Ashley Hlebinsky Throughout the history of this great nation, manufacturers have made special embellished arms for presidential presentation. The following is a sample of rifles from the Presidential Collection at the Cody Firearms Museum, Buffalo Bill Center of the West. Abraham Lincoln – 16th President of the United States This is a .44 caliber breechloading percussion rifle with a hammer in … Read more
The M16 is one of the most recognizable firearms in our recent history. In the 1950s, a new select-fire rifle was developed by an engineer named Eugene Stoner known as the AR-10, chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO. Shortly afterwards, Armalite introduced a modified design that was more compact and chambered for .223 Remington known as the … Read more
In previous posts I’ve written about the predecessors to the Winchester Lever Action Rifle. Like the Hunt Volitional Rifle – the only one located at the Cody Firearms Museum – and the Jennings Repeater. In these writings, I began to piece together the factors that contributed to making the iconic western firearm. This rifle is another … Read more
World’s Fairs have always fascinated me. The best-known first international exposition was held in 1851 in Hyde Park, London. Prince Albert launched the event under the banner “Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations.” The English World’s Fair had a profound influence on art, architecture, manufacturing and international trade and tourism. While these shows were … Read more
What do you get when you mix an art collector, firearms, and the city of Chicago? While I’m sure there are many ways to unpleasantly answer that question, but in this case, the answer is Steel Sculptures. The Cody Firearms Museum has an exhibition entitled Steel Sculptures: Engraving Individuality from Mass Production which looks at … Read more
If I mention the terms racing and guns, it may conjure the image of a NASCAR fan out in the woods hunting. However, in this particular scenario, those two terms represent a high-end pair of French cased pistols. This pair of muzzleloading percussion target pistols was made by Gastinne-Renette of Paris, France sometime between 1840 … Read more
On July 4, 1976, legendary screen actor John Wayne helped ring in the dedication of the Winchester Arms Collection in Cody, Wyoming. In November the year prior, the Olin Corporation (better known as Winchester Ammunition) began the paperwork to loan about 4,000 guns and tens of thousands of original design drawings, ephemera, and records to … Read more
The Winchester Model 1887 lever-action shotgun was one of the first successful repeating shotguns on the market. It pushed Winchester’s lever action brand optimization into new markets. This gun is serial number 1 and has a John Ulrich engraving. It was made as an exhibition piece and ultimately bought by Henry Ford and given to … Read more
The Merriam-Webster definition of a musket is “a heavy, large-caliber muzzle-loading usually smoothbore shoulder firearm.” The key terms here are muzzle-loading and smoothbore. However, by the time of the American Civil War, the term musket added an almost oxymoronic qualifier, the rifled musket. After the war, Winchester also liberally used this term. Many breech-loading Winchester … Read more
This English-made hunting wheellock is an extremely rare gun. Whilea popular firearm made by gunmakers all over the world, very few signed English wheellocks have lasted to present day. This gun, made by Robert Rowland of London sometime between 1704 and 1722 is one of the few survivors. It’s also fascinating because of its provenance. … Read more
The Southern Belle American longrifles have a history that predates the United States. It is one rooted in European tradition. Initially made in Europe, American settlers adapted these rifles to suit their needs on the frontier of North America. During the 18th century, German families immigrated to eastern Pennsylvania. Many of them were gunmakers. When … Read more
It’s safe to say that a lot of people recognize the name Annie Oakley. She’s one of the most iconic shooters in American history, a woman who got her start shooting at a young age. Oakley (1860 -1926) was born Phoebe Ann Moses and had seven siblings. She learned to hunt at age eight and … Read more