You have to wonder: If Dad would have given him the money, would things have been different?
Remington Firearms folklore says that in about 1816, Eliphalet Remington II asked his father for the money to buy his first firearm. Dad reportedly refused, and young Eliphalet, using the metal-forging skills he had already obtained, made his own barrel and soon put together his first muzzleloading rifle.
We are told that he took this rifle to a local shooting match, placed second in the competition, and came home with so many orders for rifle barrels that he was now in the firearms business. He never looked back and went on to found a gun company known for quality and innovation in the production of firearms.
Many of you out there know some of the history of Remington Firearms, and even more of you have treasured rifles and shotguns made by the company stashed in cases, closets and safes all over the country.
One could say the history of Remington runs closely to that of America, in that this company has supplied arms and ammunition in every major conflict going back to 1845, when the young operation procured its first contract to supply rifles for the military. Like many companies, down through the years Remington was bought and sold several times, but it continued to introduce what would become classic firearms for shooters and hunters.
