Guns by the decade project

Ttrl

Before the 1960s or so it was mostly rifles and shotguns IIRC and those then broke down into two main groups, the water fowl faction and the land animal faction. The former favored shotguns pretty much exclusively; the later a mixture of rifles for big game and shotguns for small game, birds and varmints. Probably the most common firearms were store brands, Sears or Montgomery Wards or Western Auto or other chain and mail order sources.

Most of the folk I knew that did have handguns would have am Iver Johnson or Harrington & Richardson with a few owning Smiths or Colts or Brownings and a smattering of foreign names as Bring-Back guns.

I don’t think you will have luck in this without categorizing and then you will see an evolution that’s not linear.

How far back do you want to go?

I'd recommend reading some of the older shooting books. Elmer Keith's "Sixguns", for example. It also helps to remember that the market after the Second World War was flooded with military surplus. This happened after the First World War, but not to anything like the degree of the Second conflict.

Having said that, my thumbnail would be as follows:

1900-1915:
Rifle - 1895 Winchester.
Shotgun - Parker double.
Pistol - Colt M1903.
Comments - The new bolt-action rifles were just becoming popular. Most firearms were hunting oriented, personal defense was not a high priority. Having said that, the new self-loading pistols were becoming quite popular. Remember that men's pockets were bigger in those days, a M1903 or small-framed revolver would fit perfectly.

1920-1940:
Rifle - M1903 Springfield
Shotgun - M97 Winchester
Pistol - S&W K-frame.
Comments - After the Great War, bolt-action rifles became the standard for hunting. Pump shotguns started displacing doubles. Personal defense remained a relatively low priority, but this was the great age of the double-action revolver. Concealed carry became both illegal and uncommon in the 1930s, so the pocket pistols faded.

1950-1975:
Rifle - Sporterized M1903 Springfield or '98 Mauser
Shotgun - Remington 870
Pistol - Colt Python
Comments - After the Second World War, the commercial markets were flooded with war surplus. Converting military rifles to a hunting configuration became a sizeable part of the gunsmithing business. Personal defense still a limited priority, but more powerful cartridges such as the .357 Magnum and .44 Magnum are developed. The former, in particular, finds a home in many police holsters. There's also a great deal of interest in muzzle-loading arms in this period.

1975-1990:
Rifle - M1A
Shotgun - Remington 1100
Pistol - Colt 1911
Comments - There is a MAJOR change in the firearm culture in the 1970s. Personal defense displaces hunting as the primary purpose for firearm ownership. That fact was NOT recognized by the firearms industry, and even took the NRA leadership by surprise. There's a lot of interest in defensive shooting matches, but it's not big money yet. Jeff Cooper has a very, very strong influence on this era.

1990-2005:
Rifle - AR-15
Shotgun - Benelli
Pistol - Colt 1911
Comments - The AR-15 begins to really displace the .30 rifles in this era. Also, red dot sights such the Aimpoint start to replace iron sights on AR type rifles. The market shifts strongly toward personal defense, but the industry does not pick up on the fact. Shooting instruction becomes a significant industry. Standards of pistol marksmanship start deteriorating.

2005-present:
Rifle - AR-15
Shotgun - Saiga
Pistol - Glock 19
Comments - Industry finally realizes the shift in interest by the market. Polymer-framed striker-fired pistols displace the 1911, 9mm displaces .45 ACP. Shotguns generally fade, replaced by carbines. Standards of rifle accuracy improve, those of pistol accuracy deteriorate. Standards of marksmanship follow suit.

Mike OTDP said:

How far back do you want to go?

I'd recommend reading some of the older shooting books. Elmer Keith's "Sixguns", for example. It also helps to remember that the market after the Second World War was flooded with military surplus. This happened after the First World War, but not to anything like the degree of the Second conflict.

Having said that, my thumbnail would be as follows:

1900-1915:
Rifle - 1895 Winchester.
Shotgun - Parker double.
Pistol - Colt M1903.
Comments - The new bolt-action rifles were just becoming popular. Most firearms were hunting oriented, personal defense was not a high priority. Having said that, the new self-loading pistols were becoming quite popular. Remember that men's pockets were bigger in those days, a M1903 or small-framed revolver would fit perfectly.

