Winner Gets Both Guns!

MADE IN AMERICA - January 8
In January 1801, Eli Whitney stood nervously before Congress. He'd been summoned to explain why, two years into a contract to supply the U.S. military with flintlock muskets, not a single musket had been delivered.
His presentation that day changed the world!
Whitney, already famous for inventing the cotton gin, explained his vision and work on a concept called "interchangeable parts." At that time, gun-making was an extremely tedious craft. Each was unique, made by hand and difficult to repair. But Congress watched, awestruck, as Whitney spoke while assembling 10 muskets from piles of parts.
Today, few remember that the vaunted "American System of Manufacturing," utilizing interchangeable parts and mechanized processes and techniques to produce goods faster and more efficiently, was first called the "Armory Practice." It was America's firearms industry that led the way in building our country's industrial dominance.
Fast forward to World War II. Interchangeable parts-making is now so advanced that perfect parts are being mass produced even by companies with zero experience in guns!
If your name is drawn today, you'll win two rifles that tell this story of uniquely American innovation.
First is a U.S. Navy Model 1816 Flintlock Musket-E. Whitney still clearly engraved on the lock! It's among the first arms made with interchangeable parts. Second is the ultimate example. This 1944 Winchester M1 Carbine has a stock by Underwood (typewriters), front sight by Rock-Ola (jukeboxes), rear sight by Inland/GM (automotive) and trigger assembly by Saginaw/GM (automotive). These and other non-gun manufacturers stepped up in the crisis that followed Pearl Harbor, essentially helping to save the world, thanks to a concept presented to Congress by Eli Whitney exactly 223 years ago.

* These are genuine antique, vintage or collectible firearms. Use only after inspection by a qualified gunsmith.

KING OF THE WILDCATS - February 12
On this day in 1979, a hunter in British Columbia shot a pumpkin-headed cougar that still stands as the world record. But today is all about a different sort of wildcat! The late Coloradan P.O. Ackley, a prolific tinkerer with a passion for ballistics, discovered that modifying the taper of a .280 REM case added 100 feet per second in bullet velocity. His findings led to the superb wildcat cartridge .280 Ackley Improved.

PRESIDENTS' DAY - February 19
Lever-action rifles are braided tightly into the lore and romance of the American West, and none are as enduring as the Winchester Model 1894. It may be the most popular firearm of all time! In 1927, after 33 years of production, Winchester presented the one millionth Model '94 to President Calvin Coolidge. Just 21 years later, the two millionth left the factory. Today, sales have reached over seven million!

This is a genuine antique, vintage or collectible firearm. Use only after inspection by a qualified gunsmith.

BUFFALO BILL'S BIRTHDAY-February 26
Happy birthday to William Frederick Cody-better known as Buffalo Bill-born on this day in 1846. He earned his nickname when hired to supply meat to frontier railroad workers, killing 4,282 buffalo in just 18 months, purportedly. Undisputed, however, was his marksmanship. One of Cody's favorite rifles was a Wesson like today's prize, which he used for hunting, competition, wild west shows and photo ops.

100 YEARS OF AR-15 - March 4
Arkansas state highway AR-15 was established in 1924, routing north from the Louisiana line through mile after mile of historic but long-empty elk range. Unregulated hunting and habitat loss had driven elk out long before cars, much less highways, were invented. But today you might travel AR-15 on your way to see elk roaming wild in Arkansas once again, due partly to annual conservation assistance from RMEF.

RINGNECK ARRIVAL - March 18
It's March 1881. A ragged handful of ring-necked pheasants, newly released along the Columbia River near Portland, Oregon, are acclimating to their new habitat. Dozens were shipped from Shanghai to Port Townsend, Washington. Most died. These survivors would become the first reproducing population of ringnecks in the U.S. Today's prize admires these showy gamebirds with fine engraving on the receiver.

NATIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR DAY - March 25
Celebrated every year on this date, today is for honoring recipients of our military's highest decoration. Medals of Honor are presented rarely-only 3,525 since the Civil War-by different service branches for uncommon acts of valor. Selflessness. Extraordinary heroism. Risking life above and beyond the call of duty. We humbly offer today's prize in deepest respect for their distinguished service to our country.

