Tonight's Curator's Corner takes a twist as we bring you a live to tape segment from the floor of NRA's first annual Great American Hunting & Outdoor Show in Westminster, Maryland. Sitting in for this session is Senior Curator Doug Wicklund with one of the three guns the National Firearms Museum put on display. First off the boat is a firearm owned by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

This particular shotgun is a Winchester Model 21. A side-by-side 20 gauge, Ike's Winchester is adorned with a variety of gold inlays. There are five stars representing his rank in the military, DDE for his initials, and what looks to be a prairie chicken.

Also pressed in gold is a seal which reads:

The friend? Coca Cola President Robert Woodruff.

Including custom orders, about 30,000 Winchester Model 21s were produced between 1931 and 1992.

More details will be shared by Doug tonight and every Thursday night at 10:20 p.m. EST as Curator's Corner hits the airwaves on NRANews.com and Sirius Patriot channel 144.

The staff of the NRA National Firearms Museum would love to spend Valentine's Day with you – and a few thousand of northern Virginia's other gun nuts, of course. The Nation's Gun Show kicks off on Friday, February 12 and lasts through the weekend. As usual, if you join NRA or renew your membership at the door, you enter the show free of charge!

The Museum will be represented by Senior Curator Doug Wicklund, who will have several Rugers on display. Thanks to Wicklund for the following:

The Beginning of the Ruger Legend

Responsible for manufacturing millions of rifles, pistols, revolvers, and shotguns; William B. Ruger's American arms empire began with just one gun.In 1942, as the United States began to gear up its industrial might for the Second World War, a young Bill Ruger knocked on the door of Springfield Armory in Massachusetts. In one hand, he held a modified rifle that he hoped would show his engineering skills, perhaps enough to land a position with the work force.

The rifle had been a Savage Model 99 lever-action rifle, chambered for the .250-3000 cartridge, but Bill Ruger had made some changes. Instead of remaining a manually operated lever-action, the rifle was converted to semi-automatic operation. The conversion utilized the original receiver and barrel assemblies, and the few modified components were easily installed. Ruger noted that the review committee felt the rifle design was the best portfolio he could have brought, although he personally felt the design lacked elegance. Ruger was immediately hired as an arms designer for the US Army, a job that transformed the young engineer. In the postwar years, this experience gave Ruger the foundation to design an innovative line of handguns, and later rifles that launched one of the largest American arms corporations today.

The NRA's National Firearms Museum, in recognition of Bill Ruger's beginnings, will be bringing this prototype rifle and other associated arms to the Nation's Gunshow at Chantilly, VA on February 12, 13 , and 14, 2010. Other notable arms, including the one millionth Savage 1899 rifle, a special presentation to NRA, as well as other Ruger arms that directly derived from his original prototype autoloading design will be featured.

The National Firearms Museum is open daily at no charge. For more information on the museum's educational programs, email nfmstaff@nrahq.org or call (703) 267-1600.

The National Firearms Museum (NFM) was on the road for a couple of weeks so they could show off their displays to those attending the Las Vegas Antique Arms Show, the SHOT Show, and SCI's 38th Annual Hunters' Convention in Reno, Nevada. One of those prominently under glass - held on the right by Senior Curator Phil Schreier while filming a segment of Curator's Corner - was an Italian reproduction of a Hawken Plains Rifle.

The Hawken rifle is a .45 caliber long gun in flintlock configuration. Originally manufactured between 1823 and 1855 by brothers Jacob and Samuel Hawken, it was a favorite of those hunting buffalo and other game along the Western Plains. When Samuel retired in 1859, he passed along the company to his sons who ran the shop (along with partners) for another sixty years. Oddly enough, the Hawkens usually referred to their guns "Rocky Mountain Rifles."

All part of the new "Son of a Gun - The Return of Reel Heroes" exhibit, which replaces the ever popular Guns West! display, the Hawken rifle was used in films like Mountain Men, Jeremiah Johnson, and Quigley Down Under. Ever the movie buff, Phil told us of a scene from Mountain Men where 28 individual rifles were quickly handed to Charlton Heston in succession as he fended off the bad guys.

For more on the Hawken rifle, join Phil Schreier tonight as Curator's Corner hits the airways at 10:20 eastern on NRANews.com or Sirius Patriot channel 144.

The folks at the NRA National Firearms Museum are always up to something, and this weekend is no exception.

