Historical Guns

Show First

The Photograph that Lost a War

The Photograph that Lost a War

{ 45 comments }

On February 1, 1968, Saigon, South Vietnam, was in the opening throes of the Tet Offensive. North Vietnamese commanders called it “The General Offensive and Uprising of Tet Mau Than 1968.” Two days prior more than 80,000 Viet Cong and North Vietnamese Army troops had attacked more than 100 towns including 36 of 44 provincial South Vietnamese capitals.

The Shootout That Toppled a Monarchy

The Shootout That Toppled a Monarchy

{ 11 comments }

Reading about the conspiracy theories that orbit around the eradication of the Nepalese monarchy makes the JFK assassination look like a first-grade field trip to the zoo.

The Beltway Snipers: Agents of Chaos

The Beltway Snipers: Agents of Chaos

{ 12 comments }

Setting her baby on a changing table she answered the front door to find a 17-year-old Jamaican named Lee Boyd Malvo. Malvo produced a .45-caliber handgun and shot the woman in the face. Thus began one of the most brutal killing sprees in American history.

Political Assassination in the Information Age

Political Assassination in the Information Age

{ 8 comments }

Speaking in Turkey, Russian diplomat Andrei Karlov was shot on live television for all the world to see. The gun involved is little-known but powerful.

The Death of a Legend: Baron Manfred von Richthofen & the Vickers that may have killed him.

The Death of a Legend: Baron Manfred von Richthofen & the Vickers that may have killed him.

{ 17 comments }

In August of 1916, the British 100th Company of the Machine Gun Corps fired their ten Vickers guns continuously for twelve hours. Using 100 barrels they fired a million rounds without a single failure. The Vickers gun continued in British military service until 1968.

The Assassination of John Lennon

The Assassination of John Lennon

{ 9 comments }

The story of the assassination of John Lennon and a quick rundown of the revolver that was used.

KPV Machine Gun - The Most Efficient Execution Tool Since the Guillotine

KPV Machine Gun – The Most Efficient Execution Tool Since the Guillotine

{ 25 comments }

KPV heavy machineguns fire a 14.5x114mm rounds at 600 rpm. To put that in perspective the .50-caliber cartridge fired by John Moses Browning’s M2 Heavy Barrel machinegun is 12.7x99mm. The KPV round carries roughly twice the muzzle energy of that fired by the American M2.

What to do with a Drill Rifle

What to do with a Drill Rifle

{ 3 comments }

Original production M1 receivers are getting expensive and hard to find. Commercial M1 receivers can sometimes be found, but they’re not exactly growing on trees either. And not every commercial M1 receiver has been made to spec. So what’s a builder to do? Enter the drill rifle.

Alberto Bravo’s Uzi: The Black Widow’s Prey

Alberto Bravo’s Uzi: The Black Widow’s Prey

{ 14 comments }

The Uzi submachine gun was arguably the most rugged pistol caliber submachine gun ever produced. While the faster firing HK MP5 got most of the press, I myself consistently shoot better with the Israeli gun.

The All-American Couple Deemed Too Dangerous to Live

The All-American Couple Deemed Too Dangerous to Live

{ 35 comments }

Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were just two young people madly in love…who rode around the country stealing things and killing people.