Memorial Day at the range

Some people say Memorial Day should be a solemn occasion, not a celebration. Those people are full of crap. If you're visiting a cemetery, yes, that's solemn. Otherwise you honor the day best by flying the flag, pausing for a moment of gratitude, and proceeding to ENJOY the freedom your fellow Americans fought for. So...

The assault rifle…and what it’s not

I firmly believe that we should know what things actually are. The information provided by most news sources is rarely very helpful in that regard, but there is probably no subject where the media machine is more diabolically unhelpful than firearms. I'm probably preaching to the choir here, as most of my small readership likely...

Winchester rifles and the Nipple of Knowledge

Slowly, ever so slowly, I've been building up the FAR Western armory... Thanks to a book titled The History of Winchester Firearms, 1866-1975 (full info on the FAR Western bibliography page), I finally got some decent information on Winchester rifles, thus filling in a gaping hole in the game's equipment list. It's not that examples of...

My own old west(ish) rifle

I happen to have a lever-action rifle of my own, but it's a Marlin, not a Winchester. The Marlin company produced its rifles beginning in 1870, playing a very distant second in the lever-action rifle market. My particular Marlin is definitely not an Old West relic; it was manufactured in 2009. And it's chambered in...

A quick look at the 1873 Springfield rifle

With the Model 1873 Springfield Rifle -- commonly called the Trapdoor Springfield -- the US military officially entered the era of metallic cartridges (an era we're still in today). It could have done so at least ten years earlier, but as is often the case, military leadership was planning for a different kind of combat...

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Check out this awesome rifle that's up for auction: a Colt Model 1855 Full Stock Revolving Rifle. It even includes the original case in perfect condition. WANT! (Not likely to get...very rare, *very* expensive.)

A beautiful revolving rifle

Confederate cavalry pistol with custom sights

From historynet.com: Graham Gilmor, brother of famous Confederate cavalry officer Harry Gilmor, modified his .44 caliber Remington revolver with a loop at the base of the grip for a lanyard, and more uniquely, with a custom rear sight. The large round sight would make it much easier to focus on a target while riding a...

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A great article comparing the Springfield "trapdoor" rifle carried by Custer's troops to the 1866 Winchester "Yellow Boy" lever-action carried by the Indians that defeated them.

Head-to-head: Two guns that won the West

Ultimate badassery

What's more badass than a classic lever-action rifle? If you answered "nothing," you get partial credit. That would have been my answer too. But apparently, this exists. Yes, lever-action rifles have been made -- and presumably, somewhere, also used -- with bayonets. Check it out. According to the auction site, this rifle was manufactured and...