Guns of the Old West Winter 2020

The first time I saw The Magnificent Seven was in 1960 at the Plaza Theater in downtown Palm Springs, California. I grew up in Palm Springs, and there were two things I loved to do: eat at Louise’s Pantry, next to the Plaza Theater, and go see the latest movie. The next time I saw The Magnificent Seven was probably 30 years later on TV, and then not again until earlier this month, before sitting down to read Brian Hannan’s book The Making of The Magnificent Seven and watching every documentary I could find on the movie’s filming and cast. I always remembered the music, and I really remembered Yul Brynner from my one single encounter with him around 1964 at a pro-am golf tournament held at the Thunderbird Country Club…

Gunfighting and target shooting were two sides of the same coin, only targets didn’t shoot back. Gaining accuracy with a revolver meant plenty of practice, and target shooting was the best practice there was. In England, target shooting came first, and gunfighting was, at best, a rare occurrence, though plenty of well-schooled Englishmen who were fast with a gun made their way to the American West. But it was target shooting—particularly in England and at the international shooting contests held at Bisleythat prompted Colt to build a more accurate Peacemaker. The first design came along in 1890 with the Flattop Target Model Single Action Army (SAA) revolver fitted with a special front sight post with an ivory, gold or copper bead, and a dovetailed rear sight in the flat topstrap. There…

At this year’s NRA show in Indianapolis, the buzz was all about Ruger’s new “entry-level” Wrangler single-action revolver in .22 LR. The Wrangler is extremely affordable with an MSRP of just $250, and it’s of the familiar Single-Six frame size. Though still in short supply as I write this, Ruger was able to send me a test sample within two weeks. The new Wrangler is currently available with a 4-5/8-inch barrel and a choice of three Cerakote finishes: black, silver or Burnt Bronze. I got my hands on the silver version for testing. The cylinders have black Cerakote finishes and are unfluted. Cerakote is a thin ceramic-based coating that provides superior abrasion and corrosion resistance, impact strength and hardness. This finish provides one of the major cost savings in production, as…

When showing a large collection of guns to a new friend, you might hear, “Is this all insured?” Some collectors might say no while others assume that their homeowner’s policy will cover the collection. Those in the latter group might be in for a rude awakening should disaster strike. “Most of the time, homeowner’s insurance has a maximum coverage of $2,500 for collectibles,” said Donald J. Rielly Jr., senior vice president of Eastern Insurance. “That equates to almost no coverage.” Collectibles—whether they’re rare vintage firearms, baseball cards or Beanie Babies—can add up quickly, but most insurance policies don’t cover these items, at least at their full values. “The biggest thing we see is that most people think everything in the house is covered under their current policy,” said Bob Brodwater, director…

ONE OF THE PREMIER REPLICA FIREARMS IMPORTERS actually got its start decades ago, when a small boy’s curiosity was aroused by the antique muzzleloading rifles stored in the rafters of his grandfather’s guest house. As a youngster hardly 7 or 8 years old, Mike Harvey had such a fascination with these old guns that every time he visited Grampa’s place, he ended up playing with them. This childhood attraction to old-time firearms led to Mike’s lifelong passion for gun collecting, shooting, hunting and founding the world-renowned Cimarron Firearms. More than just a replica firearms importer, the authentic lines and details found in each of Cimarron’s offerings, along with the innovative features found in its line of Cowboy Action and Cowboy Mounted Shooting competition firearms, stem from the fact that founder Mike…

IF ever there was a time in my writing career when I wished turning the page of a magazine could be like a musical greeting card that played a song the moment you opened it, this would be it. But you’ll have to use your imagination and let the memory of Elmer Bernstein’s exhilarating score sweep you into the moment that The Magnificent Seven begins. Some movies have had memorable scores, but the music of The Magnificent Seven has kept this movie alive and unforgettable for 60 years. No one expected this movie to be a turning point in the Western film genre, but The Magnificent Seven not only changed the way we looked at Westerns in the 1960s, but it also cleared the trail for a new generation of…