The Prohibition era created one of the most infamous chapters in American firearms history. From 1920 to 1933, the United States banned the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcoholic beverages under the 18th Amendment and the Volstead Act. Instead of eliminating alcohol, Prohibition helped f …

Theodore Roosevelt was not just a president, soldier, rancher, hunter, and conservationist—he was also one of the most famous American firearms enthusiasts of his era. His guns were not wall-hangers. Roosevelt carried them in Cuba with the Rough Riders, packed them across the Dakota Badlands, …

From flintlock muskets to select-fire rifles, American military small arms evolved dramatically between the Revolutionary War and Vietnam. Each conflict pushed firearm technology forward—sometimes slowly, sometimes all at once. Smoothbore muskets gave way to rifled muskets, then bolt-action ri …

The American Civil War was fought during a turning point in firearms history. Soldiers entered the war with a mix of old smoothbore muskets, percussion revolvers, single-shot rifles, breechloaders, and early repeating firearms. By the end of the war, the battlefield had changed forever. The Civil Wa …

The early 1930s produced one of the most violent and fascinating eras in American crime history. The Great Depression had crushed banks, farms, and small towns. At the same time, fast cars, paved roads, and powerful firearms gave criminals a new kind of mobility and firepower. For roughly a year, Am …

The American frontier produced some of the most famous names in firearms history. Outlaws, lawmen, marshals, rangers, and gunslingers all became part of the larger legend of the Old West—but behind the stories were the firearms they carried. Some of these guns are well-documented. Others are s …