Tag Archives: aow

A Zippo Lighter with a Punch

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Portable lighters have been around for over a hundred years. In fact, the Zippo Company of Bradford PA has been making them since 1932. While they have made over 500-million lighters in their time, there are a few modified versions that will do more than light your Marlboro.

A few years ago, an enterprising gunsmith took a standard production Zippo windproof lighter and made a few changes of their own. Inside the lighter was a small rimfire pistol mechanism. The barrel fit downside the wick and the original flint-striking wheel acted as the trigger. The caliber of choice? 4mm (.12-caliber) rimfire. This pipsqueak round lies somewhere between a nerf gun and a .177 BB in strength. However, getting shot with any pistol, even a .12 caliber one, would suck. Heck, this one could even put your eye out. Maybe.

Read more in my column at Firearms Talk.com

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Shotgun Handguns

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Shotguns have been a favorite for both hunting and defense for centuries. The handgun, with an even longer lineage, is likewise here to stay. With the two above-mentioned facts in mind, naturally there have been several efforts over the years to blend the two concepts.

Read t he rest in my column at Firearms Talk

Break Action Shotguns

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Whether you call them single barrels, one-shots, break-action, or hinge-break, the single shot shotgun is a firearm legacy. Tucked in the back of your closet, peeking out somewhere, at least once in your life, you had a hinge break.

As you can see from this 1900’s advert, the basic design has remained the same for a century.

These simple and effective firearms came about just after the US Civil War. Originally, with Damascus barrels, they fired 2.5-inch paper hulled black powder shells. Over time, the shells became brass and then plastic while the barrels became steel. I got my first break action, a wood stocked, blue steel Stevens .410 in the early 1980s. With a sling made from an old leather belt and a pocketful of shells, I was invincible at age 9. As time marched on, I upgraded, and long ago got rid of that little single shot. However, it never really got rid of me.

The rest at my column at Firearms Talk.com.

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