AllMovie

The history of Smith and Wesson is explored in this release from The History Channel that takes a look back at the gun manufacturers whose innovation paved the way for the Winchester Repeating Rifle and brought the cartridge six-shooter to the West in the days before the Colt Pacemaker became the weapon of choice. It was more than a century ago that Horace Smith and Daniel Baird Wesson's impressive catalog of firearms set the standard for quality in firearms, and in this release, period accounts, photographs, historians, and Smith and Wesson experts all come together for the sole purpose of detailing the development of the company from the Civil War to the holster of Dirty Harry himself. Demonstrations of original guns offer a detailed look at the efficiency of the early firearms, and a look at modern-day shooting competitions proves that the innovation of Smith and Wesson didn't go to the grave with the company's founders.