1920-1940:
Rifle - M1903 Springfield
Shotgun - M97 Winchester
Pistol - S&W K-frame.
Comments - After the Great War, bolt-action rifles became the standard for hunting. Pump shotguns started displacing doubles. Personal defense remained a relatively low priority, but this was the great age of the double-action revolver. Concealed carry became both illegal and uncommon in the 1930s, so the pocket pistols faded.

1950-1975:
Rifle - Sporterized M1903 Springfield or '98 Mauser
Shotgun - Remington 870
Pistol - Colt Python
Comments - After the Second World War, the commercial markets were flooded with war surplus. Converting military rifles to a hunting configuration became a sizeable part of the gunsmithing business. Personal defense still a limited priority, but more powerful cartridges such as the .357 Magnum and .44 Magnum are developed. The former, in particular, finds a home in many police holsters. There's also a great deal of interest in muzzle-loading arms in this period.

1975-1990:
Rifle - M1A
Shotgun - Remington 1100
Pistol - Colt 1911
Comments - There is a MAJOR change in the firearm culture in the 1970s. Personal defense displaces hunting as the primary purpose for firearm ownership. That fact was NOT recognized by the firearms industry, and even took the NRA leadership by surprise. There's a lot of interest in defensive shooting matches, but it's not big money yet. Jeff Cooper has a very, very strong influence on this era.

1990-2005:
Rifle - AR-15
Shotgun - Benelli
Pistol - Colt 1911
Comments - The AR-15 begins to really displace the .30 rifles in this era. Also, red dot sights such the Aimpoint start to replace iron sights on AR type rifles. The market shifts strongly toward personal defense, but the industry does not pick up on the fact. Shooting instruction becomes a significant industry. Standards of pistol marksmanship start deteriorating.

2005-present:
Rifle - AR-15
Shotgun - Saiga
Pistol - Glock 19
Comments - Industry finally realizes the shift in interest by the market. Polymer-framed striker-fired pistols displace the 1911, 9mm displaces .45 ACP. Shotguns generally fade, replaced by carbines. Standards of rifle accuracy improve, those of pistol accuracy deteriorate. Standards of marksmanship follow suit.

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Well done. I would only suggest inclusion of the Auto 5, and lump the Mossberg 500 in with the 870. When the 500 is combined with the 870, sales for these two models exceeds all other firearms sold in the US by FAR. And, although the 1100 surpassed the Auto 5 a few years back, the Auto 5 was the king of auto shotguns in terms of sales, throughout its official production life.

Most of the early 1900s civilians are since deceased and they didn't have the internet to record their every whim.

Old books by people like Hatcher, Whelen, Askins and Askins (Father and son), Sharpe, Keith, and Stebbins along with a whole host of less known writers would be the best resource.

Yup. There's a lot of information, but it's all in old books. Another author to check would be Walter Winans. Fascinating man. Won an Olympic medal for Art (only awarded the one time) with a statue...and was noted as a painter. Won another Olympic medal for rifle shooting...but was most noted as a pistol shot.

Jim Watson said:

Most of the early 1900s civilians are since deceased and they didn't have the internet to record their every whim.

Old books by people like Hatcher, Whelen, Askins and Askins (Father and son), Sharpe, Keith, and Stebbins along with a whole host of less known writers would be the best resource.

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And largely I would expect MOST folks in the “early 1900’s” (read: prior to 1910 or so) to still be hanging onto utilitarian shotguns and revolvers sold out of hardware stores, single shot rifles or lever actions from the late 1800’s and close to turn of the century. The thread awhile back regarding the fantasy CCW from 1940 had some good examples of this (good thread!).

I don't know about the g 19 over 1911 after 2005. Although I personally carry a glock normally, I see about 150x the 1911 handguns today that I seen in 2000. Back then it was colt or kimber (I owned both, still do, so not bashing) and almost no one carried one, they just shot small groups in paper. Even during the 10rd Limited days, (the only time I'd have ever given it consideration over a sig 226 or later a glock for carry) many people still chose the others over 1911. However many of those have went back to 1911 ( and its low capacity) since the sunset of the ban ironically.

forgottenweapons.com is another resource to check out. Ian's YouTube videos have a lot of information about older weapons and give a great deal of context in regards to their development, lineage, public reception ect. He has an excellent series on the development of auto loading pistols

Civilian ownership of firearms goes back to the founding of this country; so how far back do you want to go?