APRIL FOOLS' DAY - April 1
Hey all you hucksters, pranksters and practical jokers, we're not above pulling a good gag-today's winner gets a piddly toy gun. But our grin is as sly as Elvis Presley's. In 1957, Elvis used a toy gun and serious acting to ward off a rowdy fan trying to pick a fight. The trick made national news and inspired our Gun-Day Monday tomfoolery. (April Fools! Today's winner also gets a surprise rifle worth $350.00!)

TOTAL SOLAR ECLIPSE - April 8
Astronomers circled this day on their calendars a long, long time ago. There's a rare celestial event! A total solar eclipse will be visible over the U.S., beginning in totality above Texas at 1:27 p.m. CDT. Better yet, we're giving away an Eclipse rifle-and that's a combination even rarer still. In fact, you might want to circle the next Monday when you could totally win an Eclipse during an actual eclipse: Sept. 14, 2099.

This is a genuine antique, vintage or collectible firearm. Use only after inspection by a qualified gunsmith.

HELLO LEGEND! - April 15
Doc Carver, the legendary "Champion Rifle Shot of the World" in 1878, issued a challenge to all comers. He would use a rifle, his opponents could use a shotgun, and he would still outshoot any man alive. For years, no one accepted the dare. But in April 1885, Lillian Smith, 14, stepped up with her Winchester '73 in .22 Short, breaking 100 feather-filled glass balls a full second faster than Carver. Challenge accepted!

RMEF TURNS 40 - May 13
A herd of elk once wintered in this valley, but no more. Long gone. Too many fences, too many stoplights. And too few citizens working together to balance the growing needs of people against the timeless needs of wildlife.
These kinds of stories, spanning 150 years and nearly the full width and breadth of America, began weaving happier endings in 1984. In fact, today's date of that year would be the last without an official organization devoted to elk-and the ground they walk on-working to make things better. Starting tomorrow, May 14, 1984, RMEF would begin flickering to life.
From humble roots, drained savings accounts, an office in an old trailer, and the dogged belief of four Montana hunters led by Charlie Decker and Bob Munson, a true force in conservation grew. Now with over 500 chapters, 12,000 volunteers and 225,000 members, belief is no longer in short supply. Today's RMEF is a dynamic fusion of hunters, landowners, outdoor industry partners and stakeholders from every scrap of elk country.
Together, supporters have helped to protect and enhance habitat, or open and improve access, across more than 8.6 million acres. That's roughly a square mile per day, every day, for 40 years!
Today's prize is a Weatherby limited-edition rifle-only 40 will be made-celebrating RMEF's 40th Anniversary. Each is serially numbered to commemorate a specific year. This one is the first of the series, No. 1984. The rifle also features the engraved signatures of Decker and Munson, plus Bill and Adam Weatherby, whose company was the first firearm brand to support RMEF by purchasing an ad in the inaugural issue of "Bugle" magazine.
You want this rifle!

'BAMBI' - June 3
Can a movie shape culture? Since 1942, parents have been plopping kids down to watch "Bambi," a film that "Time" magazine lists among its Top 25 horror movies of all time. Hunting scenes "traumatize with a primal shock that still haunts oldsters." Beatle Paul McCartney admits it led directly to his anti-hunting and animal-rights activism. So, "Bambi," yeah. Can today's prize help reshape culture? We sure hope so.

FRANKLIN FLIES A KITE - June 10
On this day in 1752, as a thunderstorm rolled across Philadelphia, Ben Franklin was flying a kite. A metal key was tied to the string and connected to an early battery called a Leyden jar. His discovery would lead to guns using electric batteries to ignite propellants, a bright idea that so far hasn't sparked consumers (looking at you, defunct Remington EtronX rifle). Today's prize works the traditional way: firing pin and primers.

GOOD CASSIDY, BAD CASSIDY - June 24
Both holstered Colts like today's prize, but their similarities ended there. One was a TV hero, the other a real-life villain. On this date in 1889, Butch Cassidy robbed his first bank, stealing $21,000.00 in Telluride, Colorado. Strangely, also on this date in 1949, "Hopalong Cassidy" went on the air. TV's first western starred a sarsaparilla-sipping cowboy who never shot first. Two contrasting histories, one historic gun!

