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The 50th Anniversary Model 29 has a squarebutt grip just like its predecessor below. The grips will interchange.
After he blew the top strap and cylinder of an old .45 Colt SAA by grinding the black powder into finer granules and putting all he could into the .45 case, Elmer Keith “discovered” the .44 Special, which had been around for 20 years even though he had never seen one, and quickly unlocked its potential. He eventually settled on a load of 18.5 grains of Hercules 2400 under the Keith-designed Lyman No. 429421 250-grain hard-cast bullet in the era’s larger-capacity balloon-head .44 Special brass.
In duplicating this load in balloon-head brass, I found the muzzle velocity to be just over 1,200 feet per second from a 71⁄2″ barrel. When newer solid-head brass arrived in the 1950s, his load was dropped to 17 to 17.5 grains. Keith spent 30 years asking ammunition companies to offer a .44 Special load with a 250-grain bullet at 1,200 fps. He finally got what he asked for, and more, in the new .44 Magnum with a 240-grain bullet at 1,450 fps.
The new S&W Anniversary Classic Model 29 would befit the
man who made it a star and a legend — Clint Eastwood.
Keith Made It Work
Keith retired his .44 Specials in favor of the new cartridge, carrying a 4″ Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum daily until his incapacitating stroke in 1981. While he was happy with the new sixgun and the concept, the actual ammunition offered by Remington left something to be desired. The Lubaloy bullets were too soft resulting in barrel leading and Keith felt the pressures were much higher than they should have been.
He soon found a better load, which soon became such a standard it was simply known as the Keith Load — his Lyman No. 429421 hard cast 250- grain bullet over 22 grains of No. 2400 over standard primers. Be informed — it takes about 6 percent less of today’s Alliant No. 2400 to produce the same results Keith’s load did in 1956. Despite ever more powerful cartridges, such as the .454, .475, and .500, this remains a very powerful load and recoil in a 4″ .44 Magnum has not been diminished in any way, shape or form.
Originally, Smith & Wesson 1950 Target .44 Specials were assembled with specially heat-treated cylinders and frames, prototypes of the new .44 Magnum. The 1950 Target with a 61⁄2″ barrel weighed only 39 ounces resulting in excessive recoil — to the shooter, not the gun. Weight was added by using a bull barrel and full-length cylinder filling most of the frame window. The weight of the final production 61⁄2″ .44 Magnum was 48 ounces or an even three pounds.
Sitting atop and original ad for the Model 29, the Anniversary
Model 29 also has period correct Herrett’s Trooper stocks.
The .44 Magnum Is Born
The early Smith & Wesson .44 Magnums were beauty personified. Not only did they carry a beautiful finish known in those days as S&W Bright Blue, they also came very close to, perhaps even equaled, the precision fitting of the 1907 Triple-Lock. The new .44 Smith & Wesson, superbly finished with a magnificently smooth action and trigger pull, sold for $140. As a teenager I was making $15 a week with a paper route and could only dream of great sixguns. I graduated from high school and moved up to big money — 90¢ an hour — and it was time to start buying my own sixguns.
One of the first .44 Magnum 4″ models to hit my part of the country was rented out by a local gun store/outdoor shooting range. Three of us teenagers stepped forward to shoot, and although the recoil was absolutely awful, none of us would admit it and definitely not to each other.
The Anniversary Model 29 from Smith & Wesson comes with a wooden presentation
case just as it did 50 years ago. The 50th Anniversary Model 29 is the 21st century
version of the original .44 Magnum. The new sixgun does not have counterbored
chambers or a pinned barrel, but is otherwise a beautifully made piece.
Lace Panties?
Those first .44 Magnums appropriately resided in fitted wooden cases. Guides and outfitters traded in their .357s for the new .44 and a few handgun hunters began using the Smith & Wesson very successfully. However, soon gun stores had used .44 Magnums for sale with a box of cartridges holding six empties and 44 .44s still intact. One cylinder full was all it usually took for many a shooter to realize this was more
pain than desirable.
