Feb. 1956 GUNS Now Online

A youth spent in New York City, where even admiration for a gun struck terror in the hearts of one’s elders, kept me from gun appreciation for some time. In fact, it wasn’t until I was in the service that I made close contact with firearms. And out of the welter of guns they threw at us, my fondest association was with the Colt.45 Automatic Pistol. It’s a tricky little devil, but has always paralleled, for me, the kind of punch I admire in the ring—short, well-aimed, and devastating.--Jeff Chandler

When was the last time you heard a movie star speak admiringly of his favorite gun? Yet that's the way things were when this was written.


The February, 1956 issue of GUNS Magazine is now posted for free download.

Back to Mr. Chandler's testament on page 8, for a moment: Writing half a century ago, he confirms something for us that helps to understand the present. As far back as his youth--and he was born in Brooklyn in 1918, New York City has been hostile to gun ownership (the Sullivan Laws were passed in 1911). No wonder things are the way they are there, and a disarmament attitude permeates the culture. It's their tradition.

Another Hollywood giant and avid gunman is featured, the King of the Cowboys and a personal favorite, the great Roy Rogers. Here's a picture of Roy horrifying today's enuretics by mixing kids with ...GASP...guns!!! Someone call Child Protective Services!


Round things out with a feature on the authenticity of "The Last Hunt" (one of the almost non-existent Westerns that shows people reloading), starring Robert Taylor and Stewart Granger (that's him on the cover sighting in a buffalo).

But it's not all Hollywood. There's a well-reasoned argument for hunting helping deer populations, and another advocating shotguns for the military. There's a "Workshop" article on "Fitting a New Rifle Barrel." Read why the over/under was considered "The Glamour Girl of the Shotgun World." And there's much more, including the ads, which really let you know what a different world it was back in 1956.

And, like I said, it's free. Enjoy.

Tags: gun