How far back are you going?

Listing 3-5 from every decade might seem easy, but that’s a very broad topic and if you ask 10 different people you’ll get at least a dozen different answers for each decade.

Mike OTDP gave some really good answers but I’d disagree with a number of his selections. Of course there is no right or wrong answer....

A few more books:
Remington Arms : An American History - by Aiden Hatch - Rinehart, 1956
American Rifle : A biography - by Alexander Rose - Delacorte, 2008
The Plains Rifle - by Charles E Hanson - Stackpole, 1960

Inter-library loan can be your friend, but I found these on EBay.

Mike OTDP said:

1975-1990:
Rifle - M1A
Shotgun - Remington 1100
Pistol - Colt 1911
Comments - There is a MAJOR change in the firearm culture in the 1970s. Personal defense displaces hunting as the primary purpose for firearm ownership. That fact was NOT recognized by the firearms industry, and even took the NRA leadership by surprise. There's a lot of interest in defensive shooting matches, but it's not big money yet. Jeff Cooper has a very, very strong influence on this era.

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That might want to be split to 75-80 and 80-90.
The 70s saw the aftermath of GCA 68, this was a time when many went out and invested in a S&W revolver or something similar. It was also the time when the Model 70 was king of the hill in bolt guns.

Also, 1994-2004 needs an asterisk as that was the dread era of the federal AWB. Suddenly, people who would turn up their nose at an AR suddenly needed one. Which redoubled a bit in 2004 on expiry.

In the 80s we saw the rise of the "wondernines" which came in every flavor under the sun. And started eclipsing the revolver as the go-to. This was aslo when the Mini-14 leapt into the light, along with the rest of Bill Ruger's offerings. Rifles get a bit blurry from all the choices available--and from the end of production of the Model 70.


To OP:
A resource worth examining would be Field & Stream, if only for the ads, and that will get you back into the 40s if not the 30s. There will be a couple other "hunter's" periodicals worth plumbing, too.

Before 1900 will be complicated, as folks really did not put that much importance on firearms. If they needed one and could afford one, they bought it. As noted above, you generally went to the hardware or general store and put down your cash.

The post 1900s also saw the rise of catalog and mail order sales, too. (I remember seeing the Mini-14 in the Montgomery-Wards catalog and thinking it was 'too high' at $149.95.) That changed in 1969, naturally.

I split things up the way I did for a reason.

There's the pre-First World War era. Relatively few bolt guns, that action was new to Americans. The lever action ruled the roost. Pocket pistols dominate that market.

After the First World War, the bolt guns come into their own. Carry guns fall out of favor...or are prohibited.

After the Second World War, surplus bolt guns dominate. Sporterized Mausers and Springfields are commonplace.

There's one change due to GCA'68, but the BIG change was the transition from a hunting-centric shooting culture to a defense-centric culture. Gun Culture 1.0 to 2.0. That took place in the mid-1970s. There was a massive membership revolt at the 1974 NRA convention that led to the organization refocusing on fighting legislation.

I'd say there was a second change around 1990. You can make a case for 1994, too. This saw the advent of the AR as the "standard" rifle, instead of a .30 of some sort. It's also notable for the emergence of big-money shooting schools.

And I picked around 2005 as the date when the 1911 was eclipsed by the Glock and its clones. There's room for argument on that date, but not the shift.

Unless you go to Hillsdale College, or a handful of similar instiutions still left in the US, it will probably be unappreciated, and you will most likely get an 'F' on it. Just sayin'.
Most colleges in the US are political reeducation camps you have to pay for.

Browning designed the most popular affordable quality civilian sporting arms for most of the 20th Century.
The Winchester 1894 being the first popular smokeless cartridge rifle---a massive improvement over black powder pumpkin launchers.
The Winchester 1897 being a popular pump action shotgun---a one barrel repeater being cheaper to manufacture than sxs regulated barrels

The S&W Safety revolver was a very popular handgun as was the Colt 1903 pocket automatic and Smith & Wesson military & police.

