Review by Larry S. Sterett | Contributing Editor
50 FAMOUS FIREARMS YOU’VE GOT TO OWN, by Rick Hacker. ©2014. Published by Krause Publications, Dept. TGM, 700 East State St., Iola, WI 54990; online: krausebooks.com. Price: $29.95, plus shipping. Available at most bookstores.
This 176-page hardbound volume is devoted to just what the title states, 50 firearms the author believes to be representative of the best firearms ever produced. You may disagree with some of his choices, but you cannot disagree with the fact that all 50 of the firearms—handguns, rifles, and shotguns—are interesting.
There does not seem to be any specific order in which the firearms are covered, as the first is the Smith & Wesson Model 36 Chief’s Special and the final model is the Remington Model 870. Between these two the remaining 48 firearms include 20 rifles, four shotguns, 23 handguns, and one submachine gun. They range from the early black powder days—Colt Dragoon and Hawken Rifle—up to the late 20th century with the Kimber Super Match II pistol. At least a dozen of the firearms are post World War II designs, but two, the M1 Garand and the M1 Carbine, became famous during World War II, although the Garand was designed during the 1930s. The lone submachine gun is the Thompson, which is available in a semi-automatic version, and is thus not really a submachine gun, but a semi-automatic carbine or rifle. The original Thompson subs may have made the 20s roar, but the German MG-42 made an impression on many GIs during World War II. The MG-42 is also available in a semi-auto version, as are the BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) and the British Bren gun, both of which served well in the WW II and later.
From two to six pages are devoted to each of the 50 firearms, with from three to nine color photographs accompanying the text. (There are a couple of black and white photos of the author in his early days, when color photographs were literally unknown.) Eleven of the 50 are Colt models, with nine Winchesters, five Rugers, and three each Remington and Smith & Wesson models. The lone custom model is a Griffin & Howe rifle, based on the ’03 Springfield action. Interestingly, John M. Browning designed many of the firearms covered in this tome.
