There are few topics as divisive as guns. While many Americans vehemently stand by their Second Amendment right to bear arms, opposition groups blame the ease of access to firearms for the increasing amount of gun-related violence across the US.
But, wherever you stand, there’s no denying that guns are deeply ingrained into American society.
As such, it’s vital to stay informed and arm yourself with the most powerful weapon of all – knowledge.
Not only are there lots of facts about guns you’re unlikely to have learned in school, but delving deeper into the history of firearms helps us have a better understanding of the benefits of guns and their relevance to our present.
Keep reading to find out some fascinating gun facts that are right on target!
1. Senior Shooter Saves the Day
One of the main reasons to get a gun is for protecting your family and property, something that Kenneth Byrd and his family know more about than most.
One night, three armed men forced their way into Byrd’s home with the intention of stealing the money in his safe and raping his 19-year-old granddaughter.
But, upon opening the safe, instead of taking out wads of cash, the quick-thinking 67-year-old took out a gun and shot all three intruders.
Although he was injured in the home invasion, Byrd managed to shoot one of the offenders dead while the other two were soon caught by police and charged with burglary, kidnapping, sexual assault, and other charges.
What’s more, the suspects were persons of interest in other similar home invasions. With people like that around, owning a gun sounds like a smart move.
2. The World’s Most Successful Firearms Designer
He might not be a household name like many other inventors, but John Moses Browning is by far the most prolific and successful firearms designer of all time.
At the age of 13, Browning made his first firearm while working in his father’s gun store. In 1879, aged 24, he went on to receive the first of his extraordinary 128 firearms patents.
Some of his most famous designs include the M1911 handgun, the BAR automatic rifle, the Auto 5 semi-auto shotgun, and the M2 50-caliber Browning Machine Gun, better known as the 50 BMG.
3. Caught in a Spider’s Crosshairs
These days, the ‘crosshairs’ you see when you squint through a riflescope are painted on by hand. In the past, however, optics manufacturers used silk from black widow spiders.
Black widow spider silk is much stronger than silk made by less venomous spiders. This strength made this spun silk perfect for withstanding the force of even the most high-powered firearms. To keep up with demand, manufacturers employed workers whose role was to care for and feed their captive widows.
While this might sound like a risky job, the black widows suffered a lot more than their carers, with the burden of constant silk-spinning reducing their average life span by two-thirds.
4. Bring in the Big Guns
The Fabbrica d’Armi Pietro Beretta, more commonly known as Beretta, is the oldest active firearms manufacturer in the world. While that might not surprise you, the fact that the company is approaching its 500th anniversary just might.
That’s right, Berreta was established back in 1526, in Brescia, Italy. And, to drive home how much of an impact the Italian firm has had on firearms history, Berreta has supplied weapons for every major European war since 1650!
5. The Key to Self-Defense
Keys that double up as single-shot guns sound like something out of a James Bond movie. But they were actually the last line of self-defense for jailers in the mid-1850s.
If they felt the need to shoot as a way to protect themselves or other prisoners, the jailers could cause the key gun to fire by tapping their lit cigar on the gunpowder hole.
6. The Conan O’Brien Showdown
Conan O’Brien was desperate to get the hellraising writer Hunter S. Thompson on his talk show.
So desperate, in fact, that he agreed to Thompson’s condition that he’d only appear if O’Brien indulged him in some shooting practice.
As legend has it, O’Brien met Thompson on a remote farm where the pair of them drank hard liquor and fired guns. Now that’s a show we’d love to have seen!
7. BB Gun Beginnings
For most American children, buying a gun is a rite of passage. Of course, we’re not talking about real guns, we mean a BB gun.
But, what many Americans don’t realize is that the company behind your childhood BB gun, Daisy Outdoor Products, began life selling windmills under the name of the Plymouth Iron Windmill Company.
Back in the late 1800s, the owner Clarence Hamilton also operated the Plymouth Air Rifle Company, and came up with the idea of giving away a free air gun with every windmill purchase.
When the windmill company’s general manager, L.C. Hough test-fired the gun, he exclaimed, “Boy, that’s a Daisy!” Inspired by this, the failing windmill company rebranded itself as Daisy Manufacturing Company and is still going strong today.
8. Ernest Hemingway Goes Rogue
He might be known first and foremost as a famous writer, but there’s a lot more to Ernest Hemingway than that.
He was also an artful boxer, a skilled fisherman, and…a Nazi-hunting badass. During World War II, Hemingway would set off on the Gulf Stream in his fishing boat and take out German U-boats with hand grenades and a machine gun.
9. Space Shooters
One of the more surprising gun facts we’ve unearthed is that you can fire a gun in space.
Even in the vacuum of space, guns work because gunpowder contains its own oxidizer.
Although, since sound waves can’t travel in a vacuum, there’d be no gunshot blast.
And, with no gravitational pull, the force of the gunshot would send you flying in the opposite direction of the bullet. As for the bullet, it would continue on and on, into infinity. Pretty cool, huh?!
Fascinating Facts About Guns
These days, we’re more used to reading negative facts about guns and the damage they can do.
But, there are two sides to every story. As such, it would be unfair to ignore the many benefits of guns and the impact they’ve had on society.
Whether you are pro-gun ownership or not, there’s no denying that firearms are impressive pieces of machinery with a long and fascinating history to discover, full of weird and wonderful gun facts like these.
For more interesting insights into everything from parenting to mental health, be sure to check out our other blog posts!