laststandonzombieisland

If you’ve got a habit of poking around at gun shows or shops and you ever chance upon an old hinged-framed, break-top revolver under the glass, take a moment to look at the grips. More likely than not, you will see a stylized owl staring back at you from the black plastic. If you do, it’s probably an Iver Johnson Safety Automatic, and if you have some spare change, it’s worth your time to ask to look at it.

The Iver Johnson Arms & Cycle Works (yes, makers of handguns and fine bicycles), was started back in 1871 by a 30-year old Norwegian born inventor of the same name. Truth be told, it started as the Johnson and Bye Company, but eventually Johnson bought out Bye and went at it alone. The Fitchburg, Massachusetts based factory concentrated more on its bicycles than its firearms and employed many Scandinavian immigrants including one Oscar Frederick Mossberg, who later went on to do some work in shotguns with his sons. Just before Iver died in 1895, his company began to produce a new revolver that the late engineer had perfected late in life known as the Safety Automatic.

Read the rest in my column at GUNS.com