Dykstra, Robert R., 140
Earp, Wyatt, 112, 137
Eddystone Rifle Works (Pennsylvania), 182
Edison, Thomas, 152, 168
Edward III (king of England), 5, 6, 161
Ellis, Henry, 46
Emerson, Timothy Joe, 244
Enfield M1853 rifle-muskets, 126
Enfield M1917 rifles, 182
England. See Britain/England
Europe
and “American System” of manufacturing, 119
and Browning weapons, 184–85
Colt firearms in, 111
duels in, 134
and Gatling guns, 164
gunpowder in, 36–37
guns as commonplace in, 8
hunting in, 24
and Maxim guns, 170, 171–72
medieval, 3–4, 5–6, 7
muskets as revolutionizing warfare in, 12–13
See also specific nation or war
Eve, Oswald, 38
Ezell, Edward C., 167
Fabrique Nationale d’Armes de Guerre Herstal (Liege, Belgium), 173, 184–85, 188
Fafschemps, Captain, 164
Fairchild Corporation, 219
Fairfield, George, 105
FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation), 196–97, 248
Federalists: and right to self-defense, 77
Fedorov Avtomats assault rifles, 216–17
Fenty, Adrian, 246
Filson, John, 86
Firearm Owners Protection Act (1986), 242
Firearm Series (Catlin): Colt firearms in, 109
Firearms Control Regulations Act (1975), 246–47
First Amendment, 75, 245, 247
First Matabele War (1893–94), 171
1st United States Sharpshooters:, 128–29
Fischer, David Hackett, 42
Fisher, John King, 136–37
flintlock guns
advantages of, 23, 28–29
and cartridge development, 115
of Collier and Wheeler, 98
conversion of, 116
cost of, 23
design and development of, 23–24, 28–29, 67, 69
and early American colonies, 22, 23–24, 28–29
and military, 23, 92
muskets as, 43, 67, 69, 92, 163
pistols as, 88, 98, 122, 135
of Puckle, 161
and technology changes, 21, 122
and Western frontier, 88, 135
See also “Brown Bess” muskets
Floyd, Pretty Boy, 196
Fordham, Elias, 86–87
Fort Constitution. See Fort William and Mary
Fort Greeley (Alaska): AR-15 tests at, 219
Fort Jupiter (Florida): Colt demonstration at, 101
Fort William and Mary: British confiscation of gunpowder at, 40–41
Fortune, T. Thomas, 242
Fourteenth Amendment, 241–42, 247
Fourth Amendment, 75, 245, 247
France/French
and American Revolution, 39, 41, 61, 64, 68–69
breech-loading guns in, 126
duels in, 134
flintlock guns in, 23
gunpowder production in, 41
medieval, 5, 6
and semiautomatic guns, 203
sharpshooters in, 211
See also specific person or war
Franco-Prussian War, 160, 164
Frankford Creek Mill (Pennsylvania), 38
Franklin, Benjamin, 32, 47, 76
Franz Ferdinand (Austrian archduke): assassination of, 173–74
Fraser, Simon, 60
Frederick, Karl, 231
French and Indian Wars, 11, 38, 43, 46, 51, 56, 85, 86
Friday, Henry, 213
Fugitive Slave Act (1850), 241
Fusil Automatique Modele 1917 rifles, 203
Fyodorov, Vladimir, 216–17
Gage, Thomas, 31, 32, 33, 34, 40, 45, 46–47, 50, 52
Game Act (1691), 73
gangs/gangsters, 193–97, 216, 226, 227
Garand, John Cantius, 199–203, 204, 206, 207–8, 238
Garand M1 carbines, 205
Garand M1911 pistols, 205
Garand rifles
cost of, 203
M1, 201, 202–3, 204, 205–6, 212, 215, 217, 218
M14, 201, 206, 215, 218, 219, 220, 222
M16, 220–22, 223
and military, 201
semiautomatic, 200–201, 203
and World War II, 202–3
Gardner (William) guns, 164–65
Garibaldi, Giuseppe, 102
gas-powered guns, 181, 233
Gatling guns, 157–64, 157, 169, 181, 190
Gatling, Richard Jordan, 157, 158–63, 167, 224
