Role of firearms have played over the course of American History. Welcome to the nra National Firearms museum. Im jim supica, the museum director, we will take a look at the history of americans and their firearms. We will start with the earliest precolonial days and go up through current times. We will look at the role firearms have played in terms of the settlement and expansion of america. The role firearms have played in military and sporting and personal shooting rolls. We will see the guns of champions, the guns of president s and heroes and we will see some great pieces of art. Firearms engraving on a steel canvas. The National Firearms museum is at nra headquarters in fairfax virginia. The museum has existed itself for nearly 80 years and we have been in this location for about 15. We are custodians of about 7000 firearms that have been donated to us or lent to us over the past 75 years. We have about 3000 on display here and about 1000 more at the nra National Sporting arms museum in springfield missouri. What i want people to come away from the museum with, beyond wow that is a lot of cool guns which is very important to us, but it is in understanding of that unique relationship between americans and their firearms. And the very integral role the firearms have played in the history of america. We have phil schreier, senior curator here at the National Firearms museum and we are starting in the Robert Peterson gallery. Mr. Peterson was a magazine publisher and had one of the finest firearms collections in the country. What you see is the petersen gallery which has been called the finest single room firearms anywhere in the country. Out of the 2011 firearms mr. Petersen left, the museum picked what we could display which equals about 425 guns. Perhaps one of the finest that he donated was the grand royal when chester model 21. It is considered the finest when chester side by side shotgun ever manufactured. It was made for the owner of when chester at the time. Only 21 in existence and commemorates his favorite labrador retrievers, king buck. It is just a wonderful piece. In contrast to the traditional carved engraving is a relatively new style of engraving. This is called bully no engraving and it has only been widely done in the last 30 or 40 years. When i say widely done, there have been very few people who have mastered it. Instead of a three dimensional carving of steel, this type of engraving is actually done by hand pressing literally hundreds of thousands or even millions of tiny individual dots into the steele very indepth, angle and pressure and creating the incredible scenes you see on these shotguns. For example, this gargoyle scene off of the reverse side of this shotgun. It is all done with hand pressed dots. Any oakley can be considered to be the First American female superstar. She was in entertainer, she was discovered when frank butler, an exhibition shooter was traveling town to town. As an introduction to his show, he would challenge the best shooters of the town he went to to a shooting contest. This one town they want to, they brought out a 15 Year Old Girl and she shot side by side and actually beat him. He came back a year later, married her and from then on they traveled as exhibition shooters. She became the star, little miss sure shot. Here we have a beautiful shotgun. It has an inlaid plaque on the side of it that says to any oakley from colonel cody, that is buffalo bill. We can guess with the occasion of this presentation might have been because at that time, annie was touring with the wild west show in london and europe and head run out of gunpowder for her shots shells. So buffalo bill lent her some of his gunpowder, it was a different type and blew up her shotgun. This may be a im sorry i blew up your shotgun gift from buffalo bill to annie oakley. In addition to some of the finest ingrained guns and the world are gambling guns. Invented by doctor richard gabbling of south carolina. He saw it as his contribution to mankind, not only the war effort. If he came up with a super weapon that could kill so effectively and rapidly, then people would cease to want to go to war against anyone that was armed against such a gun. So the gatling gun was a series of barrels that were aligned and allowed the operator to just crank the handle and fire the gun as quickly as they could rotate the handle or keep the gun fed. It was air cooled by the spinning of the barrels and mr. Petersen had a collection of ten of them that we have on display. Right now we are pretty certain that ten gatling guns on public exhibition is the largest collection of gatling guns in the world on public display. As we will see shortly, i gatling that literally wrote itself into the pages American History in 1888. We have one of my favorite artifacts in the museum in the petersen gallery. This particular exhibit is by harrington and richardson. It was made in 1876 for the philadelphia centennial exposition. This was considered by many to sort of be americas first entry into the field of a worlds fair type of event. Countries were invent invited from all over the world and manufacturers were exhibiting their finest wears and age and our exhibited this beautiful cabinet which one and award at the fair to exhibit their room fire spur trigger revolvers. Showing the fancy finishes they could apply to it. This particular piece not only has these wonderful little decorated revolvers in it, but it is also the only surviving exhibit that is still intact from that 1876 