Gun Quotes

by
posted on June 25, 2013
** 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. **
wiley-clapp.jpg (3)

In researching several topics, I keep coming up with quotes from several handgunners of note. Some of them are well known, others may be the sort that gets lost in the pages of history. There is a great deal of wisdom in this kind of stuff, and I thought that readers would be interested in seeing what the old-timers were thinking about and also how they expressed themselves. Some of the language seems stilted and awkward, but I think you’ll agree that they can really make a point that is as true today as it was a century back. How about this one?

“No possible rapidity of fire can atone for habitual carelessness of aim with the first shot.”

If that doesn’t make the point, I don’t know what will. Apparently spray-‘n-pray was a problem in the 1880s when Theodore Roosevelt penned those words. Feel free to let me know what great gun quotes you like.

Latest

Marines are wearing Model 1911 pistols and carrying Winchester 12-ga. “trench guns.”
Marines are wearing Model 1911 pistols and carrying Winchester 12-ga. “trench guns.”

Arms Of The Mail Guard Marines

While difficult to imagine today, brazen armed thefts of the U.S. Mail in the 1920s became all too common and beyond the abilities of mail personnel to handle. Enter the U.S. Marines—armed to the teeth.

The Armed Citizen® Oct. 13, 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.

Editor’s Choice: Trijicon MRO SD

As can be sussed out from its name, the Miniature Rifle Optic (MRO) is a sealed reflex sight developed by Trijicon for use aboard carbines and rifles to facilitate lightning-quick target acquisition and smooth transitions between multiple targets.

Preview: MAC 9 DS Duty

Military Armament Corp. (MAC) introduced an affordable 2011-style pistol in 2024 with its MAC 9 DS.

The Chiappa 86 Wildlands: A Modern Take On The Winchester 1886 Lever-Action

Chiappa has updated the nearly 150-year-old Winchester Model 1886 lever-action design with the 86 Wildlands Angle Ejection Takedown, giving it added versatility in the way of accessory-attachment points and optics-mounting.

Preview: White River Knife & Tool Ursus 45

The White River Knife & Tool Ursus 45 offers plenty of hand-filling area that is made all the more comfortable by way of well-shaped, replaceable burlap Micarta scales.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.