SaukValley Sam, SASS # 66557 Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Been listening on CDs to Appaloosa and subsequent books by Robert Parker. Very engaging except that Robert Parker frequently mentioned characters carrying Winchester rifles in 45 Colt. My understanding is that rifles chambered in 45 Colt are a recent event and did not exist in the old west settings of his book. What I have heard is that a combination of straight wall cartridges, balloon head cartridges, and proprietary issues with Colt were the reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Utah Bob #35998 Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Authors frequently get gun tech details wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dantankerous Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 Yup. Weren't no 45 Colt Winchesters back in the day. Besides that little caliber mistake, I really enjoy Robert B Parker's writing, especially the Appaloosa series although the Jessee Stone stuff is pretty decent too. And Tom Selleck in the Jessee Stone movies is fantastic. I was saddened when he died ( RBP) recently. However, the screen writer for Appaloosa the movie is now ghost writing the book series. Reads very similar to Mr Parker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rye Miles #13621 Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 I've read the whole Appaloosa series and I noticed that too. No there was no .45 Colt rifle! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trailrider #896 Posted January 8, 2016 Share Posted January 8, 2016 I have never been able to find documentation for it, but I would expect that Winchester may have chambered a test rifle or two in .45 Colt's, and found there were definite problems due to the following: First, the .45 Colt's cartridge was created for the U.S. Army's new Colt's Single Action "strap pistol", and initially ammo was produced primarily by the Army's arsenal. The military cartridge was an inside-primed central fire cartridge, featuring a copper (gilding metal) alloy that was very soft, rather than later commercial brass cartridge cases. The rim on the original case had a very narrow rim; just enough to establish headspace in the revolver. Since the Colt's Single Action uses a rod ejector that pushes against the inside of the case, it is much easier to extract the fired case from the pistol. Such a configuration, combined with the narrow rim, would have allow little purchase for the Winchester '73's hook extractor, especially if black powder fouling at built up around the case. All it would have taken would have been one Army officer writing a negative review on a new Winchester repeater in the Army & Navy Journal to have seriously damaged Winchester's rep! One of the most knowledgable Western fiction writers I've read lately is J.A. Johnson's books, "Winchester 1886" and "Winchester 1887." The only drawback to that is that the extensive descriptions of the guns tends to distract from the plot a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santee Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 You should also give his "Spenser" series a shot. Very entertaining and expertly written. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hoss Carpenter, SASS Life 7843 Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Trailrider. I too really enjoyed Winchester 1886; however the pictures on the covers of the book are of a Winchester 1894! Cheers, Hoss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chantry Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 I've read just about everything Robert Parker wrote, he was a great writer, but his firearms knowledge was limited. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpo Posted January 9, 2016 Share Posted January 9, 2016 Authors frequently get gun tech details wrong. Especially Parker. I believe, since he has Spenser, occasionally, using a Winchester lever gun in 45 Colt (a 94, most likely), he just assumed that Winchester made the caliber all along. He also, in one of his westerns, has the hero open the cylinder of his 45 to check the loads, and then snap the cylinder back in. And swing-out cylinders would not exist for another 15 or 20 years. Oh well. I did like the way he has Spenser, on his Boston PI gun permit, carry a gun in Georgia and in California and in Canada and in England. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sleepy Floyd Posted January 10, 2016 Share Posted January 10, 2016 I have read everything Robert Parker has written. The new writers that are trying to keep the series alive do not, in my opinion, have the same feel for the characters. I have stopped reading them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santee Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 I agree. they are good writers, but only have a little of the Parker flavor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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