I Have This Old Gun

Encouraged by his generally positive reception at the Great Exhibition in 1851, and always anxious to gain elusive government contracts, Colt, in 1853, opened a London factory where he would make a number of revolvers, including his popular 1849 Pocket Model.

There is an adage that goes something to the effect of, “just because one can do something doesn’t mean it necessarily should be done.” This thought may aptly be applied to the short-lived Standard Arms Model G rifle.

Following World War I, Czechoslovakia needed to equip its new army, and one of its priorities was to select a service sidearm, which ultimately became the vz.27.

Despite being early adopters of several semi-automatic rifles for military use, the French army took several decades to work out a standardized semi-automatic rifle for general service use. The rifle that finally came to being was the MAS-49.

Smith & Wesson's rimfire K-22 Masterpiece revolver proved that quality costs, but it also sells.

One of the most iconic military longarms ever made, the British Land Pattern musket, more commonly known as the "Brown Bess," equipped British infantrymen across the world for more than a century.

One of the iconic revolvers of the early 20th century is Colt's compact Detective Special, which became popular on the commercial market and was featured widely in film noir from the 1930s until the 1950s. But the road to the Detective Special wasn't the typical route for a new firearm.

It is likely this Long Land Pattern Brown Bess was surrendered by British troops at Saratoga, then used to arm Americans in their fight for liberty before subsequently falling into private hands. Today, it remains as one of a scant few British muskets with a direct tie to the events of the American Revolution.

Pressed into Nazi service, the Czech-produced CZ vz.27 pistol was a popular GI bring-back from World War II.