German Luger, 234
Germany
gun design and development in, 28–29
and Maxim guns, 172
medieval, 6
saltpeter “plantations” in, 37
and sharpshooters, 208–9, 211, 212
and submachine guns, 198
See also specific war
Gettysburg, Battle of, 123, 124, 127, 128
Gheyn, Jacob de, 11
Girandoni, Bartolomeo, 91
Glock guns, 236
Goldsborough, Fitzhugh Coyle, 225–26
Gonzales, Battle of (1835), 238
Graham, James, 55
grammagraph, Ormsby’s, 109–10
Grant, Ellsworth, 112
Grant, Ulysses S., 125
Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations (London, 1851), 111
“Great Wagon Road,” 55
“Greek fire,” 35
Greener, William, 116
Green’s Farm (California): training of sharpshooters at, 212
guerrilla warfare, 51–52, 59, 61, 101, 213–14, 216. See also marksmanship; sharpshooters
Gun Control Act (1968), 231–32
gun control laws
and ammunition, 248
and automatic guns, 242
background checks and, 242, 243, 248
in cities, 230–31
and “collective” theory of gun rights, 228
court decisions about, 228–29, 238, 243, 244, 246–47
and crime, 226–28, 229–31
debate about, 227–33
early attempts to pass, 226
effects of, 236–37
gun control advocates and, 229–33
and gun dealers, 227, 230, 231, 232, 242
hunting and, 248
and law enforcement, 227
licensing and, 226, 227, 230, 232
and machine guns, 231
media/movies and, 229, 230, 239
NRA and, 227, 231–32
purpose of, 226
and racism, 239, 241–42
and registry, 227, 232, 242, 243
and revisionist histories, 239, 242
Sullivan Act as first major, 226
and waiting period, 243
and Western frontier, 141, 241
See also gun ownership; Second Amendment; self-defense; specific law
“gun culture,” 248
gun dealers, 227, 230, 231, 232, 242
gun makers/manufacturers, 27–30, 67, 68, 93, 227, 235–36, 241, 243, 248. See also specific person or manufacturer
gun ownership
age of, 230
and American Revolution, 239, 240
attempts to diminish, 230–31
and blacks, 239, 241–42
breakdown of, 237
and British confiscation of American guns, 44–45, 46–47, 50, 52, 240
and Catholics, 73, 241
Constitutional guarantee of, 242
and criminals, 247
during sixteenth and seventeen centuries, 73
in England, 73
and fingerprinting of owners, 227
and hunting, 49
and Indians, 239
individual right of, 2
39–48
and liberals, 240
limitations on, 73
and mental illness, 247
in mid-1800s, 169
modern, 236
prevalence of, 47–49, 52, 236–37, 248
prohibitions against, 21
renewed interest in, 232–33
and self-defense, 72–79, 238, 240, 242, 245, 246
See also gun control laws; licensing; registry, gun; Second Amendment
“guncotton,” 170
gunpowder
and American Revolution, 31–41, 31, 45, 46
ball, 221
black, 7, 115, 121, 126, 170
British ban on American import of, 45
British confiscation of American, 32–33, 34, 40–41, 44, 50
characteristics of, 32
components of, 36, 37
cost of, 38
dangers of, 32
and development of rimfire cartridges, 121
first use in war of, 5
and French and Indian Wars, 38
hoarding of, 32
and how it works, 36
invention/development of, 4–5, 36–38
and invention of guns, 4
and medieval Europe, 6, 7
and paper cylinders, 115
problems with, 38
production of, 37, 38–40, 41
quality of, 39
shortage of, 34–35, 39, 40, 41
smokeless, 84, 170–71, 178, 181, 203
steam compared with, 162
and Western expansion, 84
See also saltpeter; type of gun
guns
advantages of, 187–88