Remember, this was the 1950s when heavy handgun recoil was represented by the 1911 .45 ACP and relatively heavy .357 Magnum. There were no hard-kickin’ handguns until the .44 Magnum arrived. A well respected writer of the time, Major Hatcher of the NRA Staff, likened the recoil of the .44 Magnum Smith & Wesson to being hit in the palm of the hand with a baseball bat. Keith said it was not as bad as shooting a 2″ Chief’s Special .38, while Col. Askins, always the pot stirrer, countered with anyone who could not handle the recoil should wear lace panties.
Unreal Demand Becomes Real
Only the most serious shooters chose the S&W .44 Magnum before the arrival of Dirty Harry. Clint Eastwood’s famous character, whose exploits began in the early 1970s, created an unreal demand for the .44 Magnum not satisfied no matter how much Smith & Wesson increased production. Suddenly .44 Magnums, which had been selling less than retail, were going for double retail and more. The demand created by the movies was unreal and destined to wear itself out, but a real demand was created by two sixgunning activities which really took off in the late 1970s, namely handgun hunting and long range silhouetting.
With the rise of handgun hunting and heavier sixguns, the reloading of the .44 Magnum changed dramatically. The old standard Keith load had been his 250- grain hard-cast semiwadcutter bullet over 22 grains of No. 2400 was, and remains an excellent hunting load. But as bigger and bigger game, including elephant and Cape buffalo were hunted with the .44 Magnum, the standard hunting load became a hard-cast 300- or 320-grain bullet at 1,300 to 1,400 fps.
For test-firing the Anniversary Model 29, Taffin found 1950s stocks by Herrett’s
worked better than the factory grips and the 5-shot 20-yard groups were exceptional.
In Denial
When silhouetting came on the scene, the Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum was an early favorite. Used sparingly with full-house Keith loads, the S&W performed normally, but shooters soon discovered it would not take the constant pounding of a steady diet of heavy loads. Even though Keith
waited 30 years for his “.44 Special Magnum” he reported in the 1957 Gun Digest firing 600 rounds through his .44 Magnum in the course of a year. That averages to less than 12 rounds a week and no problems were reported.
However, as silhouetters used thousands of rounds in practice and competition, the big Smith started to shoot loose. Parts wore quickly and some sixguns unlocked on firing allowing the cylinder to rotate backwards placing an empty round under the hammer upon the next shot. Smith & Wesson ignored or denied these problems until the 1980s when they announced internal changes to prevent these occurrences.
Stocks of the 50th Anniversary Model are attractive and feel
very good, but are not fitted well enough for shooting.
The Classic Sixgun
Today, collectors refer to the early guns as pre-29s as the .44 Magnum became the Model 29 in 1957 when all Smith & Wesson handguns were de-personalized with model numbers instead of such great names as .357 Magnum, .38/44 Heavy Duty, Highway Patrolman, Combat Magnum, and of course, .44 Magnum. Those very first .44 Magnums are also known as five screws as they had four sideplate screws and one screw entering from the front of the triggerguard. In 1956 they became four screws with the elimination of the upper sideplate screw, and the 83⁄8″ barreled version arrived in 1958 after going to four screws. The same year also saw a special run of approximately 500 Model 29s with 5″ barrels.
Win A Little, Lose A Lot
Over the years, the Model 29 went through a series of changes. In 1960 it became Model 29-1 when the extractor rod was changed to a reverse thread. The 29-2 arrived in 1961 with the changing of the cylinder stop and the dropping of the triggerguard screw, followed by the elimination of the diamond in the center of the grip in 1968. The prefix of the serial number went from S to N in 1969, and then someone must have had a very bad weekend in 1979 when the 61⁄2″ barrel length was changed to 6″. This should never have happened. The 6″ never quite balanced or looked right and was definitely an extreme case of fixing what ain’t broke.
