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I’ve spent what amounts to months of my life digging through the Outdoor Life archives. That includes everything from flipping through the crumbling pages of old issues and sifting through terabytes of scanned pages. Usually I’m looking for a particular story or rereading Jack O’Connor and Jim Carmichel columns, but inevitably, I get sidetracked by the incredible illustrated advertisements for everything from Coleman lanterns to lead duck loads. Print magazines were one of the key ways manufacturers reached their customers in the early and middle 1900s in America, and past issues of Outdoor Life were crammed with all kinds of strange and wonderful ads. Old firearm advertisements are, in their own way, just as interesting and revealing about the trends, tastes, and topics that American sportsmen were thinking about at any point in history.
That’s why we want to give vintage gun ads their due. I pulled these old ads from a range of decades, and noticed a few trends. Color ads were few and far between in the early years of Outdoor Life, but gained momentum as the decades wore on. Older ads also contained lots of persuasive written copy, which persisted through much of the middle century and only began to disappear for snappier slogans in the 80s and 90s.
The following gun ads include iconic models, like the Winchester Model 70 or the Browning Auto 5, as well as introductions for the Remington Model 700 and the 1100. There were plenty more I didn’t have time or room to include, but this collection is a good place to start.
This full-page color ad for Fox guns ran in the October 1922 issue of Outdoor Life. It appeared in the earliest pages of the issue, where color ads were more common — and expensive. OL ArchiveThis Winchester Model 12 ad from the October 1929 issue was one of many Winchester ads that would appear in the pages of OL. OL ArchiveThis Remington ad ran in the October 1929 issue of Outdoor Life featuring the Model 30, the Model 8, and the Model 14, with their respective prices labeled in red. OL ArchiveThis Harrington & Richardson ad appeared in the October 1940 issue to advertise two newer single-shot shotgun models and a revolver. H&R closed in 1986, a new company known as H&R 1871 began in 1991 and was bought by Marlin then Remington before closing in 2015. H&R was resurrected yet again in 2023 by the parent company of Palmetto State Armory. OL ArchiveThis Winchester Model 70 ad ran in the October 1955 issue of OL. You can see photos of Jack O’Connor’s Model 70 here. OL ArchiveBrowning was another frequent advertiser in Outdoor Life, and this May 1962 ad features a Browning .22 Automatic. OL ArchiveThis June 1962 ad featured three brand new .22 Auto models: The Challenger, the Medalist, and the Nomad. OL ArchiveThe June 1962 issue featured a classy ad for the new Remington Model 700, which was introduced that year. OL ArchiveBoston Red Sox legend and outdoorsman Ted Williams frequently appeared in Sears ads in the pages of OL, like in this shotgun ad from September 1962. OL ArchiveSavage ads were recognizable throughout the pages of Outdoor Life, often appearing with the same bullseye pattern over a rotating selection of game to advertise a different model. This one, an ad for variants of the Savage Model 99, appeared in the September 1962 issue of Outdoor Life.OL ArchiveThis October 1962 ad for the Ithaca Gun Co. Deerslayer was one of several that appeared in OL (see the 1966 ad below). OL ArchiveAn October 1962 ad for the Stevens 77 pump by Savage. OL ArchiveA November 1962 ad for the Weatherby .300. OL ArchiveA November 1962 ad for two new shotguns, the Savage 24D-L (top) and the Fox B-DL. (Savage acquired A.H. Fox in November 1929.) The 1960s were a big decade for gun introductions, and for colorful gun ads. OL ArchiveThis ad for the Remington Model 870 appeared in our August 1963 issue. OL ArchiveThis simple full-page ad of Winchester models and their prices ran in the September 1963 issue of OL. OL ArchiveOne of the greatest shotguns of all time, the Remington 1100 was introduced in 1963. I combed through our entire library of issues from that year and only came across this single ad, which appeared in the October 1963 issue. OL ArchiveThis Colt ad took a more creative approach to the usual practice of cramming a bunch of text into advertisements. It appeared in the October 1963 issue. OL ArchiveThis Marlin ad ran in the October 1963 issue of Outdoor Life, though I came across similar ads in other editions, including one that featured Michigan instead of Maine. OL ArchiveThis October 1963 ad for the .300 Weatherby capitalized on the since-debunked myth of knockdown power, encouraging anyone who wanted to take shots at 400 yards and beyond to simply get a bigger gun — specifically a Weatherby. Our shooting editor at the time, Jack O’Connor, likely disapproved of such ads. OL ArchiveThis is one of several Browning A5 ads that appeared in the pages of Outdoor Life. This one appeared in the November 1963 issue. OL ArchiveCharles Daly didn’t advertise in OL quite as much as bigger competitors, but this one ran in the November 1966 issue. The brand is currently licensed to Chiappa Firearms, an Italian company. OL ArchiveAnother Deerslayer ad from Ithaca Gun Co., this one featuring an apparently tagged-out hunter taking a well-deserved nap. It ran in November 1966. OL ArchiveColt nods to its iconic history in this December 1967 ad, which is one of the earlier ads that signals a forthcoming shift toward illustration-heavy ads with less copy. OL ArchiveThis two-page advertisement from the September 1970 issue tackled a rumor that Winchester had started manufacturing its guns in Japan. “On the left, the Winchester line of center fire rifles, rim fires, and shotguns. All made on Winchester Avenue, New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.A. And that’s about as American as you can get,” reads part of the advertisement. “Above, the great Winchester Model 101 over and under shotgun, made in Japan, with no apologies. Crafted by skilled workmen. By the people who create some of the finest cameras, automobiles, and optical equipment in the world.” OL ArchiveThis ad for Weatherby’s more affordable line of rifles, the Vanguard, appeared in the August 1975 issue of Outdoor Life.OL ArchiveThis Marlin shotgun ad from the November 1975 draws on its legacy, which has made quite the comeback in recent years. OL Archive
The Best Deer Hunting Rifles
The OL editors pick the best deer hunting rifles on the market.
