Papa Ted's Guns

Papa Ted’s Guns is a book that was written by a firearm collector to document his accumulation of guns acquired over the past sixty-five years. The emphasis of the collection is American military weapons, which comprise over half of the collection. These arms were acquired through purchase or trade in order to provide representative pieces to cover the period from 1800 through World War II. The remainder of the collection includes arms acquired through inheritance, gift, trade or purchase for personal use. It is a potpourri of guns which include Colt, Smith and Wesson, Winchester, Remington, Savage, Berretta, Ruger and others. Each gun is described individually, with historical reference, at least two color photographs (taken by a professional photographer), a photograph of the ammunition for the arm and the source of the gun. In addition, a brief history of firearms in general is provided. Appendices include the history of cartridge development with an exhibit showing the evolution of United States infantry cartridges from the paper wrapped “buck and ball” of the Revolutionary War period to the 5.56x45 mm NATO round currently in use, the unique Maynard tape primer system utilized in 1855 and a set of exhibits that illustrate the manufacture of metallic cartridge cases.