Historical Guns

Always pressed for weapons, the Germans employed no less than twenty-two major handgun types during World War 2.The Nazis got their guns wherever they could find them. Quality ranged from impeccable to abysmal with everything in between. The Germans issued more than 300,000 Browning Hi Powers made under occupation in Belgium. Designated the Pistole 640(b) in Wehrmacht parlance, the Hi Power was arguably the finest combat handgun of the war.

When the 1873 came out it was a paradigm shift. A repeating rifle that was as reliable and capable as it was practical. However, it was still a pistol caliber carbine. For real rifle work, you had to go to something like an 1869 Sharps, a Ballard Perfection rifle, or a Remington Rolling Block. That’s what buffalo hunters used. What these long range, big game guns had in common was that they were all single shot firearms. The Winchester Model 1876 changed that forever.

The Battle Rifle is commonly accepted to be an autoloading combat rifle that feeds from a detachable magazine and fires a full-sized .30-caliber round. While Battle Rifles found their stride in the years following the Second World War, they have been largely replaced by small caliber Assault Rifles nowadays. However, combat in such places as Afghanistan has shown us in recent years that the need still exists for a man-portable .30-caliber rifle that can offer precision fires out past the range of the 5.56mm cartridge.

The 1873 Winchester sported a steel receiver along with proper metallurgy in its barrel that allowed the gun to handle the relatively high performance of the .44 WCF round. Various barrel lengths and contours, engraved variations, and rifle, carbine, and musket versions kept things spicy.

Cimarron Firearms, known for their solid replicas and popular Cowboy Action guns, is producing a limited edition run of Walker replicas with a special aged finish.

Soldiers at the Anniston Army Depot in Alabama found a machine gun that’s been around for nearly a century, in perfectly working condition.

Following their success with their .22-caliber M1 Garand, Kingston is launching a rimfire replica of the M14 rifle for 2017.

For all that talk that Mosin-Nagants are ‘no-frills’ rifles of almost agricultural construction and simplicity, they have remarkably sophisticated cleaning kits. Read on to learn more about that cleaning kit that came with your rifle, as well as getting the most out of your Mosin-Nagant.

To maintain and ensure their neutrality, Sweden in the 19th and 20th centuries developed a well-trained military force based on conscription in which all young men would be trained, and subject to call-up in emergencies. It also developed some amazing military rifles. It paid off. All sides in both World Wars avoided antagonizing the Swedes.