Historical Guns

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Operation Isotope

Operation Isotope

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The 1970s represented the Golden Age of aerial piracy. The first recorded aircraft hijacking took place in Mexico in 1929. By the 1970s terrorists had raised it to an art form.

Petty Officer Hajime Toyoshima and His Ghastly Type 26 Revolver

Petty Officer Hajime Toyoshima and His Ghastly Type 26 Revolver

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The time Hajime Toyoshima spent in Australia during World War 2 was characterized by violence and chaos.

Albert Patterson, the British SAS, and Gun Control Gone Mad

Albert Patterson, the British SAS, and Gun Control Gone Mad

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Elected officials who wouldn’t know a gas tube from a sling swivel weaponize the latest headlines and pontificate accordingly, the Constitution be damned.

Don't Go Into the Swamp: Crocodiles and the Japanese Type 99 Rifle

Don’t Go Into the Swamp: Crocodiles and the Japanese Type 99 Rifle

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The Guinness Book lists the carnage in Ramree Island’s mangrove swamps as the worst example of crocodile predation on humans in history. There were 500 or so troops who remained unaccounted for that night. Theirs was an undeniably ghastly end.

Break Glass in Case of War: Smadge and the M16 Rifle

Break Glass in Case of War: Smadge and the M16 Rifle

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The Smadge kept me in shape, taught me discipline, showed me how to run a rifle, and started me down the path toward becoming a real soldier myself. A deeply flawed man, he was nonetheless undeniably hardcore.

The Siege of Vicksburg, Slavery, and a Freshly-Dug Rose Bed

The Siege of Vicksburg, Slavery, and a Freshly-Dug Rose Bed

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One small tragic drama played out on the front porch of a plantation house during a hot summer afternoon outside Vicksburg, Mississippi.

The Russian RPK Light Machinegun: Kalashnikov's Squad Automatic Weapon

The Russian RPK Light Machinegun: Kalashnikov’s Squad Automatic Weapon

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Famous from battlefields around the world, the Russian designed RPK (Ruchnoy Pulemyot Kalashnikova, is literally named “Kalashnikov’s hand-held machine gun”.

Dipprasad Pun: A Remarkably Dangerous Little Man

Dipprasad Pun: A Remarkably Dangerous Little Man

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It’s a timeless question. Nature versus nurture. Does greatness stem from some simple combination of nucleotides embedded within your DNA, or is it something that can be coaxed, taught, or trained?

Frag Out! High Explosive Snowballs

Frag Out! High Explosive Snowballs

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The scale of destruction wrought during the Second World War was unprecedented. Such carnage is literally unimaginable today.

CMP 1911s: Yes, They’re Real & Here’s How to Buy One

CMP 1911s: Yes, They’re Real & Here’s How to Buy One

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US military handguns have not been sold to citizens as surplus weapons in quite a long time. Given the current political climate, it’s really hard to tell how long the CMP will keep getting 1911s to sell. I am really happy with the pistol I received, and I believe you will be as well if you get one. If you’re a diehard 1911 fan, these are a must and they’re definitely worth the wait. It’s not every day that you can buy a real piece of history.