Assistant Curator Matthew Sharpe will set up camp in Westminster, Maryland tomorrow for the Great American Hunting & Outdoor Show, the first of its kind. He will display three famous firearms from the Museum's collection for the first day of the three-day show.

Senior Curator Doug Wicklund will take over and cover the Museum's exhibit Saturday and Sunday.

Below, read a little about these special guns, as written by Wicklund, who is pictured at right:

Hunters Three: Eisenhower, Roosevelt and Selleck 

Among the many treasures that reside in the NRA’s National Firearms Museum in Fairfax, Virginia are several hunting arms associated with famous individuals.

Dwight David Eisenhower, the 34th President of the United States and five-star general during WWII, was a 1911 graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. After serving two terms as President, Eisenhower retired to his farm in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania where he frequently used this Winchester Model 21 20 gauge shotgun, a gift of Robert Woodruff, the President of Coca-Cola. The shotgun was later donated to the National Firearms Museum by the Eisenhower family.

Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, was known for his many achievements as a naturalist, explorer, hunter, author, and soldier as much as any office he held as a politician. While in office, he signed into being enabling legislation for many of the National Parks and National Forests now enjoyed by millions each year. One of his favorite hunting arms was this .450 caliber Fred Adolph double rifle, an arm he used on several safaris and later presented to one of his American hunting guides, whose family presented it to the museum collection. Fitted with the finest Krupp steel barrels, this double rifle was once featured on the cover of Adolph’s business catalogs and a photograph of it proudly resided in the front window of Adolph’s gunshop in Rochester, New York for many years. More...

Thanks to NRA National Firearms Museum Senior Curator Phil Schreier for the following, his second report from Safari Club International's 38th annual convention:

The SCI Convention in Reno is chock-a-block full of great exhibits and vendors displaying items and services you won't be able to see at any other show anywhere. Recently, Executive Director of General Operations Kayne Robinson and Deputy Executive Director of General Operations Andrea Cerwinske, visited and dined with Bernhard Knobel and Frank Zengerle, CEO and Head of Sales, respectively, of Blaser. 

Blaser was founded in 1957 and is today one of the finest all around European rifle makers out there. The new R 8 rifle is on display here at SCI and is attracting a great deal of attention. This "modular" rifle comes in 31 different calibers from .223 Rem to .500 Jeffery. The straight pull bolt action design is unique and highly commended for the ability of the shooter to get multiple shots off quickly. Come by and visit.

Thanks to NRA National Firearms Museum Senior Curator Phil Schreier for the following exclusive report:

NRA Staff has arrived in Reno, Nevada, the site of Safari Club International's 38th annual convention. This marks the 19th time SCI has gathered in Reno for their annual convention, and the 8th consecutive year they have met at the Reno Sparks Convention center. 

There will be over 20,000 registered attendees visiting over 1,100 trade booths that fill the 650,000 square foot convention center. The exhibit and trade show is one of the largest events to happen in Reno during the entire year and this year's convention promises to be one of the best ever.

The convention opened on January 20 and will run through January 23. Featured speakers include Liz Cheney, Wayne LaPierre, The Bellamy Brothers and President George W. Bush, who will keynote Saturday evening's members banquet.

Readers of NRAblog can follow the action at SCI by tuning into www.nranews.com, Sirius Patriot Radio 144, SCI Radio, hosted by Jerry Evans at www.safariclub.org/webradio or on www.991fmtalk.com.

Today's your last chance to stop by and say HI to your favorite NRA employee or officer at the 2010 SHOT Show.

Pictured above, American Rifleman's Mark Keefe (recently honored by Taurus) shares a smile with NRA Membership Guru John Bailey, right.

Keefe will be celebrating 20 years with the NRA this year, and he is a bit of a celebrity here at SHOT Show. Bailey keeps on his toes by managing this exciting new effort to attract NRA recruiters.

Pictured at right, Museum Director Jim Supica has been spending a good deal of time hanging around the NRA's booth, answering questions of gun collectors and enthusiasts alike. Here, he pauses for a photo with some fans of the Tom Selleck collection, showcased at NRA booth here on the floor of the Exhibit Hall.

Don't delay -- the hall closes at 5 p.m. local time today. The NRA booth is easy to find at booth space 11854.  

You never know who you might run into at the NRA's booth here at the Sands Exhibit Hall in Las Vegas.

The Shooting Hunting Outdoor Trade (SHOT) Show is underway, and the aisles and booths are packed with industry insiders eager to get a glimpse of what's to come in 2010.

