Ever wonder how we got here? There are lots of possible outcomes from anyone event, but our current Gun World was shaped by the events listed below.
Gaston Glock gets laughed at
Gaston Glock owned a company that made shower curtain rings and other polymer products. Some of these products included training grenades and machine gun links. In 1978 Glock was awarded a contract for field knives for the Austrian military.
Sometime later, in '79 or '80 Glock was conversing with some Austrian military personnel, they were complaining about the Walther P-38/P1 which was the current issued sidearm in Austrian Military. Glock piped up and said that he could build them a better weapon, the men laughed at him, no doubt insulting him in the process. Glock took on the challenge and in April of 1981 was granted a patent for his pistol. The Glock 17 was adopted by the Austrian Army as well as several others, it now holds more than 70% market share in law enforcement Worldwide.
Winchester invests in Smith & Wesson
Oliver Winchester was a businessman in New England, primarily in textiles. Somehow, he heard about a business that had high potential for success yet was still going under or maybe he was convinced by other investors. Either way, he invested in the fledgling Smith & Wesson Company.
Smith & Wesson were trying to get the kinks worked out of a lever action pistol design that they purchased.
Oliver Winchester eventually bought out Smith & Wesson, moved the company to New Haven and switched from a pistol to a rifle.....and deer have not been safe since.
The 1934 National Firearms Act
An unconstitutional Act passed by both houses of Congress in unbelievable speed, from introduction to passage by both houses and signed into law was less than one month. There was an attempt to outlaw everything except long barreled rifles and shotguns, but someone forced the issue and demanded that handguns be exempted.....they should have demanded that short barreled rifles and shotguns also be excepted...after all why is it legal to own a 11" handgun with no tax stamp, but not a 12" rifle???
Due to this error, Americans have not been able to own short, barreled rifles or shotguns without a $200 tax stamp and permission from the Federal Government, all the while these things have been legal in Canada and other countries.
Samuel Walker writes to Samuel Colt
in 1844 Samuel Walker, an Army Captain, wrote to Samuel Colt, hoping the gun maker would listen to his idea about a new revolver that would be powerful enough to kill a man or horse with one shot.
Walker funded his own trip to New York to meet with Colt. Colt was no longer in the gun business, as his first endeavor in Patterson New Jersey went bankrupt a year prior. After being assured that Walker could get him a contract Colt agreed to design and build the gun. He partnered with Eli Whitney Jr, the man famous for his Cotton Gin.
The money earned from the sale of the guns granted Colt the opportunity to start up his business again, he built a new factory on the banks of the Connecticut River. Colt's revolvers were so popular that the name Colt was once synonymous with the word revolver.
Bill Ruger Meets Alexander Sturm
Bill Ruger desperately wanted to start his own gun company and was building hand tools in an attempt to get into the business. His previous company had just failed, and Ruger needed to get back into business. Everything changed when he met Alexander Sturm, even though they were different in a lot of ways and Ruger was 7 years his senior, they became friends and once Sturm saw Ruger's protype .22 pistol he wanted to go into business with Ruger.
Sturm provided $50,000 as seed money to start the company, within a year the loan was repaid, and the company was growing very fast. Ruger is now the largest gun maker in America, with annual revenue exceeding $500 Million. Read more here.
The 1994 "Assault Weapons" Ban
Democrats, in their never-ending attempt to put their boots on the necks of others, passed and signed into law a ban on the manufacture of scary looking semi-auto rifles.
Before the ban there was an estimated half million AR-15s in private hands and relatively few semi-auto AK-47s and Mini-14s being enjoyed by free citizens.
In order to get the ban passed, Democrats needed the help of Republicans, so the Republicans were able to get a sunset clause put in the legislation, the ban would only last ten years.
In the mid-term elections following the ban, every single Democrat running for reelection lost, including the Speaker of the House. It was dubbed "the Republican revolution".
After the ban expired sales of the banned rifles skyrocketed, today there are an estimated 20 million AR-15s in private hands and the price dropped by more the 50%. In addition, magazines holding more than 10 rounds also became extremely popular. The ban actually made the affected items cheaper and more popular. Read more here.
Tompkins PLC (Smith & Wesson) makes a deal with the devil
British firm Tompkins PLC purchased Smith & Wesson from Bangor Punta in 1987 for $112.5 Million, in March of 2000 Tompkins PLC made an agreement with pedophile Bill Clinton to put locks on their guns, develop "smart gun" technology and other restrictions, in exchange for government contracts. A boycott of Smith & Wesson products commenced immediately, by September the CEO was forced out and by December S&W stock was at 19 cents per share. In May of the following year Tompkins sold S&W for $15 Million. This paved the way for Smith & Wesson's comeback.
Frank Kenna buys Marlin
In 1924 Marlin was up for sale at an auction. I am sure Winchester could have purchased what was left of their competitor, no doubt Smith & Wesson or Colt probably could have bought them also, but those people did not believe in Marlin and their products, but a man named Frank Kenna did, so he bid $100 (around $1,900 today) and won the company (along with some debt). The Kenna family brought the company back from the brink and many of us would probably have never owned a Marlin if not for Frank Kenna.
Remington forges his own barrel
Whether an attempt at greatness or a frugal blacksmith wanting a gun, with that first barrel Eliphalet Remington II started a company that would last more than 200 years. At its height Remington was the premier provider of shotguns and rifles. The 870 Wingmaster is still revered as one of the best shotguns ever made.
The 1968 Gun Control Act and the Ring of Fire
The 1968 Gun Control Act was in response to three major assassinations in the U.S. President John F. Kennedy, his brother Robert five years later and Martin Luther King Jr. led our government to restrict our access to firearms.
One of the provisions in the act was the banning of the importation of small handguns, they were deemed as having "no sporting purpose", funny the Constitution never mentions "sport".
The ban resulted in companies popping up to make these small, concealable, defensive arms in America as the ban only applied to imported weapons. The Jennings family of Los Angeles started one such company and that company spawned several others (a dozen or so). The affordable, small caliber guns were very popular, so much so that the media named this group of companies surrounding the Los Angeles area as the "Ring of Fire", read more here.
