Western Sky Publishing celebrates the creative brilliance of the engineers and inventors of the tools that have protected and ensured individual liberty for hundreds of years. We recognize the genius of men like John Moses Browning, Bill Ruger, David Marshall "Carbine" Williams, John Garand, Benjamin Tyler Henry, Léon Nagant, Georg Luger, and the dozens of mostly anonymous gunsmiths and tinkerers before and since who continuously searched for a "better way." By sharing detailed drawings of their work, we hope you come to appreciate their intellect and ingenuity.

William Sampson founded Western Sky as an outgrowth of his fascination with historic inventors and his personal experience as a woodworker, machinist, welder, inventor, collector, and amateur gunsmith. We are constantly on the lookout for blueprints, armorer’s manuals, and other documents of historic interest that can be reproduced and shared with our customers.

Wherever possible, the documents we sell began life as original drawings — some from the estate sales of former factory employees, others from official government documents now in the public domain, and still others from "gunsmith drawings" recorded by hand or with computer drafting to capture dimensions as-built from actual firearms.

Because of these multiple sources, the quality and scope of the drawings is not consistent. Some include metallurgy, finishing, and machining tolerances; some do not. Some have the crisp precision of CAD, while others show the touch of a hand. We take great pains to reproduce each drawing as legibly as possible — carefully scanning original prints, removing stains and folds, and strengthening faded lines where we can. Some originals are more than 100 years old and are offered as much for their historical interest as for their use as working documents.

We’re often asked to offer our drawing packages as digital downloads. We prefer to sell them only as loose, large-format paper documents. Paper is the format most true to the originals and lets us maintain the best quality control. It also protects the additional copyrighted historic information we include, and ensures fair compensation for the work of collecting and creating each package.

All prints ship unbound as loose sheets, rolled in heavy-duty cardboard mailing tubes. This adds some weight and handling — and some shipping cost — but it ensures the prints arrive undamaged. We use USPS Ground Advantage or Priority Mail (your choice) for domestic orders, and First Class International Mail abroad. All shipments are tracked and insured, though international tracking can be slow.

The information in these documents is provided solely for entertainment, education, and historical interest. Western Sky Publishing assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of this information or how it is used. Any attempt to build or modify a firearm using this or any other information may be subject to federal, state, and local laws — it is solely the reader’s responsibility to understand and obey those laws.