He probably had the best firearms of the time. He was part of the Boston Tea Party and was a member of the Massachusetts convention to ratify the Constitution.
He knew that a disarmed population was easily ruled over, controlled and terrorized.
From wikipoo:
The
Brown Bess Musket muzzle-loading smooth bore musket was one of the most commonly used weapons in the American Revolution. While this was a British weapon, it was used heavily by the American Colonists. This musket was used to fire a single shot ball, or a cluster style shot which fired multiple projectiles giving the weapon a "shotgun" effect. There were two variations of the Brown Bess: the Short Land Pattern and the Long Land Pattern. The Short Land was shorter, less bulky, less heavy than the Long Land. Most American fighters implemented the Long Land Pattern.
Large numbers of
Charleville Model 1763 and 1766 muskets were imported into the United States from France during the American Revolution, due in large part to the influence of Marquis de Lafayette.[6] The Charleville 1766 heavily influenced the design of the Springfield Musket of 1795.
Long rifles were an American design of the 18th century, produced by individual German gunsmiths in Pennsylvania. Based on the
Jäger rifle,
[3] long rifles, known as "Pennsylvania Rifles", were used by snipers and light infantry throughout the Revolutionary War
Colonial Firearm Regulation
An examination of the Colonial statutes reveals that, contrary to Bellesiles‟s claim of distrusted and disarmed freemen, almost all colonies required white adult men to possess firearms and ammunition. Some of these statutes were explicit that militiamen were to keep their guns at home; others imply the requirement, by specifying fines for failing to bring guns to musters or church. Colonies that did not explicitly require firearms ownership passed laws requiring the carrying of guns under circumstances that implied nearly universal ownership. None of the Colonial militia statutes even suggest a requirement for central storage of all guns. None of the Colonial laws in any way limited the possession of firearms by the white non-Catholic population; quite the opposite.
http://www.tulprpc.org/attachments/File/Colonial_Firearms_regulation.pdf