As if to add insult to injury, the Model 29-3 arrived in 1982 without the recessed cylinder and pinned barrel. At the tail end of the 29-3 production in 1987 Smith & Wesson started the Endurance Package which was carried into the 29-4 in 1988. Two years later the 29-5 saw the introduction of longer bolt slots in the cylinder as well as more internal modifications. By 1994 the wooden stocks, which had gone from fairly usable and comfortable to a very blocky shape uncomfortable with all loads, were replaced by Hogue rubber stocks, the top was drilled and tapped for scope mounts, and the front of the rear sight leaf was changed from square to semicircular. This was the Model 29-6. The 61⁄2″ barrel, the pinned and recessed features, the original stocks were all gone and another radical change appeared when the long familiar square grip was dropped for a round butt in 1995. Forty years after the original appeared it was now “improved” to the point of hardly being recognizable. The Model 29 also appeared as a 101⁄2″ Silhouette Model with special sights and then the Classic, Classic DX, and Magna Classic with full under lug barrels.
Burial And Resurrection
By 1998’s 29-7, the final changes were made. It now had a MIM trigger and hammer, a frame-mounted firing pin, and more changes to the lock works. All of the changes are not necessarily bad, but it wasn’t the original .44 Magnum. In 1999, Smith & Wesson blew taps over the Model 29 and it was gone, dead and buried. The original had changed so much hardly anyone missed it.
Now the Model 29 is back. No, it is not exactly the same as it was 50-years ago. The original .44 Magnum was built on a design from the 19th century originating in the Military & Police of 1899. Working by 21st century standards and production methods, Smith & Wesson has done an excellent job resurrecting the original .44 Magnum. Some things are the same, some are different and the phrase of the day is “No Whining.” Yes, my spiritual side would have preferred an exact duplicate, however, my realistic side says this’ll never happen.
The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
Let’s look at the 50th Anniversary Model of the Smith & Wesson .44 Magnum. The Bright Blue finish almost rivals the old, the sights are a white outline rear and a red ramp front as on the original, and the barrel length is the original 61⁄2″. The hammer and trigger are the original checkered and serrated style and, from the side, the hammer has the best looking profile I’ve seen on a Smith & Wesson or any other factory-produced sixgun for that matter.
The stocks are good news/bad news. The good news is they are the same color, though a lighter shade, as the originals and have the diamond around the grip screw. They also feel much better than the originals being slightly thinner in overall feel and tapered quite a bit to the top of the grip frame. Unfortunately, they are not inletted to the grip frame and depend on pins to hold them solidly. It doesn’t work and
they move when firing even heavy .44 Special loads, so it seemed both prudent and appropriate to replace them with a tight-fitting pair of Herrett’s Trooper stocks almost as old as the original .44 Magnum. The grip frame is a square butt and original .44 Magnum stocks fit, so both the original barrel length and grip-frame configuration are back. The pinned and recessed features are missing and the firing pin is mounted in the frame instead of the hammer.
Yes, it has the internal lock found on all Smith & Wesson revolvers and comes in a lockable, padded plastic case. The sides of the barrel are marked as the original was though in reverse with the left side of the barrel marked “44 MAGNUM”, while the right side carries “SMITH & WESSON.” Since this is a 50th Anniversary Model, there is a gold seal on the right side of the frame announcing “50th ANNIVERSARY, SMITH & WESSON” above the S&W logo with “1956-2006, 44 MAGNUM” found below. All in all this is a most attractive sixgun and I applaud Smith & Wesson for bringing back the best possible 21st century version of the original .44 Magnum.