as commonplace, 8
disadvantages of, 187–88
efficacy of, 8
importance of, 187–88
importation of, 45, 236
invention of, 4
popularity of, 235–36
for recreation, 233
romanticizing of, 232–33, 235
trading of, 25, 148
and women, 151–52
See also specific gun, type of gun, person or topic
gunshot victims
earliest known American, 12
See also specific person
Gura, Alan, 245
Hacker, J. David, 159
Hall, John H., 92–94, 117, 146, 238, 241
Hallock, Richard, 221–22
Hamilton, Alexander, 64, 72
hammer lock: Browning (Jonathan) testing of, 175
Hancock, John, 46, 50, 52, 56
Hancock, Winfield Scott, 164
hand-cranked guns, 162, 164, 169, 181
handgonnes, 73
handguns, 5, 7, 179, 230, 236, 237, 243, 245, 246–48. See also specific model or type of gun
Hanger, George, 54, 56, 62–63, 65
Hanson, Victor Davis, 216
Hardin, John Wesley, 137, 139–40
Harpers Ferry armory (Virginia), 88, 89, 93, 119, 146
harquebuses, 14, 15, 17, 161
Hartford, Connecticut
Colt plant in, 105–7, 111, 112, 121, 125, 181, 184, 219–20, 224, 236
Coltsville area of, 106–7
as modern industrial community, 105
politics in, 107
Hathcock, Carlos, 214
Hayha, Simo, 208
Hays, Jack, 104
Heather, Justin Lee, 48
Hecht, Ben, 195
Heller decision, 246–47
Henry, Benjamin Tyler, 121
Henry, Patrick, 79
Henry VIII (king of England), 72–73, 126
Henry guns, 121, 149
Hesketh-Prichard, Hesketh, 209
Hickok, James Butler “Wild Bill,” 132–34, 132, 136, 138, 144, 150, 152
Hinckley, John Jr., 242
Holbrook, Josiah, 98
Holdsworth, William, 24
Hollister, Josiah, 125
Holmegaard bows, 3
home defense, 140, 225, 233, 238
homicides, 140–41, 229, 236, 243. See also crime
Hoover, J. Edgar, 196–97
Hoover’s Gap, Battle of, 127
Howard, Jacob, 241–42
Howard, Simeon, 74–75
Howe, William, 35, 55, 59
Hundred Years War, 5
Hunt, Walter, 117–18
hunting
and bows and arrows, 3
of buffalo, 144–45, 146–47
in Europe, 24
and gun control laws, 24, 248
and gun ownership, 49
in history, 3
importance in America of, 24
and Mayflower gun, 24
muskets for, 68
and NRA membership, 231
popularity of, 235
rifles for, 29, 30, 58, 129–30, 145–46, 233
and right to self-defense debate, 76
and Ruger guns, 233, 235
and shotguns, 139
upsurge of interest in, 233
and Western frontier, 85, 87, 139, 140, 144–45, 146–47
Huron Indians, 11, 12, 13–14
Inca people, 12
incendiary substances, 35–36. See also specific substance
Indians
and American Revolution, 60
and Colt firearms, 101, 103
conflicts among, 14
and guerrilla warfare, 101
gun ownership by, 49, 239
guns as transforming, 17
as hunters, 25, 148
at Plymouth settlement, 18–21, 18
proliferation of guns among, 86
role of guns in life of, 147–49
romanticizing of, 148
and Sharps rifles, 146–47
and smoothbore muskets, 148
trading guns with, 148
and Western expansion, 85–86, 90–91, 103–4
and Western shows, 150
and Winchester firearms, 122
See also specific person, tribe, or war
Ingraham, Prentiss, 150
Institution of Civil Engineers (England): Colt speech to, 98, 109
insurrections: banning of guns for prevention of, 24
interchangeable parts, 88, 92, 93, 146
Intolerable Acts (1774), 45, 50
Iraq War, 22–23, 205
Irish Republican Army, 192
Iroquois Indians, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17
Jackson, Andrew, 134–35
Jager rifles, 28–29
James, Frank, 138
Jamestown colony, 15, 22
