State proposal triggers response from local firearm gurus

Idaho lawmakers are aiming for an official state firearm. Like the huckleberry being its state fruit, Idaho could have a Winchester Model 1873 level-action rifle as its state gun.  

What do local Coeur d'Alene gun gurus think about it?

“It’s been a laughing joke of what’s been chosen,” said George Milton, owner of Gem State Firearms in Coeur d’Alene. “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?”

An advisory question on this year’s general election ballot asks whether voters think Idaho legislators should designate the state gun among a list of possible six options: 

• Remington Model 700 bolt-action rifle (.30-06) 

• Colt M1911 .45 automatic Colt pistol (.45ACP) 

• M1 Garand rifle (.30-06) 

• 1873 Colt Single Action Army Revolver (.45 Colt) 

• Winchester Model 1894 (.30-30)

• Winchester Model 1873 (.44-40) 

The effort to name a state gun was introduced by Rep. Jason Monks, R-Meridian, who argued it’ll increase voter turnout in an election year that doesn’t involve the president on the ballot. 

Meanwhile, the gun options themselves were selected based on Idaho’s frontier history as well as broader American military history.

“During the 1860s, gold rushes, such as those in the Idaho communities of Pierce, Boise Basin, and Idaho City, miners carried revolvers and rifles for protection from bandits, claim jumpers and bears while building communities,” according to the ballot measure. “Ranchers, homesteaders, and farmers in the late 1800s relied on lever-action and bolt-action rifles to obtain sustenance and for self-defense. Today, firearms support Idaho’s thriving hunting and recreational shooting culture.” 

Though Milton leans toward state legislators selecting the Winchester Model 1873 rifle, commonly called The Gun That Won the West, he said there needs to be a gun that truly tags back to Idaho.

Had it been him making the selection, it would be a gun related to American rancher, firearms enthusiast and author Elmer Keith. Keith, who was born in Missouri before keeping a ranch near Salmon, Idaho, developed the magnum revolver cartridge.

This includes .357, .44 and .41 cartridges.

“Nothing that he’s done is on the list, and he was an author,” Milton said of Keith.

Milton also spoke about the overall effort to select a state gun.

“I don’t know if it’s necessary, in my opinion,” he said. “But it’s a good idea if the gun is based off of Idaho history.”

Brian Thomson, a general manager of East County Guns in Coeur d’Alene, spoke of how some of the options for Idaho’s state gun not only helped blaze Oregon and Bozeman trails, they’re symbolic of historical Western figures like Wyatt Earp.

Earp at one point in 1884 was a deputy sheriff of Kootenai County who famously carried a .45-caliber Colt Single Action Army revolver. He was also a Kootenai County peacemaker during a 50-shot armed standoff between rival miners March 28, 1884. 

Thomson agrees, however, that Idaho should be impartial to the Winchester Model 1873.

“All those single-action and lever-action guns had a huge influence that shaped Idaho’s history,” he said.

Thomson also supports the effort to name an official state gun.

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

    An up-close shot of a Winchester Model 1873 lever-action rifle carried by East County Guns in Coeur d'Alene.