Author: James Wesley Rawles

On September 26, 1508, Francis Drake completed his circumnavigation of the world, sailing into Plymouth, England, aboard the Golden Hind. — Our big inventory reduction sale at Elk Creek Company — with the prices of nearly all of our items reduced — is in progress. This is your chance to do some early Christmas or Hanukkah shopping. The sale will end on Wednesday, October 1st.  Get your order in soon!  Note:  If the sale prices are not showing up for the majority of items with your browser, then please clear your browser’s cache. (With most  browsers, click on “Clear browsing …

September 25, 1066: The Battle of Stamford Bridge: The English army under King Harold II defeated invading Norwegians led by King Harald Hardrada and Harold’s brother Tostig, who were both killed. (Above is an undated painting of the event as imagined by Norwegian artist Peter Nicolai Arbo, 1831–1892.) — On September 25th, 1789, the first Congress of the United States approved 12 amendments to the U.S. Constitution and sent them to the states for ratification. — This is also the birthday of Will Smith (born 1968), who in my opinion should be best known for his roles in I Am …

To raise some cash for a major purchase here at the Rawles Ranch, I have put almost our entire Elk Creek Company inventory on sale. This is your chance to do some early Christmas or Hanukkah gift shopping, at great prices! No FFL paperwork is required.  Our pre-1899 cartridge guns and blackpowder guns can be mailed right to your door, in most states. We also have a nice selection of knives and bayonets. I also just cataloged a lot of scarce FN FAL and HK91 magazines.  We have a merchant account, so we accept payments by credit card. — On …

On September 23, 1897, the first Frontier Days rodeo celebration was held in Cheyenne, Wyoming. — On this day in 1969, the American film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid had its world premiere, and it became a western classic. It was especially noted for the pairing of Paul Newman and Robert Redford as the titular outlaws. — On September 23, 1779, During the American Revolution, in the midst of a naval engagement between the warships Bonhomme Richard and Serapis off the east coast of England, American commander John Paul Jones answered a call to surrender from his English counterpart …

On September 22, 1784, Russian trappers established a colony on Kodiak Island, Alaska. — Today is the birthday of Kijirō Nambu (南部 麒次郎), September 22, 1869 – May 1, 1949.) He was a career officer in the Imperial Japanese Army and the founder of Nambu Arms Manufacturing Company, manufacturer of many of the firearms the Japanese military would use in World War II. A prolific small arms designer, he was sometimes called the “John Browning of Japan”. — September 22nd is the birthday of survivalist writer and consultant Joel Skousen. (Born, 1946.) Skousen authored the excellent books Strategic Relocation and …