Turkey President Erdogan Gives Revolvers and Ammo to NATO Leaders
On July 8, 2026,Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan gave presents to the other leaders of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member nations. The gifts were given at the meeting in Turkey. The present appears to be a rare Gümüsay .357 revolver, which was made by the Turkish company MKE about 30 years ago. Giving presents to NATO leaders is not unusual.
Giving firearms to leaders of other countries was not unusual before WWI. Over a hundred years of demonization of civilian ownership of firearms has made it unusual. The revolver came in a presentation box which seems to have a lower compartment. What might be in the lower compartment has not been revealed.
Starmer Gets a Revolver—and 500 Rounds
While most of these revolvers will never be fired, the present has been reported to include live ammunition. The revolver presented to Prime Minister Kier Starmer is reported to have included 500 rounds of ammunition and a cleaning kit. This is a wonderful joke and poke in the eye to England, which has outlawed the possession of handguns by its citizens.
Reaction to the gift varied considerably by country. Some leaders are waiting to have the revolver deactivated before sending it to their home, others are having it processed by their customs services. All appear to be careful to follow the legal procedures their governments have in place. It appears all the revolvers are identical except for the engraving. They were likely made in one run of presentation revolvers for such purposes. As such, they may be one of the rarest of production revolvers in existence.
What Is the Gümüşay .357 Magnum?
Armyrecognition.com reports the Gümüsay is not a clone of the Colt Python .357 revolver, but has a simplified lockwork. Overall production of the Gümüsay revolvers in all barrel lengths is unknown and estimated at between 500 and 10,000. The revolvers are reported as being produced with 2.5, 4, and 6 inch barrels. Also unknown is whether the presentation revolvers were a batch which was held in inventory, recovered and refurbished from some other stock in government or private hands, or newly manufactured using previous drawings, tooling or components created for this one run.
The revolver has a bright finish. It seems unlikely to be made in stainless steel. This correspondent has not found any information to indicate if it has a nickle plated or chrome plated finish.
A Marketing Masterstroke for Turkish Gunmakers
The Turkish firearms industry has established itself as a major exporter of rifles, shotguns, and handguns in the international market. The United States has the largest market for civilian owned firearms in the world. It seems likely a large portion of Turkish made firearms for civilian use end up in the United States. Reviews of various Turkish made pistols have revealed them to be serviceable firearms. Much depends on individual models and manufacturers.
Turkey is exporting .357 magnum revolvers made by Sarsilmaz at present. The Sarsilmaz revolvers look very similar to Smith & Wesson revolvers. The internal parts of the mechanism may be different. Colt is making a new version of the Python in the United States. A bright finished Colt Python with a six inch barrel has a suggested retail price of $1,699.00.
Analysis: The gift of presentation revolvers by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been a master stroke of marketing. The exposure of Turkish firearms to the world has been on a viral scale which is difficult to achieve without expenditure of enormous amounts of money. There may be another unintended consequence. Other world leaders could follow Erdogan’s example. It might again become a mark of prestige for a firearm to be presented to world leaders as a gift.
About Dean Weingarten:
Dean Weingarten has been a peace officer, a military officer, was on the University of Wisconsin Pistol Team for four years, and was first certified to teach firearms safety in 1973. He taught the Arizona concealed carry course for fifteen years until the goal of Constitutional Carry was attained. He has degrees in meteorology and mining engineering, and retired from the Department of Defense after a 30 year career in Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation.
