The revolvers that cemented Colt's place in firearms history

Houston, Texas - Did you know that Samuel Colt was out of the gun making business? Sure enough, back in 1843, Sam Colt's Patent Arms Manufacturing of Paterson, New Jersey, declared bankruptcy and closed up shop. If it wasn't for an order from Captain Samuel Walker of the Texas Rangers in 1847 (as well a helping hand from Eli Whitney Blake), then his name would have been lost to the collectors and trivia buffs.

More on seeing Sam Colt's Paterson and Walker revolvers on Curator's Corner ...

Dallas Arms Collector brings in .54 caliber rifle to NRA Convention

Houston, Texas - While on the road the Annual Meeting in Houston, the boys from NRANews kidnapped Philip Schreier (Senior Curator for the NRA National Firearms Museum) for the better part of a Sunday afternoon. With Phil hitting the road for an extended stay at your better Best Westerns and Holiday Inns for the better part of two months, there was a need to get a few episodes of Curator's Corner in the can. All they needed was a handful of guns and a quiet corner of the George R. Brown Center. Guess which was easier to find.

More on Hawken plains rifle from the NRA Convention ...

From Tennessee to Texas with Elvis Presley's 357 Magnum

Houston, Texas - There was plenty to see during the 142nd NRA Annual Meeting in Texas. Celebrities like Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck and Ted Nugent, manufacturers like Otis, Marlin and Colt along with plenty of shotguns, rifles and pistols for all. But unless you sneaked into a closed set filming of Curator's Corner, you probably didn't see this gun.

What we have here is the gun of royalty. The King. Elvis himself.

"Mr. Tom Morgan, from Whiteville, Tennessee brought in a Smith & Wesson 357 Magnum Revolver, serial number 688344," explained National Firearms Senior Curator Philip Schreier. "According to the pictures and provenance, this highly engraved and inlaid revolver once belong to Elvis Aaron Presley."

More on the appearance of Elvis at the NRA Convention in Houston ...

Pirate Pistols, Revolutionary Shotguns and Buffalo Rifles at NRA Convention

Houston, Texas - With great old guns comes great responsibilities. Okay, so that's a touch to close to Spiderman, but the principal is pretty much the same. But let's go a step further. That's accept the face that with great old guns come great old stories. And there there plenty of great stories to be had yesterday at the NRA Antique Guns and Gold Showcase.

Manned by experts throughout the firearm industry, including Guns & Ammo writers and Blue Book of Gun Values publishers (along with a few cats from the National Firearms Museum), the Antique Guns and Gold Showcase was an opportunity for people to bring in that rifle, pistol or shotgun that's be sitting in the closet for ages and find out what it's worth. Better yet, some even had a story to go along with the guns.

More on the NRA Antique Guns & Gold Showcase at the Annual Meeting in Houston ...

Over-Under Browning Shotgun ejects shells to the side instead of the top

Fairfax, Virginia - When we turn to NRANews' Curator's Corner that usually means we're turning to NRA National Firearms Museum Senior Curator Philip Schreier. And when it comes to the guns that Schreier turns to, that's when he turns to the unusual.

The Over-Under Browning Superposed Shotgun is a prime example.

More on the Browning Superposed double-barrel shotgun ...

Five Beretta highlights brought out of the National Firearms Museum

Fairfax, Virginia - With all the action and buildup to the Annual Meeting in Houston, you'd think there was little time for anything else here at NRA Headquarters ... not true. That's why we rearranged our schedules and opened our doors when World of Beretta asked for a few moments of our time.

More on the World of Beretta's stop by the NRA Museum ...

Boy Scout Troop 50 stages promotion celebration at NRA Headquarters

Fairfax, Virginia - Robert J. Ciola of Boy Scout Troop 50 recently rose to the rank of Eagle Scout. An honor earned by few who ever enter scouting, the road to Eagle Scout is a long one. But one willed with many rewards.

"The thing that scouting does is teach leadership, self sufficiency and gives a young man confidence," explained American Rifleman Editor-in-Chief (and fellow Eagle Scout) Mark Keefe. "Show him how to do something, he does it, he's reward … not only with a merit badge but with a skill he can utilize for the rest of his life."

More on the Boy Scout Court of Honor ceremony at the National Firearms Museum ...

National Firearms Museum closes the Maltese Falcon exhibit after 3 years

Fairfax, Virginia - Almost three years ago today, a true Hollywood legend walked into the National Firearms Museum. Well, the legend rolled more then walked. For it was neither a woman or man who entered the museum — it was a thing. A statue. The Hollywood statue. The Maltese Falcon.

For thirty months and twenty some odd days, the Maltese Falcon has called the National Firearms Museum home. Sitting in a place of honor, beside the .44 Magnum Smith & Wesson revolver Clint Eastwood used in the first Dirty Harry movies, the falcon went practically unnoticed to the untrained eye. But once recognized, it produced the ultimate affect that every curator hopes for when displaying a new artifact — a smile.

More on the departure of the Maltese Falcon from the National Firearms Museum ...

NRA Curators put rifles, pistols and shotguns in front of the cameras for Sportsman Channel

Tulsa, Oklahoma - Twice a year, curators from the NRA National Firearms Museum trek out to the Tulsa Fairgrounds' Expo Center for Wanenmacher's Tulsa Arms Show. One of the largest (if not the largest) gun shows the country has ever seen, Wanenmacher's is the perfect place to find the final piece of your prized gun collection. For the NRA curators, it's also the perfect place to shoot upcoming episodes of NRA's Guns and Gold.

More on filming Guns & Gold at the Tulsa Gun Show ...