philadelphia centennial expedition. We do have some fascinating oddities and curiosities from the petersen collection and they are in this glass tabletop display case. The centerpiece here is a sundial gun. That served as a timepiece. You can load a blank powdered charge into the little cannon there and at just the magnifying glass so at a certain time of day, the charge would fire and you would know it was time for whatever event they were time for. You also have hear some of the early attempts at repeating firearms. There is an 18 shot pepper bomb revolver from the mid 1800s. There is a four barrels flint log which is arranged to where there are two barrels on top they can be fired and the entire cluster can be rotated to have two more shots. There is a harmonica style gun which was a early competitor for the revolver for repeating handguns. Instead of a rotating cylinder, there is a bar with successive charges in it that can be slid from one round to the next and successive shots if they are needed. There are a number of firearms incorporating blades including this beautiful gold plated double barreled pistol here with the ivory grips that came out of russian royalty. A nephew of the czar. There is a long knife or short short here with a flat lock pistol mounted onto it. That was actually for bore hunting. It was tradition in europe to hunt the board with that type of long knife and the front locked pistol was attached to it for the coup de grace. A couple of odd looking guns here, this one with a giant the spring. This flint lock over here with the circular device on it are not actually guns, they are gunpowder testers. These were made to test the power of black powder that was made in individual batches and you had to be sure the deep our level of the powder was needed to much nor too little for its intended use. The museum is it open in 1998 features 15 different galleries exhibiting over 3000 firearms. We laid the galleries out in a Chronological Order so that the average visitor could come through and see the whole development, evolution of firearms and how it apply to American History and our own heritage. In this case, we have one of the oldest guns on display in america. One of the oldest guns in the world. It is called a hand cannon. It is a gigantic iron tube with a hole that runs from the muzzled to the breach with a perpendicular hole in the event where you can fire the gun. This was excavated from a sight at a castle in germany. It was thought to have been left there throughout the year 13 50 to 13 53. Not only one of the oldest guns in the world, the probably one of the oldest guns on display in america. One of the worlds first guns which in effect, were actually cannons. He was from the large that we move down to the shoulder size guns, and jim has a spectacular piece that not only is smaller, but displays the we la mechanism. Just as simple as the hand cannon was as phil showed you, a successor that followed soon after was complicated. When people ask me, what is in the nra museum . There are always two guns that i discuss as bookends that illustrate these type of guns we have. This is one of them. This is a well lock a complicated firearm. It came over on the mayflower with pilgrim john all done. I explain what we have in the museum. I say we go from one of the very first firearms on the northeastern American Continent and we go through to a revolver that was required from the ashes of the World Trade Center, and everything in between. As we said earlier, we try to design and build the museum with display cases, galleries that are evocative of the time during which the arms were used. Here we are in the colonial house. You might find at williamsburg. It tells the story of the early canal colonial period and the war of independence, 1775 to 1781. We are looking right now at a painting, which we actually had to go to London England to find. It is got it is one of the most beautifully rendered illustrated descriptions of the very first shots fired at lexington in the middle of april 1775. Along with the muskets that surround the painting, it tells the story of that very First Encounter with the british, let misty morning in april. It is a question that a lot of people have. I had as a little kid growing up. Why was it that when misty morning in april with 70 minutemen answer the call of paul revere a night before saying the british were coming, lined up on lexington green. He looked at his men and said, do not fired unless fired upon. But if they mean to have a war, let it begin here. Then 300 rate red coated british regulars under the charge of major john on the road from cambridge. A shot was fired. Why was it that morning was any different from the others . We do not find in the history books and high school or elementary school, is that general gauge commanded pit currents army regiment, had given him written orders that morning to go from cambridge to go to concord via lexington and remove all stance of muskets ammunition powder shot and artillery. They were after the guns that morning. That was the line and the sand. That was the point of no return. That is what started the war for independence, and that is what led america on its path that we still are traveling down in the day of freedom and liberty and how fire arms played that role and not only acquiring our liberty, but maintaining it ever since. When we are talking about purely american firearms and american innovations, we take a lot of different things. It can be brought to the table for