THE HENRY RIFLE

The legendary Model 1873 Winchester rifle has been labeled the favorite fighting rifle of the West.  But, the granddaddy of this Model 1873 and all models that followed was the iconic Model 1860 Henry Rifle and one of the most advanced firearm designs to come out of the American Civil War. 

The Henry was known to help save the lives of many union soldiers and angered confederates who faced it.  The Southerners described the Henry as “that damned Yankee rifle that is loaded on Sunday and fires all week long”.  But, a Henry cost around $40 and about four times as much of the Springfield rifle and a typical union private only made $13 a month.  So being a typical government shortsighted effort, the USA only bought 1,700 of them. 

Taking up the slack, private organizations and state militia groups bought thousands more for the war effort.  The invention of the Henry started with Benjamin Tyler Henry.  While working for Winchester in the 1840's, he patented a 15 round magazine breech loading repeating rifle that became known as the Henry rifle. 

The next stepping stone in the Henry design was the Volcanic Repeater.  This Volcanic Repeater Company changed its name in 1857 to the New Haven Arms Company and Oliver Winchester became its president and hired Benjamin Henry from the Springfield Armory.  The result of Mr. Henry's work and ingenuity was the Model 1860 Henry lever action rifle.  This new rifle held 16 rounds of .44 ammo in a tubular magazine at the time when most soldiers were equipped with single shot muzzle loading rifles. It was a tough sale at first and one of the many marketing stories of this famous rifle was from a Union Cavalry Captain named Wilson. 

The story goes when the Wilson family was having dinner in their Kentucky home seven confederate guerrillas arrived to kill Capt. Wilson.  As he exited his home to face the killers, he grabbed his Henry and then opened fire killing all seven with eight shots.  After verifying this incident, the State of Kentucky armed Wilson's unit with Henry rifles.  Others followed suit as Union Officers continued to give priority to this amazing gun and it helped win many battles and became just about as popular as the rugged Spencer Carbine.  After the American Civil War era, the Henry continued to be used in the American West and even some Sioux Warriors used them against Custer at Little Big Horn. 

This very popular and collectable lever action rifle is still made by the Henry Repeating Arms Company and is the largest lever-action rifle manufacturer in the United States.  Their slogan “Made in America or Not at All” highlights the company's dedication to maintaining the company's domestic manufacturing heritage as well as the Henry Rifle's history.  If you can't find an original Model 1860 Henry, the company will sell you a great looking replica that will look good hanging up in your den.

Find out more information by visiting with the Rockwall Gun Club located at 15950 State Hwy 205 in Terrell, Texas or by calling (972) 551-0470.

Sharpshooter

The name “Sharpshooter” is usually tagged for someone who is an excellent marksman.  But how did that title come about so many years ago?  Thanks to Christian Sharps who patented his iconic rifle in the late 1840's.  His Model 1851 “box-lock” was developed in conjunction with Samuel Robbins and Richard Lawrence and produced thousands for the military. 

Sharps left that company in 1853 and formed the Sharps & Hankins Rifle Manufacturing Enterprise.  Their company produced over 100K firearms during the Civil War for the Union Armies. A Sharps carbine was known for firing the first shot at the Battle of Gettysburg knocking a Confederate officer off his horse. The Sharps carbine and rifle would become legends for the roles they played in the Civil War, for buffalo hunters and the Southwest Indian Wars. 

They were just very durable, fast loading and accurate at long distances.  A soldier with practice could load and fire his single shot Sharps ten times in a minute, so much faster than a musket and less confusing.  The Sharps rifle and carbine became the weapon of choice for the Berdan Sharpshooters, a famous group on the Union side called which made the Sharps rifle famous and probably the first to use the title of sharpshooter.   

Before a new member was accepted into the Berdan unit, he had to prove his marksmanship skills and hit a target 10 inches in diameter at a distance of 200 yards consistently.  The Berdan's like other sharpshooters then and now singled out high value targets, but had the highest percentage of casualties of any unit in the war.  After the Civil War, buffalo hunters like the famous “Buffalo Bill” Cody armed themselves primarily with the large caliber Sharps and sometimes were outfitted with scopes using a .50-.90 caliber bullet.  This 11 pound rifle with its octagonal barrel absorbed much of the recoil and heated up very slowly.

