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Bryant Ridge's Analysis: The Kimber M82 is a bolt-action .22 caliber rifle developed by Kimber of Oregon. While bolt-action .22 rifles were once commonplace in the United States, by the late 20th century, American manufacturers of such rifles had dwindled significantly. In response to this gap, Kimber was established in 1979, initially to produce the Kimber M82 Government rifle, designed specifically for the U.S. military. The M82 was created to fulfill a critical need for a high-accuracy, low-c …

Bryant Ridge's Analysis: In 1880, Daniel Myron Lefever patented the first commercially successful hammerless breach-loading shotgun. He had been involved in several unsuccessful firearms businesses after the Civil War, but his new shotgun design quickly became popular. Unfortunately, “Uncle Dan” lost control of the Lefever Arms Co. in 1883 after a fire. The founder was named Superintendent of the company bearing his name, but A. Ames Howlett became president. After years of success, …

Bryant Ridge's Analysis: Stevens Arms was an American firearms manufacturer founded by Joshua Stevens in 1864 in Chicopee, Massachusetts. The company introduced the .22 Long Rifle round and made a number of rifle, shotgun, and target pistol designs. By 1902, they were advertising themselves as "the largest producers of sporting arms in the world". They were purchased by New England Westinghouse on May 28, 1915, and again by Sa …

Bryant Ridge's Analysis: An authentic replica of this machine gun was born in 1940 when England was alone and threatened by an imminent invasion by Germany. The government was in urgent need of equipping their soldiers with a weapon of their own production. Thus was born the Sten submachine gun, a weapon with a debatable design and reliability but also one of the most easily recognizable of the Second World War. It would end up being used by both airborne troops and special operations forces as …

Bryant Ridge's Analysis: The Smith & Wesson Model 48 was first produced in 1959 and was chambered in .22 WMR, a rimfire cartridge that had been introduced by Winchester earlier that year. The gun's performance quickly gained popularity among enthusiasts and continues to be a favorite to this day. However, the Model 48 faced a tough challenge in 1986, when semi-automatic pistols began to dominate the handgun market. Due to low consumer demand, production of the Model 48 was stopped. …