I am making a short western style film, black and white. Because it is B&W, the actual blood does not matter too much, but the impact of the bullet does (flesh flying). Squibs and firecrackers are out of the question it seems, so does anyone have any suggestions as to how to do this? I've heard of the high pressure pipe method, but it sounds a little sketchy to me. The scene will be a fast paced shoot out, and ideally, people will be shot in the head. I'm not sure how to do this with a pipe, so we may have to just edit the bullet impact out and just place a wound on the head.

Another question is where to find prop guns that are cheap that look "western." Since this is black and white, some detail will be compromised, so the little details of the gun don't matter too much, such as color.

The pipe system is pretty cool, take a small piece of pvc pipe and make a tube system, then attach it to the person who's getting shot's head, snake it down his back and connect a hose to a pressure source containing the gore. But the trick is getting a high pressure source, like a pump or something, to spray the gore contents out. This is what the special effects team of the remake of Dawn of the Dead did, albiet with an extremely liquidated version of gore. Then just do quick cuts, and apply a gunshot wound to the front of the head after the shot with the pipe's contents flying against the wall behind the person, that way it'll look like he got shot clean through the head. But it would be a hard trick to pull off, considering you'd have to build the rig yourself...unless you used like a weed killer pump, that might work I guess.
As far as props go your on your own. Most guys here use airsoft guns or something, but I doubt you'd find any revolvers for that, and if you actually had access to the real deal, use it. But you may have to borrow props from somebody.

For blood impacts you can use firecrackers as long as you protect yourskin with a thin sheet of tin or wood. The way that ive done this before is to get a SINGLE cracker.....not a white bachelor...and if you have access to them, you can use electric matchheads, which is basically two wires that lead to an ignition head that burst into flames when you give it power. If you take that, and shove it up inside the cracker, then take maskingtape and cover the end where you inserted the matchhead. Then take liquid latex, which you can get at most craft stores, and dip the entire cracker into the liquid latext. Pull it out and let it dry for about 30 seconds, then dip it again to make another layer. Then take saran rap and make it into a little pouch. You can do this by taking a shotglass and poking the saran rap into it. Then fill the pouch with fake blood, and put in your waterproof explosive device that you just made. Seal it off with a twisty, or something, and attatch it to the protector, which is then attatched the body. It might also be wise to cut a tiny slit in the clothing of the person where the hit will be taken. This helps the firecracker bust through the clothing. It know this sounds like a lot, and most of you probably don't have access to electric matchheads, but if you do...then.....give it a shot.

How about if I used model rocket ignitors?

Yes. Those are the legal version of what I have. . I never thought of that though. Good Idea! Just don't use rocket engines. I know I've never felt the need to strap a make-shift blow torch to my torso. Good Shootin'!