This Week in Firearms History:

April 30: In 1803, the US signs agreement to buy the Louisiana Territory; In 1945 Hitler takes his own life.

May 1: In 1853, Calamity Jane is born, in 1928 Skeeter Skelton is born; in 1960, Gary Powers is shot down on during a U2 Spy mission.

May 2: In 1834 Wilhelm Mauser is born; in 1895, Bittercreek Newsome is gunned down by the Dunn Brothers; in 1947, Alan Gotlieb is born; in 2011, Navy Seals kill Osama Bin Laden in Pakistan.

May 3: In 1861, President Lincoln asks for 42,000 Army and 18,000 Navy volunteers; in 1945, Germin prison ship "Cap Arcona" is sunk by Royal Air Force, 5,800 Allied prisoners die;

May 4: In 1904, The U.S. breaks ground on the Panama Canal; in 1909 Jesse Wayne Brazel is put on trial for the murder of Pat Garrett; in 1970, 4 are killed in Kent State Protest

May 5: In 1862 The Battle of Puebla, celebrated as Cinco De Mayo; In 1920, President Wilson outlaws Communist Labor Party in U.S.; in 1980, British SAS storm the Iranian Embassy in London, freeing 26 hostages.

May 6: In 1836, John Marlin is born; in 1837, John Deere creates the 1st steel plough; in 1861, both Arkansas and Tennessee secede from the Union; in 1864, General Sherman begins his march to Atlanta.

Gun of the Week: Walther PPK

The Walther PPK is the compact version of the earlier PP, the initials stand for Police Pistol, the K was added to signify the smaller version, but it didn't stand for Kurtz (the German word for small) as some people believe. It actually stood for Kriminalmodell, meaning the gun was designed for undercover policemen.

Originally chambered in 32 ACP (known as the 7.65mm in Europe), the 380 chambering was added later.

The gun rose to prominence when it was selected to replace James Bond's Beretta 418 pistol in the 4th book (and 1st movie) Dr. No. In 1968 the importation of the PPK became illegal. Walther solved the problem two-fold, one was to make the PPK stateside, the second was to introduce a hybrid that included a longer grip frame from the PP, which made it eligible again for importation.

Cartridge of the Week: 458 Winchester Magnum

The .458 Winchester Magnum was developed by Winchester for their model 70 for big game hunting.

Introduced in 1956, the 458 Win Mag uses the bullet from the 45-70 and the case from the .375 H&H Magnum. The bullet weights can vary from 300 to 500 grains.

There is no game known to man that the .458 Winchester Magnum cannot take down. It is one of the most popular of all the big game cartridges.

Gun Quote of the Week:

"People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf.” ― George Orwell

Bubba Gun of the Week:

Another potential contender for our semi-biannual Golden Poop Awards for Gunsmithing is this Rossi Ranch Hand, constructed by Macon Tyler Hooker of Half Hell, North Carolina.