Little is known of Billy the Kid's birth. In fact, historians often disagree about Billy's younger days. His birth date is often given as November 23, 1859.
Even his real name is not known for sure. The most common names given for Billy the Kid are William H. Bonney, William Henry McCarty Jr., and Henry Antrim.
The Kid was apparently arrested for the very first time in 1875. Some sources claim it occurred in April for stealing some cheese. Other sources say Billy was arrested in September of 1875 for being caught with some stolen laundry.
Some accounts record that Billy was first called "the Kid" in 1877.
The first man killed by Billy was a blacksmith named Frank Cahill. Supposedly Cahill and Billy got into an argument and Cahill picked Billy up and threw him to the ground. Billy then reportedly got up with a revolver drawn and gunned Cahill down.
Though history does record that Billy was an acquaintance of Pat Garrett, the man who eventually killed the Kid, there is no evidence the two were actually friends.
The exact number of men killed by Billy the Kid is not known. Some historians have suggested Billy only killed as many as five men, while others speculate Billy killed as many as 25.
Billy reportedly could speak Spanish as well as he could English.
Despite rumors to the opposite, Billy was right handed. A backward photograph of the Kid has often given the impression he was left handed, but he was not.
Billy was killed July 14, 1881, shot to death by then Sheriff Pat Garrett near Fort Sumner, New Mexico.
MAGPUL FMG
The FMG stands for folding machine gun. What this is is basically a semi-automatic handgun (in the images below the MAGPUL representative uses a Glock) that is encased in a rectangular case about the size of a large book. This collapsible case can fit in the back of your pocket, and a small flashlight can be attached to the top of the case so it appears as if you're just carrying a flashlight with one of those big battery packs attached. This FMG is a weapon for concealment that would draw little if any attention from anyone who happened to see the thing, that is until you swiftly unfolded it. But even then, it might not appear to be a firearm except maybe by someone who is familiar with guns and/or trained to spot them. Even though the MAGPUL FMG is technically a handgun, for handling purposes it looks as if you'd use it more like a mini-submachine gun, think Mac 10 or Mini Uzi.
As of 2008, MAGPUL was not selling their FMG, and I couldn't find it on their Web pages. Perhaps it will be available in the future. However the Web site FullAutoClassics.com is purporting to sell a folding machine gun marketed as the UC-M21 (to my knowledge not affiliated with MAGPUL) available in 9mm, taking Uzi magazines and comes in full auto.
Interestingly enough, the Magpul FMG isn't the first such device ever created, though it is the most recent one. Gun manufacturer ARES created one back in the early 1980s, though it was not a handgun, but more of a true mini-submachine gun, and was never sold on the market. And, of course, there's the UC-M21 mentioned above.
Coilguns
Technically, coilguns aren't firearms. There's no fire. Without getting into a bunch of science, it's difficult to explain how a coilgun works, but basically it's a projectile weapon (often similar in shape and size to a handgun or small rifle) in which coils of electromagnets are used to launch a magnetic projectile.
Apparently no one has perfected a coilgun as of yet, so they're not very common nor popular. To my knowledge, after much research, no company professionally manufacturers coilguns. Instead, most coilguns are created by hobbyists, those with a love of coilguns. If you'd like to know more, and to see a whole bunch of different designs for coilguns, check out the World's Coilgun Arsenal.
The video below shows a weak coilgun at work and gives a little detail on how the device operates.
Miniature ring pinfire revolver
This one is an antique apparently built in London back about 1870. It's literally a ring you wear on your finger, and it's a miniature revolver with sevenshots. Built for the ladies, this weapon was dubbed the "Femme Fatale." It fires .06 caliber pinfire projectiles. Comes with its own, engraved case. To be honest, I'm not sure I'd feel safe firing this thing off, especially seven times. I'd be afraid my hand would blow up. And considering this thing would have a relative distance of only ... oh, a foot! ... I think I'd just stick with a trusty knife if I needed a weapon at such a close range.
Neostad shotgun
Look at the image below. At first glance, it looks like a short semi-auto rifle or maybe even a paintball gun. It's not. It's a 12-gauge pump-action shotgun meant for law enforcement and military applications and not for sporting. Made by the Truvelo Armory company out of South Africa, this shotgun sports dual top mounted magazine feeds. That's right, those big round things atop the barrel (where the pump grips can be seen) are actually removable magazines. Looks awesome, too, in my opinion.
Gyrojet weapons
A gyrojet firearms are simple to describe. They fire a miniature rocket instead of a traditional bullet. Because of the high spin rate of the projectile and the lack of recoil, modern gyrojet weapons are supposedly quite accurate.
An organization known as MB Associates originally began to develop gyrojet pistols and rifles in the 1960s, and eventually a few of these firearms were placed on the market and even tested by United States military. Probably the best known of these early gryojets was an MB Associates pistol called the Mark 1 model B, which fired a 13mm rocket projectile. As the picture below will show, there were even carbine versions made. Unfortunately the weapons never caught on for a variety of reasons, including a lack of accuracy and firepower in these early gyrojet projectiles.
