NRA National Sporting Arms Museum
The NRA National Sporting Arms Museum, a new museum featuring a
firearms collection the world has never seen, opened its doors
August 2, 2013. The product of a NRA and Bass Pro Shops
partnership, this museum is located at the Bass Pro Shops
"granddaddy of all outdoor stores" in Springfield, Mo.
The NRA National Sporting Arms Museum celebrates the history of
hunting, conservation and freedom. Those who visit the museum can
trace the development and evolution of hunting arms in America from
pre-colonial times to the present. Museum goers can expect to see
nearly a thousand historically significant firearms.
The sporting arms on display include numerous treasure guns from
the NRA Museums' collection. In addition, historically
significant collections have been loaned to the NRA specifically
for exhibition at this new museum. Special loans include
firearms and original artwork from the Remington Arms
Company factory collection, the collection of the Amateur
Trapshooting Association Trapshooting Hall of Fame, the
Pachmayr Foundation collection of fine custom arms, a comprehensive
collection of 120 U.S. military pistols from 1797 through
1900, and a multi-million dollar collection of engraved Colt
revolvers of the Old West.
The Timeline of American Sporting Arms portrays the history of
hunting arms in America from pre-colonial times to present.
It includes dioramas of an early Native American hunter, Lewis and
Clark, a buffalo hunter, a 1950s hunting cabin, and modern-day
father and daughter duck hunters.
Upper floor exhibits include Hollywood Guns used by the likes of
Tom Selleck, John Wayne and Charlton Heston; along with elegant
arms of the 19th century. The Theodore Roosevelt
Conservation Gallery features Roosevelt guns and tells the story of
TR's pioneering role in wildlife conservation efforts.