conversation. One of the earliest is what we call the american long rifle. Sometimes its called a pennsylvania or kentucky. But immigrants from europe brought from all corners of europe, brought with them rifle making skills and began to set up shops in literally every colony and eventually every state and union and manufactured guns. You could look at these long rifles that we have arranged here, and just by looking at the curvature of the stock, tell exactly what county and what state these long rifles are from. They are truly works of american folk art. They are very valuable just in their own rights today. Perhaps, one of the most historically significant guns in the collection in my opinion, is this wonderful little air rifle right here. Originally, the skin was designed by an italian for an Austrian Army to use against napoleon. It ended up in the hands of the core of discovery, the lewis and Clark Expedition of 19 oh 3 18 or three to 1806 as a mystery, but we do know they had a gun very similar to this one right here. The reason why we play so much historical value on this particular firearm is because in the journals of the lewis and Clark Expedition, lewis writes about this gun not once, but attorney 39 separate entries. Each entries pretty much similar to the one before. He says something along the lines of, today, we met the man at the headwaters of the missouri river. I had the men parade before them and their class a uniform, ordered the on casing and unfurling of the regimental and national colors. We walked in under fight and drum. I introduced myself and the men to the chief tons of the tribe, presented the presence of points in the lightness of jefferson back in washington. Two hands clasped into friendship. Then i demonstrated the air rifle, to which they all found to be of wonderment and amazement. There is the key. Every single time he meets a new tribe of indians, he demonstrates the air rifle. We also have to read into this that never during the trip did he ever allow indians to gain access to the to know how much he had in the ways of supplies and provisions for armor. When indians saw this repeating rifle, firing great at curious accuracy with effect and power, almost unending lee fire, they were amazed. Nobody had ever seen anything like that. They were very cordial. It was their one or 39 of them . It was kind of the idea of peace through the perception of superior firepower. It is what led the 39 members of the court of discovery from st. Louis to the cascades and the Pacific Ocean and those three years without having been overwhelmed, attacked and wiped out by any of the bands of native americans in the western prairies. This air rifle was able to present such intimidation that they were happy to be hosts and to move them on to the next tribe to the west. The kentucky rifle was the first Truly American rifle. The american long rifle. It was perfect for the woods of the eastern u. S. As the American West changed from kentucky tennessee and ohio, to the great plains of the rocky mountains, a different type of rifle was needed and that is when we see the introduction of the plains rifle. This time, st. Louis was the gateway to the west and this is where a lot of the trappers and pilgrims and settlers would buy their supplies to make the trip. This is where the hockey and brothers had their rifle shop. They created the planes rifle which was a shorter barrel and a larger caliber to deal with the larger game of the American West. The bison elk and big bears. It was a handier length. Could be carried easier on horseback. This represents the hawken shop. This gentleman is rifling the barrel. Cutting grooves in it to put a spin on the bullet to increase range and accuracy. He will walk back and forth 20 miles to rifle a single barrel. In the early 1800s, one of the main focuses of effort and firearms design was to try to develop and effective repeating rifle. Sam cole is the guy who came up with the first widely adopted repeating firearm. But it was not success at first try. It was a matter of try, try again. He created a revolver with a revolving Cylinder Holding five rounds that could be advanced as fast as you concoct the hammer and pull the trigger. He was looking for financial backing for his new invention. Demonstrating into his father to try and get the financial backing, but it said that the revolver blew up while he was demonstrating it with, which discouraged the financial backing. It is said that colt went back to doing a number of things to earn his living, others report that he would tore county fairs dressed in a turban building himself as doctor kolkata, demonstrating nitrous oxide to the crowds. Eventually, he got back into the Manufacturing Business and patterson new jersey and came up with these what are now called colt patterson revolvers. They look unusual to us. They have a folding trigger that knocks down when the hammer is cocked. They also were a miserable failure. He had gone out of business, given up on these, but a man of the u. S. Mounted rifle who had served as a texas ranger had used these revolvers in texas and felt they were exactly what the military needed for the wars and skirmishes along the texas mexico border. He came back to cold and asked him to make 1000 of these for sale to the government, they needed to be bigger, heavier and more powerful. His name was sam walker. And this cold became known as the walker model. It was a big, heavy revolver, pushing almost five pounds in weight. It took a very heavy