Genealogy Meets Firearms: How the SAR Tracks America’s History

This week on the No Lowballers podcast, Logan Metesh of High Caliber History and Allen Forkner of GunBroker.com welcome Zac Distel, Director and Curator of Collections for the National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution. Together, they dig into the challenges of proving provenance, separating family lore from hard evidence, and how museums approach research when firearms and artifacts come with big stories attached. From musket mysteries at Ticonderoga to shotguns handed down through generations, this episode explores the power—and pitfalls—of family history. Episode Highlights • The SAR’s headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky, and its role as a resource for genealogy and Revolutionary War history • Why provenance matters: How museums verify or challenge the stories that come with donated firearms • A deep dive into a Revolutionary War fowler and how genealogical records tied it to militia service • The pitfalls of family lore—why “this musket was at King’s Mountain” might not be the whole truth • Famous examples like the “Mayflower Wheelock” and how decades of retelling can cement questionable stories • Tools for genealogy: free resources, paid subscriptions, and how to avoid mistakes when building family trees • The intersection of material culture, wills, and probates in tracking down firearms history • Preparing the SAR’s future museum and why accurate research protects both families and institutions • The importance of seemingly “ordinary” family heirlooms and how they can reveal untold stories 💬 Join the Conversation Have a family firearm with a story? Think your ancestor’s musket saw a Revolutionary battlefield? We’d love to hear about it! Drop your comments, questions, or reviews—we might feature your story in a future episode. 👍 Like, Share, and Review Every rating, review, and share helps us bring more firearms history and industry insight to you each week. 🔔 Don’t Miss an Episode Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and catch No Lowballers every week. Listen now on your favorite platform and don’t forget: If you’re already a subscriber, make sure to re-subscribe using the updated links below to keep receiving new episodes. Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4UoPXevKfKwruKcEcV4ir3 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/no-lowballers/id1812452370 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/0f74f614-ea1c-4ca6-abd4-cfaf5135bf8e/no-lowballers iHeart: https://iheart.com/podcast/274120614/ Castbox: https://castbox.fm/channel/id6595321 Rumble: https://castbox.fm/channel/id6595321 To stream directly or learn more, visit www.gunbroker.com/c/podcast Follow No Lowballers on Instagram and Facebook for behind-the-scenes content, historical deep dives and weekly drops every Thursday. Get your tickets HERE for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation POP Conservation Raffle! Every ticket gets you closer to amazing prizes and helps support conservation efforts!