This Week in Firearms History:

March 12: American Civil War, in 1864 The Red River Campaign begins; in 1874 gun maker Christian Sharps dies; in 1999 former Warsaw Pact members Poland, Czech Republic & Hungary join NATO.

March 13: In 1964 the 10/22 is born, Bill Ruger sends out catalogs and cut sheets on the new 22 rifle

March 14: In 1943 the NAZIs finish clearing the Krakow Ghetto of all Jews

March 15: The Ides of March, in 44 BC Julius Ceasar is assassinated; in 1493 Christopher Columbus returns to Europe after his 1st voyage to the Americas

March 16: In 1751 Second Amendment author James Madison is born; in 1903 Judge Roy Bean dies; In 1942 Remington-Rand is given contract to produce 125,000 M1911A1 pistols

March 17: St. Patrick's Day; in 1804 Jim Bridger is born; in 1884 lawman Frank Hamer is born

March 18: In 1314 the Last Grand Master of the Knights Templar is burned at the stake; in 1882 Morgan Earp is murdered in Tombstone, AZ; in 1940 Hitler and Mussolini meet at Brenner Pass and agree to be allies.

Gun of the Week: Beretta 21A "Bobcat"

The Beretta model 21A is one of several guns given nicknames after felines. Similar to the Colt "snake" guns, these semi-auto pistols were given names like "Cheetah", "Tomcat" and this one, the "Bobcat".

The 21A is a .22 LR chambered self-defense pistol with a couple of unique features. The barrel tips up for quick loading or checking to see if the gun is loaded. In addition, this gun has no extractor, relying on the chamber pressure alone to expel spent cases. The front portion of the slide is open top, and the hammer is rounded with a hole, very reminiscent of the full-size Beretta pistols. Production began in 1984, both here and in Italy. The guns cannot be imported due to the unconstitutional 1968 Gun Control Act. Read more here

Cartridge of the Week: 25-20 Winchester

The 25-20 is a necked down version of the earlier 32-20 Winchester, part of a series of cartridges developed in the later part of the 19th century by Winchester for use in their lever action rifles. The name stems from the tradition of the bullet diameter (.258") along with the black powder charge of 20 grains. Developed in 1895 for the Winchester model of 1892, Winchester was actually late to the game as Marlin had already done the same with their 25-20 Marlin two years prior.

From the beginning the 25-20 was a varmint cartridge, note the prairie dog illustration of the cartridge box above, but it has been used on deer, in fact it claimed the 2nd highest scoring buck in hunting history in 1914. Bullets weights of factory ammo are usually 85 or 86 grain, while 60 grain bullets are available to handloaders.

The cartridge is all but extinct now, Winchester and Remington do still produce the ammo, but only in small quantities every once in a while, as the demand calls for it. See more here

Gun Quote of the Week:

"Of the people killed with guns every year, how many are true 'tragedies,' and how many are we frankly better off without?"- From The Good Riddance Factor by Mark Moritz

Bubba Gun of the Week:

This submission from Merle Haggard Lawson out of Ding Dong, Texas will possibly be included in our upcoming semi-biannual Golden Poop Awards for Gunsmithing #4