Firearms History website

[OutlawHoss]

I just found a neat website, and after searching here for it, it may be new to others too:
http://www.historicalfirearms.info/

Read More

 

[Croat]

It occurred to me that, in lieu of an outside history website, NWF is already an interesting firearms history website. Very often I've been impressed by the collective historical knowledge y'all bring to bear on many different topics related to firearms. So I'm looking to resurrect this older thread as a place where people with tidbits of firearms history can share some of what they know. I'll start with a little vignette about the 1950s.

The 1950s were a strange decade. Bizarre tailfins on cars, pointy tipped bras, rather horrible architecture (just look at Berlin), some of the worst sexist advertising ever. The cringe list goes on. Yet the decade is slightly redeemed for having defined rock and roll music and, more importantly, the 1950s were a golden era for cartridge innovation. Consider the following impressive list of still ubiquitous cartridges, all of which were invented during the 1950s:

• 7.62 X 51 NATO
• .17 Hornet
• .222 Remington
• .50 Alaskan
• 9 X 18 Makarov
• .223 Remington
• .243 Winchester
• .308 Winchester
• .358 Winchester
• .44 Remington Magnum
• .458 Winchester Magnum
• .264 Winchester Magnum
• .338 Winchester Magnum
• .460 Weatherby
• .22 Winchester Magnum Rimfire
• 30-378 Weatherby Magnum
• .454 Casull

What have you got to share?

 

[PORSCHE928S4]

You had me at 338 WM ! Oh and the pointy bras but...... Madonna brought them back in the late 80's

 

[Croat]

You had me at 338 WM ! Oh and the pointy bras but...... Madonna brought them back in the late 80's

Ah yes. I forgot about Madonna and her resurrection of missile breasts. But we digress...

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Here is one from the 50's....
Well 1550's.
It is a mixmaster of original and new..
The lock , furniture and inlays are original...as in from 1550's....the barrel and stock are new
Oldest gun I own...an Italian Wheel Lock
Andy

Antique Wheel Lock Pistol of mine.

• Andy54Hawken
• Nov 25, 2021

 

[Croat]

Here is one from the 50's....
Well 1550's.
It is a mixmaster of original and new..
The lock , furniture and inlays are original...as in from 1550's....the barrel and stock are new
Oldest gun I own...an Italian Wheel Lock
Andy

Antique Wheel Lock Pistol of mine.

• Andy54Hawken
• Nov 25, 2021

What is it like to fire that museum piece?

 

[Andy54Hawken]

What is it like to fire that museum piece?

A lot of fun.
First powder , patch and ball...
Then prime...
Then use the "Key" to wind the lock ( the key is hanging from the trigger guard )
Squeeze the trigger , the lock works unwind...the hammer falls , the pyrites spark on the spinning wheel ....
Igniting the priming....
Whoosh ....bang ....
Do it all again...
Andy

 

[Member 24198]

P53 Enfield.

 

[Croat]

Here's a tidbit...

We use the word "gun" all the time. But have you ever thought about where that word comes from? It is actually short for a woman's name: the Old Norse female name Gunnhildr. Gunnhildr itself was a combination of two other Old Norse words, gunnr and hildr which together translate into "war battle."
Let's face it, those Old Norse were pretty badass, so much so that they even gave their women badass war names.

 

[Croat]

Rifling.
The first rifle was borne in 1498, just six years after Columbus sailed the ocean blue. The rifled barrel was invented by a German named August Kotter because, interestingly, even back then they had rifle marksmanship contests and he was seeking to get an accuracy advantage through rifling. It worked so well compared to muskets that his invention was actually banned from competition! Of course, that didn't last long once militaries realized the greater potential of a rifled firearm.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

At one time I owned an early rifle....it was made in Plisen , Czechoslovaskia in 1667.
The rifle has a long using life...since it was converted from being in flintlock to percussion.
One of the more interesting things about it was the rifling...the rifling was straight ...with no twist what so ever.
Andy