GETTYSBURG - July 1
Near 7:30 a.m. on July 1, 1863, Lt. Marcellus E. Jones of the 8th Illinois Volunteer Cavalry rested his .52 caliber Sharps carbine across a fencepost, aimed at a distant Confederate officer on a white horse, and squeezed the trigger. It was the first shot of a horrific three-day battle. Combined casualties would total 57,225. The Civil War's bloodiest fight, nearly a third of all Americans at Gettysburg were killed in action.

* This is a genuine antique, vintage or collectible firearm. Use only after inspection by a qualified gunsmith.

'BIG IRON' - July 15
Recorded 65 years ago by Marty Robbins, an Arizona Ranger's shootout with a Texas outlaw is the climax of the classic western ballad "Big Iron." "There was 40 feet between them when they stopped to make their play. And the swiftness of the Ranger is still talked about today. Texas Red had not cleared leather 'fore a bullet fairly ripped. And the Ranger's aim was deadly with the big iron on his hip."

LET THE GAMES BEGIN - July 22
Kicking off this week, the Paris Olympics feature 15 shooting events in rifle, pistol and shotgun, both men's and women's divisions. Historically, Americans have dominated. Team USA owns 2,959 medals. Closest rival is the Soviet Union with 1,204. Today's prize is a brand long familiar in world competitions. May our lucky winner enjoy showing off medal-worthy precision from target ranges to gopher fields.

CUSTER'S BIG BULL - August 12
Though controversial as an Army officer, Lieutenant Colonel George Armstrong Custer was a hunter of unquestioned success. Touring the West as part of the 1873 Yellowstone Expedition, Custer killed many elk for the mess tent with his Remington No. 1 Rolling Block Rifle. His biggest bull, he wrote, was "taller than Dandy (his horse) weighing cleaned 800 pounds with the handsomest set of antlers I ever saw.

* This is a genuine antique, vintage or collectible firearm. Use only after inspection by a qualified gunsmith."

WOODSTOCK - August 19
Roy Rogers was invited to sing "Happy Trails" as the closing act at Woodstock. The groovy music festival was slated to end Sunday, but the last act finally took the stage 15 hours behind schedule-on Monday morning 55 years ago. However, since Rogers had declined the invitation, the bleary-eyed audience saw some guy called Jimi Hendrix. We're certain the King of Cowboys would never ditch today's wood stock.

HELL'S BELLES - August 26
Did you hear the crazy news? It's 1877 and Denver is buzzing about last night's duel in the red-light district. Jealous over each other's romance with dashing gambler Cort Thompson, madams Kate Fulton and Mattie Silks (both topless, some say), screamed into the street to settle the matter with derringers. A crowd circled. When the smoke cleared, neither lady was hit, but Cort had been grazed in the neck.

A FRONTIERSMAN'S RIFLE - September 23
For those of us who suspect we were born 200 years too late, and who wonder what kind of mountainman we might've made, Gun-Day Monday presents Mr. William Thomas Hamilton. His was the adventurous life to which we all aspire!
Wildcat Bill, as he was colorfully known, hunted and trapped and wandered across the American West for more than 50 years in the 1800s. He was a healer among Native Americans. He prospected in the California gold rush, guided and protected pioneers in Nevada and Oregon, scouted for Custer from the Dakotas through Wyoming, saw Yellowstone before most had even heard of it, served as a territorial marshal, assisted the Smithsonian in interpreting pictographs, and established a trading post in the first log cabin built in what is now Missoula, Montana - home of RMEF.
Hamilton also faithfully carried a rifle just like today's prize. Since so few of these were made, there actually is a reasonable off-chance that this one was his!
In a memoir, he recalled buying his Sharps in 1853: "Six of us traded our Hawken rifles for Sharps rifles. These were the first Sharps we had ever seen. Securing a lot of tape caps and ammunition, we practiced for several days. They were equal in accuracy to our old rifles and far superior in effectiveness."
Hamilton's reference to "tape caps" confirms a Model 1851 Boxlock, the only Sharps made with the interesting Maynard mechanism. Instead of percussion caps, rolled priming tape was stored in a side compartment of the rifle and dispensed up and over the nipple for firing the rifle.
Winning today takes a lucky modern-day frontiersman along on Wildcat Bill's adventurous life!