powder charge, too heavy at the time. Out of the 1100 of these that were made, only 10 survived and a number of those are found with crafter broken cylinders. He shortened the cylinder, came out with this model and from that point on the cold Firearms Manufacturing Company was off on a road to success and established itself as an iconic american fight firearms manufacture. This crazy little room contraption is was designed by thomas and installed in the Springfield Army massachusetts in the early 1800s. This is one of the first machines that started the American Industrial movement, the Industrial Revolution. It is a stop making machine. It works just like you would copy a key at a Hardware Store today. This was just the beginning of interchangeable and mass produced parts. We see this in the gun industry. We do not see this in any of the other industries burgeoning in america, especially in new england, generally during the early 1800s, but it really manifests itself with this rifle right here. A hauls breach loader. Right here in virginia, what is now west virginia. The halls becomes not only one of the First Military adopted breach loading firearms of the United States, but it also is one of the first guns to begin the use of Manufacturing Processes that see the development of interchangeability of parts and yes, eventually Assembly Line production. When cult got that letter jim was talking about from sam walker texas ranger, asking for 1000 guns which he did not even have a factory to make them in, he turn to the one guy and new england that could do something about it. Eli whitney junior, the son of the gentleman who invented the cotton gin. Whitney had a factory north of new haven, connecticut. He was able to turn out all of 1000 colt walker pistols for the u. S. Government in a six month period of time, because he used every single part on this interchange ability. This mass production, not only for the wood, but the metal as well. That is really really Industrial Revolution that begins in this country and spreads to the rest of the world. Samuel colt takes nine single action 1851 model Navy Revolvers to the Crystal Palace in london in 1851. He displays them before Prince Albert and the rest of the attending audience. He was aghast, shocked really, to see nine guns being torn apart, reassemble without any care with the get gun that they previously came from. Anything after this time has been hand fitted and filed. Now you can have something meet dozens of them per hour and have quite a stop at the end of the day. Whereas in the past, these things will take weeks if not months to manufacture. In december of 1940, during a fire size shut, Franklin Roosevelt tells the nation that the dark storm clouds that had broken over europe are going to soon dark in our shores. But all of our present efforts on modern earth, we must have more ships, more guns, more planes, more of everything. We must be the great arsenal of democracy. For us, this is an emergency as serious as war itself. America must become the arsenal of democracy he says. A year before pearl harbor. Not only do we make 5 million and one grants and im one carbines. Four and a half million colt revolvers. Thats just a firearms. We make enough to arm and equip the 16 million men and women that we put in uniform and millions of our allies to defeat fascism in europe and South Pacific as well. It was this Industrial Revolution that gives us the capability to almost a century later, maintain the freedom that americans have so hard fought for in the intervening years. Now on american artifacts, the second part of our visit to the nras National Foreign Firearms Museum and fairfax virginia. We join jim supica in the civil war wing of the museum. This first exhibit case, we see numerous examples of the car binds the union was using. This was a time of Rapid Advances in firearms design going from the traditional muzzle loaders to reach loaders and eventually to repeating rifles. One of the most interesting and historical firearms in this case is this old carbine. It is a slant breach sharps and is one of the original car beans that brown used in his raid. One of the events that initiated the civil war. This exhibit illustrates the manufacturing might of the north. They could turn out thousands, hundreds of thousands, of well fitted and will manufactured firearms that were ready to go to work. In the back you see a beryl rifling laid that was used by smith and weston up until the time of world war ii. And manufacturing, it was certainly one of the norths strength in the civil war. The south on the other hand did not have the industrial might that the north had. As we talked earlier, the new england and Connecticut River valley was the home of dozens of gun manufacturers. In fact, the 1861 model springfield so many were needed by the union army at one time, that 33 different manufacturers were turning out the identical same rifle for purchase for the u. S. Army. The confederates were left up on their own to procure and manufactured firearms. A few places, Harpers Ferry in virginia where they when they had procession a bit. Richmond had a factory along the james river and a few in North Carolina and texas. But they could hardly supplied the needs of the confederacy. They got most of their guns either from the capture drink battle or imported from overseas. In fact, the finest infantry rifle in the world in 1861 was the british and field. The confederates bought a quarter of 1 million of them. They were by far the