An Interview With Eric Wesson

Posted on: May 28, 2026

Join POMA member John Petrolino, The Pen Patriot®, as he interviews Eric Wesson. Wesson is the grandson of Dan Wesson and “D.B.” Daniel Baird Wesson is Eric’s third great-grandfather.

While attending the 2026 National Rifle Association Annual Meeting, Wesson divulged a little about the history of the Wesson family. This interview was made possible by Beretta Holding, the sponsor of the Voices of the Second Amendment at the NRAAM.

Eric Wesson and his family have been out of the firearms industry for a number of years. Eric recently started telling the story of the Wesson family, Dan Wesson the man, and Dan Wesson Firearms more publicly. Tom Taylor from CZ reached out to Wesson to ask some questions about the history of the brand. The result? The Wessons are getting involved a little bit in the community and sharing what they know about their history.

During the interview, Wesson discussed the relationship between D.B. Wesson and Horace Smith in the early days. The Wesson family’s involvement with the Smith & Wesson company came to an end in 1965 and that caused Dan Wesson to embark on his own journey, forming Dan Wesson Arms.

“Growing up as a Wesson, you have a certain — obviously — respect for the name,” said Eric. “You have…what’s the word I’m looking for? Responsibility, if you will, to carry that name. Over the years, I’ve always been the family historian, and asked a lot of questions of family members, trying to preserve history. I did it, honestly, to preserve the history for the family.”

You can check out a video of the Eric Wesson interview HERE.

This interview originally ran on YouTube and editorial based on it was chronicled over at Bearing Arms.

A full transcript of the Eric Wesson x John Petrolino interview can be found at Shooting News Weekly.

About John Petrolino:

John Petrolino is an award-winning freelance journalist who covers the Second Amendment and is a proud member of POMA. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms, a 501(c)(4) Second Amendment advocacy group. In 2020 Petrolino released his book, “Decoding Firearms.” His work is primarily published at Bearing Arms, Shooting News Weekly, AmmoLand News, and News2A. Petrolino owns and operates The Square Reviews, a product and travel review site.