After both world wars. military weapons found favor with returning GIs----the 1903 Springfield and the 1911 Colt Automatic Pistol in particular, just as AR-15s and Beretta M92s serve the same role today. They have the benefit of familiarity

When mass production, innovative materials and computer programmed machining became a reality, the Remington 870 (and Mossberg 500) and Ruger pistols were popular in part because of their comparatively low cost, and such remains all the way to the present Glock fan club,

Just thinking out loud.

There are guns, and then there's gun ownership. The evolution of each is related, but not always perfectly correlated. The 18th and 19th centuries differed from the 20th century largely in that Americans on the frontier and in rural settings saw firearms as a necessity - first for hunting, and then for defensive purposes. Long guns certainly would've been the most practical all around firearms for most people. Breech loading shotguns and lever action repeater rifles would become common after the end of the muzzle loading and percussion cap era (1860's or 70's.)

While guns were still a necessity for many people in the US during the twentieth century, the Industrial Revolution drastically changed the way most people acquired food and meat, as well as where and how they lived. Because of this, my impression is that civilian gun ownership in the first half of the twentieth century had (to a small degree) kind of gone the way of horse ownership in the US; there was still an affection and participation there, but it was probably seen by a growing number of people as not quite the necessity that it once was. Of course, keeping a gun is a lot less expensive or problematic than keeping a horse, so many/most households still had firearms.

Military surplus rifles (and some handguns) would've become common place in the years following each World War, but manufacturers still produced a lot for the civilian market. In early urban settings, you had an emerging market for self defense guns. Handguns started being seen as more practical in this role, but laws kept the handgun market from becoming what it is today.

With urban growth in mind, my impression is that America has - over the last fifty years - once again become a place where firearms are seen as a necessity by a huge number of it's citizens. This viewpoint more or less started with another revolution - the "values" revolution that started in earnest in the 1960's. It wasn't quite as profound as the Industrial Revolution, but drastically changed the social environment and made millions of Americans have less confidence in their culture and communities. In the view of many people, the drastic expansion of welfare benefits and the equally drastic diminishing of personal accountability and agency during this time helped create a seemingly permanent jump in violent crime. Modern violent crime waves wax and wane, but rarely recede to pre-1960's levels. Things got bad enough in the 1980's and '90's that some states allowed their law abiding citizens to carry concealed weapons. Many other (then most other) states followed suit, and the handgun market really took off.

If you compare the publications of the gun press of the mid twentieth century with the publications of today, it's easy to see how the emphasis has changed. The focus seemed to be more on hunting and competitive shooting back then, but seems to be more on defensive and tactical weapons today - handguns and AR or AK rifles. Accordingly, there is far more social controversy surrounding gun ownership today. The courts have, by and large, upheld the ownership and carrying of defensive weapons, but the issue is still very contentious and divisive. Over half of US households don't have guns. About 40% do. The ownership of guns has become political, where it never used to be. From what I can glean from earlier posts, the OP is a gun person and will hopefully portray civilian gun ownership as a positive thing with his or her project.

I'd be extremely surprised (and a little worried) if you could actually find reliable statistical data for what firearms were common in civilian hands in any given decade of the 20th century. As noted above, looking at what firearms are being advertised would give you something of a proxy, however I think that would be likely to give a distorted view: more expensive firearms probably get advertised more and would thus look more common then they actually were.

Another approach would be to take several major manufacturers and look up when they introduced various firearms for civilian sale. That won't show you how many of each they made, but you can start to see trends (also look for imitators - Glock shows up, and a little later similar products show up in other companies' catalogs).

Good luck!

One issue is that popularity spans decades. Nearly all get passed down through multiple generations.
You might consider production figures of different models as a measure.
How many Mossberg 500s were produced in the 1990s? Compare to Remington 870 figures
How many Remington 870s were produced in the 1960s? Compare to Mossberg 500 figures
How many Winchester 70s were produced in the 1960s? Compare to Remington 700 figures
And so on and so on.
Production figures will add citations to your essay, and teachers like citations!