most favored long arm of the civil war era. At the end of the day, when the war came into conclusion of april 1865, general lee wrote that after four years of arduous service, and surpassed by courage and fortitude, the army of Northern Virginia has been compelled to yield to overwhelming northern resources. The war could have gone on for literally years had lee asked his men to take to the mountains and conduct a guerrilla campaign. It came to its conclusion after lee wrote those orders. And after the many victory parades and testimonials, a number of Union Officers got together and tried to evaluate what exactly had happened during those four years. Because once the numbers were being crunched which took a long time to evaluate, there were over 650,000 casualties during the american civil war. When you look at outright dead on the battlefield at the end of a battle, a days battle, there were 75,000 dead confederates and 150,000 dead union soldiers. That is gunshot, artillery and bayonet moons. Two to one, in that regard. In 1871, a lot of officers were beginning to realize that it was a near run thing winning that war. Confederates had been out so out resourced on every single level except accuracy and marksmanship. There they held a two to one advantage over the north. There was a need to increase the marksmanship skills of the standing army. Not only would that pay dividends on the field but it also cuts down on the amount of training and time needed to indoctrinate soldiers into marksmanship drink basic. If we had a nation of riflemen, we would stand a better chance to survive the next national emergency. And many years before samuel cleanse issued his wonderful novel, tom soy are, where tom encourages is friends to find the fun in whitewashing his fence. The gentleman that formed the National Rifle association of america in 1871 felt we could increase marksmanship by making a competition out of it. So they organized the association to promote enfieldnra marksmanship within the branches of the Armed Services and also within civilian shooting clubs throughout the country. If we make this a competition, we make marksmanship a skill and it will be something that a lot of people will want to participate in. By 1876, shooting competitions were the largest spectator sport in the country at that time. That was the bore birth of the National Rifle association and to this day, it remains one of our primary aims and objectives. To promote marksmanship not only through the military armed forces but civilians as well. Here we will show the firearms of the American West. On the far side of this cabinet we have the guns that are traditionally thought of as the guns that won the west. The wind chester lever action rifles and the cold Single Action Army revolvers along with other colts. The colts and wind chesters were not the only guns of the American West. On the side of the case, we see the other manufacturers that played a significant role. The Whitney Kennedy and marland rifles. The riminton hand guns. Certainly the riminton single shot rifle. Rolling block played a major role with the buffalo hunters along with the sharps. But also the smith and weston revolvers. It is not often recognized in the period from the 18 seventies to turn of century, smith and western was turning out more revolvers than colt was at the time. Both were very popular but there were numerous other examples. Our newest exhibit at the National Firearms museum is a set of artifacts we are very proud to have on loan from sag more heel. Theodore roosevelt homeplace that is undergoing a complete restoration. While they are working on that, they lend us the firearms and numerous other artifacts from roosevelts home. We will show you a little bit more from what we got from the National Park service in sagamore hill. Back when the museum was being made in the mid 90s, we want to take a part of museum and dedicated to Theodore Roosevelt. He was a hunter, an avid outdoorsman and conservationist. As a live member of the nra as well, we thought we should put a tribute together for him. So we decided to replicate the library from sagamore hail, almost on a one to one scale. His daughter ethel said the library was the heartbeat of the house. It is where the roosevelt family gathered every evening to read to each other and to tell each other stories of the day. So where theodore had barrister cases of books against the wall, we traded those in forgotten cases. These are real gun cases from the four study of the house. That was literally the oval office of the summer white house from 1902 to 1908. From the 10,000 artifacts at sagamore hail, we are fortunate to have about 115 priceless original treasures from roosevelt home on display here. This is the working desk of the president from 1902 to 1908. Droppings of his African Safari of 1909 to 1910 are seen with one of the seven lions that he shot. The rhinoceros horns. This safari was not just for trophies to decorate his house, it was actually done under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution museum of natural history. My favorite is the gatling gun that you see here. This is one of four guns that actually accompanied roosevelt underwriters to cuba. One of the most important guns in American Military history, scene right behind it, lost for over 114 years. The very first machine gun ever used by the United States army in military combat. It is in 1895 browning automatic rifle. It is called the potato digger. It is a seven millimeter mouse or. It