A.J. Drake, a historic interpreter, aims his Brown Bess flintlock replica musket during a Revolutionary War event in Halifax, N.C., on April 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)
NRA president Charlton Heston holds up a musket as he tells the members attending the 129th Annual Meeting & Exhibit in Charlotte, N.C., that they can have his gun when they pry it, “from my cold dead hands,” drawing a standing ovation, May 20, 2000. (AP Photo/Ric Feld, File)
Re-enactors fire a volley with their flintlock muskets during a Revolutionary War event in Halifax, N.C., on April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)
Army officer Jason Monhollen rests beneath a tree during a Revolutionary War event, in which he portrays a private in the 2nd North Carolina Infantry Regiment, in Halifax, N.C., on April 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)
A .50-caliber Hawken replica rifle with lead balls and percussion caps sits on a deck in Wake Forest, N.C., on Monday, May 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)
