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Bryant Ridge's Analysis: The Colt Python revolver holds a prestigious position in the history of modern double-action American handguns. Introduced in the mid-1950s, this firearm was developed during a time when the quality of American gunmaking was beginning to decline from its peak in the 1930s and 1940s. Rather than joining the trend of fast, mass-production firearms constructed from stamped and fabricated parts, the Python was designed to be the finest revolver ever manufactured in America, …

Bryant Ridge's Analysis: The Type 99 rifle or Type 99 short rifle was a bolt-action rifle of the Arisaka design used by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. During the Second Sino-Japanese War in the 1930s, the Japanese soon found that the 7.7mm cartridge being fired by their Type 92 heavy machine gun in China was superior to the 6.5×50mm cartridge of the Type 38 rifle. This necessitated the development of a new weapon to replace the outclassed Type 38 and finally standardize on …

Bryant Ridge's Analysis: Built in the tradition of one of Marlin’s oldest and most revered lever-action designs, the Model 1894 is an exceptionally elegant carbine chambered for pistol calibers, specifically the powerful 44 Remington Magnum and 44 Special. This chambering provides remarkable knockdown power, making it ideal for a variety of shooting applications. The carbine’s compact, well-balanced size is complemented by a quick-pointing, straight-grip stock design that enhances ha …

Bryant Ridge's Analysis: The Winchester Model 1894 rifle (also known as the Winchester 94 or Model 94) is a lever-action repeating rifle that became one of the most famous and popular hunting rifles of all time. It was designed by John Browning in 1894 and originally chambered to fire two metallic black powder cartridges, the .32-40 Winchester and .38-55 Winchester. It was the first rifle to chamber the smokeless powder round, the .30 WCF (.30 Winchester Center Fire, in time becoming known as th …

Bryant Ridge's Analysis: John Browning apparently began designing the Superposed (Over/Under) shotgun in 1922. It was his last firearm design and a labor of love. He conceived it as the last gun the government would ban from private ownership. Like most John Browning guns it is a complicated design. The great man never used one part when two or three could be made to work. On the other hand, those parts are lightly stressed and, like most Browning designs, Superposed shotguns are very reliable. …