About Me: A certified yet non-professional gunsmith learning the trade through trail and inspiration

Thursday, August 21, 2025

Oldest firearm in the US found in Southern Arizona

 

Randy Chamberlain, July 2025


For one hundred years, a .50 caliber Wheellock musket, known as the Mayflower gun, was thought to be the oldest gun in the US.  It was given this nickname because Jon Alden, one of the first pilgrims to arrive in Plymouth, brought the musket with him to America when he arrived on the Mayflower in 1620.  



However, in the hot dry heat of Arizona, archeologists uncover a 480-year-old firearm, sitting on the ground in an old stone and adobe structure near the river in Santa Fe Valley.   The medieval-style wall or rampart gun, approximately 42 inches long and almost 40 lbs., is now believed to be the oldest firearm to be found in the continental US.  Through radiocarbon dating and other items found at the site, the archeologists have linked this cannon to a Spanish expedition lead by Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, between 1539 through 1542.



Coronado, a Spanish conquistador, led hundreds of men through Mexico, northward into the southwestern territories of the United States, in the search of the fabled Seven Cities of Gold.  In 1541, Coronado established a small outpost called San Geronimo III, near present day San Pedro River, as a base for more exploration in the area.  This began open warfare with the local tribes, likely the Sobaipuri O’odham tribe, who did not submit to foreign powers.  The battles were brutal.  Natives implored guerilla tactics, while the Spanish used cross bows, swords and black powder guns.  Weapons lay scattered around the area, which archaeologists used to interpret the events that had occurred hundreds of years later. 

The cannon, found in this area in 2020, was cast of bronze and copper, known for durability and anti-corrosive properties.  This makes the cannon perfect for all environments as the Spanish traveled and conquered more land.  It was not decorated, like many of the ornate European cannons of that time, which suggests that this cannon was cast closer to the source, either in Mexico or the Caribbean.   Local production of the cannon preferred practical weapons and not spending time on the look of the product.



In use, the rampart gun was mounted on a tripod or swivel, which made it more portable than the heavier cannons that were mounted on large, wood platforms.  The base helped absorb the recoil and maintain firing accuracy as well.  This type of weapon was often used for defense on the outer edges of camp with a range of over 700 yards.  Offensively, the cannon was used for attacks to breech forts, mud walls and less advanced adobe structures, making the following infantry assaults easier.  With its small buckshot caliber, holding up to 86 pellets a round, the cannon wouldn’t blow through heavier stone buildings, but its intimidating nature worked well to spread fear among the natives who didn’t have experience with firearm weapons. 




One surprise about this artifact is that it was never fired in battle.  There is no trace of black power in the barrel.  Evidence suggests there may have been a sudden attack on the camp and the Spanish didn’t have time to load the weapon and retreat with the valuable gun, opting to take items for personal survival instead.  Others suggest perhaps the operators of the cannon were among the first killed during the attack.  A second cannon was also found in the area, but the barrel had been blown apart.




Coronado never found the Seven Cities of Gold.  In 1542, Coronado and his men journeyed back to Mexico defeated and empty handed.  He had originally mortgaged his and his wife’s possessions and borrowed money for the voyage, so upon his return home, he was faced with many accusations and legal challenges, as he had lost everything and still owed money for his failed expedition.

The expedition left a violent mark on the Southwest region.  Many pueblos had been looted and the Tiquex War, one of the earliest battles between Europeans and the Indigenous people, left many people dead.  The Spanish lost the war and retreated, delaying the invasion by another 150 years.


Sources:

·         Oldest Firearm Ever Found in America Just Discovered!  by Discovery Future: May2025

·         Archaeology News Online Magazine, By Dario Radley: November 2024

·         Popular Science, By Andrew Paul: November 2024

·         USmessageboard.com

NRA Museums:



About the Author:

Randy has been a decades long member of the NRA and the Civilian Marksmanship Program, he began collecting firearms in the 1970s and has owned more than 500 weapons. He will be contributing his vast knowledge of surplus and collector weapons. 



