6 Rare Classic Firearms Lost in the Modern Age

Ask any gun enthusiast what they think are the top classic firearms in history and you would find everyone has a different idea about the guns that are truly deserving of being considered classics. When the idea for this article was first presented to me, the editors and I thought we’d be able to narrow things down easily. It soon became apparent that it would be no easy task. As a result, categories were broken down to better accommodate the firearms and give them their due. For example, simply picking one rifle was impossible, so we made distinctions by different action types. Similarly, “handguns” became “pistols” and “revolvers.”

There will undoubtedly be disagreement on the guns selected in each of the categories, but I also don’t think anyone will fail to see the merit of the guns that made this list. It is a necessity for writers to have thick skin, so without further ado, here are the guns selected as true classic firearms in the categories of pistol, revolver, shotgun, lever-action rifle, bolt-action rifle, and single-shot rifle.

Pistol: Colt 1911

Gun genius John Moses Browning was the man behind the 1911, a single-action, semi-automatic pistol chambered in .45 Automatic Colt Pistol, or .45 ACP, which was also a cartridge of Browning’s, design. When the United States military started looking to adopt a new sidearm at the end of the 19th century, no one would have been able to imagine the legacy that would ensue. Heck, no one would have imagined that the new gun would be a semi-automatic!

Government work moves slowly, and the trials took years. Finally, in the early months of 1911, Colt and Savage had emerged as the top two contenders in the military trials. On March 15, each company submitted a handgun for a 6,000-round torture test to be completed at Springfield Armory in Massachusetts. The two guns used were the Colt with serial number 5 fired by E.G. Reising (of later M50 submachine gun fame), and the Savage with serial number 4 fired by Charles Nelson, an arms inventor with numerous patents assigned to Savage.

After all, 6,000 rounds had been fired, Colt appeared to be the winner. The final verdict, though, would not arrive until a couple weeks later. On March 29, 1911, official notice was sent to Colt by Lt. Col. John T. Thompson (of later “Tommy Gun” fame) informing them their design had “passed the prescribed tests and has been adopted” as the new military sidearm.

Since then, the 1911 went on to set a record that is unlikely to ever be broken. At 74 years, it holds the distinction of being the longest-serving official sidearm in the United States. Sure, it’s still used in some capacity, but it is no longer in the majority, having been replaced by the M9 and then the M17.

Almost immediately, the public clamored for the new gun and Colt started making commercial guns for the public that were identical to the ones used by the military. In the 110+ years since, the pistol has remained just as popular and is an absolute icon in the world of classic arms. Vintage pieces are highly collectible and just about every handgun maker in the world makes a 1911 variant - even the once-defeated Savage.

Revolver: Smith & Wesson Military & Police (Model 10)

The argument could be made that this spot should be held by the Colt Model 1851 Navy, which was the first commercially successful revolver on the market. However, gun designs have changed tremendously since then and the Smith & Wesson Military & Police revolver is, at its core, the same gun today that it was when originally introduced in 1899. 

Built on the medium size K-frame, the Military & Police is a six-shot double action revolver chambered for .38 Special. During World War II, the revolver was issued to American troops to supplement the supply of 1911 pistols. Thousands were also sent overseas as part of Lend-Lease and were chambered in .38-200, or .38 S&W, which is not interchangeable with .38 Special. Still, the gun design remains the same.

In the 1950s, Smith & Wesson adopted a new model naming convention that assigned numbers to the guns. It was then that the Military & Police became the Model 10. Despite the name change, the gun continued to be a mainstay in the holsters of military and law enforcement officers around the world up until semi-automatics became the standard in the 1990s. Today, you can still buy a brand-new Model 10 from Smith & Wesson.

Shotgun: Browning A5

John Moses Browning makes a repeat appearance on this list with the A5 shotgun, which was the first commercially successful semi-automatic shotgun in the world. Utilizing a long recoil operation where the entire barrel recoils to the rear to cycle the action, the A5 is unmistakable in appearance with its iconic humpback design on the receiver.

As influential as the design was, the gun almost never happened. A dispute with Winchester over royalties left Browning without a manufacturer. He went to Remington, but the company president died while Browning was literally in the lobby waiting to meet with him. Eventually, he took the design overseas where Fabrique Nationale made them and, in a bit of an ironic twist, Remington licensed the design from them as the Model 11.

