Bonnie & Clyde’s Shotgun Heads to Auction
Recovered from “the lap of Clyde Barrow” inside the infamous crime duo’s death car
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BEDFORD, Texas, July 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Clyde Barrow’s sawed-off shotgun, a constant companion to the notorious outlaw throughout his two-year, multi-state crime spree with Bonnie Parker, will be offered this August at Rock Island Auction Company. Most Americans have already seen the shotgun in one of the most famous photographs from the Public Enemy era, an image of Parker playfully aiming the weapon at Barrow. After the outlaw couple was ambushed by law enforcement, it was recovered from what has come to be grimly known as the Bonnie and Clyde “death car.”
The series of widely published photographs turned Bonnie and Clyde into national celebrities, but as they claimed more innocent lives, public sentiment turned against them. When the law finally caught up to them on that fatal day, the gun was found “in the lap of Clyde Barrow,” with his right hand “curled around the shortened stock,” according to Sheriff Henderson Jordan, who officially led the posse that ambushed Bonnie and Clyde in Bienville Parish, Louisiana. The model is a 16-gauge sawed-off Browning Auto-5 configured as a “Whippet,” the cut-down shotgun style forever associated with the outlaw and his gang.
View more photos and full historic details.
A bullet mark can still be seen on the left side of the shotgun, an exact match to period photos taken immediately after their final encounter with the law. In addition to that scar, the shotgun comes exceptionally documented, even accompanied by documents from the ATF that determine, “significant provenance has been established that [the shotgun] is the firearm recovered at the scene.”
“This is the most infamous shotgun in American history,” said RIAC President Kevin Hogan. “It held up banks, covered desperate escapes, and cut lives short. It was there at the height of Bonnie and Clyde’s notoriety and there in their final moments. It’s a firsthand witness to the rise and fall of the most legendary criminal duo to ever capture the public imagination.”
Rock Island Auction Company’s Aug. 21-23 Premier Auction will feature nearly 1,600 lots that can be examined starting at 10 a.m. on Preview Day, Aug. 20, the day prior to auction. Hosted at the company’s state-of-the-art venue in Bedford, Texas, this unparalleled selection features objects from every corner of the fine and historic arms field. Highlights include a German Panzer Tank, a 1911 pistol made from a meteorite, and an elite selection of masterpieces from some of history’s finest engravers.
About Rock Island Auction Company:
Rock Island Auction Company, purveyors of the world’s finest firearms, has led their industry since 2003. Founded in 1993 by CEO Patrick Hogan, RIAC’s current Bedford, Texas venue has become the world selling headquarters for fine and historic arms, hosting all the company’s in-person auctions. Led by President Kevin Hogan, the company lives by its mission statement to “Elevate firearms collecting. Sell with Passion.” Best known for selling headline-grabbing arms, the company’s multiple auction formats cater to collectors of every experience level.
For more information, please visit www.rockislandauction.com or call 1-800-238-8022.
Media contact: Joel Kolander, (309) 797-1500 or jkolander@rockislandauction.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3d465727-0a32-4123-86b4-6df58b584518