was privately purchased, one of two given by the wealthier families of the real fighters to the regiment and take into cuba. In this case, the specific gun was donated by louisa and civil cain, the eluder sisters of woodbury cain. One of roosevelt rough riders. They just happened to be the granddaughters of john jacob astern. The cain sisters gave their older brother one of the first machine guns ever used in military combat by the United States army. In this cabinet, we are fortunate to have on display colonel Theodore Roosevelt brooks brother tunic. His stetson hat and his 1872 cavalry saber. It is interesting to note that when the United States president leaves the white house, he is referred to as mr. President for the rest of his life. There are two exceptions, general eisenhower requested to be called general eisenhower until his death. When when one of the porters was gathering the roosevelt baggage in 1909 as he was leaving to head back to sagamore hill, he said we will miss you mister president. And Theodore Stockton right there and where everyone could hear and remember he said no, howard taft is your president. I am just now colonel roosevelt and that is the way he state for the rest of his life. Preferring to be remembered as the colonel commanding the first United States regiment of volunteers, the rough riders. Always colonel roosevelt till the end. Just a wonderful opportunity for the National Firearms museum to be the temporary custodians of these national treasures, literally from our nations beginning. These firearms that his six children enjoyed using. Eldest son, theodore junior earned the medal of honor at utah beach. Second son, kermit majored in the British Expeditionary forces in world war one. He died at Fort Richardson alaska in 1943. Some number three, archie roosevelt, was given 100 disabilities from wounds received twice. The only soldier in American History to have earned 100 disabilities in both world war one and world war ii and of course, the youngest and first to pass. Clinton roosevelt, a Fighter Pilot shot down by the germans overt france in 1918. The firearms they used both in the service and recreation around sagamore hail as well as on safari in africa are so wonderful examples of artifacts that we can reach in touch the past with. Perhaps one of my favorite stories is of this wind chester model 94. If you look closely at the muzzle, there is a silencer mounted to the end of that. Archie roosevelt, the president s third son, we take this gun in particular out hunting across the estate early in the morning. Dispatching violence with it as it created little noise noise and tended not to wake the neighbors who had names like Tiffany Vanderbilt and whitney. If you can imagine someone strolling across their lawn and long island with a silenced rifle dispatching rabbits and the like. Quite a difference 100 years have made. It is difficult to think of a better transitional figure from the 19th century to the 20th century and we move into the galleries covering the 20th century here with a focus on the evolution of the bolt action rifle bolt action rifle. It began in the later part of the 19th century with four prototypes that the miles or brothers used to eventually develop their famous poll traction rifle. We also pay homage here to a number of other famous firearm designers, certainly the foremost of those being john moses browning, the greatest firearms designer that ever lived. Going up to a more modern day designer, william roger, founder of the ruder company. What is arguably the first firearms invention shown at the top here. This is a savage 99, he converted into a semi automatic rifle. When he went seeking a job at springfield armory, instead of a resume, he brought in this rifle and was hired on the spot. Cnn one of the great leaps forward and designer firearms takes place in the 18 eighties when we move from transition from black powder to smoke lists powder. At this time we put the powder down the muzzle. It is a thick oily residue and especially with a rifle after so many shots, that would tend to restrict the barrel to where it became very hard to hammer around from the muzzle to the breach. Reach looters were so important developed in the 18 twenties. With breach loading arms fired more raspingly rapidly because by 1881, an american living in london at the time develops a machine gun that actually was one pull a trigger, allows fiery checked and reload a new round. As long as you had the trigger. The fire goes anywhere from 400 to 1200 rounds a minute. With the development of smoke less powder and new firing mechanisms, america finds itself involved in the first war in april of 1917 with new types of firearms they had never before used. Around the second world war, through the efforts of john c grand, our and one rifle, graham rifle was the only semi automatic infantry rifle that with standard issue to the military of any country in world war ii. Other countries had semi automatics like gee 43, but the United States armed all of our guys with the amazon rifle making 5 million of them during the war. General pat and called it the best rifle ever it is a key factor in our quest for victory over fascism in the spring and summer of 1945. We move into the galleries that show the firearms of the competition shootings sport. Starting with a shot guns that are used in sporting clays. Moving to the firearms of the olympic competitions, including a number of guns that have won gold medals for the u. S. And olympics and gold