What Should Oklahoma’s Official State Firearm Be?

I ran across something yesterday that got me thinking. Idaho is about to let voters weigh in on what should become the state's official firearm. They've got six guns to choose from. Six! Apparently, this is the kind of thing you can put on a ballot, and I'm not gonna lie, I kinda like the idea.

The choices include:

• Winchester Model 1894
• Winchester Model 1873
• Colt Single Action Army Peacemaker
• M1 Garand
• Colt 1911
• Remington Model 700

That's a respectable lineup, even if the highly revered M1 Garand is a wildcard. Idaho will choose one on November 3, although the vote itself is somewhat wasted... The legislature still gets the final say in making it official.

Naturally, that got me wondering. If Idaho can pick a state gun, why doesn't Oklahoma have one? We're a state with a pretty strong gun culture, plenty of hunting traditions and enough Wild West history to keep historians employed. Surely, we could come up with something, and a bunch of other states also have official guns too.

Texas Has A State Handgun

Of course, Texas has already beaten us to the punch. Back in 2021, the Lone Star State officially recognized the 1847 Colt Walker pistol as its state handgun. And because apparently one official firearm designation wasn't enough, Texas also designated a cannon as its official state gun in 2025.

Because, you know, Texas...

The Colt Walker makes sense for Texas, it's part of Texas history. Developed during the era of the Texas Rangers, it was a serious piece of hardware for its time. If you're going to pick a handgun to represent Texas, you could do a whole lot worse than a big old six-shooter with that kind of backstory.

All the same, I'm shocked they didn't pick the Ruger LCP that was used by former Texas Governor Rick Perry to cap a coyote on his morning walk back in 2010.

But what about Oklahoma? We have our own history with firearms, and there are a few contenders I'd put on the table before we start arguing over what belongs on the state flag.

The Wild West Contenders

The obvious first choice would be the Colt Single Action Army, better known as the Peacemaker. You can't talk about the Wild West without somebody bringing up one of these pistols. It's been immortalized in movies, carried by countless fictional cowboys and associated with the real-life lawmen who shaped the history of the American West.

Then there's the Winchester Model 1873, famously nicknamed The Gun That Won the West. Another solid contender, especially when you consider how important repeating rifles were to life on the frontier... But here's the rub against Winchester.

No offense to a once-great American brand, but they were expensive. Oklahoma families have always spent their energy and time trying to make a living, raise a family, and keep food on the table. The family budget has always been a consideration, and the Marlin 336 was the more common rifle to see on gun racks in every rural home.

That brings us to the modern era.

Should Oklahoma Pick A Modern Firearm?

If we're talking about what you might find in Oklahoma today, the AR-15 is certainly a contender. It's popular, versatile, and familiar to plenty of gun owners. You could make a case for it, and I'm sure somebody would.

But I'm not sure I want to give the title to a gun simply because it's popular. What's special about choosing something everybody already knows about? If we're going to give Oklahoma an official firearm, I'd rather pick something that tells a story about the people who live here, not just what's sitting in gun safes today.

And that's where my vote goes in a completely different direction.

My Pick Is The Marlin Model 60

As an adopted Okie transplant who's become a little obsessed with Oklahoma history, the Marlin Model 60 is a classic.

Now, I realize that's probably not the answer anyone else would expect, but it fits. It's the humble little .22 rifle that most kids learned to shoot with once upon a time. It was cheap to buy, cheap to shoot, accurate enough to hunt small game, and available in nearly every department store, parts store, and hardware store across Oklahoma.

Granted, not every Oklahoma kid learned on a Model 60. Dad still talks about his Remington Nylon 66 his dad or uncle got for him and his brothers. It was created long before the Marlin, but at the end of the day, the Marlin Model 60 became the most widely accepted .22 rifle until Ruger bought the brand and killed that model over competition... Allegedly.

And there's another reason I'd pick the Marlin 60. The one I have in my possession is an Oklahoma original, in its own way. It's a special model built for OTASCO, or Oklahoma Tire and Supply Co., complete with a medallion on the stock.

That little OTASCO medallion makes it more than just another rifle to me. It's a connection to an Oklahoma company, a familiar name in our state's history.

Maybe that's not the firearm everybody else would pick. I can already hear the arguments for the Peacemaker, the Winchester, and a few modern choices. And that's half the fun of debating this topic.

If you could pick one firearm to become THE official firearm of Oklahoma, what would you choose? Something classic from the Wild West? Would you go total Gun Snob and nominate the perfection of the Colt 1911? Something modern, or a good old-fashioned .22 rifle that taught generations of Oklahomans how to shoot?

Make that part of your next lunch table debate. I'm curious what you'd put on the ballot.