Cool Guns

4 guns for every dog. 201 million more guns than cars. A line of firearms that nearly reaches the Moon. America’s 500 million guns, in ratios you can picture.

The US is the only country on Earth with more civilian guns than people: about 120 per 100 residents, versus 52.8 for #2 Yemen and 4.6 for England.

American civilians own about 393 million guns, roughly three times the 133 million held by every military on Earth combined. The math behind the wildest US gun stat.

A flintlock you can buy new, a revolver from 1873 still on the price list, and the record that died in 2020. The oldest gun still made, with the fine print.

Jerry Miculek’s eight shots in a second, Ed McGivern’s 90-year-old record, and how Hollywood fakes the quick draw. The fastest shooters in history, for real.

The only real photo of Billy the Kid, Churchill with a Tommy gun, Patton’s ivory revolvers. Famous gun photos and the surprising stories behind them.

Pigeon-guided bombs, incendiary bats, a barrel that shoots around corners, and a gun that fired square bullets. The strangest military weapons ever built.

Blanks that can kill, the cold-gun call, and the tragedies of Brandon Lee and Rust. How Hollywood armorers actually work, from a firearms reviewer.

A plastic gun that never existed, a cop-killer bullet that protected gun barrels, a camping gun saved by three inches. Guns banned for the weirdest reasons.