I Have This Old Gun

Smith & Wesson's rimfire K-22 Masterpiece revolver proved that quality costs, but it also sells.

One of the most iconic military longarms ever made, the British Land Pattern musket, more commonly known as the "Brown Bess," equipped British infantrymen across the world for more than a century.

One of the iconic revolvers of the early 20th century is Colt's compact Detective Special, which became popular on the commercial market and was featured widely in film noir from the 1930s until the 1950s. But the road to the Detective Special wasn't the typical route for a new firearm.

It is likely this Long Land Pattern Brown Bess was surrendered by British troops at Saratoga, then used to arm Americans in their fight for liberty before subsequently falling into private hands. Today, it remains as one of a scant few British muskets with a direct tie to the events of the American Revolution.

Pressed into Nazi service, the Czech-produced CZ vz.27 pistol was a popular GI bring-back from World War II.

To meet the domestic demand for M1 carbines while the original guns were still in government service, several manufacturers emerged, and one of them was Universal Firearms of Florida.

Following the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, the French military were in desperate need of a new service rifle. Their answer was the Model 1874 Gras, which was largely an update to the earlier Chassepot design.

People carrying small firearms for personal protection is not a new concept, and in the middle of the 19th century, many pocket pistols were designed with self-defense in mind. One such gun, the Brown Manufacturing Southerner Derringer, was among the earliest cartridge-firing self-defense guns.

The U.S. military's first official breechloading service rifle was the Trapdoor Springfield, and of the line of guns that saw use throughout the late 19th century, one of the most refined was the Model 1884 Trapdoor.