations of all the leading firearms, this book is an essential reference guide which cuts away the myth and legend and reveals the truth behind the guns, and the men who used them, in the heyday of the West.

The popularity of cowboy action shooting has greatly expanded, and so has this indispensable guide to the guns used in the sport. This updated second edition guides collectors, cowboy action shooters, hobbyists and Old West re-enactors through repairing and improving Old West firearms. New additions include 125 high-resolution diagrams and illustrations, five new handgun models, four new long gun models, and an expanded and illustrated glossary.The book offers expanded coverage of the first edition's featured guns (over 40 original and replica models), as well as updated gunsmithing tips and advice. The step-by-step, detailed illustrations demonstrate to both amateur and advanced gunsmiths how to repair and upgrade Old West firearms. This valuable knowledge is passed along to readers by a working professional with years of experience and a great reputation for quality custom gunsmithing work.·

"An acclaimed historian explodes the myth about the 'special relationship' between Americans and their guns, revealing that savvy 19th century businessmen--not gun lovers--created American gun culture"--

When Preacher takes a trip back East, the First Mountain Man finds himself in the middle of a bloody showdown. Wealthy landowner Elam Parks lies dead at the hands of a gang of local bully boys, and there's a $5,000 reward on the head of the man accused of the crime. Preacher's the prime suspect--but he's ready to pick off the bloodthirsty bounty hunters who are after him, one by one.

This is the first English language work to examine the subject in detail and the first in any language to identify, describe, and quantify variations and production figures for the models covered. The book focuses on the Czechoslovak Communist period (1948-1989), but reaches back into the 1930s in order to trace the history of the 6.35 mm Duo pocket pistol, which remained in production under the name "Z" until 1974 with a total of thirteen distinct marking variations, and the 6.35 mm model 1945, which had its beginnings as the model 1936. The 7.65 mm model 50 police pistol and its successor, the model 70, are covered in depth, documenting both marking variations and a significant number of design changes introduced during their thirty-three-year production life. The 7.62 mm model 52 Army pistol is given extensive treatment based on data drawn from over 2,000 specimens; in addition to descriptions of both standard and rare variants, significant discussion of the pistol s mechanical characteristics and potential safety problems is presented. Also covered are the more modern commercial CZ 75 and CZ 85, the military model 82, and the commercial CZ 83, as are small calibre target pistols and signal pistols.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1869.