Magazine Cover of the Day

                                                                  Firepower Magazine

One of the most informitive and in-depth magazines of the 1980's for those interested machineguns and semi-automatic weapons was Firepower: The Magazine of Exotic Weaponry. It was an invaluable resource for the Class III community and Class II Manufacturers alike. Turbo Publishing published it's first issue in April of 1984 and after 29 issues, discontinued the magazine in 1989. Authors such as Bud Lang, J.M Ramos, and Frank James contributed articles on a wide range of weapontry. The magazine detail conversion techniques of semiauto weapons to full auto at a time when it was still legal to do so. The magazine covered the unfortuante turn of events to the shooting hobby in 1986 after the passage of the Firearms Owners Protection Act that banned the domestic manufacture of machineguns.  I am fortunate enough to own all 29 issues of Firepower and look forward to sharing some of the ads and covers in the future.

Welcome to Arms of the 80's

The 1980's was the truely golden era of small arms developement for civilian sales in the US.  
 It was an exciting time for enthusiasts of exotic weapons for a number of reasons.  The Cold-War was still in full swing, surplus arms and ammunition were abundent and cheap, and the political atmosphere related to guns was far different. But most importantly, laws related the importation, manufacturing, and ownership of both semi automatic and fully automatic weapons were much less restrictive.

It was a time long before the internet was availble, so advertising for firearms in the 1980's was creative and captivating. Magazines dedicated to exotic firearms were a window into knowing what was on the market. These magazines ran articles and advertisements that ranged from the serious and scientific to the down right weird. This blog is dedicated to bringing some of the advertisements and magazines from this era back to life. 

As a collector of firearms magazines, I'm hoping to share magazine covers, advertisements, and a few videos that are related to the time period and have some fun doing it. So get ready to enjoy the era of big hair and bigger guns. Welcome to Arms of the 80's.