Re-Inventing the Wheel
Or . . . The Day the Man, Who Killed the Man Who Killed Jesse James, Picked a Fight with the Wrong Oklahoma Police Officer
Jesse Woodson James was born on the 5th of September, 1847 and was a happy arrival for his parents and older brother, Alexander Franklin (“Frank”) James. None of the family ever dreamed that Jesse would become one of the most notorious American outlaws ever. Continue reading “The Day Edward O’Kelly Picked a Fight with the Wrong Police Officer”
Mike recently asked me about the volume of notorious crimes in Arkansas. Our state’s history is rich with stories about politicians, desperados, gunslingers of all sorts, feuds, mass murders, war reconstruction, Wild West and Depression Era outlaws, and modern monsters. Continue reading “The Day the Barkers Brought Death to the Ozarks”
Having previously discussed the murder of New Jersey State Trooper Philip Lamonaco, and its influence on that agency’s decision to make the switch from revolvers to autopistols, we now turn our attention to the similar murder of New York City Police Department Officer Scott Gadell. Continue reading “Lessons From The Murder of Officer Scott Gadell”
There was a revolution in police handguns happening in the 1980s, as American police officers increasingly said goodbye to their double action revolvers and replaced them with semiautomatic pistols. Continue reading “Lessons From the Murder of Trooper Philip Lamonaco”
Renowned Texas Ranger, Frank Hamer, and five other officers stopped the Barrows—permanently–on a country road outside Gibsland, Louisiana on May 23, 1934. Three years later, in 1937, one of the country’s great state police organizations was reorganized as the Arkansas State Police (ASP).
So, if the Barrows were killed in a shooting by Hamer and his fellow officers in 1934, how did the newborn ASP get into a gunfight with a remnant of the Barrow Gang, many years later? Continue reading “The Day the Arkansas State Police Fought a Gun Battle with a Remnant of the Barrow Gang”
Mike made his return to the Firearms Nation Podcast, where he spoke with host Arik Levy about revolvers, the Newhall Shootout, and the FBI Miami Shootout. Continue reading “RevoverGuy Returns to the Firearms Nation Podcast”
When Smith & Wesson released its first, K-Frame, .38 caliber Hand Ejector model in 1899, it’s doubtful that anyone in Springfield thought the basic design would last for over a century. Continue reading “Evolutionary Improvements in S&W Revolvers”
. . . (at least in that era), Thanks to a Horrific Assault on Law and Order.
If you have studied the history of criminal justice in America, you may have noticed a pendulum effect where public approval of criminals and criminality appears to move from one extreme to the other.
Continue reading “The Day America’s Love Affair with Criminals Ended . . .”
Today marks the 36th anniversary of the terrible 1986 gunfight between members of the FBI’s Miami C-1 Bank Robbery Squad, and a pair of violent bank and armored car robbers who were willing to fight to the death, rather than surrender. Continue reading “1986 FBI Miami Gunfight Anniversary”
It’s been 52 years since the pivotal Newhall Gunfight changed the landscape for police training, tactics, equipment and culture. Continue reading “Newhall Anniversary”
