by Jerry Dennis | Nov 25, 2024
That year Tony’s mother forgot all about Christmas. None of us was surprised, and nobody blamed her. She had many other things on her mind. Tony and I lived a few houses apart on Long Lake and for years had spent many of our spare hours together, exploring the lakes...
by Mike Faw | Nov 8, 2024
Never in the history of the world of firearms has one inventor contributed so much—and garnered so much attention and admiration—than John Moses Browning. Today, the Browning firearms and product line, the iconic Buckmark trademark and all things Browning, continue to...
by Stephen Wesbrook | Nov 4, 2024
Some of the finest shotguns ever made in America were hammer shotguns produced in the last decades of the 19th century. However, by the end of World War I, most had been retired to gun cabinets to be only admired, not fired. Their barrels had not been designed for the...
by Ron Spomer | Oct 25, 2024
Whether from the muzzle of a 416 Rigby, the tailpipe of a Harley Davidson, or the mouth of a politician, the abrupt release of a lot of hot air generates a bang. Usually a painfully loud bang. In a historically odd turn of events, politicians have helped quiet...
by Robert Matthews | Oct 24, 2024
My very first shotgun was a single-shot break-open Springfield 20-gauge. I have no recollection whatsoever about its choke or even its barrel length. For a long time, it was the only gun that I had, and I shot everything available with it. I honestly don’t remember...
by Robert Matthews | Oct 10, 2024
Ralph Waldo Emerson once pronounced, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” It was, and is, true in the context that he meant it. It’s important to not allow yourself to be confined to “the box.” In this day and time, you’ve got to be able to look...
by John M. Taylor | Oct 10, 2024
The double shotgun took its form when Joseph Manton (1766 – 1835) put two shotgun barrels side by side with their independent flint locks. Manton spent lots of his time working on explosive ordinance for the British Army, but we fondly remember him for establishing...
by Paul Rundell | Oct 1, 2024
Like many enterprises of the time, its origins were humble. It began in a rough little wooden structure perched precariously on the steep gorge of Fall Creek near Ithaca, New York. The virtue of the location was its abundant water power, and the building had already...
by Joe Coogan | Sep 19, 2024
Holland & Holland, long respected for producing firearms of the highest quality, was acquired in 2021 by the Beretta Holding Group from the French perfume company, Chanel. For three decades, the French company tried to redefine and reinvent the venerable old gun...
by J. E. Fender | Sep 13, 2024
Although there has been some debate about whether the eponymous gunmaking firm of James Purdey began operations in 1814 or 1816, 1814 is the date chosen by Purdey leadership to mark the firm’s beginnings, making 2014 the bicentennial of J. Purdey & Sons, or more...