Shooting Sixguns of the Old West Mass Market Paperback – October 1, 2012

An excellent book for anyone with the love for the firearms of yesteryear, and of course modern shooters. The book is a delightful read covering the history of such pistols as Remington, Colt. Merwin and Hulbert and my favourite, Smith and Wesson. There are reviews on how they shoot, on reloading , and much more fun information. The book is filled with pictures and very informative. I've also read Mr Venturino's book, Shooting buffalo rifles of the wild west. Fabulous freaking' book.

What can I say. Mike was a fantastic writer and a true authority on firearms. He was a legend in his own time. RIP Mike Venturino, you are missed but not forgoten.

This is another of the very informative and useful Venturino books on reloading obsolete cartridges for and shooting various Old West sixguns. I have all of Mike's books in this series including the lever guns, the buffalo guns, and the Colts and they are all very good. What I liked about this book is that it included the Smith and Wessons and other lesser celebrated revolvers such as M&H and Remington, not just the standard Peacemakers. My only complaint as a S&W fan is that it did not extend to the pocket pistols such as 38 S&W and 32 S&W - there are tons of these around at a reasonable price, so I know I am not the only one who wants to shoot them, and according to Chicoine no top breaks should be fired with smokeless powder. Maybe a future book on pocket pistols of the old west? Anyhow, tons of good detailed information, lots of models, good read for reloaders and shooters. Beware, if you read any of Mike's books you may be inspired to hunt down another piece for your collection in a certain caliber or model that you do not currently own...

Venturino is one of the foremost authorities on BP shooting. This book is not new but has the well deserved reputation of being a "Must Have" for your shelf.I must admit I had not really considered the pistols (and reproductions) reviewed in this book, but found the history fascinating. The reloading data is essential for new shooters (seasoned ones too, probably). It is clear Mike spent hundreds, if not thousands, of hours working on reloading combinations and experimentation, and he packaged it here so we don't have to.My favourite part of the book is his comparison shopping chapter where he imagines himself standing at a mercantile counter in frontier days and weighs the pros and cons of which gun he would buy.An easy read, and a guaranteed re-read.

I have long been an admirer of Mr. Venturino, and when I read he passed away, I felt a strong impulse to cancel my subscription to the magazine for which he wrote. Actually the magazine is very good even without him.Firstly I must warn the reader that this book is about shooting revolvers from the nineteenth century, and only in the '90s were smokeless powder cartridges widely adopted. Venturino believes rightly that firearms manufactured for black powder should be shot only with black powder for safety and authenticity.Most shooters today, I believe, are looking for data on shooting Ruger, imported clones, and expensive Colt single actions with smokeless powder.I am not sure of the chronology, but this book is assembled from articles previously published. I bow my head to Venturino's exploration of the various cartridges and appropriate black powder loads, reloads they must be after over 120 years at least. A big problem is that the sources quoted, probably marginally viable then, are now extinct. Bull-X, Hensley & Gibbs, NEI, Rapine, etc are long out of business, and some of the less popular cartridges such as .41 Colt depended on components already scarce at the time. Thus the book is of limited use for many SAA enthusiasts, even the black powder people. Also, the prices for 19th century SAAs have increased, and no, you cannot easily purchase a .38-40 from Colt any more.That said, I really wish they could have at least printed this on glossy paper to honor the author and his material. The whole has a cheap appearance, and I don't think the graphics are top drawer either. GUNS magazine is much much better in these aspects.

Came in quickly and in excellent condition.

Very good find, especially specially after author has passed away….

A wonderful book for those who like to shoot 'em as opposed to petting 'em.