Firearm Conundrums A few questions puzzle nimrods and veteran shooters alike: Single Action, Double Action? One of the many enigmas to newcomers in the Western gun world is the description of operating a “single action” (SA) versus a “double action” (DA). Why are two actions required of the shooter to fire a single-action…
Category: Western’s Worth a Damn
Obscure Westerns
The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez (1982) I came upon this movie totally by accident while reading an old interview with the Texas screenwriter William D. Witliff, who wrote a majority of the screenplay for the Lonesome Dove TV series in 1989. In that interview Witliff talks about how back in 1982 his long time…
Two Rode Together
Oliver Loving and Charles Goodnight made history in 1866, and 120 years later Larry McMurtry made them legends The story of Loving and Goodnight influenced Texas Western writer Larry McMurtry to write one of the most authentic and influential western saga’s of our time, Lonesome Dove.
A Deep Dive into Classic Western Movies: Jeremiah Johnson
Jeremiah Johnson For those of you who have been reading my blog for some time you know this movie holds a special place in my heart. Not only is it the BEST Mountain Man movie ever made IMO, it is an amazing story BASED on a REAL LIFE Character that went by the name…
Surviving Winter: A Mountain Man Pictorial Tribute
Surviving Winter As a writer I very often rely on True West Magazine to supply me with both information and inspiration for my short stories and novels. This pictorial tribute of Surviving Winter went a long way in helping me get started on a follow up to my “Red Tail” Jack Patterson Mountain Man…
Bustamonte, I Hate You
Bustamonte, I Hate You I can remember as a kid reading through my dad’s stack of Shooting Magazine and always looking forward to Skeeter Skelton’s articles. Those articles were like western short stories…stories that briefly transported you to a simpler, honest and more rugged time. Enjoy the ride, I know I did.
¿Quien es, Pete?
¿Quien es, Pete? As far as Old West History goes, no other person or story had a more profound impact on me as a writer than Billy the Kid. When I was fifteen years old, my parents took me on a three-week summer RV trip to New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. While in New…
Old West Advice…Lessons Learned from Wyatt Earp
OLD WEST ADVICE…LESSONS LEARNED FROM WYATT EARP 1. “No wise man ever took a handgun to a gunfight.” Earp obviously knew the advantage of weapon superiority. If you know your opponent is armed with a handgun, bring a shotgun, or rifle. Give yourself every advantage possible. You don’t want to fight fair. You fight…
Hardin’s Deadly Tools
Hardin’s Deadly Tools As a proud Texan I have always had a fascination with John Wesley Hardin. This article is spot-on accurate when it comes to the details of Hardin’s last “gunfight” in the Acme saloon. This was surprsingly not an uncommon tactic by men wearing a tin star in the Old West when…
Studying the Historic Gunfighters
Studying the Historic Gunfighters Really decent Reading List of Books Dealing with 20th Century Gunfighters of the Old West.