The revolvers that cemented Colt's place in firearms history

Houston, Texas - Did you know that Samuel Colt was out of the gun making business? Sure enough, back in 1843, Sam Colt's Patent Arms Manufacturing of Paterson, New Jersey, declared bankruptcy and closed up shop. If it wasn't for an order from Captain Samuel Walker of the Texas Rangers in 1847 (as well a helping hand from Eli Whitney Blake), then his name would have been lost to the collectors and trivia buffs.

More on seeing Sam Colt's Paterson and Walker revolvers on Curator's Corner ...

Shooting Illustrated covers the basics of carrying a rifle in your car or truck

Whenever possible, there's one thing Steve Adelmann never leaves home without ... a truck gun

Truck Guns
Keeping a rifle on hand in your vehicle for emergencies is a good idea.

We live in times that generate a lot of interesting gun talk. It seems every contingency-based subject is covered in blogs, articles, over gun shop counters, on shooting ranges and even around dinner tables. I hear a lot of talk these days about “truck guns.” The concept of an emergency firearm kept in a vehicle is nothing new, but frequently hearing it from the mouths of a healthy cross section of our citizenry is—to me anyway.

More on Shooting Illustrated's overview of a truck gun ...

Century Arms International brings an affordable TT-30 clone to the States

B. Gil Horman takes the Serbian version of Russia's Zastava M70A 9 mm Pistol out for an American Rifleman spin

Zastava M70A 9 mm Pistol
The M70A is an affordable TT-30 clone with improved safety features and increased ammo capacity that works for self-defense.

In 1930, the Soviet military began investigating potential replacements for the aging Nagant M1895 revolver in use as its army's sidearm. By January of 1931, the Revolutionary Military Council sanctioned the testing of the new TT-30 semi-automatic pistol, designed by Fedor Tokarev. Chambered to fire the 7.62x25 Tokarev cartridge, based on the 7.63x25 mm Mauser round, the pistol passed inspection and was adopted for service.

More on American Rifleman's review of the Zastava M70A 9mm ...

Pirate Pistols, Revolutionary Shotguns and Buffalo Rifles at NRA Convention

Houston, Texas - With great old guns comes great responsibilities. Okay, so that's a touch to close to Spiderman, but the principal is pretty much the same. But let's go a step further. That's accept the face that with great old guns come great old stories. And there there plenty of great stories to be had yesterday at the NRA Antique Guns and Gold Showcase.

Manned by experts throughout the firearm industry, including Guns & Ammo writers and Blue Book of Gun Values publishers (along with a few cats from the National Firearms Museum), the Antique Guns and Gold Showcase was an opportunity for people to bring in that rifle, pistol or shotgun that's be sitting in the closet for ages and find out what it's worth. Better yet, some even had a story to go along with the guns.

More on the NRA Antique Guns & Gold Showcase at the Annual Meeting in Houston ...

Five guns from the NRA Museum tell the history of America

Fairfax, Virginia - Remember when we told you how The Blaze TV came down to Fairfax for a look at a few of our treasured guns here at the National Firearms Museum?

Remember how everyone kept asking when that footage was going to hit the air?

Well we finally have you're answer ... today at 5.

Closer to 5:40pm according to producers of the show. And we'd like to think they have a little insight when it comes to the schedule.

Launched by political commentator Glenn Beck (the keynote speaker for the Annual Meeting's Stand & Fight Rally), The Blaze is a news website/television network. An internet bound entity at first, The Blaze is airing on the Dish Network.

More on the National Firearms Museum on Blaze TV ...

NRA Curators put rifles, pistols and shotguns in front of the cameras for Sportsman Channel

Tulsa, Oklahoma - Twice a year, curators from the NRA National Firearms Museum trek out to the Tulsa Fairgrounds' Expo Center for Wanenmacher's Tulsa Arms Show. One of the largest (if not the largest) gun shows the country has ever seen, Wanenmacher's is the perfect place to find the final piece of your prized gun collection. For the NRA curators, it's also the perfect place to shoot upcoming episodes of NRA's Guns and Gold.

More on filming Guns & Gold at the Tulsa Gun Show ...

Smith & Wesson's attempt to capture the semi-auto market began with a thud

Fairfax, Virginia - At the turn of the 20th Century, firearm manufacturers such as Colt, Savage and Remington were prospering in the pocket semi-auto pistol market. That's when Smith & Wesson decided to go for a piece of the pie. What they came up with was the Model 1913. Unfortunately for Smith, the reception was less than positive, as seen in one of American Rifleman's latest "I have this Old Gun ..." videos.

"It was guns like this that Smith learned lessons, basically, we want to keep making revolvers for a while," said American Rifleman Editor Mark Keefe.

More on American Rifleman's look at the Smith & Wesson Model 1913 ...

Laser sights, bore sighting tools and training devices from LaserLyte

American Rifleman's B. Gil Horman's adventure into the world of laser sights for defensive firearms:

LaserLyte Specialty Laser Sights
LaserLyte now offers two new patterning sights and an interesting sight option for the NAA Black Widow.

Laser sights for defensive firearms have quickly become an integral part of many people’s self-defense plans. The technology continues to become more affordable, reliable and compact. LaserLyte, the shooting and hunting division of P&L Industries, offers a variety of laser products for shooting, including laser sights, bore sighting tools and training devices. Here's a look at three laser sight systems you just can't find anywhere else.

More on LaserLyte Specialty Laser Sights...

Canada's take on America's tradition M16 design for Canadian Armed Forces

The March edition of American Rifleman delves into Rough Rider machine guns, lever gun cartridges and the Annual Meetings in Houston. But what caught our eye this afternoon was Christopher R. Bartocci's piece on the rifles used by Canada's military:

M-16s of the Great White North: Diemaco & Colt Canada
Canadian troops have served side-by-side with Americans on the front-lines in the Global War on Terror since the beginning. And although their rifles look similar to U.S.-issue guns, the Canadian C7 and C8 families have features unique to the Canadian Forces.

More on the M-16s of the Great White North ...