Gun Designs That Should Be Brought Back

 Fashions come and go, clothes that were once fashionable often make a return, like Chuck Taylor All-Stars or Go-Go Boots. What if we had a similar circumstance in the gun world? What gun designs would you like to see make a comeback?

The Whitney Wolverine/Lightning

The futuristic 22 pistol made of aluminum and nickel-plated carbon steel, beautiful and simple.....Samson Mfg has promised to bring this gun back to the market and I am hoping they do.

I'll take a nickel plated one with white grips, like the one below.

The Ruger Deerfield 44 Carbine

This Ruger was only offered for a short time (2000-2006), and not in large numbers. It is the reincarnation of the Ruger .44 Carbine which was dropped from the catalog in 1985 due to high production costs, this version is built on the Mini-14 platform.

This time bring it back with a factory detachable magazine that holds 10 rounds.

and in stainless with the folding walnut & stainless stock

Timberwolf 44 Mag

Since we are talking 44 Magnum rifles, why not bring back the pump action Timberwolf rifle? Produced by Israeli Military Industries (IMI) in 1990, unfortunately only 1000 of them were produced in .44 & .357 Magnum.

Bring them back and make them affordable (if that is even possible) in both .44 & .357 Magnum.

The Stevens Favorite

I know that other companies have made or still make reproductions, but wouldn't it be cool if Savage brought back the original? Include touches like the octagon barrel, Schnabel forend, real color case hardening, crescent butt plates and walnut wood. Make 'em in .22, 22 Mag and 38 Special....yes definitely .38 Special.

The Ruger Security/Service/Speed Six

Ruger was late to the double action revolver game, but their 1st foray hit a home run, designed primarily by genius Harry Sefried, they were nearly identical in size to the S&W K-frame, but featured a stronger design with no side plates and a no tools take-down procedure. When they were dropped from the catalog it left Ruger buyers with two options, the smaller SP101 and the larger GP-100, I think many of us Ruger fans would like the option of a mid-sized gun.

The Bitner

A late 19th century, Austian "ring pistol" has garnered a lot of praise for its beauty and function, why not bring it back in .22 mag or .38 Special, a fun plinker that would be the pride of anyone's collection.

The Smith & Wesson model 61 Escort

The modernized clone of the 1908 Pieper-Bayard

S&W reintroduced the design in 1987 in several configurations including the stainless/aluminum model 2213.

Bring the gun back, in .22 LR, bright nickel finish with mother of pearl grips, even call it the "Escort II".


Stevens Single Shot Pistol

I know this one sounds a bit crazy, but here me out, with today's technology, these could be built tough and fairly cheap. Make them in low pressure rounds like .22 LR, .32 S&W, .38 Special, .44 Special and 45 Colt. Give them a hammer block safety, a decent set of adjustable sights, match quality barrels and maybe a vent rib for mounting optics, make them in stainless and blued with different grip options.

The Hi-Standard Sentinel

A simple, yet ingeniously designed .22 "kit gun", aluminum frame with carbon steel parts, it will outlast most of us. They worked and worked well, they also had a very natural grip, it was so good Harry Sefried carried it over to the Ruger "Six" line of double action revolvers and so attractive that Andy Warhol made its image into art.

Oh and make sure to bring back the short barrel, nickel plated option as well.

Don't forget the fancy anodized blue and pink ones!

H&R 999 Sportsman

Another 9-shot .22 revolver that should be brought back is the Harrinton & Richardson model 999 Sportsman. It had a double action, top break design. As mentioned, it held 9 rounds of .22 LR.

I have a 1937 vintage model 999 and would love to have a 2026 version.....

Bring the design back and include a 5-shot .38 Special and a .32 H&R mag version as well.

NEF/H&R Shotguns and Handi-Rifles

Harrington & Richardson and their spin-ff brand New England Firearms used to offer a break open, durable and easy to use shotgun.

They also made a rifled version that came in some cool calibers like .44 Mag, .45 Colt and .45-70.

Best of all they were very affordable, I have owned several of the 12-gauge shotguns, all bought second hand and never paid more than $100.

One model that definitely should return is the H&R 1871 Buffalo Classic in 45-70.

Ruger MP9

Bill Ruger was always looking for ways to get some of that lucrative government milk. In this endeavor he hired Uziel Gal, inventor of the Israeli Uzi to redesign his famous submachine gun, fixing all of the guns flaws learned over the 25+ years since its introduction.

MP9, if you hadn't figured it out stands for Machine Pistol 9mm. The guns lower frame and grip were made of lightweight polymer, while the upper was the familiar stamped steel.

The MP9 shoots from a closed bolt, making it safer and capable of semi-auto only fire.

The gun did see some action abroad but never caught on with the U.S. Government and the gun was disco'd after just a year or so with only 1500 units produced.

Imagine if Ruger brought this back as a semi-auto pistol only, with Glock mag compatibility.....it could happen as Bill is now gone (Bill never intended for the gun to be in civilian hands) and company execs seem more reasonable to these kinds of products.