The Hawken Rifle Turns 200 Just as the Colt revolver and the Winchester rifle are icons of the post-Civil War West, one gun symbolizes the era of the fur trade. The rifle was the primary weapon for sustenance and defense with the early trappers and explorers in the American West. Although specific firearms makers…
Category: Historical Study
Firearm Conundrums
Firearm Conundrums A few questions puzzle nimrods and veteran shooters alike: Single Action, Double Action? One of the many enigmas to newcomers in the Western gun world is the description of operating a “single action” (SA) versus a “double action” (DA). Why are two actions required of the shooter to fire a single-action…
The Bad Ass Files: Robert “R.J.” Thomas – The Story of a Real American Gunfighter
A REAL AMERICAN GUNFIGHTER AND HIS GUNS When those who grew up in my era hear the words “gunfight” or “gunfighter,” we immediately get a vision of something that never existed. Spending many of my Saturdays in the late 1940s at the West Theater to watch western movies with the likes of Roy Rogers,…
Lessons from the Battle of Adobe Walls
Lessons from the Battle of Adobe Walls An amazing but rarely discussed piece of Texas History.
Know Your Texas History: 188 Years Ago Today the Siege of the Alamo Began and Lasted for 13 Days
Remembering the Alamo February 23, 1836 — Native Americans had lived in Texas for thousands of years, undisturbed until Spanish explorers arrived in 1519 and took control. Mexico’s war of independence pushed out the Spanish in 1821 and Mexican Texas was born. To boost settlement, Mexican authorities encouraged immigration from the United States, the campaign becoming so successful that by 1834,…
Black History Month Fun Fact #11
Black History Month Fun Fact #9
Black History Month Fun Fact #8
Black History Month Fun Fact #6
Know Your Real Civil War History: Lincoln’s Tariff War ~ March 2, 1861
Lincoln’s Tariff War ~ March 2, 1861 When Charles Adams published his book For Good and Evil, a world history of taxation, the most controversial chapter by far was the one on whether or not tariffs caused the American War between the States. That chapter generated so much discussion and debate that Adams’s publisher urged…