That setup was the greatest cause of the elimination of the mighty buffalo and the end of the Plains Indian way of life.  The Indians targeted these hunters and attacked them often, but the Sharps rifle saved the hides of the buffalo hunters with its long range abilities.  The Indians were disheartened when their brothers dropped dead from shots from at least a half mile away.  The Indians who faced the Sharps rifle in a battle referred to it as “the gun that would shoot today and kill tomorrow”. 

The Sharps rifle and carbines were also the choice of those heading out West after the Civil War.  Eventually the single shot carbines and rifles were replaced by the invention of repeating arms.  The day of the single shot rifle was over.  Today's gun collectors treasure a Sharps rifle or carbine originals and are just about as hard to find as hens' teeth.  But you can purchase a good reproduction through Shiloh Rifle Manufacturing and C. Sharps Arms Co. Inc.  Both are located in Big Timber, Montana. 

Stay tuned for another chapter in the Guns that made America by following the Rockwall Gun Club located at 15950 State Hwy 205 in Terrell, Texas or by calling the 80 plus private gun club at (972) 551-0470.

SMITH & WESSON FOUND AT ROCKWALL GUN CLUB

Like Batman and Robin or the lone Ranger and Tonto, you couldn't find a better team than Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson.  These two innovators formed a partnership in 1852 called Smith & Wesson to produce some of the best firearms in American History and they are still going strong today. 

From the start, Smith & Wesson Firearms were noted for their innovative design, high quality and reliability that still continues.  The accomplishments of S & W are numerous and the contributions to the history of American firearms are vast. 

It is without a doubt that many members of Rockwall Gun Club located at 15950 State Hwy 205 in Terrell, Texas have a few of these in their gun safes or hanging on a wall.  It all started in 1852 when they decided to manufacture a firearm that can fire a fully self-contained cartridge.

This repeating pistol fired as quickly as you could operate the lever and was named “The Volcanic” as the rapid fire sequence appeared to have the force of an erupting volcano.  Then three years later they developed the Model 1 Revolver known as the Seven Shooter .22 rim fire revolver that sounded the end to percussion guns.  In the summer of 1870, the Model 3 American Revolver was built and became the first large caliber, center fire, cartridge revolver made in America and became a hit as a great gun to have on the frontier.  It was also a personal favorite of Wyatt Earp. 

Then in 1880, the dynamic duo developed the famous .38 double action revolver with three different caliber sizes and the top choice of police officers.  Following seven years later Smith & Wesson invented the .38 safety hammerless revolver and became the world’s first double action concealed hammer handgun.  In 1897, the .38 military and police revolver was introduced and everything about this handgun was innovative from the solid frame and hard ejector system to the cartridges it fired and known as the Model 10. It still is a collector item and in use for home defense.

In 1913 after years of development and testing Smith & Wesson produced its first automatic pistol that was sold for around $16.  By 1935 the famous .357 Magnum was conceived and quickly caught the attention of law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI. 

During WW11, the British bought revolvers from S&W and at the wars end over 800,000 were produced for allied troops.  After the war, S&W made the small revolver Model 36 that was designed for plainclothes and off-duty police officers and labeled the .38 Chief's Special.  Following in the 50's came the Model 39 pistol double action auto-loading gun and became the first 9mm double action ever used by law enforcement.  Also in 1955 S&W developed the famous .44 Magnum Model 29 that was available in 4,6 or 8 inch sizes.  Remember Dirty Harry? 

The other great inventions were the Model 52 pistol, Model 439 pistol, Model 52 pistol, Model 60 stainless steel handgun, and many other cherished handguns including several models of the M&P 15 rifle. Thanks to Mr. Smith and Mr. Wesson, we have available some of the finest weapons ever made.

Only time will tell what the next great S&W revolver will be.

Be sure to set up an opportunity to site in or fire your favorite Smith & Wesson at the Rockwall Gun Club by calling 972.551.0470.

History of Remington

It's very possible that a great majority of members at Rockwall Gun Club located at 15950 TX-205 in Terrell, Texas have one or more of these iconic firearms made by Remington. 

It is the oldest American manufacture of firearms and ammo in our country.  The founder was Eliphalet Remington and along with his sons put their shingle out in 1816.  Mr. Remington really believed he could build a better gun than he could buy. It all started when Eliphalet at the age of 23 entered a shooting match with his own homemade flintlock rifle.  He placed second, but his gun impressed so many that he received many orders that same day. This was the springboard in launching the E. Remington Arms Company. 

