Sixguns: 1961 Edition

What a pleasure to read the opinions and expert knowledge of this legend. Though this book was written more than 60 years ago, the information remains relevant today. Also what a great history lesson in the world of revolvers and the impact this man had on the development of modern revolvers and ammunition. Highly recommend.

I like the thoroughness of the book. The writing style is somewhat boring. I had hoped for a book with stories accompanying the factual data.

This is one of the classic books that belongs in every shootist's library. Much of the book was written in the late 50's at a time when some of the folks that settled the old west or fought in the Civil War were still alive and abel to be interviewed by the author. This is not a modern book about modern revolvers, it is a history of those handguns that formed the basics of our current offerings. Keith also covers auto loading pistols as well and gives a history of manufactures that were in business in 1961. It is interesting to note that in one chapter of the book Keith expresses his hope that some day the .44 Magnum cartridge will be made and available. As one of the principal developers of that cartridge he got his wish. A good read and some great photos of some fine old guns.

The pages are photocopied and the text and pics are not as crisp as an original copy. It’s not terrible but I prefer an original copy.

This is a fascinating book of Elmer Keith telling stories about his favorite firearm, the six shot revolver. I learned a lot about these guns, bullets and holsters. I’m impressed with how many of Keith’s ideas are still in use today, some of which are revered with almost religious respect. I have several revolvers and I love them all, but after reading this book, I think I need just one more. Make that two more.

Elmer Keith here distills about half a century of first-hand, accurate and thorough knowledge. The Kindle edition, although not perfectly formatted, was well within my budget. I have borrowed the first print edition through inter-library loan several times and would buy an original hard copy of this great book also, if not so expensive. Revolvers are far from obsolete in this day of the ubiquitous semi-auto and Sixguns provides the reader some of the best information available. Elmer's experience came from a lifetime of experimentation with and daily use of firearms. His professional gun writing career spanned many decades and this book contains some of his best writing. We are fortunate this long out of print book is now readily available. I recommend getting a copy and studying it well. My only gripe with the Kindle edition is that the photographs are removed from the proper place in the text and placed in separate locations organized by chapter. I nearly returned the book over this but decided to keep it, concluding that the issue with the photos is merely an annoyance. It detracts little from the book's great educational value.

Something was not right with the print. It looked faded almost blurry. Cost 1/4 the price to return it. Many of the photos in the book were very poor.

On occasion one will see a review on older books like this one where the talk is being outdated. It is one thing to read material written by those who witnessed things and then put their thoughts and recollections to paper but quite another to have done things and then put their thoughts to paper. This one is worth having from a reference standpoint alone. If one is lucky enough to run across other books he wrote since some appear to be in scarce supply or highly priced at the moment, then cherish what you have. While there are no doubt other books in existence that might be considered peers to this one, I doubt you will find one that is better even if it does date back a bit. and, it was written by a fellow who walked the walk and could write about it.

I found this book valuable

Awesome book. Glad it is now part of my collection, thanks.

Priceless!

Réimpression de l’édition originale de 1961. La qualité globale du livre (physique, pas le contenu) est moyenne. C’est un fascicule de 400 pages, mais pour le prix c’est évident qu’on espère pas du cuir et de la soie. Le contenu du livre lui-même… comme le dit la préface "si il ne doit rester qu’un livre sur les revolvers, ce sera celui-ci. Son auteur a fréquenté des vétérans de la guerre de sécession, de fameux pistoléros, des shérifs, marshalls et autres grandes figures de l’ouest de l’âge d’or"

I have been trying to buy this book for a long time,having finally managed to buy a copy via Amazon,I find it it is all I hoped for,it is written by a man who is (was) a World expert on the subject,and also has a great deal of first hand anecdotes to relate. altogether a book that was,for me,well worth waiting for,(the UK seller was out of stock,so mine had to come from USA).