Walt Coburn


Walter John Coburn was an American writer of Westerns. Coburn was born in White Sulphur Springs, Montana Territory, the son of Robert Coburn Senior, the founder of the noted Circle C Ranch located south of Malta. The actress Dorothy Coburn is his niece.
Coburn served in the Army aviation corps during the World War I era. He later spent time as a cowboy and a surveyor, before becoming a full-time writer in the 1920s.

Western author

Coburn began his career with Western stories in general fiction pulp magazines such as Adventure and Argosy. Later Coburn moved on to pulps specializing in Westerns, including Western Story Magazine, Lariat Story Magazine, Ace-High Western and Frontier Stories. He often wrote for the Fiction House pulp magazines, which promoted Coburn as "the Cowboy Author".
Coburn was enormously prolific; Flanagan states Coburn wrote almost two million words of fiction over a thirty year period. Coburn at his most prolific, averaged over 600,000 published words per year. He was so popular that eventually, two pulp magazines - Walt Coburn’s Western Magazine and Walt Coburn’s Action Novels were issued, consisting mainly of reprints of Coburn's work.
After the pulps ended in the 1950s, Coburn switched his focus to writing paperback originals.
Coburn was a devout Christian. Coburn claimed, in his posthumously published
autobiography Western Word Wrangler that God had chosen him to spread the Christian message
through his fiction.
Coburn committed suicide at age 82 in Prescott, Arizona.

Stories

  • The Ringtailed Rannyhans
  • Mavericks
  • Barb Wire
  • Walt Coburn's action novels; four western novels
  • The Passing of Poker Joe
  • Son of a Gun Man
  • Guns beyond the Border
  • Brand of the Badlands
  • Outlawed!
  • The Hoot-Owl Pool
  • The Hell Creek Maverick
  • Cowman's Law
  • Outlawed Orphan
  • Maverick Men
  • The Death Maverick
  • Men of the Dark Trails
  • Rim-Rock Renegades
  • Black Outlaw
  • Renegade Law
  • Brand Blotters' Blood Tally
  • The Rio Renegade
  • Creed of the Lawless
  • Satan's Saddle Mates
  • Ghost Guns of Black Coulee
  • The Rolling-R Rides to Glory
  • Badlands Orphan
  • Six Gringos Ride to Hell
  • Branded Men
  • Hate for a Lawman
  • Feud Guns of Brady's Basin
  • The Partner of Buckshot Blue
  • Wanted Man's Gamble
  • Badlands Lawman
  • Son of the Owlhoot
  • The Law Rides to Wolf Hole
  • Tom Ball--Gun-Doctor
  • Gunsmoke Born
  • Wild-Bunch Lawman
  • Gun Ghosts of Skull Creek
  • Vigilante Vengeance
  • Wild Men in Buckskin
  • Missouri River Renegade
  • Six-Gun Quarantine
  • The Dead-Game Tinhorn
  • The Badlands Vigilante
  • The Button rides to War
  • Trail Herd to Perdition
  • The Wagon Train Feud
  • A New Marshall for Pinto
  • Gun Cub of the Black Wolf
  • Blind Man's Gun Bluff
  • Straw Boss for the Damned
  • A Renegade rules the S-C Ranch
  • Death rides with the Black Fergusons
  • The Gringo who wouldn't die
  • Last Stand of the Gila Pool Cowmen
  • Lone Wolf of the Feud Pack
  • The Raw Red Trail to Dodge!
  • Trail Herd's Gunsmoke Market
  • Sun Prairie's Powdersmoke Revival
  • Guns break trail for a Texan's Herd
  • Death waits West of Dodge
  • Rawhide, Gunsmoke--and Texas Cattle!
  • Stepson of the Wild Bunch
  • His Partner, the Gun Ghost
  • The Badlands send a Fighting Man
  • Signed on to die!
  • Fear God and shoot straight!
  • The Owlhoot makes a Cowman
  • Doc Masters' last gun deal
  • The Gunsmoke Cub finds a Brand
  • Recruit for the Hang-Noose Syndicate
  • The Trail Drive God forgot
  • Breaking of the Horse-Thief Pool
  • Gun Call for Wind River Riders
  • The Square Dealer of Last Chance
  • Gunsmoke Bonus for Stolen Beef
  • Button Brewster rides to war
  • Lon Pike's last Gunsmoke Sermon
  • Marked with Satan's Road-Brand
  • The Summer of the Black Snow
  • Free Bullets for the Quick-Grave Legion
  • Gun Guide for Satan's Border-Jumpers
  • Gray Wool brings Gunsmoke
  • War Smoke guides the Western Mails
  • New Graves at Hide-Out Ranch
  • Gunsmoke Key to the Padlocked Deadline
  • Too Soft for the Owlhoot
  • Gun Partners of the Overland Mail
  • Smoke McGonigal's last Gun-Chore
  • Gun-Call for Buckskin Warriors
  • A Greenhorn rides the Death Watch
  • The Bear-Paw Man-Breaker
  • The Fighting Flaggs ride at Midnight!
  • The Mad Gunman of Wolf Tooth Point
  • Law Rides the Range
  • Sky-Pilot Cowboy
  • Hired to Kill
  • Pardners of the Dim Trails
  • The Way of a Texan
  • Drift Fence
  • The Burnt Ranch
  • Gun Grudge
  • Wet Cattle
  • The Square Shooter
  • Border Jumper
  • The Night Branders
  • One Step Ahead of the Posse
  • Cayuse
  • Stirrup High
  • Fear Branded
  • Horse Thief Trail
  • Spider-Web Ridge
  • Beyond the Wild Missouri
  • Buffalo Run
  • Free Rangers
  • Dark and Bloody Ground
  • Guns Blaze on Spiderweb Range
  • Invitation to a Hanging
  • Ramrod
  • Branded
  • Sons of Gunfighters
  • The Kansas Killers
  • Feud Valley
  • The Renegade
  • La Jornada
  • Sleeper's Mark
  • Showdown Mesa
  • Coffin Ranch : a western trio.

Non-fiction

  • Pioneer Cattleman in Montana: Story of the Circle C Ranch
  • Western Word Wrangler