Introduction: Science or Politics? In the rush to “modernize” their rail system the French, like most governments in the world, were not just interested in obtaining more efficiency or more speed for their rail network. Appearances…
Introduction The Smith & Wesson No. 3 revolver became one of the most well traveled revolvers to spring from the United States. These revolvers were among the first cartridge revolvers made, Smith & Wesson having patented…
A Tale of a Practical King Once upon a time, in a land far far away, a land called Montenegro, there lived a wise king who ordered that all the men of his nation must be…
Introduction: The Break-Action Double Rifle The double barrel action has long been established as a shotgun action, ideal for providing an effortless second shot, and able to be made as an elegant looking, and instinctive handling…
The “Land of Oz” and a Plethora of Rail Gauges There’s a song that says the “Land of Oz is a very funny place…” and some people like to call Australia the “Land of Oz”. Its…
Introduction: An Odd Beginning The story of the Gar Wood mahogany runabout speed boats begins, oddly enough, with ferry boat racing on Lake Osakis in Minnesota and coal dump trucks. Born in 1880 Garfield Arthur Wood…
The Spanish word “Tramontana” could best be translated as “a wind that travels over the mountain”, or perhaps “a wind that transports you to the other side of the mountain” . That is in all likelihood why…
Samuel Colt was a businessman, and at the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 he was placed in a position where, like everyone else in the United States, he would need to choose a side…
Introduction: The Usefulness of a Time Machine We are looking at a rifle that has an expected value of around USD$275,000-$375,000 and may well sell at auction for rather more than that. But when it was…
Back in the blackpowder era the standard elephant and large dangerous game guns were the 8 bore, 6 bore and 4 bore. This standard began in muzzle-loading days and persisted throughout the blackpowder breech loading cartridge…