A Book By Bat Masterson

[JimT]

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This 24 page book was written by Bat Masterson in 1909. My copy is a reprint from around 2000 I think it was. Originals are going for over $500.00 these days. This book was Savage's way of advertising in those days = Have a famous old west person who was known to have been in serious gunfights hype their gun in a book!

I love the page showing the lady running a burglar off. It says that the gun "shoots straight without aiming" !!!!! I NEED ONE OF THOSE!

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[Bill in Oregon]

I have a copy of that one, too.

[jeepnik]

Be nice if you could scan the entire thing and post it. Just saying.

[JimT]

Be nice if you could scan the entire thing and post it. Just saying.

It's online.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4w3Gme ... mFWjxtvy2g

[jeepnik]

Thanks. That will make a nice little read.

AS he was a writer by trade his observations should make informative reading.

[samsi]

Neat, thanks Jim. I've always had a soft spot for Bart's Long Branch Colt but was short on walking around money when Colt did that run a few years back.

[AmBraCol]

Thanks. That will make a nice little read.

AS he was a writer by trade his observations should make informative reading.

My impression when reading it was, "I wonder how much they paid him to hype their pistol so much." He does make a good case for the amount of practice put in in order to be proficient with a revolver. However, affirming that a "tenderfoot" would have run any of the old time pistoleros clear off the range simply because they picked up a Savage pistol and became invincible is, to my way of thinking, stretching things a good bit. I see the book as more of a "That's they way they did advertising back then." than as "Here's some stone tablets fresh from the Mount regarding the superiority of the self loading pistol to a sixgun."

[AmBraCol]

Kind of funny, I was just reading up a bit on John W. Hardin and Doc Holliday, and you go and post this from Bat Masterson. That was a fascinating time in our nation's history for sure. Can't help but wonder what Bat Masterson would think or say about some of the more recent production pistols. Judging by this text alone, I doubt he'd have been favorable towards the 1911 and variants thereof.