Idaho PicksIts State Gun

The Question

House Bill 932 placed a single advisory question in front of every Idaho voter in the 2026 general election. Here it is, word for word.

The Six Contenders

Three lever guns and revolvers out of the frontier era, one battle rifle, one service pistol, and one modern hunting rifle. Each one has a case.

Option A · 1894

Winchester Model 1894

.30-30 Winchester · Lever action

John Browning's lever gun, built to handle the new smokeless powder cartridges. It became the best-selling sporting rifle in American history — millions of them — and for four generations it was simply the deer rifle. If there's a rifle over a fireplace in Idaho, odds are good it's a '94.

The case for itNothing on this list has been carried into more Idaho timber. It's the working hunter's rifle, not a museum piece.

Option B · 1873

Winchester Model 1873

.44-40 · “The Gun That Won the West”

The rifle that earned the nickname. Its brass-framed predecessors were already legend, but the '73 put a repeating rifle into the hands of ranchers, lawmen, and settlers — chambered in a round you could also feed to your revolver, so one box of ammunition ran the whole outfit.

The case for itIt's the rifle of the settlement era itself — the one that was actually here while the territory was being built.

Option C · 1873

Colt Single Action Army

.45 Colt · The “Peacemaker”

Adopted by the U.S. Army in 1873 and never really retired from the American imagination. Six shots, a fixed-frame revolver you loaded through a gate, and the sidearm that shows up in nearly every account — and every picture — of the frontier West.

The case for itThe most recognizable handgun silhouette on earth, and the only revolver in the running.

Option D · 1936

M1 Garand

.30-06 Springfield · Semi-automatic

The first semi-automatic rifle issued as standard to a nation's infantry. American GIs carried it across Europe and the Pacific and then into Korea. Patton called it the greatest battle implement ever devised, and the metallic ping of its clip ejecting is one of the most recognizable sounds of the 20th century.

The case for itThe veterans' choice. It honors service rather than settlement — and it fits the nation's 250th anniversary framing.

Option E · 1911

Colt M1911

.45 ACP · Semi-automatic pistol

Another Browning design, and the standard U.S. military sidearm for roughly seventy-five years — through two world wars, Korea, and Vietnam. More than a century after its adoption the basic pattern is still in production from dozens of makers and still sits in Idaho holsters every day.

The case for itThe longest-serving American sidearm ever made. Note that Utah already claims it — a point that cuts both ways.

Option F · 1962

Remington Model 700

.30-06 Springfield · Bolt action

The modern one on the list. Introduced in 1962, the 700's action became the benchmark for accuracy — so much so that the military built its M24 and M40 sniper systems on it. It is, by a wide margin, the most common bolt-action hunting rifle in America.

The case for itThe rifle actually in Idaho gun safes right now. Elk season doesn't run on nostalgia.

Cast a Practice Vote

Pick one, the same way you will in November. Your selection is saved on this device only — nothing is submitted anywhere.

How It Got on the Ballot

It moved fast, and it moved with almost no opposition.

• March 18, 2026 Rep. Jason Monks introduces House Bill 932, the measure carrying the advisory question. Monks ties the idea to the 250th anniversary of American independence.
• March 2026 The bill clears the Idaho House with 68 votes in favor and 2 members not voting.
• March 2026 The Idaho Senate follows with 32 votes in favor and 3 not voting. Not a single recorded no vote in either chamber.
• April 2, 2026 Governor Brad Little signs HB 932 into law, locking the question onto the November ballot.
• November 3, 2026 Idaho voters weigh in.

Ten States Got There First

State firearms are a relatively recent tradition. Utah started it in 2011 when it designated the Browning-designed M1911, and roughly a dozen states have followed. Idaho would be the first to let voters make the call directly.

Voting in Idaho

The state gun question appears on the same ballot as every federal, state, and local race. You have to get through the ballot to reach it — so don't stop early.