For a good gun history of the US read the novel “Unintended Consequences” by John Ross.
Very hard book to get, used to get it at the gun shows. The hardback now sometimes costs over $400. but I got a paperback last year for $44.00.
Explains the freeper tagline, “go Galt, not adverse to going Bowman”
I agree and have two hard covers and a pdf.
I thought “Unintended Consequences” sounded familiar. I checked and I have the pdf file on my computer. Can’t remember where I got it. I checked and found a hardback edition on Amazon for about $44.
However, here’s a free download source for it in multiple formats - https://archive.org/details/JohnRossUnintendedConsequences
Enjoy!