Happy 70th Birthday
Memories of Milestones
Parker Bros. shotguns were no longer being manufactured
when Guns Magazine was founded in 1955.
Growing up in the middle of the Connecticut River “Gun Valley” meant I was always surrounded by Winchester, Marlin, Mossberg, Hi Standard, Parker, Colt and the like. Sometimes when I got to thinking, I wondered if their influence shaped me into a hunter/shooter or if I was born that way. I started a straw poll to see if Michiganders felt similarly about their muscle cars. They were surrounded by all of the classics — Mustang, Super Bee, GTO, Road Runners and Camaro. I never found an answer but figure people appreciate quality and innovation like those firearms and vehicles. It doesn’t matter where they’re from.
Unlike its “hook and bullet” competitors, GUNS has
been 100% about shooting in every aspect from
hunting to gunsmithing.
It’s In The Water
Many of my friends had a family member who at one time or another worked at one of those firearm companies. Fathers and mothers worked for these storied firearms manufacturers and their affiliation made them proud. Some made barrels, others were engravers, while still others worked in shipping or managed the books. There wasn’t a whole lot of job-hopping as there is today and for the most part, they were “company” men and women.
After a career spanning decades if not a half century, they retired and became the company’s alumni. They were thrown a retirement party and given a gold watch. I attended some as a kid and I always thought it odd to be given a watch. To my way of thinking, being retired meant you can do whatever you want, whenever you want. Time doesn’t matter, so why the watch? Cash money seemed like a better fit.
When we weren’t hunting or shooting, we were reading about it and that’s why every house had a subscription to one of the “Big Three.” Bobby’s family got Field & Stream, we got Outdoor Life and Jim’s dad got Sports Afield. When we were all done reading an issue, we’d swap. Talking about what we read was a perfect way to kill time in a duck blind or in a bass boat.
A lot of us New Englanders are a little slow to come about to the “latest, greatest,” and this stubbornness held true to the launching of two new companies. Bill Ruger and his partner Alexander McCormick Sturm launched their company not far away in Southport, Conn. They rocked the gun world with their Ruger Standard pistol, a cross between a Luger and a Colt Woodsman.
For 70 years — starting with this cover — GUNS Magazine has
continued to publish its monthly magazine while adding
digital and social media channels.
The semi-automatic was priced for working-class Americans, and its sales catapulted the company to success, so much so that by the time I came around, Ruger was as accepted as any other.
Then, there was the launch of a monthly publication called Guns Magazine. The inaugural issue of what you’re holding in your hands hit newsstands in January 1955. If you started partying to celebrate Ruger’s 75th birthday in 2024, keep on rolling because 2025 marks GUNS Magazine’s 70th birthday.
Bobby’s dad got a subscription when Guns first came out and by the time I saw it, he had quite a stack. His dad kept every one because it had a uniqueness maintained to this day. The original issues I remember had themes ranging from The Wild West to military history to large-scale firearm companies and individuals who excelled in the industry. Where else could you read about Doc Holliday and Dirty Harry but in the September 1972 issue of Guns and get a shotgun review by Claire F. Rees on the launch of the Ithaca Model 51 semi-automatic? I guess we can consider Holliday a shotgunner. He did carry a 10-gauge side-by-side with a sawed-off stock and barrels under his coat at some corral in Arizona.
Most of the firearm companies in the Connecticut River Valley have closed their doors or moved to a state with better tax incentives and a more gun-friendly attitude. The Big Three have gone in and out of the publishing business, but none are the same as they once were. But like Sturm-Ruger Inc., Guns Magazine has a winning recipe that forges ahead with monthly print magazines reaching 1.6 million readers worldwide.
One key business principle is “Always innovate” and Guns Magazine did with its digital and social footprint. Before you close out reading this issue, be sure to raise a glass to Brent and his team. Because of them, we’re allowed to work on a title celebrating its 70th anniversary in style while keeping an eye on the future. Happy birthday, Guns Magazine. I’m proud to add a little of my own patina to a world-class title.