Browning really thought of everything. Semi-auto feeding issues can be mitigated by way of friction and bevel rings that fit on the magazine tube. Depending on the orientation, the gun’s recoil can be slowed down or sped up depending on the type of load being used. The proper setup of the rings ensures that the user doesn’t endure excess recoil, and that the longevity of the gun is extended.

Production of the Belgian-made A5 ran from 1905 to the start of World War II. During the war years, production was done entirely stateside by Remington. After the war, production returned to Europe where FN made the gun until 1975. Production then shifted to Miroku in Japan before the model was discontinued in 1998.

Lever-Action Rifle: Winchester Model 1873

Winchester’s Model 1873 rifle is often referred to as “The Gun That Won the West,” and it’s hard to argue with the appropriateness of this moniker. The gun was a hit almost immediately upon release, and positive endorsements from big names rolled in for the rifle. In 1875, William “Buffalo Bill” Cody said, “I pronounce your improved Winchester the boss.” High praise, indeed.

Even though the Model 1873 fired pistol caliber cartridges, it was a huge step forward from the previous Model 1866. Most notable is that the Model 1873 no longer utilized a brass receiver like its predecessors. This made the gun much stronger. It also has a removable side plate to make accessing the internals of the rifle much easier in case work needs to be done on the gun.

Another big benefit is that this rifle fired centerfire cartridges and not rimfire ones. This unquestionably makes up for the smaller calibers found in pistol cartridges. An added bonus to the calibers for which the Model 1873 was chambered is the ability to use the same cartridge for your revolver and your rifle.

All the advancements that the Model 1873 had over the Model 1866 and even the Henry rifle before it made the gun a huge success. Approximately 720,000 Model 1873s were made between 1873 and 1919 – the period regarded as the gun’s heyday. Even today, you can still buy a brand-new Model 1873 from Winchester and there are a large number of other companies making very nice replicas.

Bolt-Action Rifle: Winchester Model 70

When Roger Rule’s seminal book on the Model 70 came out in 1982, he called it “The Rifleman’s Rifle.” Like the Model 1873 above, it’s a moniker that is well deserved. Since its introduction in 1936, millions of Model 70 rifles have been made, and most of them hold a special place in the hearts of their owners, whether they actively use them or not. The Model 70 is both a workhorse rifle and a collector’s item, and those labels often overlap. Plenty of Model 70s are family heirlooms, admired for their heritage and family history but also for their unfaltering ability to keep making more history.

In the beginning, the deck was stacked against the Model 70. Launching a new rifle amid the Great Depression was no small feat, to say that the Model 70 was (and is) a success would be an understatement. Collectors have clamored for these guns because of the variety in which they come due in no small part to Winchester’s willingness to create just about any kind of gun a customer wanted. Standard grade, super grade, lightweight barrels, sightless and so on. If you could dream it up, and the workers in the New Haven factory had the machinery to make it work, then you could have a Model 70 pretty much any way you wanted.

Model 70 rifles are broken up into two distinct categories: pre-’64 and post-’64, based on the year they were made. In 1964, several cost-saving measures were made at Winchester, and the Model 70 did not escape the changes. The pre-’64 guns are most highly sought after, but that’s not to say that the post-’64 guns are bad; they’re just different. Today, brand new Model 70s have gone back to their pre-’64 internal designs and are arguably better than their predecessors.

Single-Shot Rifle: Ruger No. 1

Introduced in 1967, Ruger’s No. 1 rifle utilizes an action that was designed and patented 90 years earlier. The Ruger No. 1 uses a Farquharson-style hammerless falling block action operated by a lever under the trigger guard. Working the lever opens and closes the block to facilitate cartridge case insertion and removal and it also cocks the rifle for the next shot.

Over the years, the No. 1 rifle has been available in more than 50 different cartridges ranging from .204 Ruger on the smaller end all the way up to .480 Ruger on the bigger end. This is a testament to the rock-solid design of the rifle’s action. The original production run of these rifles ended in 2013, but the gun has never been out of production. Instead, Ruger switched to making the No. 1 available in a limited run of a select number of different calibers and configurations each year. This has allowed them to focus on each of the No. 1 rifles they make and give them the attention that they need without having to worry about the dizzying number of calibers that could be made.

The company’s tagline for the No. 1 is “When you only have one shot, make it count.” Even though the Ruger No. 1 is a single-shot rifle, it remains incredibly popular with hunters of all types of game - including dangerous game.

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