Jonathan Steven Ferguson (born 3 January 1979) is a British

firearm A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ...

historian and author who is currently the Keeper of Firearms and

Artillery Artillery consists of ranged weapons that launch Ammunition, munitions far beyond the range and power of infantry firearms. Early artillery development focused on the ability to breach defensive walls and fortifications during sieges, and l ...

at the

Royal Armouries Museum The Royal Armouries Museum in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, is a national museum that holds the National Collection of Arms and Armour. It is part of the Royal Armouries family of museums, with other sites at the Royal Armouries' traditiona ...

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

, England. He is also a technical specialist with

Armament Research Services Armament Research Services (ARES) is a consultancy company providing expertise and analyses in the field of arms and munitions to governments and non-government organizations. director of ''Armament Research Services'' is N.R. Jenzen-Jones. Found ...

, a consultancy firm.

Career

Ferguson received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

from the

University of Exeter The University of Exeter is a research university in the West Country of England, with its main campus in Exeter, Devon. Its predecessor institutions, St Luke's College, Exeter School of Science, Exeter School of Art, and the Camborne School of ...

in 2000, and a

postgraduate diploma fILE:Prédio Pós Graduação IMECC Unicamp.jpg, The State University of Campinas, as well as many Brazilian universities, offer Postgraduate courses in Brazil A postgraduate diploma (PgD, PgDip, PGDip, PG Dip., PGD, Dipl. PGD) is a postgraduat ...

museum studies Museology (also called museum studies or museum science) is the study of museums. It explores the history of museums and their role in society, as well as the activities they engage in, including curating, preservation, public programming, and ed ...

from the

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

in 2002. He held posts at the

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

Museum,

Imperial War Museum Duxford Imperial War Museum Duxford, also known as IWM Duxford or simply Duxford, is a branch of the Imperial War Museum near Duxford in Cambridgeshire, England. Duxford, Britain's largest aviation museum, houses exhibits, including nearly 200 aircraf ...

, and

National War Museum of Scotland The National War Museum is a museum dedicated to warfare, which is located inside Edinburgh Castle in Edinburgh, Scotland. Opened in 1933 in a converted 18th-century ordnance storehouse, the museum is run by the National Museums Scotland and c ...

before joining the Royal Armouries Museum in 2009. He has appeared in two documentaries: ''

Sean Bean Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean; 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he made his professional debut in a production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983 at The Watermill Theatre. Retaining his ...

'' on ''Waterloo'' (2015) and ''Sword, Musket & Machine Gun'' (2017). He was also an interview subject in the mockumentary ''

Cunk on Earth ''Cunk on Earth'' is a British mockumentary television series produced by Charlie Brooker for the BBC and Netflix. The series stars Diane Morgan as Philomena Cunk, an ill-informed investigative reporter, a character who previously starred on '' ...

'' where he was interviewed as an expert on the

Colt Single Action Army The Colt Single Action Army (also known as the SAA, Model P, Peacemaker, or M1873) is a Trigger (firearms)#Single-action, single-action revolver handgun. It was designed for the U.S. government service revolver trials of 1872 by Colt's Patent Fi ...

revolver. Ferguson is also a Technical Specialist with Armament Research Services, a technical intelligence consultancy. From 2020 to November 2024, Ferguson appeared on the ''

GameSpot ''GameSpot'' is an American video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information on video games. The site was launched on May 1, 1996, created by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady, and Jon Epstein. In addition ...

'' YouTube series titled "Firearms Expert Reacts". In the series, Ferguson analyses depictions of firearms from video games such as ''

Escape from Tarkov ''Escape from Tarkov'' is a multiplayer tactical first-person shooter video game in development by Battlestate Games for Microsoft Windows. The game is set in the fictional Norvinsk region in northwestern Russia, where a war is taking place b ...

'', '' Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War'', '' Insurgency: Sandstorm'', and ''

Cyberpunk 2077 ''Cyberpunk 2077'' is a 2020 action role-playing game developed by CD Projekt Red and published by CD Projekt. Based on Mike Pondsmith's ''Cyberpunk (role-playing game), Cyberpunk'' tabletop game series, the plot is set in the fictional metrop ...

'', and compares their design and function against their real-life counterparts using pieces from the Royal Armouries' collection. In 2021, Ferguson began a series on the Royal Armouries' official

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

channel in which he explains the history and functionality of select firearms from the Armouries. In 2025, Ferguson and other familiar faces from the 'Experts React'-videos, started their own YouTube channel named EXP, to continue with more of the same content as they used to make for GameSpot.

Select bibliography

* ''Thorneycroft to SA80: British Bullpup Firearms, 1901–2020'' (Headstamp Publishing, 2020) * ''Black & Grey: The Illicit Online Trade of Small Arms in Venezuela'' (

, 2020) * ''An Introductory Guide to the Identification of Small Arms, Light Weapons, and Associated Ammunition'' (

Small Arms Survey The Small Arms Survey (SAS) is an independent research project located at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, Switzerland. It provides information on all aspects of small arms and armed violence, as a resour ...

, 2018) * ''Arms and Armour of the First World War'' (

Royal Armouries The Royal Armouries is the United Kingdom's national collection of arms and armour. Once an important part of England's military organization, it became the United Kingdom's oldest museum, and one of the oldest museums in the world. It is als ...

, 2018) * '' The 'Broomhandle' Mauser'' (

Osprey Publishing Osprey Publishing is a British publishing company specializing in military history formerly based in Oxford. Predominantly an illustrated publisher, many of their books contain full-colour artwork plates, maps and photographs, and the company p ...

, 2017) * ''Raising Red Flags: An Examination of Arms & Munitions in the Ongoing Conflict in Ukraine'' (Armament Research Services, 2014)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Jonathan Gun writers 21st-century British non-fiction writers Living people 1979 births Alumni of the University of Exeter Alumni of the University of Leicester