Shoots Fine
The new Model 29 was tested with both .44 Special and .44 Magnum handloads in very shooter unfriendly conditions with a temperature of 33 degrees and a numbing wind. I would load the sixgun and quickly put on wool knit gloves to fire. In between, I headed for the 4×4 to warm up. Even so, the 50th Anniversary Model performed very well. In Starline .44 Special brass, the 250-grain Keith bullet over 16 grains of No. 2400 clocked 1,125 fps and grouped 13⁄8″ for five shots at 20 yards, while the same bullet over 7.5 grains of Unique or 17.5 grains of H4227 went 975 fps and grouped into 11⁄2″. The best groups came from Starline .44 Magnum brass with a Cast Performance Bullet Co. 255-grain Hard
Cast over 21 grains of 2400 for 1,331 fps and a group of 1″, while the 250- grain Keith over 21 grains of 2400 grouped into 11⁄8″ and clocked 1,376 fps. All loads were chronographed using the easy to set-up and use (really appreciated in cold weather!) PACT Professional Chronograph XP.
The Smith & Wesson Model 29 is the sixgun by which all other .44 Magnums are judged. When it comes to performance some fall short, other surpass it. I view it as the finest-looking doubleaction revolver ever made, and it is definitely the slickest handling of all .44 Magnums. For an everyday Packin’ Pistol with standard loads using 240- to 250-grain bullets or heavy-duty .44 Special loads, it is still top of the mountain when it comes to double-actions. One miracle occurred with the return of the Model 29, it would only take a minor miracle to make it a standard production item next year offered in both 4″ and 61⁄2″ versions. One can hope. Shooting the new old 29 took my mind, soul and spirit back 50 years.
To America – The Last Great Hope of All Mankind ! Grumpy
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“Oddball” Navy & Artillery Lugers
Red, white, and polished blue steel. The 4th of July is a celebration of freedom, and America’s freedom was forged through courage and gunpowder. We’re looking back at the top 25 American guns of all time, and the competition is fierce. Most of the featured firearms are offered in Rock Island Auction Company’s upcoming August Premier Auction, along with a few examples from past events.
The Kentucky Rifle
One of the first truly iconic arms of America was pioneered by German and Swiss gunsmiths who immigrated to the Colonies in the 18th century. Popularly known as the Kentucky Rifle or Pennsylvania Rifle, the American Long Rifle allowed accurate shooting up to 200 yards or more, a decisive advantage to backwoodsmen while hunting in the western wilderness or sniping Red Coats during the Revolutionary War and War of 1812.
Colt Model 1851 Navy
A personal favorite of Samuel Colt, the Model 1851 Navy was one of the most prevalent sidearms on both sides of the American Civil War, even serving as the basis for numerous Confederate produced brass-frame revolver styles like the Griswold & Gunnison Revolver and the Leech & Rigdon revolvers. The sturdy sixgun’s impressive production numbers, widespread use on the American frontier, and status as the favored revolver for Western legends like Wild Bill Hickok, Buffalo Bill Cody, and countless early gunslingers elevate the 1851 Navy to one of best American guns of all time.
The Sharps Rifle and Carbine
The various models of Sharps rifles and carbines earned a reputation as iconic arms of America in the Civil War, the Old West, and in popular culture thanks to films like ‘Quigley Down Under’ and ‘True Grit.’ Produced from the Antebellum Era through the late-19th century and noted for their exceptional accuracy and reliability, the Sharps filled a key role during the Civil War when the Union purchased approximately 80,000 Sharps carbines and almost 10,000 rifles. Specially ordered Sharps rifles were famously fielded by the 1st and 2nd U.S. Sharpshooter Regiments (the Berdan’s Sharpshooters) to great effect.
The Springfield Model 1861 Rifle-Musket
The Springfield Model 1861 rifle-musket became one of the most prolific Northern rifles issued during the Civil War, taking the field in quantity from 1862 onward, from Shiloh to Appomattox. With over 1 million being produced during the conflict by Springfield Armory and two dozen other firearm producers, the dependable .58 caliber rifle improved precision over infantry traditional musket. This percussion powerhouse finds a worthy spot on our list of America’s best guns of all time thanks to its role in winning the Civil War, protecting workers on the Transcontinental Railroad, and serving as the material platform for a line of Springfield breechloading rifles that would culminate with the 1873 Trapdoor.
