From the AR Archives: The Return of Iver Johnson

posted on March 19, 2010
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
201031915447-iverjohnson_fs.jpg

Its name and familiar Owl Head symbols have appeared on a bewildering array of guns and other products for over a century, but the 1980s will mark a fresh start for Iver Johnson.

Anyone who sets out to write the definitive history of Iver Johnson and his products will find tough going. He would not only have to document a huge number of pistols, derringers, revolvers, rifles and shotguns, but blank, air, line-throwing and toy guns as well. That would be the beginning. Then he would have to list leg irons, handcuffs, hand tools, bicycles, tricycles, “juniorcycles,” motorcycles and baby walkers.

Even if the Iver Johnson historian stuck to firearms and let the rest go, he would run into trouble because, in the early days, private branding for various jobbers, distributors, agents and other middle-men invites confusion.

Iver Johnson surely made “Secret Service Special” revolvers for the Chicago firm of Fred Biffar—but so did Meriden Firearms Co.; I.J. made many variations of so-marked “Bull Dog” revolvers—but so did Forehand & Wadsworth and others, and they all looked about the same; I.J. used a number of grip-plate logos (in addition to many variations of its famous owl head) that some historians say were exclusively I.J.’s designs; yet other historians and old catalogs show some of these logos on revolvers which are indentified as being made by other manufacturers.....

Latest

Springfield Saint Victor New Models 01
Springfield Saint Victor New Models 01

Springfield Updates Saint Victor AR-15 Lineup

Since 2019, Springfield Armory has offered its Saint Victor line of AR-15s with enhanced features, and for 2025, the company has updated those features to keep pace with consumer demands.

In Memoriam: Wiley Clapp

Longtime American Rifleman Field Editor and contributor Wiley Clapp passed away June 4, 2025. He was 90 years old.

Fiocchi Of America Joins The Kinetic Group, HEVI-Shot Moving Operations

The Kinetic Group has officially added Fiocchi of America—and exclusive rights to Baschieri & Pellagri in the United States—to its lineup of top ammunition brands.

Inside NRA’s New America’s Rifle Challenge

NRA has developed a new competition designed to promote better marksmanship with America’s rifle—the AR-15 platform.

The Armed Citizen® Sept. 1, 2025

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

Numerous Companies Offering Firearm, Ammo Rebates This Fall

Now that summer 2025 is drawing to a close, we'd like to welcome in the rebate season, and this year's specials are hard to ignore!

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.