Guns of the Old West: An Illustrated Guide

by Charles Edward Chapel

Firearms played an important role on the American frontier. Used to hunt animals for food and clothing, they also safeguarded one’s home against outlaws and other hostile elements. This definitive, scrupulously researched work describes and illustrates the many different weapons that opened up and secured the American West. Enhanced with colorful anecdotes, the vividly detailed narrative tells the dramatic story of shoulder arms, hand guns, percussion and cartridge weapons, and describes the hunters, settlers, peace officers, stagecoach drivers, soldiers, range detectives, rustlers, outlaws, Indian chiefs, and other picturesque characters who used them.
Here are detailed descriptions and illustrations of the Kentucky rifle that saw battle in the American Revolution and in the War of 1812; the repeating rifle used in the Civil War; the Sharps rifle that wreaked havoc during the great buffalo hunts; the Colt revolver, used by cowboys and outlaws alike; the fast and reliable Winchester rifle, the most widely used shoulder arm of the post-Civil War era; as well as flintlock pistols, derringers, muskets, buffalo guns, carbines, signal pistols, Confederate revolvers, and many other celebrated firearms.
Illustrated with nearly 500 photographs and line illustrations, this classic reference will not only be invaluable to dealers and collectors but will also appeal to Americana devotees, weaponry enthusiasts, and students of the American West.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

320 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1961

About the author

Charles Edward Chapel studied at the University of Missouri and later at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. He saw active service in Panama, Cuba, Nicaragua, Philippines, and China as a Marine Corp officer. He was discharged in 1937 after being wounded.

Chapel wrote about a variety of subjects such as aviation and forensics, as well as firearms. The exact number of articles is not known, but could be as high as several thousand, including 3,000 for Hobbies Magazine.

After his military career, he worked as an aeronautical engineer at Northrop Aeronautical Institute in California, and wrote or helped edit many of the technical manuals for the industry. He also wrote several articles on ballistics and fingerprinting for the police.

Chapel entered Republican politics in 1950, serving in the California State Assembly from 1951 until he died in office in 1967 for California's 46th District. He was a Presidential Elector in 1956.

Although he wrote articles on a variety of subjects, most of his books were about firearms, starting with Gun Collecting in 1939. His 1940 book, The Gun Collector's Handbook of Values was one of the first to provide values for non-professionals, and he contributed to later editions for many years. From the 40s until his death, he wrote at least nine books on gun topics.

His most well known book, Guns of the Old West, is considered a standard reference for Western firearms studies.

Reviews

[Checkman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Charles Edward Chapel was a very prolific writer during his lifetime. He wrote dozens of books and hundreds of articles on firearms, aviation, and the forensic sciences. He also served from 1950 - 1967 (his death) as a state assemblyman for California's 46th District in the California state legislature. Oh and did I mention that in his younger days he attended Annapolis and then was an officer with the United States Marine Corp. He saw combat duty (when the United States was not at war) in Central America and China ,until his wounds caught up to him, and he was medically discharged from the Marine Corp in 1937. Whew.

Guns of the Old West is possibly his most famous work. Originally published in 1961 it was not re-printed until 1995 when the National Rifle Association offered it to it's members as part of the Firearms Classics Library. It has since been re-printed and still serves as a reference piece for collectors of firearms that were used on the American Frontier during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The book has numerous photos accompanied by a catalog and chapters that cover some of the historical aspects of the American frontier as they relate to particular firearms. The book isn't perfect. For example I was surprised to see Mr. Chapel give little attention to the large framed Smith & Wesson revolvers (two pages) and no mention whatsoever about the revolvers of Merwin Hulbert. In addition Chapel fails to even mention the many British revolvers that were used on the frontier during the second of the 19th century. The Colt Single Action Army "Peacemaker" receives most of Chapel's attention as does the various Winchester models. However I am aware that when Mr. Chapel wrote this book (1959-1960) the average American believed that all anybody carried in the second half of the previous century was the Colt Peacemaker and the Winchester lever action rifle. Hollywood and the three dozen television westerns airing in 1960 made sure of that belief. Mr. Chapel was a professional writer and ,possibly, it was suggested to him by his agent or perhaps Coward-McCann (the original publisher) that he focus on those firearms of particular interest to the largest number of American shooters in the mid twentieth century. The other handguns and rifles had only a few collectors and no publisher is going to spend money on a book which will only appeal to a few hundred spcialized collectors.

However despite this shortcoming it's still an excellent reference book and is still useful in 2016 to both the collector (especially one just beginning) or just the casual reader with a mild interest in the Old West.

[George W. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dated, but still a good reference book. Pictures are B&W and small.

[Cathal Larkin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Pitiful rubbish

Pitiful rubbish
Not a real look at guns of the old West.
Cannot believe how bad this book is.
Not a great book.

[B.P. Buckley · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is cross between a primer for those new to the subject of historical firearms of the USA in the 1800s and a fully illustrated reference text for the antique gun collector. The book's style alternates between breezy accounts of the careers of figures like Henry Deringer and Samuel Colt, and dense, technical descriptions of antique pistols and rifles themselves, accompanied by numerous photos and drawings. Paragraph-length descriptions of gun after gun may leave some readers cold, but these can be glossed over in favor of Mr. Chapel's more general remarks about when and where these weapons were developed and used, as well as brief sketches of the gunsmiths, and a few of the gunslingers!

[Ed Wyrd · Rating 3 out of 5]

When he's writing about the history of the gun, or the maker, or the people who used it, it is interesting. It also has some great pictures and illustrations of the guns. But then there are pages and pages of catalog description, "Simpson, caliber .55; 3.25-inch, round, Damascus steel barrel with grooved top, blah blah blah" which aren't interesting at all.

[Drthumbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

a great reference but more than s simple catalog listing of historic firearms. There is plenty of that but along with it is a well written historical narrative that gives more relevance and context.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

While parts are a bit dry, unsurprising given the minute differences between certain weapons and the vast variety he covers, there are plenty of historical anecdotes to hold a reader's interest.

[Abonrat · Rating 4 out of 5]

The black & white photo plate reprints lost a lot of detail but still useful to show firearm development.
A better read than I expected.