ABANDONED. Western with plot twist at the end; father figure comes into his life and teaches him to be an expert with a pistol and use it responsibly Toward the end of the story, a female character has gone missing, possibly the young cowboy's mother

[Tom]

I read this western book sometime between 1978 and 1983. Young man out west, possibly on a ranch, father is not in the picture, but a father figure comes into his life and teaches him to be an expert with a pistol and use it responsibly

Toward the end of the story, a female character has gone missing, possibly the young cowboy's mother (or love interest, but I think it's his mom). The young man ends up searching in a rocky or mountainous hideout, finds the female character and the gunslinger holding her hostage and

SPOILER

the gunslinger holding her hostage turns out to be his mentor / father figure from earlier in the book, that taught him how to use a gun, and is now an outlaw. A gunfight ensues, and the young cowboy is victorious, having to kill his hero. Thank you for any help you can provide!

[Kate]

Tom ~~
You can "bump" your thread every month or so. This pushes your thread back to the top of the folder instead of languishing here on page 88 where fewer eyes will see it. Get back in the game! Bump!
You can do this by typing a new comment at the end of the thread, or even by typing the word "bump."
Good luck!

[Kris]

No response, moving to Abandoned folder.

Tom (OP) was last active on the site in July 2019.