Week 23 2023

 This Week in Firearms History:

June 4: WWII, In 1944 Rome is captured by Allied forces; in 1989 the Tiananmen Square Massacre occurs in China.

June 5: In 1850, lawman Pat Garrett is born; in 2004 President Ronald Reagan passes away.

June 6: In 1799 Patrick Henry dies; in 1844, gun designer Hugo Borchardt is born; in 1944, WWII, the D-Day Invasion begins.

June 7:  In 1692, Port Royal Jamaica disappears after an earthquake; in 1776 The Lee Resolution is introduced in the Continental Congress, which leads to the Declaration of Independence.

June 8: In 1789, James Madison proposes the first ten amendments to the Constitution; In 1898 Benjamin Tyler Henry dies.

June 9: In 68AD Roman Emperor Nero commits suicide; in 1945 Japanese Premier Suzuki proclaims that Japan will fight to the end and would not accept unconditional surrender.

June 10: In 1805 the first Barbary War ends; in 1898 the U.S. Flag is first raised over Guantanamo Bay Cuba.

Gun of the Week: Colt Anaconda

The Colt Anaconda is the largest and last of the original seven "snake" guns produced by Colt.

Although the Anaconda was designed for the 44 Magnum cartridge, it was also chambered in 45 Colt.

Colt was late to the 44 Magnum game, introducing the Anaconda in 1990, 45 years after the introduction of the cartridge. Colt produced the Anaconda for just 9 years in just 3 barrel lengths (4, 6, & 8") and only in stainless. In 2021 Colt announced that it would reintroduce the Anaconda, following the reintroduction of the Cobra and Python respectively.

Cartridge of the Week: .454 Casull

The .454 Casull was designed by Dick Casull in 1958 as a wildcat cartridge. The cartridge is basically a 45 Colt Magnum, but the 45 Colt case could not be used due to its lack of strength, stemming from the fact that it was originally designed for black powder loads.

The public first heard of the 454 Casull when it was featured in Guns & Ammo Magazine in 1959 but was not available in a commercially produced firearm until 1983 when Freedom Arms began offering it in one of their single action revolvers. In 1997 the popularity of the cartridge led SAAMI test the cartridge and publish standards for it, that same year Ruger began offering their Super Redhawk in 454 Casull.

45 Colt cartridges can be safely fired in the 454 Casull guns, just as .38 Special and .44 Special can be fired in the .357 Magnum and .44 Magnum guns respectively. 

When it comes to power the 454 Casull delivers, with 5 times the recoil energy of the 45 Colt and 75% more than the .44 Magnum.

Gun Quote of the Week:

"..... And whoever doesn't have a sword should sell his robe and buy one."- Luke 22:36

Bubba Gun of the Week:

Harry Dunne of Nalgas Raton Florida, entered his Ruger SR1911 for consideration of a Golden Poop, in our second semi-bi annual awards. He did the work himself using a file he found at a yard sale. 

Gun Sticker of the Week:

This week's gun sticker comes to you from the Patriot Shop

Gun T-shirt of the Week:

This week's gun t-shirt comes from Liberty Maniacs