Still, today, there are manufacturers and hobbyists looking at the potential of gryojet weapons. One of these modern projects can be found online as The "Deathwind" Project.
Palm Pistol
The modern Palm Pistol isn't available for sale just yet, but Constitution Arms is gearing up to place this interesting little weapon on the market.
And what exactly is a Palm Pistol? It appears to be a single-shot firearm you trigger by pushing a button on top with your thumb. See the images below for a better idea.
This would seem to be a concealed-carry weapon, and/or perhaps a last-defense weapon.
Also, while this particular Palm Pistol is quite modern looking, the basic idea of a roundish one-shot firearm that can fit in the palm of your hand is an old idea going back at least as far as the mid-1800s. Still, the new Palm Pistol appears interesting and to be a major improvement over older, similar weapons.
The following image is of an old palm-like pistol from the 1800s. This particular version was made in France.
TKB-022
Looking like something out of an old Flash Gordon movie, the TKB-022 was an experimental Soviet assault rifle back in the 1960s. It fired a 7.62 mm round and its housing was a hard plastic, unusual for the times.
The Soviet military tested various versions of this rifle for several years, but eventually passed on the design. Why? Who knows? Perhaps the weapon was just too unusual looking for the Soviet brass. Or maybe it was because the traditional Soviet weapon of choice, the AK-47, was just too good a weapon to let drop. The answer probably lies in some secret Russian files somewhere.
COP .357 Derringer
This handgun is a four-shot derringer chambered for .357 magnums, which means it should also be able to fire .38 rounds. Manufactured by COP Inc., which no longer exists, this firearm was meant to be a concealed carry gun no bigger than many of those cheap .25 semi-autos you can find in most pawn shops.
Besides its looks, what makes this derringer unusual? For one thing, it had a floating firing pin. As you can tell in the image below, the COP has four chambers. You load each one separately. Then as you pull the trigger, the firing pin moves internally so it is over each chamber before firing. This handgun was also double action, which didn't give it a very easy trigger pull.
Unfortunately for gun lovers, the COP is no longer being manufactured, so it's not easy to find one. Still, every once in a while one will pop up at a gun show or online.
Borchardt C-93
Before the famous Luger, there was the Borchardt C-93. For all its impracticalities, this ungainly-looking sidearm was actually the first semi-automatic pistol marketed in Europe and one of the first semi-auto pistols made in any numbers throughout the world in the 1890s.
Chambered for a 7.65X25mm Borchardt cartridge, this handgun had massive recoil and just wasn't very easy to use. All that bulk also added to difficulties of handling and storing, even simply holstering.
However, without the Borchardt there might never have been the Luger or the Mauser pistol. George Luger made a study of the Borchardt, improved upon it drastically and came up with the now famous Luger pistol. As for the Borchardt and the Mauser, the 7.65X25mm Borchardt cartridge played a big influence on the Mauser C96 pistol which fired a 7.65X25mm Mauser cartridge.
Jarre Harmonica Pistol
This oddity can bring a hefty collection at auction houses nowadays, usually at least $10,000 if the gun is in decent condition. Originally this handgun was built in the 1800s in the hopes of being one of the first multi-round weapons. It was, but it's obvious just looking at the gun that it wasn't very practical. The revolver stood out. Thank Sam Colt. The Jarre wasn't the only harmonica pistol of its day, but it's probably the best-known. It fired .38 rounds.
Mark Twain was born under the name Samuel Langhorne Clemens on November 30, 1835 in the town of Florida, Missouri.
In 1839, when Twain was four years old, his parents moved the family to Hannibal, Missouri, where Twain would grow up.
In 1884, Twain helped form a company called Charles L. Webster and Company, which went bankrupt in 1894. The company had been a printing office, but had also tried to sell an automatic typesetting machine known as the Paige Compositor.
Twain was born in the year of Halley's Comet and died in the year of Halley's Comet. His death was by heart attack in Redding, Connecticut, on April 21, 1919.
Twain got his first job in 1847 as an apprentice printer working at the Missouri Courier newspaper.
In 1859, he received his license as a steamboat pilot. It had taken him two years of study and he had to memorize 2,000 miles of land and water along the Mississippi River.
He first used his famous pen name of "Mark Twain" on February 3, 1863, under an article for the Territorial Enterprise newspaper in Nevada.
In 1907, Oxford University awarded Twain an honorary doctorate degree, making Twain a Doctor of Letters.
Though remembered today mostly as a humorist novelist, Twain's early literary works were mostly travel pieces (though often enough filled with humor) and his later works are usually darker pieces of literature.
Twain was a popular public speaker during his lifetime, and spoke at hundreds of rallies, clubs, events and other gatherings.
