Free Republic

... back 1891, one gun-manufacturer came up trumps - developing the world's only triple-barrelled shotgun, subsequently dubbed the 'Holy Grail' of the gun world. Now the gun - built by Edinburgh gun makers John Dickson & Son - has a new owner, having just been sold in London for £43,000.

The question is: "Is Kerry sticking his bony, well-manicured, girly, index finger in the chest of the Marine pictured here?" The answer is "No." After optimizing the pic with Photoshop and Image Optimizer, what looks like Kerry's finger is actually the top piece of a wooden frame that holds a mirror and is attached to the window. There is another mirror just like it behind the Marine, to the right of his elbow.

In the 1971 movie "Dirty Harry," actor Clint Eastwood introduced the world to the double-action Smith & Wesson Model 29 .44-cal. Magnum revolver--"the most powerful handgun in the world." It was a crown S&W wore proudly, albeit briefly. The rising popularity of handgun hunting for big game (spurred largely by the .44 Magnum itself) prompted the introduction of newer and significantly more powerful revolver cartridges. Many powerful enough that they had to be chambered in single-action handguns because existing double-action designs could not contain the recoil forces and pressures they produced. Since S&W does not make single-action revolvers, and no...