Remington Rolling Block
Developed from the Remington “Split Breech” carbine, a Civil War gun designed to fire the same cartridges as the Spencer repeater, the Remington Rolling Block family became not just one of the most iconic arms of America but a popular longarm around the world. As the most widely used single shot military breechloader of the 19th century, the Remington Rolling Block’s service record is expansive. The gun was produced in a variety of calibers, both rimfire and centerfire, and its action was sturdy enough to easily accommodate the increased pressure of new smokeless powders hitting the market in the late 1890s.
The Colt Single Action Army
The Colt Single Action Army revolver is a no-brainer inclusion for any best guns of all time list. Possibly the most famous firearm ever made, “Judge Colt and His Jury of Six” was first adopted by the U.S. Army in July 1873 and went on to serve as the choice sidearm for countless lawmen, cowboys, homesteaders, and desperados who came to define the American frontier. For 150 years, the Colt SAA has prominently appeared in dime novels, radio shows, film, and television, and today continues to represent the enduring spirit of the American West.
The Winchester 1873
A well-armed frontiersman carried a Colt on his hip and a Winchester over his shoulder. As the successor to the Henry rifle and the 1866 Yellowboy, the Model 1873 put the name Winchester on the map and went on to conquer the open range. Dubbed “the Gun that Won the West”, the Winchester ’73 became a symbol of freedom and self-determination on the American frontier. From movie sets to modern-day cowboy action shooting competitions, these iconic arms of America have stood the test of time.
Winchester Model 94
The Winchester Model 1894 hit the scene too late to see the height of the American Wild West, but the rifle certainly kept Winchester’s frontier legacy alive. The Winchester 94’s balance and slim profile made it a favorite walking gun for hunters, ranchers, and law enforcement who appreciated the power and reliability of Winchester’s .30-30 WCF smokeless cartridge. The classic lever gun’s accuracy, simplicity, and rugged resilience earned it a place in millions of gun racks across America. In terms of tried-and-tested hunting arms, the Winchester Model 94 is hands down one of the best guns of all time.
Smith & Wesson Military and Police and Model 10
What qualities should a model have to be considered one of the best guns of all time? Production numbers? Versatility? Fame? The Smith & Wesson .38 Military & Police series checks all those boxes and more, remaining in continuous production for over a century and becoming the overwhelming favorite sidearm of countless police forces and militaries around the world. Later renamed the Model 10, this iconic revolver became the most produced wheel gun platform of the 20th century and a mainstay of nearly every police department around the country well into the 1980s. Now that’s an American success story.
Marlin Model 39A
The first lever action chambered in .22 LR, this classic Marlin went through a number of name changes over the last 132 years. Releasing as the Marlin Model 1891, the gun was redubbed “Bicycle Rifle” in 1897, then again renamed to Model 39 in 1922 before finally embracing its most famous iteration in 1939 in the Marlin 1939A. As the longest continuously produced rifle in the world and the lever action Annie Oakley made famous, the Marlin Model 39A and its predecessors are undeniably iconic arms of America.
Winchester Model 1897 Shotgun
One of the best guns of all time in terms of military shotguns, the Winchester Model 1897 shotgun was popularized as a sporting arm before finding a role during the Philippine-American War. In WW1, the Model 1897 was officially adopted as the U.S. “Model of 1917 Trench Shotgun” and modified with a bayonet lug, a heat shield, and a shorter barrel for maneuverability in the trenches of Western Europe. The shotgun and its slam fire heroics proved effective enough to earn a diplomatic protest from the Germans, who claimed that America’s use of trench guns caused “unnecessary suffering.”
