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Monte Walsh
novel by Jack Schaefer

Hot Biscuits:
Eighteen Stories from Women and Men of the Ranching West.

edited by Max Evans (The Rounders, Hi-Lo Country) and Candy Moulton

"...Hot Biscuits, a serious book with a funny (but significant) title, is every bit as revolutionary and literary as [Owen] Wister's [The Virginian].  It is the first fresh approach to the Western in memory."Dale Walker, Former director of the Texas Western University Press and author of numerous books on the West, including the recent Pacific Destiny.

TOM SELLECK &
The Monte Walsh Miscellaneous Guy-Stuff Talk:
Firearm Props
by Taylor Fogarty

Okay, being a lady and having already covered in a previous article the love story aspect of Tom Selleck's epic western Monte Walsh, it's now necessary to talk about what I call 'guy-stuff.'

Since Tom Selleck seems to always include at least one unique firearm prop in his Western filmssomewhat of a trademark of his since the Quigley Down Under days I asked him if there were any special firearms used in the making of Monte Walsh.

Sensing that the master customizing skills of Kenny Howell from the R&D Gun Shop must figure in here someplace, I press Tom for details. Might there be unique firearm or two in this particular film?

Ooooh, yeah, Tom confirms in a devilish kind of way, then chuckles.

With the way that he says it I can hardly wait to hear more! Luckily there's no wait involved as Tom jumps right in.

I had these guns built, says Selleck. Shorty Austin, George Eads character, has a twenty-inch barrel, 1887 Winchester lever action shot gun, and it has Wells Fargo stamped on it. I don't think the audience ever sees the Wells Fargo stamp," he chuckles, "but it's completely accurate and it's a valuable gun. I had to have doubles because they had to be backed up, and I reluctantly gave that to George's character because Monte is far from being a gunman.

It's not unusual for Selleck to personally invest in his Westerns. He has a keen eye for detail and strives to maintain the authenticity of his movies by selecting props appropriate for the period. In making Monte Walsh, Selleck spent about thirty grand of his own money on having special saddles and prop guns made for the film.

Selleck explains some of the history as well as his logic behind the selections:

A lot of the cowboys got their guns from cavalry guys because the soldiers could sell their pistols to a cowboy for enough money then go back to the post, say that they lost it and they could replace it at a much cheaper price, so a guy could make a lot of money doing that.

My particular pair of pistols, I only carry one, was a 1873 single action Army but it was a first generation and it's serial numbered to the 7th Cavalry, General Custer's unit. Now you see that up close but you won't see in on screen. But it's an old pistol and I felt that was very much part of Monte's character. Monte's carried the same one. I also picked a holster where the 7 1/2 inch barrel sticks out about two inches from the bottom, because if you're a fast draw guy, you know your sight can hang up on the holster and slow you down, and Monte doesn't care about that stuff. So I picked a holster intentionally for that.

I also picked a gunbelt that only holds about ten extra bullets because real cowboys are more concerned about weight, the gun's just a big nuisance to have to carry. It's there in case you get your foot hung up in the stirrup and you have to shoot your horse to save your life, or shoot a rattlesnake.

The carbine Monte carries, the audience won't see it unless they look really close, but that's a very rare 1886 saddle ring carbine Winchester. And the caliber it's in is a 50-110 Express. That's a very rare gun and I had two of those restored. But a 50-110 Express has an enormous impact. Monte primarily used that rifle in the winter for hunting when he was up in the lineshack, from killing wolves to getting meat to survive through winter in the line shack.

Where do these props go after Selleck uses them in a film? Does he just put them in storage or what?

They're mine, he says, sounding much like a little boy laying claim to a toy. Then he laughs and admits his generosity and sharing skills are wholly intact.

Well, I have donated some props to the Cowboy Hall of Famesaddles, rifles and pistols, says Selleck. The NRA Museum has had a lot of my movie guns [this past] year. They have an exhibit there called Real Guns of Reel Heroes. It has my Quigley rifle right now, and [the guns have] taken on a life of their own. I'm very flattered that [museums] want them.

Copyright ©2003 Taylor Sophia Fogarty.
American Western Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
Reproduction not permitted.

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