Harley-Davidson motorcycles is a company that has mastered the art of branding. It is listed as one of the most recognized logos on the planet.
It is hard to think of a product that has not had the H-D logo applied to it.....and here we have some guns done in Harley themes.....enjoy...
Don't forget to raise Old Glory at dawn and thank God for the brave men and women who gave everything so that we might be here today.
%20and%208%20more%20pages%20-%20Personal%20-%20Microsoft%E2%80%8B%20Edge.png)
Another new segment here at the blog, in the past I have made posts with "gun porn" where I have a picture or two of each gun, in these series of posts we will feature one firearm, tell its story (as best as we can) and show as many pictures as are available.
Engraving isn't what it used to be, with technology we now have laser engravers that can do a pretty good job of replicating hand engraving. We won't be covering any of those here, these guns will be the works of artists, not a computer.
This gun is part of the Robert E. Peterson collection donated to the NRA's National Firearms Museum in Fairfax, Virginia.
Peterson was born and raised in California, after serving WWII he worked for MGM as a publicist, which led him to publicize the new sport of hot rodding and in 1948 introduced Hot Rod Magazine. He went on to introduce dozens of other periodicals including Guns and Ammo. Guns were another of Peterson's passions and the wealth brought to him by his publishing empire he could afford the best of the best.
When this double rifle was purchased the 600 Nitro Express was the most powerful rifle in the world. A title it held from its introduction in 1899 until 1988 when a collector commissioned the first 700 Nitro Express. How powerful you ask, try a 900-grain bullet moving a touch over 2000 feet per second, with 8,400 lbft of muzzle energy. Compare that to a 180grain 308 Winchester with 2,588 lb ft of energy.
In doing my research I could not ascertain if this rifle was commissioned by Peterson or if it was a gift. I would have to imagine that Peterson himself commissioned the rifle and its engraving as the expense is more than the uber rich would be comfortable giving away.
The gun was engraved by Philippe Grifnee, a Belgian artisan considered to be one of the best firearms engravers to have ever lived.
Pictures courtesy of the NRA Museum
Welcome to the 4th Semi-Bi-Annual Golden Poop Awards for distinction in Gunsmithing.
The Wile E. Coyote School of Gunsmithing
ACME corporation: Wide Selection, Instant Delivery, Questionable Quality.
Bud Light: The Queen of Beers
%20and%207%20more%20pages%20-%20Personal%20-%20.png)
Starting off with their 3rd submission in a row is Cletus Douche from Bayou Poupe Louisiana. His pistol shoots .22 Long Rifle, full auto at around 1500 rounds per minute give or take.
He says it's a lot like his weed wacker, takes some work to get it started, but once it's it gets going it runs like Antifa at a Patriot Rally.
A new gunsmith to the trade is Ba'lockay White-Wilson, he wanted a gun that would wound real bad, but not kill right away and also not leave evidence behind.
It took Ba'lockay 3 months to build his 38 Special single shot, smooth bore pistol, this was his 4th attempt, he says "the first three blew up in my grill".
Camero Wade Smith is back in the competition again with this single shot 10-gauge shotgun, for the barrel he used some stainless pipe he cut from the exhaust stack of an incinerating toilet.
Joe Lee Lee entered this smooth bore, double barrel 38 Special pistol, saying that the gun works, but isn't very accurate beyond 3 feet. Sounds like a great weapon there JLL.
Enrique Miguel Juan de Bautista Alverez Ochoa of Stillwater, Texas, sent us his version of a caballero's pistola. It shoots a custom centerfire version of the .22 Magnum.
We have had several submissions from outside the U.S. over the years, this one comes from Mohammed Anass Rhammar of Deepenkamel, Pakistan. Mr. Rhammar once worked in a cave near Kyber Pass, where he learned all manners of gunsmithing and goat husbandry.
He says the gun, which fires from an open bolt, can hit a 3-meter x 3-meter sheet of plywood from 20 feet. That's precision right there!
This one goes way back, back to the War of 1812.
In the State of New York, just north of Ithaca there is a creek (river?) that runs down through a gorge on its way to Cayuga Lake.
Anyone that knows old gun factory history will now that before electricity factories needed waterpower to run their equipment and creeks and rivers with natural falls are a perfect place to get that waterpower.
In 1814 a gun factory was built along Taughannock Creek, upstream from the 3 falls. It was in a bend in the creek where the water cascades over the shale.
The name of the factory was Taughonic Falls Gun Mill, the spelling was different then. There is some debate where the name came from and how it was supposed to be spelled. Some say the name means "great fall in the woods" from a combination of Iroquois and Algonquin languages or could be the name of a chief of the Lenni Lenapi tribe who supposedly died near the falls after a battle.
The factory was built to supply rifles, under contract, to the U.S. government during the war of 1812 (1812-1815).
Built in 1814 and used for a year or so, the remaining gun parts were shipped to an arsenal in Connecticut. It is unknown if the old gun mill was used for anything after it closed.
Many of the pictures of the mill were taken in the latter part of the 19th century as that is when camera use started to take off.
The factory was destroyed in the flood of 1935. It was the evening of July 7th, heavy rains caused the creek to overflow its banks taking out the old gun mill, a bridge and some park buildings. The gun mill's remains went over all three of the falls and I assume ended up in lake Cayuga.
More pictures of the gun mill:
The former location of the old gun mill is easy enough to find, there is a bend in the river where Jacksonville Road, Taughannock Park Road and Falls Road meet.
Taughannock Falls State Park - American Byways