This unusual-looking gadget was a multi-purpose weapon made from about 1870 to 1900. It's a combination knife, revolver and brass knuckles. It looks really interesting, but my guess would be it's not very practical. Of course these antique firearms make great collector's items. Also, the brass knuckles part was hinged, and it could fold up beneath the main body of the weapon; the knife too could be folded back against the body, thus allowing the user to drop this into a pocket.
Collier flintlock revolver
Several companies made early flintlock revolvers, but Elisha Collier got the patent in England in 1818. Not the prettiest weapon ever made, and probably not very practical, but it easily draws the interest of weapons collectors. Flintlock firearms in general were not easy to use, at least by today's standards, so I can't imagine how much of a pain it would have been to load and fire this flintlock revolver.
Dardick Model 1500
This handgun from the 1950s isn't really a revolver. But it is. It's hard to describe. The Dardick 1500 has an open revolving chamber that can hold three rounds, but it also takes a magazine to insert the rounds. The bullets aren't inserted from the magazine into the chambers in a traditional fashion. In other words, the bullets don't slide into a chamber or any kind of hole shaped like the letter O. Instead, the bullets are inserted into the side of the chamber, into slots shaped like a U. Sorry, but this is awfully difficult to describe. Maybe looking at the patent diagram below will help. Another weird thing, because of the construction, this handgun fired trounds, a sort-of triangular shaped bullet.
This isn't really a revolver, but it looks like one so I decided to include it. Plus, it's just so unusual and secretive. Basically, it's a handgun for firing underwater. It fires steel pins, or darts, one for each of the five barrels of the gun. Several special forces groups around the globe use this weapon, and its working mechanisms are a safe-guarded secret. So much so that apparently, once the P11 has been fired, it has to be returned to the manufacturer to be reloaded.
LeMat
The LeMat was a black powder firearm that is mainly remembered as a service sidearm for officers of the Confederacy during the American Civil War. Manufactured from 1856 to 1865. Less than 3,000 were actually made. What's really interesting about this period piece is that it had two barrel, a longer one on top of a short, fatter one. The top barrel fired a .36 or .42 round from the gun's cylinder. The barrel underneath, however, only fired one shot, a 16-gauge shotgun blast. That just sounds cool. And it's sort of a pretty piece of mechanical ingenuity.
Mateba Model Unica 6
Designed and developed in Italy in 1997, this is an automatic revolver. A what? That's right, an automatic revolver. They exist, they're just very rare. Instead of having to cock back a hammer to rotate the cylinder, recoil from the weapon would automatically rotate the cylinder. Another odd thing is that the barrel is lined up with the bottom of the cylinder, not the top as in almost every other revolver ever made.
According to Pfeifer, the maker of this firearm, this is the largest handgun in the world today. It's 22 inches long and weighs just a tad more than 13 pounds. This is also said to be the worlds most powerful handgun. Also, each of these weapons is made individually, so they're definitely for collectors.
We had the world's largest handgun, now we've got the world's smallest. And yes, this is an actual gun that fires 2.34 mm rimfire round. It works just like any other modern, double-action revolver, except it's really tiny. Made in Switzerland, of course.
This is another of those very rare automatic revolvers, made in Britain about the time of World War I. Another unusual feature about this Webley Fosbery is that it is one of the few revolvers that actually has a manual safety. Manual safeties are practically unknown on revolvers, though that is changing somewhat today with a few of the most modern of sidearms.
Walch Navy Model Revolver
The is probably the most down-to-earth of all the revolvers listed here. What's so special about this black powder weapon manufactured from 1859 to 1862 in New York? Well, for one thing, it holds 12 shots. It's true, a revolver that holds 12 rounds. Man, you were loaded for bear when packing one of these.
Brigham Young was born in Whitingham, Vermont, on June 1, 1801.
Before discovering Mormonism, Young had been baptized into the Methodist faith.
In his younger days, he worked in various jobs. Among other things, Young was a master carpenter, a glazier, a blacksmith and a painter.
Young died in Salt Lake City on September 29, 1877.
He first discovered Mormonism in April of 1830 after read the Book of Mormon provided to him by a family member, who had received a copy from Samuel Smith, a brother of Joseph Smith who was traveling through the area where Young lived at the time.
Young was baptized into the Church of Mormon on April 15, 1832. He preached his first sermon only a week later.
Young's first wife died in 1832, and afterward he and his family moved to Kirtland, Ohio, where Young met Joseph Smith for the first time.
Young gave approximately 500 public sermons during his time in Utah, all of which were written down word for word.
During his lifetime, Brigham Young had 55 wives.
Young is the longest-serving president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. He was president from 1847 to 1877.
Little is known of Billy the Kid's birth. In fact, historians often disagree about Billy's younger days. His birth date is often given as November 23, 1859.
Mark Twain was born under the name Samuel Langhorne Clemens on November 30, 1835 in the town of Florida, Missouri.
Brigham Young was born in Whitingham, Vermont, on June 1, 1801.