* This is a genuine antique, vintage or collectible firearm. Use only after inspection by a qualified gunsmith.

YEAGER BREAKS THE SOUND BARRIER - October 14
Today's prize, built for the world's fastest .30 caliber bullet (165 grains at 3,500 feet per second), is a fitting prize to remember the world's fastest man. On this day in 1947, Brigadier General Chuck Yeager became the first pilot to exceed the speed of sound. Flying the experimental rocket-powered Bell XS-1, Yeager reached Mach 1.05 to help the U.S. Air Force understand speed-related mechanical phenomena.

DOUBLE SAFETIES - October 21
On this day in 1973, Los Angeles Rams defensive end Fred Dryer became the first and only NFL player to score two safeties in a single game. Dryer tackled two different Green Bay Packers quarterbacks in their own endzone, each worth two points for the Rams. If your name is drawn today, you too will score two safeties! Like many modern 1911-model pistols, today's prize features a thumb safety and a grip safety.

This is a genuine antique, vintage or collectible firearm. Use only after inspection by a qualified gunsmith.

NATIONAL FIRST RESPONDERS DAY - October 28
Congress annually designates this day as a symbolic thank-you gift to police officers, firefighters, paramedics, 911 dispatchers and others who leap to action when emergency strikes. RMEF is saying thanks by giving away an outstanding, collectible Colt Buntline. In 1876, dime novelist Ned Buntline designed and commissioned Colts with distinctive 12-inch barrels as thank-you gifts to heroic lawmen.

VETERANS DAY - November 11
Set on the anniversary of the end of World War I, today's federal holiday commemorates our nation's veterans. To all of you, a sincere salute. For defending freedom. For protecting the best of America. In your honor, we present a semi-auto descendant of the M14, the legendary battle rifle that also served honorably around the world against foreign hostilities. This year marks the 50th Anniversary of the civilian-version M1A!

RIDING SHOTGUN - November 18
Travelers once watched for elk from the windows of stagecoaches. Often, they saw bandits instead. The first holdup was in California in 1856. The last in Nevada in 1913. In between, a shocking 458 robberies! Wells Fargo finally employed armed guards to sit next to stage drivers, a job known as "riding shotgun." Turns out, their handy little "street howitzers" are just fun to shoot, provided there's no bandit in sight.

20 YEARS OF .204 RUGER - November 25
Answering varmint hunters' need for speed-and less recoil compared to the long-established .22-250 REM and .220 Swift-Ruger and Hornady collaborated to launch this neat little cartridge in 2004. Fans lined up quickly and no wonder. The flat-shooting .204 Ruger offers fantastic accuracy, plenty of shock for quick dispatch, minimal pelt damage, low recoil, and velocities well over 4,000 feet per second.

Winner Also Gets Historic Book!
Value $69.99

CYBER MONDAY - December 2
As is our Cyber Monday tradition, today we're bringing you awesomely outdated technology - this time, ironically, from the Silicon Valley area itself! Today's prize was built by two noted California gunmakers who partnered from 1873 to 1876. Barrel marked Browning & Heber, San Francisco, Cal. This massive rifle is shown on page 115 of the seminal study, "California Gunsmiths, 1846-1900." A copy is included!

* This is a genuine antique, vintage or collectible firearm. Use only after inspection by a qualified gunsmith.

MANEATERS OF TSAVO - December 9
If you've seen the true-story movie "The Ghost and the Darkness," then you have a sense of the terror over East Africa as two rogue lions began attacking workers and disrupting construction of a bridge over the Tsavo River. As many as 140 people were killed and eaten. After months of failed hunts, job foreman John Patterson finally killed the first maneater on this date in 1898. He killed the second 20 days later.

FINDING THE INNER DOE - December 9
An iconic logo, the Browning buckmark symbolizes the lifestyle of avid hunters and shooters. The Utah-based company in 1977 developed the now-famous outline of a mule deer buck to represent its brand. After its launch, a Browning employee commented how they really liked the reverse image of the doe within the buckmark. No one had noticed it during development. Browning calls it a "happy accident."