1903 Springfield Rifle
Not all iconic arms of America were born in the Land of Stars and Stripes. Based on the German Mauser bolt action, America took the design and made it their own with the Springfield Model 1903 rifle. Initially chambered in .30-03, the rifle suffered from poor trajectory and excessive barrel wear. However, by chambering a lighter, spitzer bullet and a cooler burning propellant, a legend was born in the .30-06 cartridge, and battlefield and deer stand would soon feel the wrath of the mighty Springfield Model 1903.
The Colt 1911
As the longest-serving military sidearm in American history, the legendary Colt 1911 pistol is going to find itself in any best guns of all time discussion. The brainchild of John Moses Browning, this .45-caliber magazine-fed semi-automatic pistol set a new design standard that helped the United States become back to back World War champs and continues to be carried by numerous American officers to this day. The M1911 design has been widely emulated, with few major changes made to the pistol’s internals over the decades, a testament to the gun’s exemplary performance record.
Browning Auto-5
John Browning was said to consider the Auto-5 his greatest achievement, a bold statement from the prolific gun inventor and more than enough to earn the famous “Humpback” a solid ranking among the most iconic arms of America. Browning’s 1903 recoil-operated design was a versatile workhorse for all types of fowling and target shooting. This sturdy scattergun continues to be fielded by the modern sportsman today and holds the title of second-best autoloading shotty of all time.
The Thompson Submachine Gun
In terms of cultural impact and a notable service record in WW2, Hollywood’s favorite gangster weapon merits consideration as one of the best guns of all time. Designed by John Thompson, the fully automatic Tommy Gun was completed too late to fill its intended role as a WW1 trench sweeper. The inventor subsequently marketed the weapon to everyone from law enforcement to ranchers, but the deadly submachinegun found an unexpected niche with organized crime. On the eve of WW2, the Thompson submachine gun was adopted by the U.S. military and employed by the British as well, with over 1.5 million of the new military-issued M1928A1 and M1A1 produced. This earned the weapon international recognition through German and Japanese propaganda posters that portrayed the U.S. and her allies as Tommy-toting gangsters.
The M2 Machine Gun
A good portion of John Browning’s inventions have become iconic arms of American history, including the famous M2 Heavy Machine Gun. Affectionately dubbed “Ma Deuce” and “The Mother of All Machine Guns” by the troops who continue to rely on its .50 caliber firepower, this air-cooled, belt-fed behemoth has stood the test of time like few other firearms. As a U.S. military mainstay since the 1930s, the M2 has touched the battlefield in every major American conflict from WW2 onward.
Ithaca 37
Hailed by many hunters as one of the best guns of all time, the Ithaca 37 shotgun is a legendary platform inspired by the ideas of John Moses Browning and John Douglas Pedersen. This pump action icon quickly found a market after its 1937 release and never looked back, becoming the longest continuously-produced shotgun in American history and earning a reputation as a versatile autoloader that was well suited for field, police, and military duty alike.
The M1 Garand
In the list of iconic arms of America during WW2, the M1 Garand might be number one. Fielded by millions of American GIs, General George Patton once hailed the rifle as, “the greatest battle implement ever devised.” The .30-caliber M1 Garand served as the standard U.S. infantry rifle from 1936 to 1959 and it continued to see use as late as the Vietnam War. From Saving Private Ryan and Band of Brothers to the Call of Duty video game series, few weapons can symbolize America’s valor in WW2 better than John Garand’s iconic rifle.
The M1 Carbine
Another red-blooded American gun that complimented the M1 Garand’s high-volume fire, the M1 Carbine offered an effective firearm sized somewhere between a rifle and a pistol that was ideal for units like paratroopers, drivers, weapon crews, intelligence officers, and communications personnel who required a lighter burden. One of the best guns of all time thanks to its spectacular service history, the M1 carbine helped lead the United States to victory in Europe and the Pacific theater then went on to become widely owned and fielded after the war thanks to an abundance of WW2 surplus.