This very successful enterprise was bought out in 1888 by a major sporting goods chain and the name was formally changed to the Remington Arms Company.  Today Remington is the largest U.S. Producer of shotguns and rifles.  Also Remington has developed more cartridges than any other gun maker in the world.  In 2014, a new plant was built to produce AR-15 style semi-automatic rifles along with the popular Remington 911 pistols. 

They have plants in six states that meet the demands of thousands of gun buyers. During the early years of WW1, Remington produced arms for several Allied powers.  They made the M1907 Berthier rifles for France, Pattern 1914 Enfield rifles for Britain and Model 1891 Mosin-Nagant rifles for Russia.  The Russians really hurt Remington in the pocket book as they refused to pay for the shipments. 

When America entered the War, Remington became deeply involved in the war effort and for our troops made the efficient M1917 Enfield rifle. Remington also geared up their line of weapons for civilian use when they introduced hunting rifles and shotguns as a more stable business endeavor than the wars. 

Around 1940, the U.S. Army became concerned about their ammunition capacities and asked Remington, now owned by DuPont, to assist in making ammo.  During WW11, Remington made the very dependable and popular M1903A3 Springfield bolt action rifle.  This rifle is in use today and probably be seen target practicing at the club.  In 1962, they introduced the Model 700 bolt action rifle and became one of their most successful firearms.  Sub-variants of the 700 are still being used by police agencies.   

Later, the military M24SWS was developed and became the standard sniper rifle with our military up to 2010.  In late 2007, Remington Arms bought rifle maker Marlin Firearms and continued to be a success among gun enthusiasts and especially government contracts.  Then in 2017, dark clouds came over Remington due to declining sales and debt they went into bankruptcy.  That only lasted less than two months as sales took off again.  Some of the most famous guns made by Remington were the New Model Army Revolver (1863-1875), Rolling Block Carbine introduced in 1867 and the Model 700.  Just to mention a few.  Stay tuned for another chapter about the history of firearms in the U.S.A.

Rockwall Gun Club: John Browning

John Browning is regarded as one of the most successful firearm designers of the 19^th and 20^th centuries in the development of modern automatic and semi-automatic fire arms.  Browning is credited with over 125 firearm patents and invented or made important improvements to single-shot, lever-action and pump-action rifles and shotguns.  The bet is on that many of the members’ of the Rockwall Gun Club located at 15950 TX-205 in Terrell, TX have one or more of Browning's inventions in their gun safes. 

His most significant contributions were arguably in the area of auto loading firearms.  It all started in his father's gunsmith shop in Ogden, Utah at the age of seven, where John was eager to learn basic engineering and even manufacturing principles and was encouraged by this father to experiment with new ideas in the gun business.  Later on John designed his first rifle which was a single-shot falling block action and then developed and founded his own manufacturing operation with his brother and they began to produce this new Model 1885 Single Shot Rifle. 

This new invention caught the Winchester Repeating Arms Company attention and then bought the design for $8,000 and moved it's to their Winchester and later designed a series of rifles and shotguns.  Some of those were the popular Winchester Model 1887 and the Model 1897 pump shotgun.  The rifles were the lever-action Model 1886, Model 1892, Model 1895 and well as the long recoil operated semi-automatic Remington Model 8.  Many of which are still in production today in some form and over six million Model 1894's have been produced, more than any other sporting rifle in history. 

John Browning also developed the first gas-operated machine gun Colt-Browning Model 1895 and became the standard for most self-loading high-power self-loading gun designs worldwide.  Browning's designs and Winchester Firearms were synonymous and this collaboration was highly successful until Browning asked for a royalty rather than a front-end payment with this new shotgun. Remington rejected his offer and Browning took the new shotgun design to a gun manufacturer in Belgium and it was labeled as the Browning Auto-5 and became very successful. 

This highly popular shotgun was made throughout the 20^th century and ended the era of Winchester-Browning collaboration.  John refused to retire and continued to design firearms until he died of a heart attack in his shop at the age of 71.  His inventions saw action in the Spanish American war with the Marines, World War 1, World War 11 and even the Korean War.  His firearms are still highly popular with civilian shooters. 

You might see a Browning design at the range under the brand of Savage, Ithaca, and Winchester and even with Browning's label.  Stay tuned for another story about an American gun icon and visit the Rockwall Gun Club at www.RockwallGunClub.com or call (972) 551-0470.

