If you listened only to the internet, you'd think that anyone not investing in the latest firearms tech will immediately die in the streets. Anything seen as obsolete is simply discounted and thought of as a quaint vestige of firearms history. I'd like to make the case otherwise, though. Old and "obsolete" weapons are still effective weapons, many of them proven through incredibly harsh conditions, and have several benefits to current day firearms enthusiasts that you might not have considered.I suppose I should start with defining terms. For my purposes, when I talk about obsolete firearms, I'm specifically talking about weapons that had a heyday of use for defensive or warfare purposes in the past, usually in the last 100 years, but fell out of favor relative to modern designs. I'm not talking about muzzle loaders and black powder here, but things like revolvers, lever actions, bolt actions, and even shotguns.As an aside, the cover photo of this post is someone I filmed running an M1 through a Highland drill while wearing modern kit. It seemed fitting.Old Weapons Are Still WeaponsOn the theme of not worrying so much about optimization, we have to realize that even an old rifle is still a rifle. For defensive purposes, a bad guy getting hit with a .30 cal bullet doesn't really care if it came from an M1 Garand or an AR-10. He's still be hit, and now must deal with the ramifications of it.The classic 30-30 Winchester has arguably killed more deer in modern history than any other rifle cartridge. It's not any less effective on bad guys. Similarly, there's a lot to be said for the wallop of a 12 gauge slug or a load of 00 buck fired at reasonable distances.While you'll not find me advocating for these older weapons over something more modern, it's not because they're ineffective. Rather, it's the other capabilities modern designs bring to the table with better sighting systems, attachments, capacity, and a spare parts ecosystem.With that said, I think there are a few reasons to keep the old war birds around that you might be interested in.50-State LegalThe first time I heard this point was early in the podcast interviews when I talked to Justin of Revolver Guy. He pointed out that a classic revolver chambered in 357 Magnum doesn't violate the laws of any state in the country regarding capacity. You could take with you on a road trip, train anywhere, and not have to worry about legal entanglements.That's also saying nothing of the considerable difference in power between the stalwart 9mm and the 357.While you and I know that politically-loaded terms like "Assault Weapon" get tossed around willy nilly without any real cohesive definition, for people living in the states affected by such laws it's still a concern. The kinds of uninformed people who write these laws ultimately want everything banned, but they at least pay lip service to the classic "hunter" rifles of a bygone era.The fact that the lever action rifle carried by "classic" hunters appeared as a front line combat weapon in the American Civil war goes over their heads. Not to mention the deep wartime origins of modern bolt actions.And then there's the shotgun. Nearly nobody has legal issues with shotguns, and they're also capable of taking down just about any game in North America. Just don't tell them that the German government tried to protest America's use of pump action 12 gauge shotguns during WWI for causing unecessary suffering.All of that to say that "obsolete" guns often get a pass in the eyes of political opportunists. The German Government protests against the use of shotguns by the American Army and calls attention to the fact that according to the law of war (Kriegsrecht) every p...