Winchester Model 70
If you’re widely known as the superlative bolt action rifle, chances are you’re going to make America’s best guns of all time list. Enter the Winchester Model 70. Widely dubbed “the rifleman’s rifle,” the Model 70 has gone through numerous changes and iterations over its nearly nine decades of production and is chambered to take everything from white-tailed deer to African dangerous game. The gun served the United States Marines as their precision rifle during the Vietnam War, famously fielded by Gunnery Sergeant Carlos Hathcock, who used the mighty Model 70 during most of his 93 confirmed kills. Today, the Winchester Model 70 continues to find favor with shooters and collectors, the latter preferring the desirable “Pre-64” production model.
Smith & Wesson Model 29
Elmer Keith and Clint Eastwood helped elevate the .44 Magnum Smith & Wesson Model 29 into one of the iconic arms of America. Elmer Keith had long been advocating for a more powerful version of the .44 Special cartridge. In 1955, Remington Arms introduced the .44 Remington Magnum cartridge, while Smith & Wesson delivered a revolver to chamber the beast. The S&W Model 29 found niche success with handgun hunters, law enforcement, and revolver lovers before launching into the stratosphere thanks to 1971’s ‘Dirty Harry.’ While this powerhouse pistol has been since surpassed by monsters like the .500 S&W Magnum, for a time Dirty Harry’s revolver truly was the most powerful handgun in the world.
Remington Model 870
With over 12 million in circulation and counting, the Remington Model 870 should be considered a candidate for any top 25 best guns of all time list. A shotgun known for its rugged reliability, the Model 870 has lent itself perfectly to every need over the last seven decades. Game wardens, duck hunters, police officers, and Vietnam Navy Seals have all shouldered the Model 870, and the gun is featured in nearly every modern film and TV show involving law enforcement, zombies, or action of any sort. One would be pressed not to find an example of this robust shotty in every town across the United States, and it continues to sell as the recently introduced Remington 870 Fieldmaster.
The M60 Machine Gun
First issued in 1959, the M60 machine gun was an attempt to combine the firepower of the M1919 Browning with the relative mobility of the BAR. What resulted was one of the most iconic arms of America, a 23-pound belt-fed beast that could eat a ton of 7.62mm ammo and chew through anything down range. The M60 often found itself in the mud and muck during combat, and its relatively slow cyclic rate made this heavy hitter sound akin to a grunting boar. The Pig humped, sailed, and soared through Vietnam, Operation Just Cause, and the Persian Gulf War and continues to see service in specialized roles today.
Marlin Model 60
For years, Marlin billed the Model 60 as “the most popular 22 in the world.” Whether that’s enough to also call this prolific semi-auto one of the best guns of all time is up for debate, but it certainly ranks as an American essential. Introduced in 1960, Marlin’s semi-auto .22 LR tack driver remained in production for six decades and was carried by generations of Americans who fell in love with its resiliency and ease of use. For target shooting, plinking, and small game hunting, the Marlin Model 60 is a true American classic.
The M16
Adapted from the famous ArmaLite AR-15 platform, the M16 offered an all-in-one battle rifle that could excel at both distance combat and close-quarter fighting. Though the refinement of the M16 was not without its hurdles, the rifle’s updates and successors soon stepped up to the challenges of modern warfare and became the longest-serving infantry long arm in U.S. military history, a contemporary defender of Lady Liberty, and one of the indisputably iconic arms of America.
Iconic Arms of America
While our top 25 list includes some undeniable American icons, there are countless gun models that could be considered legends in their field. For their historic influence, market success, or cultural impact, a few honorable mentions include the Colt Walker, the Hawken rifle, the Derringer, the Gatling Gun, the Winchester Model 1895, the Colt Detective Special, and the Winchester Model 21 shotgun, and examples of all these gun collecting cornerstones can be found at Rock Island Auction Company.
Best Guns of All Time
Subscribe to the Rock Island Auction newsletter for weekly gun blogs and gun videos featuring some of the best guns of all time. From influential German military pistols like the Luger and C96 to modern favorites like the Beretta and Glock, we cover history’s greatest guns.