medals that were one with them. We are into some of the fine aspects of the National Firearms museum, beginning with this 19 fifties kids room. This is not what my room looked like. I had the clean skin cap and the cowboy bedspread. I desperately wanted the covered wagon night light, but my mom would not let me have one issue is sure which that the house on fire. We have an original coney island shooting gallery. This was established very early 20th century, and has gone from Steam Powered to electric powered. I this is one of the most popular galleries in the firearm museum. Everybody loves the movies and in here, we have over 120 guns from 80 years of hollywood films, beginning with the very first revolver that was used by john wayne in his first credited role, going through modern, oscar winners such as the hurt locker, and no country for old men. There are classics here like the liberal action rifles used by john wayne, stagecoach, true grip, dirty harry, model 29 yuck smith wesson. When you talk about famous movie lines and famous guns in movies, go ahead and make my day, that 44 magnum is probably the most widely recognized firearm on earth. Certainly made extreme popular by a whole series of dirty harry films. Some of the firearms like that when you see in front of you are just robert demi guns. These are the grounds that you see falling down the stairs being thrown into the river. Great sound editing helps make that sound like those are actually metal and wood hitting cobblestones. All of these guns are real firearms manufactured by walter, colt, smith wesson. Bruce willis, mel gibson both used the same am nines, 92 f for it is, and Lethal Weapon and die hard. We have one of the prop guns made out of rubber from star wars. Tom cellblock is a very generous benefactor to the museum, and not only his letters come from his personal collections with guns that you use the numbers like numbers slender we have three of the guns that he had made this commemorative from his magnum pei series. Again, a gatling gun, this particular one was used in 1939, kerry grant, and of course next to that is an original which was used by richard in the movie the alamo, with john wayne back in the 1960s. My favorite westerns of all times is the wild west. A wonderful western starring pm a cast of characters goes on and on, both truly more than the stars as this browning gun fed machine gun. It went through a quarter of 1,000,030 odd six blanks by using this gun in the final scene of the great shoot out of the mexican shootout south of the border. If you look at the apple blacks here, you can still see some of the fake blood splatter splashed up on the animal box during that final scene. The close things out with the hollywood guns, for some who grew up in the house that was not firearms friendly. As a kid, there was no guns in the house. It was through movies and televisions that i gained my love and admiration of firearms, what they meant to American History, especially military in cowboy movies i was so enamored with. Establishing a connection with those stars on the Silver Screen as we grow up, admiring. Most of us before we ever had an opportunity to handle a firearm of our own. In the National Firearms museum, we have our largest rifle and our largest shotgun. The rifle exhibit is a four bore white rifle. That is a rifle that throws a quarter pound of lid with each shot. This particular rifle was used by stanley on the expedition to find doctor livingston in africa. Across from it we have a shotgun exhibit, and on the bottom of this display case is a massive shotgun. This was a putt gun, not fired from the shoulder. This was braced in a small dose. It would be loaded with pounds of lead shot and was used for hunting. It would be used to harvest up to 100 water fowl with one single shot. This type of firearm was banned because of converse its conservation for a number of years. This type of gun would provide sales to markets and restaurants. One of the last galleries from the National Firearm museum is dedicated to law enforcement. It is here that we have the other gun that i believe stories here at the museum. This is far from one of the most impressive gun to look at. It is very beaten up. The finishes burned off. The steel is twisted. But this is the gun that was carried into the World Trade Center by new York Police Officer walter lieb or on september 11th 2001. Officer weaver never came out, but the revolver was recovered from the ashes. Officer weaver had been a very strong supporter of the nra, and enthusiastic member. His family wanted us to have it, and we display here with great pride and a place of honor as a reminder of those who put their lives on the line to serve and protect. This is the story of americans and their guns. We want them to leave here with a newfound appreciation and understanding that firearms and the rules that they play throughout our nations history. Those firearms with the industrial growth of the country. It was our ability to create firearms in mass production type scale that enabled us to manufacture anything at all during world war ii, and to help stop fast fascism in its tracks. Firearms played a huge role, teaching men and women how to shoot and defend themselves. It is a nation to better be prepared on the fields of battle. Americans and their guns is a significant and seminal parts of American History. Up next on American History tv, a Community College class about civil war weaponry
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