author
Turner Kirkland
Known for deeply researched books on antique firearms, this Tennessee writer and entrepreneur brought a collector’s eye and a historian’s patience to his work. He is especially remembered for documenting Southern derringers and for building Dixie Gun Works into a major name in black-powder shooting.
1 Audiobook
Southern Derringers of the Mississippi Valley
by Turner Kirkland
About the author
Born in 1920, Turner Edward Kirkland was an American businessman, researcher, and author closely associated with the world of antique and replica firearms. He founded Dixie Gun Works in Union City, Tennessee, in 1954, and the company became widely known among shooters, collectors, and reenactors for black-powder arms and related supplies.
Alongside his business career, he wrote books rooted in careful historical interest. His best-known title is Southern Derringers of the Mississippi Valley, a study of small Southern-made pistols and their makers. He also wrote The bone merchant & his family, showing that his interests extended into family and regional history as well.
Kirkland retired as chairman of Dixie Gun Works and, according to the company history, planned to devote more of his time to research and writing. He died on July 26, 1997. His legacy lives on both in the specialized books he left behind and in the lasting influence of the company he built.