what gun would our founding fathers carry?

[garcia]

I was bored today thinking. What gun would our founding fathers carry... And why? I mean Ben Franklin would have to be.ambi because he was a left by other than that I don't know... Feel free to share.

[RandyP]

I reckon they'd carry a Webley revolver?

[jupiter7]

I imagine general Washington with a ivory handle nickel plated colt SAA.
In reality, the military men would be carrying m9's.

[USMM guy]

I am guessing that they carried whatever they could get their hands on.

[NETim]

A good, solid M14.

Pick up a rifle and you change instantly from a subject to a citizen. -- Col. Jeff Cooper

[HarryO45]

Originally Posted by NETim

A good, solid M14.

Pick up a rifle and you change instantly from a subject to a citizen. -- Col. Jeff Cooper

With a 1911 on his hip.

[MTSCMike]

Probably something state of the art in full auto...since they didn't believe in infirnging on our gun rights at all.

[Bill Mannatt]

Duh. A full custom flintlock.

[schwartzint1]

Glocks with big 33rd mags. Hahahahhahaahhahaah

[GunBugBit]

I think Benjamin Franklin would have been the only Glock guy.

A Sig for Thomas Jefferson.

George Washington -- definitely a 1911.

[TresOsos]

A Brown Bess an Brace of flintlock pistols?

[JBnTX]

Like most politicians they would carry the most politically correct weapon.

1. It would have to fire nonlethal rubber bullets to appease the liberals.
2. It would have to be concealed to appease the anti gun crowd.
3. It would have to be American made to appease the Labor Unions.
4. It would have to have pink grips to appease the Gay and Lesbian Movement.
5. It would have instructions written in Spanish to appease La Raza.
6. The barrel would need to be 6 inches long so it would appeal to women,
but not intimidate men.
7. It would have to have a child proof lock.

[SuHu]

They would be carrying whatever would be required to rebuild our current corrupt government.

[BillD]

Since many of them were somewhat wealthy landowners and enjoyed fine firearms, I'm sure there would be some custom 1911's in their safes.

[wccountryboy]

I'll play. I'm going with the M14 and M1911. Proven, American made designs. Suitable for the modern battlefield. Assuming the same prevailing culture that was in place in the late 18th century, men knew how to shoot, regardless of their occupation. No need for 30+ round magazines to win a war.

[BillD]

Originally Posted by wccountryboy

I'll play. I'm going with the M14 and M1911. Proven, American made designs. Suitable for the modern battlefield. Assuming the same prevailing culture that was in place in the late 18th century, men knew how to shoot, regardless of their occupation. No need for 30+ round magazines to win a war.

Yep, a good bolt action is all that is needed.

Are you serious? How many of the Founding Fathers do you think would have traded in their muskets and rifles for an AR with a 30 rd mag.

I think you are letting YOUR biases show....

[Red Dirt Dave]

Contrary to popular belief, most firearms available were of European origin. There just were not enough American gunmakers to equip even a fledgling army.

A lot of Virginia/Pennsylvania longrifles saw action, but they were not in the hands of the average soldier. Brown Bess and Charlevilles ruled the stand-up battlefield where the masses clashed. Rifled patched roundball guns were on the periphery, except perhaps for the battles at Cowpens, at Kings Mountain and a few other "wilderness" battles.

The founding fathers, aside from General Washington, probably did not practice daily carry of a defensive weapon ... other than a stick.

[wccountryboy]

Originally Posted by BillD

Yep, a good bolt action is all that is needed.

Are you serious? How many of the Founding Fathers do you think would have traded in their muskets and rifles for an AR with a 30 rd mag.

I think you are letting YOUR biases show....

I am a bit biased, I'll admit it!

I made the picks I did on the presumtion that the culture and general shooting skill -the gun culture overall- would be similar to what it was in 1775. MEN knew how to shoot, and shoot well. It didn't matter if they were a farmer, craftsman, shopkeeper... if you were male, you learned to shoot at a young age. Given this, I chose weapons that are significantly more powerful, and much more accurate in the case of the M14, but at the cost of magazine capacity and weight. While both are older designs, they are more than capable of holding there own on a modern battlefield.
One of the great SOF truths is "Humans are more important than hardware". The history of Afghanistan illustrates this point. When the Brittish invaded again in the late 1800s, with state of the art Martini Hennry rifles, the Afghans crushed them, using primarily FLINTLOCKs. Yes, they captured and used more modern weapons, but the bulk of their arsenal was antiquated. When the Soviet Union invaded in '79, the majority of arms in Afghanistan were turn of the century Lee-Enfield bolt guns. Again, they captured and learned to use AKs, but were very effective with what they had.
Maybe it is bias, but I don't view the M14 as antiquated or obsolete. While it was the standard battle rifle for a shorter period of time than any other rifle, it has also remained in the inventory in some form LONGER than any other rifle, and is still in use today.
1911s are also still in use, and making a slow comeback in some millitary circles.
Every time I deployed, I managed to get my hands on one, and used it much more often than my M4. Since I had the option, I tailored the rifle to the mission.

[Oldsalt65]

[XKR]

They would carry a Wilson or Nighthawk for sure.

[DPmax]

Originally Posted by GunBugBit

I think Benjamin Franklin would have been the only Glock guy.

A Sig for Thomas Jefferson.

George Washington -- definitely a 1911.

George Washington's 1911 would have been HIGHLY ornate, lots of engraving and the grips would have been made from an exotic material.
All the history shows I've worked on say that Washington literally had his own uniforms made -before- he was made a general. And constantly wore only his finest ones while the discussions of who should be the first President. He was a great commander... but he was also a bit of a fashionista.

Although Abraham Lincoln was not a "founding father" I have to imagine his gun would have been the exact opposite. Very plain, and if it could have been made completely out of wood (including the barrel) he'd carry it.

[1toughdog]

I'm guessing whatever would put down the Bluecoat charge: suitable sniper rifle, selectable automatic rifle and a semi-automatic sidearm for a backup and of course a lot of ammunition for said weapons. Oh, yeah, a back-up revolver with a silver bullet. rolf

[Neumann]

Today, Ben Franklin would carry an iPad. He was more dangerous with a pen than any warrior with a musket. In any revolution, it's the poets and writers that get executed - warriors can be converted.

[UMich 2011]

Plane Jane Colt 1911/Colt Python 4 inch blued and an 870 Wingmaster for an around the farm shotgun.

[Fyrefighter]

I like this game...

I would imagine they would carry only USA guns and they would carry custom top shelf versions.

You gotta figure a Washington or Jefferson (Being original American Bad Asses) they would carry 1911's in possibly 10mm or .50 cal just because those are the biggest loads that fit. They would probably carry a billet AR10 like a MA10 in .308 (Full auto of course)

Ben I see with a 1911 in 9mm or maybe .38 Super or .40 cal with an M14/AR15 Billet also in full auto.

I also see them not standing for all of the Shenanigans coming out of DC right now... SMH

They would leave all of the M&P's Pistols and AR's for the rest of the military. They could do worse....