In the 1600s, it was not odd to own a firearm, but no furniture

This week on the No Lowballers podcast, Logan Metesh of High Caliber History and Allen Forkner of GunBroker.com welcome Zac Distel, Director and Curator of Collections for the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Together, they dig into the challenges of proving provenance, separating family lore from hard evidence, and how museums approach research when firearms and artifacts come with big stories attached. From musket mysteries at Ticonderoga to shotguns handed down through generations, this episode explores the power—and pitfalls—of family history.

Episode Highlights

· The SAR’s headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky, and its role as a resource for genealogy and Revolutionary War history

· Why provenance matters: How museums verify or challenge the stories that come with donated firearms

· A deep dive into a Revolutionary War Fowler and how genealogical records tied it to militia service

· The pitfalls of family lore—why “this musket was at King’s Mountain” might not be the whole truth

· Famous examples like the “Mayflower Wheelock” and how decades of retelling can cement questionable stories

· Tools for genealogy: free resources, paid subscriptions, and how to avoid mistakes when building family trees

· The intersection of material culture, wills, and probates in tracking down firearms history

· Preparing the SAR’s future museum and why accurate research protects both families and institutions

· The importance of seemingly “ordinary” family heirlooms and how they can reveal untold stories

Join the Conversation

Have a family firearm with a story? Think your ancestor’s musket saw a Revolutionary battlefield? We’d love to hear about it! Drop your comments, questions, or reviews—we might feature your story in a future episode.

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