Japan: early firearms in, 5
Japanese Nambu pistol, 234
“Jeff Davis”: as Berdan target, 129
Jefferson, Thomas, 76, 85, 88
Jesup, Thomas, 101
Johnson, Samuel, 24
Jones, Franklin P., 114
Justice Department, U.S.: NRA lawsuit against, 245–46
Kalashnikov, Elena, 223
Kalashnikov, Mikhail, 216, 217, 222, 223–24
Kalashnikov (Soviet AK-47), 215–17, 222–24
Kates, Don, 243–44
Keeley, Lawrence H., 2
Kelly, “Machine Gun,” 196
Kennedy, Robert, 231
Kentucky Rifles, 26–30, 27, 55, 56, 86, 88, 186, 233. See also Pennsylvania long rifle
Kinetoscope production, Oakley-Butler, 152
King, Stephen, 225
King’s musket (Long Land Service musket), 67
Kitchener, Herbert, 171
Ku Klux Klan, 241
Knox, Henry, 55
Kollner, Gaspard, 29
Korean War, 184, 205, 212–13
Kosovo, Battle of (1389), 6
Kossuth, Lajos, 102
Kyle, Chris, 207
La Garde, Louis Anatole, 185–86
Lafayette, Marquis de, 68–69
Lakota Sioux Indians, 148–49
Lamb, Martha J., 107
Lancaster, Pennsylvania, 26, 27, 28, 29, 39, 88
lances, 6
Langd
on, John, 40
Lavoisier, Antoine-Laurent, 41
law enforcement, 185, 192, 193, 194, 196–97, 227, 231, 246
Lawrence, Richard Smith, 118–19
Layton, Frank, 227–28
le Brun, George Petit, 225–26
lead balls, 115, 116, 121
Lee-Enfield bolt-action rifles, 209
Lee, Nelson, 104
Lee, Richard Henry, 78
Lee, Robert E., 123
Leech, Arthur Blennerhassett, 210–11
Legge, William, 46–47
LeMay, Curtis, 219–20
Lend-Lease Act, 202
Leslie, Frank, 123
lever-action rifles, 118, 121, 126, 177, 233
lever-action shotguns, 177
Levy, Robert, 245, 246
Lewis and Clark Expedition, 83–84, 85, 87–88, 89–91
Lewis, Isaac Newton, 190–91
Lewis, Meriwether, 84, 87–88, 90
Lexington, Battle of, 42–44, 42, 65, 70, 71
licensing, gun, 226, 227, 230, 232
Lincoln, Abraham, 123–24, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 135, 139, 162
Lindgren, James, 48
Little Bighorn, Battle of the, 148–49
loading/reloading
and Civil War guns, 124, 125
and development of firearms, 161
and Minié bullets, 116
and percussion caps, 117
and self-contained cartridges, 114–15
and standardization of ammunition, 115
and unsnapping latches, 121
and Western expansion, 84
See also specific manufacturer or type of weapon
locked-breech weapons, 216–17
locks
“Blish,” 191, 198
for blunderbusses, 84
Garand’s automatic firing, 200
on muskets, 15–16, 67
in sixteenth-seventeenth centuries, 13, 15
See also type of lock or specific firearm
Long Island, Battle of, 62
Long Land Service musket (King’s musket), 67
longbows, 5, 73
Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth, 18, 21
Longley, Wild Bill, 135–36
Louisiana Purchase, 84–85
Lowell Machine Gun, 165
Lyceum circuit: Colt with, 98–99
M1 rifles. See Garand rifles: M1
M14 rifles. See Garand rifles: M14
M16 rifles. See Garand rifles: M16
“Ma Deuce” machine gun, 186–87
MacArthur, Douglas, 199, 201
machine guns
automatic, 181
benefits of, 167
and Browning, 179, 181, 186–87
Colt-Browning, 181
and crime, 189–90
disadvantages of, 170
gas-powered, 181
and gun control laws, 231
hand-cranked, 162, 164, 181
impact on warfare of, 189, 190
of Lewis, 190–91
and military, 158, 182
and Ruger, 233–34
taxes on, 227
and violence, 193–95
water-cooled, 183, 191
weight of, 190, 233, 234
and World War I, 158, 183
See also tommy guns
Madison, James, 75, 78
Malcolm, Joyce Lee, 72