Saturday, August 16, 2025

Firearm Factory of the Month: R.F. Sedgley

In the early days of rifle hunting, rifles were custom made by gunsmiths, sometimes three different craftsmen, one making the stock, one making the lock work (trigger and hammer) and one making the barrel. When you found a shop that employed all three craftsmen (or one craftsman with expertise in all three) the gun store would advertise "Lock, Stock & Barrel" available onsite.
This tradition lasted into the era of modern metallic cartridge rifles. During the later part of the 19th century and into the 20th century advancements were being made in both rifle and cartridge design, but these advancements were specifically for military rifles. After the Great War the surplus rifles were sold to sportsman and gunsmiths who would often "sporterize" these rifles to suit the needs of the individual hunters.
One such gunsmithing firm was that of Henry M, Kolb in Philadelphia. In 1897 a man by the name of Reginald F. Segley went to work for Kolb.

Kolb's original business included small rimfire pistols and other types of handguns (flare and tear gas). 

They also produced tools, notably socket sets. Note the name of the socket set is the "K&S" we can rightly assume this stood for Kolb and Sedgley.


After Sedgley took over the business in 1916, he continued making the small pistols and tools.
Some examples of the Sedgley "baby hammerless" pistols are shown below.








A Sedgley flare pistol


Sedgley was also famous (on infamous) for creating the OSS "Glove gun" seen in the Quinten Tarantino movie Inglorious Basterds




Sedgley tool ad


After the war (WWI) the company saw the massive opportunity in turning lowly military Springfield and Mauser rifles into modern hunting rifles.




An example of an RF Sedgley sporterized M1903 rifle:




The original location was at 2311 North 16th Street in Philadelphia; the business grew into additional buildings taking up address from 2311 to 2317 North 16th street. 



At one point they also had an office across the street at 2308 N 16th Street.





Sedgley passed away of a heart attack at the age of 61 on March 29, 1938. The tool line was purchased by the New Britain Tool Company.

What Remains:

Sedgley's name still comes up in conversations about guns and not just sporterized military rifles. He was a friend of many gun writers and hunters including Elmer Keith, it was Sedgley who helped Keith develop his famous #5 Single Action Colt revolver.

The factory buildings still stand at 2311-2317 North 16th Street in Philadelphia. the 2311 address is now home to the Highway Temple of Love Church.











Sources:


http://youwillshootyoureyeout.com/r-f-sedgley-inc-baby-hammerless-ejector-model-1929-22-short/

https://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=479639

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Sedgley-1937-RF-Custom-Guns-Phil-PA-/291034038479

https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/weapons/a18692/forgotten-weapons-sedgley-glove-gun/

https://www.forgottenweapons.com/sedgley-model-45-22-rifle-at-ria/

https://www.morphyauctions.com/jamesdjulia/item/3343-358/

https://www.americanrifleman.org/articles/2018/2/7/i-have-this-old-gun-sedgley-springfield-sporter/

http://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=115831

Monday, August 11, 2025

The Men who worked for Colt

 While doing research on gun makers and gun companies I kept running into a fact that always amazed me. The sheer number of gun makers (and other company founders) that worked at Colt.

Colt was as much a gun factory as it was a university for entrepreneurs and gun makers.




After establishing his factory, Colt employed some new and uniquely American ideas. One of them was the assembly line, in which each employee would have a task or two to complete, then send the part(s) to the next employee for their task. This made the worker much more efficient. 

Another American idea was the use of interchangeable parts, this made manufacturing cheaper, faster and meant that the people putting the parts together did not need special skills as the parts didn't need much fitting.

Lastly, and this is an important one, Colt installed a library and would encourage his employees to learn to read or further their education.




Francis A. Pratt worked at Colt before partnering with another Colt employee Amos Whitney. In 1860 the two started a machine tool business to make tools for the gun and sewing machine industry, among others. 

Pratt & Whitney today is a subsidiary of Raytheon and makes jet engines.




John Marlin, before founding Marlin Firearms in 1870, worked at the Colt Armory in Hartford.




Christopher Spencer worked for Colt before cofounding several gun companies including Roper Sporting Arms/Billings & Spencer (which became part of Crescent Tool Co) and Spencer Arms Co.





Lucius M Diehm worked for Colt before going off on his own and founding the Hartford Arms Company, to make a copy of the Colt Woodsman. The company would be bought by Carl Swebilius the pistol became the 1st gun for High Standard Co.





