Local Gun Gurus Pan Idaho’s ‘Laughing Joke’ Effort To Name Official State Gun

Idaho’s referendum on an official state firearm is not exactly drawing rave reviews from some local experts, according to local media.

Republican Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 932 on April 2, creating the advisory referendum that featured six firearms as options for the honor. However, while many of the firearms are well-known, some experts think the choices don’t reflect the state, according to the Coeur d’Alene Press.

“It’s been a laughing joke of what’s been chosen,” said George Milton, owner of Gem State Firearms, told the outlet. “That’s the question we ask each other here: How did they come up with some of the guns? How did they come up with those specific guns when none of them tie back to Idaho?”

The six firearms include the M1911 pistol, the Colt Single Action Army revolver (also known as the Peacemaker), the Winchester 1894 rifle, the Winchester 1873 rifle, the M1 Garand and the Remington 700.

Milton instead suggested that the state honor guns featuring cartridges which were developed due to the efforts of Elmer Keith, a rancher, hunter, firearms writer and handgun experimenter who spent much of his life in Idaho and is best known for influencing the development of the .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum and .41 Magnum cartridges used in popular revolvers.

Other experts didn’t object to the idea of the guns whose use trace back to the Old West.

“All those single-action and lever-action guns had a huge influence that shaped Idaho’s history,” Brian Thomson, general manager of East County Guns in Coeur d’Alene, told the local paper. The Colt revolver and the Winchester 1873 were tied to legendary Western lawman Wyatt Earp, who briefly served as a deputy sheriff in Kootenai County, where he helped resolve an armed standoff in 1884.

“I think guns are a part of our American heritage, tradition and they’re essential in the protection of our families,” Thomson said.