Colt, Browning and Gatling - Resounding Names of the American Gun History!

Right from New England, Samuel Colt is today one of the pioneers of the gun-making industry, especially known for the revolver with a rotating cylinder and forward-looking cocking device. At the time of his invention, little did he know how popular he was going to become for many years to come. The most amazing thing about Samuel Colt is that he was able to pursue his ambitions ever since he was young. While at sea, he first came up with the idea for a revolver and later pursued that idea into making the world renowned Colt revolvers. He made sure he gained all the knowledge required and managed to build one of the biggest and most incredible gun factories worldwide. Colt quickly gained a reputation over the seas and even drew the attention of the British.

And if Samuel Colt managed to do so much for the American gun-making industry, let’s see what part has John M. Browning played. Browning was born a couple years after the time when Colt’s invention was patented but he did not waste any time. Learning from his father, Jonathan Browning, a skilled gunsmith, he was part of a generation that was always on the lookout for new and innovative ideas. He wanted not to repair guns but to make them himself. He wanted to show to the world what he, John Moses Browning was capable of. And he managed to do so more incredibly than he could ever imagine.

As incredible as it may seem, the first invention of Browning was created at the frail age of 14 and it was a single shot rifle. The ambitions of this amazing man didn’t stop here. After his father’s death, he started his own atelier with his brothers. Using all the tools they had at that time and putting a lot of effort into their work, the Browning brothers and especially John gained a patent for the breech-loading single shot rifle. This was only the start for an unbelievable series of successes and wonderful events.

The collaboration between John Browning and Winchester proved out to be more than productive. Together, they managed to add another stone to the brick foundation of the gun-making history. Browning provided the ideas, and deriving a benefit from that, Winchester produced the guns. Everyone was happy and that was especially the case for Browning, who finally had the time and ambition necessary to come up with even more incredible inventions. Today, the history of American guns gives Browning merit for more than several great inventions including: the lever action repeating rifle, the automatic shotgun and also the machine-gun. John Browning was definitely one of the gunmakers that have made America feel proud. He devoted his entire existence to gun making and will remain forever rooted in history. Just like other resounding American gun makers.

And if we were to talk about another great name and great inventor, we would surely have to consider Richard Gatling. Somewhere around the 1850s, a doctor was working on patenting a gun that was supposed to be hand operated, with multi-barrel features. It was in short a machine gun and probably one of the most advanced of that time. Who would have thought that a doctor was going to enter the American history books as a famous gunmaker?

From the time when he was a child, Gatling observed his father gaining recognition for his agricultural inventions and felt like he wanted to taste some of that success as well. But it took a little while for him to get the deserved credit and certainly it paid off. It was not until the 1860s that his invention was patented and soon after, in the 1870s the Gatling gun was manufactured by the same Colt factories. However that may be, doctor Richard Gatling has managed to stay in the history books for creating a gun what could fire up to 200 rounds per minute, serving the soldiers taking part in the American Civil War. He is recognized for the gun he invented that bears his name. And we could all learn a little bit from the ambition and persistence of such hard-working men.

The history of American guns and American gunmakers doesn’t stop here. It goes beyond our imagination and it encompasses other important inventors, a whole lot of interesting stories, and a series of succeeding events that have made history what is today. Today, specialists are working non-stop to create more and more powerful arms, mass-destructive and using nuclear technology. Perhaps both Samuel Colt and John Browning would stop and wonder why the need for such arms; the world still considers their inventions as magnificent weapons and who could deny the spectacular technology of their age in the gun making industry.

Guns may be designed or manufactured for a specific purpose; 1) combat, for both defensive and offensive needs, 2) personal protection or self-defense, 3) hunting and 4) sport or recreation. And later on a fifth category could be added, 5) collecting. Yes, some guns have been produced explicitly for the gun collectors, as commemoratives or presentation pieces. We will take a closer look at each of these five categories as we explore guns, their history and gun collecting.

If we were to consider the history of the American Civil War, we would surely discover a lot about the history of gun making as well. Because around that period and those years, a golden era of American gun makers was silently forming. Gun makers were using and discovering technical innovations, hoping to improve the chances of survival and winning of the soldiers on the battlefield and making sure that there are as few casualties as possible on their part. Patenting their inventions and always looking to make them better, they have contributed to the making of history like no other men have.

From some of the most primitive devices to the most modern of American guns, we can discover many interesting facts about standard armament used in the American Civil War and other wars as well. We can return to the times when the first machine guns were invented and when the rifle wasn’t considered to be old-fashioned. These were incredible times to live in and we can surely find out more about them with the help of the Internet. It is the perfect technology to turn back the hands of time and read about impressive information regarding American guns and their remarkable history!