Guns Past

by
posted on January 9, 2014
** 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

“They don’t make ‘em like they used to,” has become something of a cliché in today’s handgunning circles. Usually it accompanies the display of a treasured handgun, maybe a cool Luger brought home by a World War II doughboy or a Registered Magnum from the 1930s. The best handguns of yesteryear seem to take on an almost mystical aura of reliability, accuracy and handling. Sometimes it gets downright silly, like the handgunner who insisted that an original 1870s 7 ½-inch Peacemaker .45 balances better than one made this year. Most of this is just a human tendency to revere that which is old and has survived, but you also have to consider that they really don’t make them like they used to.

In the days when Lugers were new and that superb blue finish was meticulously applied, labor was cheap. It cost a little more when Smith & Wesson picked its best fitters to build those original Registered Magnums, but they made several thousand of them before WWII. The best quality handguns made anywhere in the world in that pre-war period showed a lot of careful polishing and fitting, all done by hand. The parts were forged steel of the highest quality and the designs reflected up-to-date engineering, but the guns were great because they were put together by hand. In that time, it was how it was done. The first of the WWII M1911A1 pistols made for the government by Colt were as good as pre-war commercials, but when the pressure was on for guns for the troops, we got Parkerizing. They were ugly, but no battlefield encounter was ever decided by the degree of shininess of the weapons involved. There is a point to be made here. A gun is a tool and should be respected for what it can do and not for what it looks like.

As a matter of fact, the guns on dealer’s shelves today tend to have business-like finishes, but they are designed to go together without hand fitting. In these times, human labor is very expensive, so the factories go to great lengths to find ways to make good, workable handguns with a minimum of human effort. This keeps the cost down so they can sell more guns. If the guns actually sell well, everyone is happy. In essence you not only get what you pay for, you get what you ask for. When today’s defensive shooter goes shopping for a home-protection handgun, he or she is looking for a tool, not a family heirloom.  From an economic point of view, companies would-and could-build heirlooms. But they would have to be assured that there was a strong and continuing demand for such things.

Latest

French Charleville Ihtog 1
French Charleville Ihtog 1

I Have This Old Gun: The French Charleville Musket

One of the most important military arms ever made, the French Charleville musket saw use in the American Revolution and armed French troops throughout the Napoleonic Wars.

CVA Endura Series: The Modernized Muzzleloader Of 2025

CVA built on the success of its Paramount muzzleloader to create the Endura, a design that the company calls "the most advanced muzzleloader series CVA has ever built."

Review: FN 15 Guardian

FN America has sought to bring its legendary quality and reliability to an AR-15 that lists for just $999, and we believe that it has done this well with its 15 Guardian carbine.

Springfield Armory Hellcat Now Available In .380 ACP

Despite the extensive number of Hellcat models in its lineup, Springfield Armory has only offered the pistol in one chambering, 9 mm Luger, until now. The .380 ACP model offers similar capabilities with softer recoil.

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.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.