Idaho voters to choose state gun

Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman on Oct 12, 2026

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BOISE, Idaho — Idaho has a state flower. A state amphibian. Even a state fossil.

But — perhaps surprisingly for a state where so many people own guns — it doesn’t yet have a state gun.

That could soon change. In November, Idaho residents will vote on a nonbinding “advisory question”: What should the state gun be?

There are six options on the ballot, which House Majority Leader Jason Monks, R-Meridian, selected after researching and consulting with other lawmakers on which guns have historical significance to Idaho or the U.S.

“I like the term ‘iconic,’ ” he told the Idaho Statesman. “I thought a little bit more historical than necessarily what’s popular today.”

Which guns are on the list?

Winchester Model 1894 (.30-30)

This rifle was the “preferred firearm of Western settlers, prospectors, law enforcement officers, hunters and ranchers,” according to the American Rifleman, an official publication of the National Rifle Association. They appreciated the power it offered despite its light weight and compact dimensions.

Winchester Model 1873, “Gun that Won the West” (.44-40)

This gun has become a symbol of the Old West, according to hunting and fishing brand Field and Stream. It was one of the guns that Col. William F. Cody — known as Buffalo Bill — carried as an Army scout in the late 1800s. And in a time when guns were often “fussy and unreliable,” this gun was “unstoppable.”

1873 Colt Single Action Army Revolver, “Peacemaker” (.45 Colt)

This single-action revolver was the U.S. Army’s standard-issue revolver for nearly 20 years, and was later widely used by civilians, according to TCN Vault, an online retailer for non-firing replica firearms. It has “profound cultural resonance” — its silhouette “has come to embody the entire era of westward expansion.”

Out West, it symbolized “power and justice in a place where law was made at gunpoint,” Arizona State University professor Jeffrey Cunningham wrote.

M1 Garand rifle (.30-06)

This was the standard-issue U.S. infantry rifle from the 1930s until the 1950s and was widely used in World War II, the Korean War and Vietnam War, according to Guns & Ammo magazine. Servicemen carried this weapon “from the fields of Normandy during World War II to the hellish snowscape of Korea’s Chosin Reservoir.”

When those veterans returned home, many purchased their own Garand: “There is comfort in familiarity,” Guns & Ammo wrote.

Colt M1911 .45 automatic Colt pistol (.45 ACP)

This was the first automatic, magazine-fed pistol adopted by the U.S. Army and became an “iconic” pistol of the U.S. military, according to U.S. National Park Service historians. Designed in response to the U.S. experience of fighting guerillas during the Philippine-American War, it became known for its reliability, according to Small Wars Journal.

Though this pistol has largely been retired from military use, some police forces and SWAT teams — and even the FBI — kept using it, Small Wars Journal wrote in 2018.

Remington Model 700 bolt-action rifle (.30-06)

This is the “most popular bolt-action rifle of all time,” according to American Rifleman. It retained competitors’ “good looks” — and bested their accuracy — at a lower cost. The U.S. Marine Corps adopted this gun during the Vietnam War; the Army did the same in the 1980s.

“It’s not a real flashy gun,” Monks told the Statesman. “It’s just a very basic gun that, you know, everybody’s had one.”

‘Without guns, there would be no America’

Whatever voters choose, it won’t have any immediate impact — though a lawmaker could bring legislation in 2027 to set voters’ selection in stone.

Monks noted that lawmakers could even bring legislation to dedicate another gun entirely as the state gun. He acknowledged that, after the six options were publicized, he’s heard many other ideas from constituents and lawmakers that could also have been viable candidates — so he’s not attached to the current list.

A handful of Idahoans, Monks said, reached out to complain that the whole thing was a waste of time. He said it didn’t take much of lawmakers’ time — “We’re already there” drafting bills during the legislative session — and that the ballot item was in part intended as a way to encourage voter turnout during a midterm election, when turnout is usually low.

The initiative was also meant to honor the country’s 250th anniversary, he said.

“Obviously, without guns, there would be no America,” he said. “We’d still be a British colony.”

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