Rockwall Gun Club Presents Famous Guns in History: Samuel Colt

This time around our sights are on the famous gun maker Samuel Colt and we're sure that a majority or more members have one of his inventions in their gun safe.  The name of Colt Firearms figured in many of our Nation's wars.  At the start of the Civil War both sides bought guns from Samuel Colt's inventory. 

Samuel was born in July of 1814 in Hartford and passed away in 1862 at the young age of 48.  Colt's fame and fortune started when he was expelled from Amherst Academy as a young man.  So his father sent Sam on a long stint with a sailing ship to study navigation. While on this ship young Colt became fascinated by how the ship's wheel could spin or be locked in an affixed position through the use of a clutch.  He thought why not use this type of action on a gun with a revolving chamber capable of holding six bullets.    So Samuel went ahead and whittled away on that idea and carried a wooden model of a revolver that used similar mechanism for loading and firing ammunition. 

 Sam patented it and after receiving startup funds from the family opened the Patent Arms Company.  But the orders didn't flow in as anticipated for his three handguns and two rifles, especially from the government.  His first try at success failed in 1842, but as his luck would have it, Washington took another look at his inventions and really liked the new revolver as it could fire six shots without reloading. 

The U.S. Army ordered 1,000 weapons from Colt and he was back in business and built a new large factory with money in the bank under the Colt's name.  Now he had to produce and do it quick so Samuel invented the assembly-line production system, which allowed this armory to turn out 150 weapons a day.  This was 50 years before Henry Ford got the idea. 

Samuel Colt became one of the richest men in the world as his Colts were sold all over the planet.  Sam was also a masterful marketer and self-promoter who relied on more than the mainstream ads of that period.  These Colt ads, which are very collectible, depicted Western scenes with cowboys using his “revolving pistols”.  He even had his own writers’ pen stories about his guns for magazines features.

At times the orders were overwhelming, especially for special orders from foreign dignitaries.  One Turkish ruler ordered a gold-plated revolver, but the Mexican-American war was one of Colt's best customers along with the Texas Rangers.  Colt produced over 400,000 firearms in his lifetime and made the Colt brand the most widely known arms maker in existence.  It was a sad day when Samuel Colt died at the age of 48 in 1862.  His wife Elizabeth took over the reins of an estate worth over 15 million and did an outstanding job, especially after this huge armory went up in flames in February of 1864. 

The rumor for this fire was that a Confederate arsonist was to blame, but wisely Elizabeth took out insurance on the plant shortly after Sam's death.  It was rebuilt on the same site in Hartford and the successes continued, especially the Colt “Peace Maker” that earned its name as “The Gun That Won the West”.   Stay tuned for another chapter on the famous gun inventors in America.  Visit Rockwall Gun Club at 15950 State Hwy 205 located at Terrell, TX 75160 or by calling the Gun Club at (972) 551-0470 for more information.

Rifle Class Hosted by Rockwall Gun Club

The Rockwall Gun Club located at 15950 State Highway 205 in Terrell, TX is hosting a basic Rifle Class Sunday, May 13, 2018 from 1-4 PM.


This course includes classroom and range time learning to shoot rifles. Students learn basic rules for safe gun handling; rifle parts and operation; ammunition; shooting fundamentals; range rules, and continued opportunities for skill development.

The cost for the class is $35.00 per person.  Each person will be required to bring their own firearm and ammunition. If you do not have your own firearm, the instructor can provide one for you for an additional $40.00 and that price includes ammunition.

At Rockwall Gun Club all members are VIP members.  Gun safety and instruction is of the utmost importance while providing a level of exclusivity that can be found in top country clubs. Visitors enjoy a comfortable, relaxing environment with the expectation of privacy and superlative customer service; enjoying high quality products, innovative technologies, world class amenities and refinement not found at most public ranges.

Pre-registration for the Basic Rifle Class is required. Please contact Chessica Rommell at 214-794-6760 or email at Chessica@rockwallgunclub.com.

Rockwall Gun Club’s mission is to educate on all facets of firearms, with an emphasis on safety and provide a wholly unique shooting experience. Rockwall Gun Club members and their guests enjoy the special camaraderie that all shooters appreciate, enhanced by the exclusive ambiance that comes with a country club environment. Comfortably situated in Rockwall Texas, this exciting new facility for sporting enthusiasts stretches across an 80-acre indoor and outdoor complex that offers a comprehensive spread of activities and benefits.  Members who join Rockwall Gun Club embrace what it means to be a part of the “Private Shooting Experience”, where all members are VIP.