Top 10 gun-toting American politicians
America’s strong gun culture has produced a large number of statesmen with firearm expertise. In fact, with the number of veterans that have served as elected officials, it is almost impossible to come up with a list of the best.
Here are the top ten politicians that could handle a gun and publicly demonstrated that expertise after they were elected.
1.) David Crockett
David Crockett
The hero of the Alamo was first known to Americans as a rough-hewn backwoods hunter from Tennessee who performed incredible feats of daring on the frontier. Most Americans today know him as “Davy” Crockett, but contemporaries in the early 19th century almost always called him David Crockett during his lifetime. However, Crockett did in fact have a .40 caliber flintlock rifle named “Old Betsey” that was named after his sister.
In between sessions of Congress, Crockett would hunt and provide for himself and his family, once killing six buck elk in one day and a staggering forty-seven bears in one season! He would dazzle audiences with incredible displays of marksmanship, shooting holes through coins, and was a wonderful story teller of his own exploits on the frontier.
Unfortunately, Crockett was an opponent of Andrew Jackson, partly because he said he would not be Jackson’s “dog” in Congress. Jackson’s Democratic allies worked against and defeated Crockett in his district in Tennessee, prompting him to say, “You may all go to hell, and I will go to Texas!”
Crockett went to Texas, died in Texas and became a true legend at the Battle of the Alamo. Crockett joined the Texas revolution that started in 1836 and fought alongside other Texan heroes like Jim Bowie at the Alamo, an American Thermopylae. Crockett was one of the most prominent leaders in the Alamo’s defense, expertly picking off Mexican Army cannoneers with Old Betsey.
Crockett died a hero with the rest of the Alamo’s defenders, most likely clutching his famous rifle.
2.) Andrew Jackson
Andrew Jackson kills John Dickenson
Andrew Jackson was not exactly a crack shot, but he made up for it as he did many other problems in his life, with sheer iron will and guts. “Old Hickory” as Jackson was often called, was filled with so many bullets that if you shook him he would practically rattle. One bullet in particular, lodged near his heart, came from a famous duel with fellow Tennessean, John Dickenson.
Jackson knew going into the duel with Dickenson that his opponent was an expert shot, one of the best in the state, so he wasn’t going to win by conventional methods. Jackson let Dickenson fire a quick shot first, which hit him near the heart. It was difficult for Dickenson to ascertain whether or not he hit Jackson, as Jackson was wearing loose clothing and was rail thin. Jackson placed his