T. Logan Metesh is an historian and writer who runs High Caliber History LLC. He has worked for the NRA Museums, the Smithsonian Institution, and the National Park Service. He has also served as an historic firearms facilitator for television shows such as Mysteries at the Museum, Gun Stories with Joe Mantegna, NRA Gun Gurus, and American Rifleman TV.
Contact him at highcaliberhistory@gmail.com
Back in March, I reported on a new regulation that would turn firearms held in Australian museums into “metal blobs.” The impact this could have on the collection at the Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum was at the heart of the discussion. On August 30th, [Read More…]
This is a neat old photo of World War I era soldiers relaxing in a library at a YMCA. It’s clearly a staged photo, but still cool nonetheless. All the natural goings-on in a library are shown via the soldiers: one reading a book, one reading a magazine, one [Read More…]
I really wish this photograph could talk. In the mid-1920s, Henry Ford and Thomas Edison were part of a larger cross-country camping trip that included guests such as Harvey Firestone and President Harding. This photo is from part of that trip. Thomas Edison, in his [Read More…]
This photograph is just pure awesome. John Moses Browning poses for a photo in 1918 holding one of his Browning Automatic Rifles (BAR) with Winchester gun designer Frank Burton. Of course, Browning needs no introduction, but in case you’re new to the gun world, [Read More…]
Here’s not something you see every day: a President aiming a rifle on Air Force One. And yet, that’s exactly what this is. On a trip to California in November 1983, President Ronald Reagan was photographed aiming a bolt-action rifle out one of the windows [Read More…]
Taken on May 16, 1919, this US Signal Corps photo shows a new potential mode of transportation in the immediate WWI era. What is believed to be a Columbia brand bicycle has been outfitted with a metal scabbard of sorts – complete with ‘US’ embossing [Read More…]
The Civilian Marksmanship Program has been selling surplus arms to the American public for years. In that time, they’ve sold M1903 and M1917 bolt-action rifles, as well as M1 Garand and M1 Carbine long guns. Except for the Garands, they’ve all been sold out for [Read More…]
There is a lot of internet chatter about whether or not it is safe to shoot a “low number” Springfield M1903 bolt-action rifle. When I say “a lot,” I mean a whole lot: a Google search of the phrase “1903 safe to shoot” brings back 20.2 million hits, [Read More…]
The firearms and museums communities were recently made aware of an online petition started by the Lithgow Small Arms Factory Museum aimed at saving the firearms (and the history) in their collection. Apparently, the government in New South Wales (that’s in [Read More…]
The shotshells in the photo are early 20th century offerings from Remington. On the right edge of the photo is your standard 12 gauge. On the opposite edge is a monstrous 3 gauge shell. I can only imagine what was running through the mind of the unfortunate soul who [Read More…]
I ran across this photo some time ago in a book, the title of which I cannot recall. The caption notes that the image is of a cavalry trooper armed with a Martini-Henry, taken in 1895, using his horse as a shooting rest. What’s remarkable to me is that the horse [Read More…]
Harvard and Yale have long been rivals in many ways. At the end of the 19th centuries, one of their rivalries took place at the shooting range. This photo from 1899 shows the members of Harvard’s Revolver Club, likely taken to commemorate their victory over [Read More…]
“Hand over your watch!” Why certainly, Mr. Burglar. That’s the headline for an article in Popular Science magazine from December 1917. It’s proofed that some things never change, even after 101 years. If you’re approached by a mugger and [Read More…]
The lockplate on this ca. 1745 musket is, to me, the ultimate symbol of the American Revolution. Edward Jordan was a British gunsmith, active between 1733 and 1760. This example of his work found its way to the colonies and was originally in the hands of a Redcoat. At [Read More…]
The caseless, tiny .22-caliber lead projectile fired from the Daisy V/L rifle of the 1960s used a nitrocellulose-based propellant which was molded, hardened, and affixed to the rear of the bullet—it was activated by a burst of compressed air. Once the projectile and [Read More…]
In a recent piece by Hrachya for TFB, he took a look at a French-made flintlock pistol-lantern combo. I was intrigued by the concept and dug a bit deeper. Here’s some more info about the design and its creator. This unusual contraption was invented by a Frenchman [Read More…]
This pistol is a Mannlicher M1899 in 7.65mm. The elaborately engraved and inlaid gun was one of approximately 350 units made for special presentation. This particular gun was made for Kaiser Wilhelm II (1859-1941) while he was still German’s ruler and the King of [Read More…]
Made in October 1929, the working model receiver and trigger guard assembly of John C. Garand’s only T3E1 rifle is on display at Springfield Armory National Historic Site. From the museum’s records: “Armory was directed to manufacture (a) One caliber [Read More…]
The J.M. Davis Arms & Historical Museum in Claremore, Oklahoma, is home to the world’s largest privately-held firearms collection in the world. With more than 12,000 firearms and thousands of assorted items related to the firearms, it is quite the place. If [Read More…]
Riding the success with their Retro Rifles line, Brownells has partnered with Ed Brown to add their first handgun in the lineup: the BRN-1911, a .45 ACP semi-automatic pistol. Hand crafted by legendary 1911 maker Ed Brown exclusively for Brownells, the BRN-1911 is a [Read More…]
Henry Repeating Arms is introducing nine new models that include engraved finishes for the Long Ranger rifle series and additional caliber options for the Single Shot rifle series. These new releases come less than a year after introducing over a dozen models at the [Read More…]
Recently, I found myself in the Quad Cities for both personal and professional reasons. Though the trip was brief, I knew it wouldn’t be complete without a visit to the Rock Island Arsenal Museum. Housed on the still-active military base in Illinois, the museum [Read More…]
Dog-eared copies of the Blue Book of Gun Values are a mainstay at gun shows. Everyone has a copy and some of us even have a collection of them. Each year, a new and revised edition is released. The 2018 iteration boasts more than 2,500 pages of information. With so much [Read More…]
Rising ammo prices have been the norm for quite a few years now. It seems like every time I go to order more rounds, the prices have gone up … again. (Though it’s still not enough to make me want to invest all the money necessary to set myself up as a [Read More…]
While you’ve probably never heard of him, James Henry Burton is one of the – if not the most – influential gunsmiths of the 19th century. Under his direction, millions of arms made in three countries on two different continents played an essential role in the [Read More…]
Generally speaking, firearms laws in the United States are better than those in the United Kingdom – except when it comes to museums. In the US, the Gun Control Act of 1968 offered a brief window for registration of prohibited items (Machine Guns, SBRs, SBSs, etc) [Read More…]
Admittedly, the Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Library & Museums was not a place that I expected to have an impressive collection of firearms, both on display and in storage. Located in Fremont, Ohio, the facility, which also includes Hayes’ impressive 31-room [Read More…]
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