Guns of the Old West: An Illustrated History

In the remote parts of America’s Western territories during much of the 1800s, law and order was overextended or even nonexistent. Guns were used by some, such as hunters and settlers, for self-protection and their very salvation, and by others as a means to impose their will, legally or otherwise. There can be no doubt that the exploration and exploitation of the Western frontier that began in 1804 was inextricably linked to the development of the firearm. It is certainly true today that f...