Via Starwars.com:

LEARN HOW USING HISTORICAL RELICS FOR BLASTER DESIGNS SET STAR WARS APART FROM OTHER FILMS.
A cowboy has his six shooter, Robin Hood has his bow, and Flash Gordon has a ray-gun. Each accessory perfectly suits the character and the setting. Yet when it came time to design the prop blasters for the Star Wars galaxy, director George Lucas and the production crew took an unexpected approach. Rather than create futuristic new blasters like other space movies, they started with historical relics from right here on Earth.

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