One of the most useful and versatile guns in the Old West was the side-by-side double-barreled shotgun. It usually had a prominent place behind the front door of a pioneer’s cabin or “soddy,” putting meat on the table or keeping four- or two-legged predators at bay. The double gun was also
It began with a patent, an unbreakable patent belonging to Samuel Colt since 1835 that kept E. Remington & Sons at arm’s length from the late 1840s until the day Colt’s seven-year patent extension expired in 1857. As an American arms manufacturer, Remington was much older than Colt, founded in
A lot of Old West mythology surrounds handguns and the speed with which they could be drawn and accurately fired. This is especially true of large-caliber percussion pistols like the Colt Walker and Dragoons in the 1840s and 1850s. These were the guns Samuel Colt needed to build to get government
Gold watches, gold coins, gold teeth and gold guns are all status symbols to own and show off with pride. For over 4,000 years, gold has been used to decorate personal possessions and bodies, not to mention for trade purposes in the form of money and other liquid assets. Gold
If I’ve written it once, I have written it a thousand times: Oliver Winchester was not originally in the gun business. However, he quickly made a name for himself when he capitalized on Smith & Wesson’s lever action patent of 1854. Winchester’s name is synonymous with firearms and the American
One might regard the handgun as the easiest and most practical self-defense weapon of choice in the Old West, but for a great majority of men, especially ranchers, farmers and lawmen who often had to face down a rowdy group of liquored-up cowboys, a 12-gauge shotgun was the most practical, most
