Gun companies walk a very fine line in advertising weapons.
In recent years the delicate nature of selling a deadly product to a mass audience has kept gun ads away from mainstream outlets like newspapers or television, as HuffPost's Tom Zeller recently pointed out.
But once upon a time, the nation's gun makers didn't need to be so sensitive. A scan of vintage firearm and air rifle ads reveals a world in which guns were a must-have for the whole family.
Check out some of the vintage ads for American gun makers below:
