What particular attributes did it take to attain the pinnacle of success in organized crime back in its heyday? Some were charming, quite a few connected, and others were ruthless. Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel, however, was simply a cold-blooded killer.
Historical Guns
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The Glamorous Life and Gory Death of the Father of Sin City Bugsy Siegel, the M1 Carbine, and Murder Inc.
Updated: February 28, 2019The Browning M1910 and the Assassination of Paul Doumer
Updated: February 22, 2019In this edition, we explore the Browning M1910, used in some of the more sordid assassinations that shaped our modern world.
The Guns of the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre: Al Capone Gets Away with Murder
Updated: February 14, 2019Sometimes men commit premeditated mass murder based upon pure unfiltered greed. This is the sort of killing we’re investigating today.
The Manliest American Who Ever Lived and the Gun That Didn’t Stop Him
Updated: January 13, 2019Theodore Roosevelt was so manly that he was shot in the chest while giving a speech, but chose to finish the speech before getting help. This is the story of that assassination attempt, and how it became barely a footnote in the life of a great American.
The Assassination of William McKinley: Of Hopeless Causes and One Seriously Pathetic Pistol
Updated: January 6, 2019President McKinley was assassinated by a lunatic with a gun so small that no adult could hold it properly. But the president’s death changed American history and ushered Theodore Roosevelt to the Oval Office.
Auction for James Bond Walther Blows Up Amid Controversy
Updated: December 5, 2018What at first appeared to be the original Bond gun was headed for auction later this year, but that auction got cancelled. Was it the real Walther?
Heroes Hidden in Plain Sight: The Browning Automatic Rifle
Updated: November 17, 2018It turned out that Mr. Roberson was my neighbor down the road, and he ultimately shared a lot of stories. A literal lifetime before this unassuming Mississippi farmer carried a Browning Automatic Rifle as a member of the 5th Ranger Battalion in World War 2. On June 6th, 1944, he landed in the first wave on Omaha Beach fighting alongside the 116th Infantry Regiment.
The Browning Hi Power: The Superlative WWII Combat Handgun That Played Both Sides
Updated: November 9, 2018The Hi Power has the dubious distinction of being the only production firearm to see general issue among both Allied and Axis forces during World War II. It’s still in service throughout the world today.
The PIAT Gun That Saved the World: “It Was Rubbish, Really.”
Updated: November 2, 2018It may have been ugly, almost impossible to cock, and “rubbish, really,” but the PIAT gun was also a fierce weapon against Nazi tanks.
The Webley Revolver: The Seminal British Combat Wheelgun
Updated: October 26, 2018Lieutenant Blowers carried nothing more than his six-shot Webley revolver as a personal defense weapon. Crawling through fetid German trenches stacked deep with corpses both fresh and otherwise, Blowers and his crew picked their way across the most dangerous terrain on earth.