You’re new to a fascinating hobby and it can seem overwhelming at first. The more you research, the more you find, there is no one universal reference for firearms. You’re looking at literally thousands and thousands of manufacturers, some were producers of a handful of guns to huge producers who made millions. Rifles, shotguns, air guns, handguns, muzzleloaders, nearly infinite variations of these spread throughout the world over several centuries, I don’t believe a one size fits all reference exists. And if it did it would be instantly out of date with new products arriving constantly. For you, just getting your feet wet and trying to research the guns you have, you will first need to individually identify them as best you can. Most firearms made for non military purposes will be marked, usually on the barrel, occasionally on the action, with the manufacturer’s name and business address, a serial number, calibre or gauge and sometimes a model. Use these parameters to narrow your search to firearms that match. Guns originally manufactured as military arms are marked differently depending on the country of origin and pose their own unique set of challenges. There are some very knowledgeable people on CGN, most are very willing to help identify your guns but without detailed descriptions and better yet, photos, their hands are tied. This is a lifelong learning experience, many people know a lot about some types of firearms, many know some about a lot of firearms, nobody and no source is the one source for all this knowledge. Start with your guns, one at a time, the more you learn about them the more you can apply that knowledge to other guns. There’s no quick easy universal source for this knowledge, it’s continuing education.
