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Logan Metesh is a historian with a focus on firearms history and development. He runs High Caliber History LLC and has more than a decade of experience working for the Smithsonian Institution, the National Park Service, and the NRA Museums. His ability to present history and research in an engaging manner has made him a sought-after consultant, writer, and museum professional. The ease with which he can recall obscure historical facts and figures makes him very good at Jeopardy!, but exceptionally bad at geometry.
Better known as the Smithsonian’s Gun Room, what is officially known as the National Firearms Collection is an assemblage of more than 7,000 firearms dating back centuries.
9mm Luger cartridge is, arguably, the most popular & adaptable cartridge to come out of the 20th century, Is it the most popular handgun cartridge of all time?
There have been experiments with the design and basic idea of a revolver in the past. Here’s a look at five of them.
On October 7, 1879, John Moses Browning was issued US patent number 220,271 for a breechloading firearm.
Made by French gunsmith Jacob Walster around 1775, this pair of pistols is, in my opinion, the most historic pair in the United States.
You might need to keep fighting after the bullets run out, so these revolvers were designed to keep you in the fight – sort of.
In 1838, two congressmen dueled one another. The result was something that had never happened before or since – the death of a sitting member of Congress at the hands of another.
On June 21, 1916, William Batterman Ruger was born in Brooklyn. He would go on to lend his name to one of the iconic arms companies of the 20th century.
On June 8, 1898, Benjamin Tyler Henry passed away at the age of 77. Henry’s repeating rifle design paved the way for Winchester to become a household name.
Rollin would become best-known as the man who provided Sam Colt with a golden opportunity to be on the cutting edge of revolver design and was rebuffed.
There are more than 700 lots available during Morphy Auctions’ Extraordinary Firearms Auction, but I’ve managed to narrow it down to my five favorites.
On May 22, 1866, one of the most iconic names in the arms industry was founded: Winchester Repeating Arms Company.
On May 18, 1825, Daniel Baird Wesson was born in Worcester, Massachusetts. He began working in the firearms industry at 18 with an apprenticeship to his older brother Edwin.
It’s not uncommon for people to mistake Cinco de Mayo as a day to celebrate Mexico’s independence, but that’s actually September 16, 1810.
On April 16, 1864, Thomas Blanchard died at the age of 75. He spent his entire life inventing all sorts of things, but some of his best-known creations were for the arms industry.
On April 6, 1766, Joseph Manton was born in Grantham, England. By the time he was 23, Joseph had opened up a gun shop of his own.
On January 26, 1945, Gen. Patton uttered the famous phrase, “In my opinion, the M-1 Rifle is the greatest battle implement ever devised.”
On January 15, 1893, Horace Smith passed away at the age of 84. He retired 20 years earlier in 1873, having spent most of his life in the arms industry.
Christopher Spencer’s most impressive moment was securing a military contract for his gun by walking into the White House then shooting it with the President of the U.S. on the National Mall…
On January 10, 1862, Samuel Colt passed away at his home in Hartford, Connecticut. He was one of the wealthiest men in America, with an estimated worth of $15,000,000.
John Hancock Hall was born on January 4, 1781, in Maine. He spent more than two decades working at the Harpers Ferry Armory.
Born on December 31, 1860, John T. Thompson was the man who made “The Gun That Made the ‘20s Roar” – the Tommy Gun.
On December 23, 2013, Lieutenant-General Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov passed away at the ripe old age of 94.
On December 23, 1833, Charles Richards was born in Brooklyn, New York. He had spent 22 years – fully one-quarter of his life – working for Colt’s.
On December 22, 1923, Georg Luger passed away in Berlin at the age of 74. He forever linked his name to an iconic gun and an unfailing caliber.
Like most inventors, John and Murray were convinced that their design was going to change the world of law enforcement. This new gun would “save lives, prevent lawsuits, and help prevent riots.”
On December 13, 1863, Thomas Leech & Charles Rigdon formally dissolved their partnership, ending “Leech & Rigdon,” which was the second-largest revolver manufacturer for the Confederacy.
François-Antoine Fauveau was wearing this cuirass at the 1815 battle of Waterloo when he was killed by a cannonball.
On November 30, 1810, Oliver Fisher Winchester was born in Boston, Massachusetts.
Revolvers made by J. H. Dance & Bros. are some of the most distinctive guns to come out of the south during the Civil War.
