Gun Digest » Gun History

Editor’s Pick: Gun Digest Book of Classic Combat Handguns

Jennifer L.S. Pearsall — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 21:45:08 +0000

These old combat handguns are still available, even in the frenzied gun market. This book is your guide to classic pistols that work today, reviewed by the greatest gun writers of all time.

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Tried & Dropped: Three Features You Won’t Find on a Remington 870

Corrina Peterson — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 19:24:49 +0000

There are a number of things that were unique to the Remington Model 870 when it first appeared. Many have remained through the years, but there were a few unusual features that have not survived the test of time.

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Inside the National Firearms Museum’s Petersen Collection

Philip Schreier — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 16:22:05 +0000

Recently, a gift from the estate of Robert E. Petersen, of Los Angeles, to the National Firearms Museum set a record in philanthropy to the National Rifle Association (NRA), with a nearly $20 million gift, the largest in the 140-year history of the NRA.

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Robert Hillberg, 1917-2012

Editor James Card — Tue, 04 Sep 2012 19:26:22 +0000

The editors at Gun Digest regret to hear the sad news of the death of Robert Hillberg. He passed away on August 12, 2012. Over his many years of designing firearms, everything from machineguns to sporting pistols, shotguns and rifles, when asked of all his accomplishments, what he is most proud of; Bob replied “The [...]

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A History of AR Cartridges

Patrick Sweeney — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 15:04:55 +0000

The original caliber for the AR-15 wasn’t the.223/5.56, it was a slightly smaller cartridge. The .222 Special delivered the kind of performance that the designers wanted, which was basically a 50-grain bullet at under 3,000 feet per second.

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AR-15/M16: The Rifle That Was Never Supposed to Be

Christopher R. Bartocci — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 06:00:04 +0000

Find Out How the "Mattel Toy" became America's Assault Rifle.

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The Most Important Gun in American History

Editor James Card — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 20:09:45 +0000

If you were to try to determine which guns truly influenced the history of the world, you could draw a few conclusions. Paging through The Greatest Guns of Gun Digest edited by Dan Shideler, you see the Colt Single Action and the Winchester 94, both guns that won the West and aided exploration into [...]

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Gun Collecting: Vintage Paintball Guns

Editor James Card — Fri, 08 Jun 2012 19:30:43 +0000

There is an interesting development happening in the gun world and it resembles what has occurred in other shooting sports: a move back to the retro. In the sport of paintball, there is a movement that is shying away from the newly developed rapid-fire, high-tech paintball guns. These weapons throw out an enormous amount [...]

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Mauser C96: The First Field-Ready Military Autoloader?

Corey Graff — Mon, 21 May 2012 19:11:18 +0000

The Mauser C96 "Broomhandle" pistol is the first military semiautomatic pistol to prove itself both rugged enough and reliable enough for field use, argues Massad Ayoob in his newly-released Greatest Handguns of the World, Vol. II.

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What Killed the Bren Ten?

Massad Ayoob — Fri, 18 May 2012 16:55:48 +0000

The Bren Ten was the handgun story of the early- to mid-1980s. The pundits drooled and salivated. It was predicted that the new cartridge that came out with it, the 10mm Auto, would take over the law enforcement market. It was not to be. Today, the 10mm is popular only among handgun cognoscenti. The [...]

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