Louisiana's firearms history is one of those topics that looks simple on the surface — frontier rifles, Battle of New Orleans, done — until you actually dig in and realize the state has been arguing about guns since before most of the current states existed.

Louisiana became the 18th state on April 30, 1812. Within a year, its legislature had passed what the Duke Center for Firearms Law identifies as one of the earliest state-level concealed carry restrictions in American history.

One year. They weren't even unpacked yet. Worth noting that the 1813 law wasn't some philosophical statement — New Orleans was a port city full of flatboatmen, merchants, and people who settled arguments with blades. It was basically a bar fight ordinance with teeth. The carry debate isn't new, it's just louder now.

When Sir Edward Pakenham's British forces advanced across the open field, they were met with disciplined rifle fire that inflicted catastrophic casualties — roughly 2,000 British killed, wounded, or captured against fewer than 100 American casualties on the main line.

Next time someone at the range dismisses the practical accuracy of period long rifles, that ratio deserves a mention. Those Kentucky and Tennessee rifles weren't match guns by any modern standard, but the men behind them had been shooting for meat and their lives since childhood. Gear matters less than people think.

Higgins built over 20,000 of them at plants along the New Orleans waterfront.

Not a firearm, but if you're tallying Louisiana's contribution to military hardware, this is the number that matters most. Twenty thousand LCVPs put more boots on more beaches than anything else in the war. The National WWII Museum in New Orleans is worth a full day if you're ever passing through — not a detour, a destination.

What's a piece of your own state's firearms history — a law, a battle, a local manufacturer — that most shooters around here probably don't know about?

Read the full article in The Handbook → | By The Boise Gun Club Team

Louisiana Firearms History: From French Colonial Muskets to Constitutional Carry

Louisiana Firearms History: From French Colonial Muskets to Constitutional Carry

Quick Reply