Rollin White worked for Colt and pushed to develop and patent the bored through cylinder for revolvers. When Colt seemed disinterested, White patented the idea himself and licensed it to rival Smith & Wesson, without which they may never have made it in the gun industry.





Hugo Borchardt worked for Colt for a year of two, he would eventually go on to build the predecessor to the Mauser C96 Broom Handle and the Luger pistol as well as the predecessor to the 7.25 Mauser cartridge. A cartridge which led to the 9mm Luger and the 7.62 Tokarev cartridge.



Joshua Stevens worked for Colt before cofounding the Massachusetts Arms Company and J. Stevens & Company, the latter of which developed the .22 Long Rifle cartridge.



Andrew Fyrberg worked for Colt and Iver Johnson before starting his own company. He sold the company to Sears who renamed it the Meriden Firearms Co. He later started another company: Andrew Fyrberg & Sons Manufacturing Company. He is known for having created the modern transfer bar safety for revolvers.


Robert Hillberg worked for Colt and others before cofounding the Whitney Firearms Company to build the Whitney Wolverine.




Doug McLennahan worked for Colt, Ruger and High Standard before taking what he learned and starting his own revolver company: Charter Arms



Harry Sefried worked for Colt, High Standard and others before landing at Ruger. He helped develop the Colt Python and other revolvers while at Colt. At Ruger he had a hand in nearly every gun developed there in the 60's and 70's.





Karl Lewis worked for Colt, before going to Browning then High-Standard. He had designed his own revolver which got the attention of Dan Wesson III. In 1968 they co-founded Dan Wesson Arms to build Lewis' revolver.


William Mason worked for Remington Arms where he developed the swing out cylinder for revolvers, in 1866 he went to work for Colt where he worked on the development of the Single Action Army revolver.
While at Colt he also developed conversions for cap and ball revolvers to fire modern metallic ammo. In 1889 Colt was the first company to produce a swing out cylinder, thanks to William Mason. In 1882 Mason went to work for Winchester where he went on to help design and perfect rifles. 


Friday, August 1, 2025

Golden Poop Awards: The Most Idiotic Statements about Guns

 


It is time again for the semi-bi-annual Golden Poop Awards! This time we are considering the most idiotic statements made about guns.


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MSLSD, when the truth no longer matters.




This young ladies' parents asked that we not disclose her name, their shame is reached its limit. We obliged, but she still is a contender for the richly deserved Golden Poop.



I am not sure if this is parody or real, if real, Mr. Zarrabi is a serious contender for the Golden Poop!


We love cognitive dissonance here at the Golden Poop Awards, and who better to display it than a confused Marine who doesn't believe infidels have rights?




Well, she got the last four words right......



Deserve a government hearing? The best I can do for you is a Golden Poop for idiocy.


Did you know that regulated has more than one meaning? Doesn't matter Maqart.....we'll consider you for the Golden Poop anyway.


Another Golden Poop statement from a politician with sub-zero IQ. We love it!

Speaking of sub-zero IQ! Heals up Harris should definitely be in the running for the statement below, we'll have to wait and see if she can take home the gold kaka. Maybe we could rename the award to the Golden Kamala?

Can I place an order for one of these rifles of which she speaks?


How ironic that someone named Joy is full of hate and bullshit, but she is in the running for a Golden Poop, so she has that going for her, which is nice.


Hogg boy has been a contender for the coveted Golden Poop on numerous occasions, today he is nominated twice. Here is his first submission.





minutes, seconds who cares, were talking Golden Poop material here.....


They say ignorance is bliss, but is it worthy of a Golden Poop?


200 rounds eh? That smells like a Golden Poop statement!


The mere fact that he doesn't know what an ear plug is, might be enough for a Golden Poop all on its own.



Where might one acquire one of these Bazookas of which you speak? Asking for a friend.

The idiocy is strong with this one, strong enough to garner a Golden Poop? We'll have to see. 



Ms. Blair has an odd opinion and in the spirit of honest debate, Taj counters with a good question, inquiring minds want to know.


That is a weird question hogg boy has brought up, we'll have to see if the strategy of bringing Jesus into the conversation will work out for him.