Yesterday, NRA National Firearms Museum Senior Curator Phil Schreier snapped this photo of popular actor Steven Seagal talking to fans in the middle of the NRA's booth, #111854. Seagal hung around for a few moments, meeting NRA President Ron Schmeits and Museum Director Jim Supica.

Seagal is still around, we hear. And the NRA booth is definitely around, complete with complimentary copies of American Rifleman, American Hunter, America's First Freedom, and more. Visit Tom Selleck's firearms, donated to the National Firearms Museum and on display at the booth, or sign up to be an NRA recruiter.

Senior Curator Phil Schreier reports: 

The 48th Annual Antique Arms Show in Las Vegas is the longest running show in the history of the city, and the staff of the National firearms Museum is here once again to display a collection of Reel Guns of the Old West.

Over 128,000 emails went out to NRA members in Arizona, California and New Mexico, ensuring that this year's show has had the highest gate in the history of the event. From Barstow, California, 11-year-old Ryan Howland attended the event with his mother Kathleen, to look over the selection of fine sporting shotguns. Ryan has been shooting since he was 2½ years old, owned his first .22 when he was 5 and is today an up-and-coming trap shooter of great promise.

He currently shoots Perazzi shotguns and is quite efficient at their use, having broken a string of 100 straight three times so far. He stopped by the National Firearms Museum's booth to look at the Colt Walker revolver used by John Wayne in Ryan's favorite cowboy western, True Grit. He was lucky enough to be near the table when NRA Board member Tom Selleck came by to visit and posed for a quick picture with his Mom and Tom. Keep up the good work Ryan, we hope you break Kimberly Rhode's record for being the youngest US Olympic Gold Medalist in the 2014 games!

Phil Schreier, Senior Curator of the NRA National Firearms Museum, reports from Los Angeles:

The staff of the National Firearms Museum was fortunate to visit with NRA Board Member Tom Selleck at his home outside of Los Angeles, CA on Thursday the 14th to assist in the preparation of a magazine article for the NRA's Office of Advancement's magazine "Ring of Freedom." We worked with photographer Michael Ives of America's First Freedom magazine in photographing Mr. Selleck for a feature article on the gifts of guns he has made to the National Firearms Museum of the course of many years.

Chief among these gifts was the donation of his much beloved Sharps Rifle that he used in the 1980 classic "Quigley Down Under." Mr. Selleck prides himself in his expert knowledge of antique firearms and has always made an effort to make sure that the arms he uses are accurate, not only for their appearance in the time period that is being portrayed but he prefers guns not commonly seen in films that were very present in the west. He makes sure that the finish is correct, even down to having the Italian proof marks removed and having the gun re-finished to a proper look for the era.

Thanks Phil! And keep checking back as Phil will continue to update us with the latest as the National Firearms Museum reports from the road.

NRA National Firearms Museum

The Assistant Curator, Matt Sharpe, was kind enough to give me a personal tour. The exhibits start with the development of the first handheld cannons and continue through history to the present. 

I cannot speak more highly of the museum - it holds an amazing and diverse collection of guns, many of which you will never see anywhere else.

Before Curator's Corner returns to the movie theme theme, the guys are headed back on the road to share some of the National Firearms Museum's (NFM) treasures with the rest of the world. Over the next two weeks, they can be seen at the Las Vegas Antique Arms Show, the SHOT Show, and SCI's 38th Annual Hunters' Convention in Reno, Nevada. During that time, we thought Curator's Corner would be better spent showing you what they're taking on the road.

First on the card is a television classic. Set in the 1890s New Mexico Territory, rancher Lucas McCain wielded his modified 1892 model Winchester rifle during episodes of The Rifleman. Staring western icon Chuck Connors, the popular ABC series ran from 1958 to 1963. And that classic Winchester now resides at the National Firearms Museum.

The Winchester is a lever-action repeating rifle manufactured between 1892 and 1938. With a 15 round magazine and varied caliber, the company produced over a million editions before Winchester past the design on to overseas manufacturers like Chiappa Firearms in Italy. A distinct characteristic of this particular rifle is the oversized lever that allowed Connors to cock the rifle with a simple swing.

This rifle and more will be on display over the next two weeks before returning to the National Firearms Museum for its place in the Ruger Gallery's new "Son of a Gun - The Return of Reel Heroes" exhibit, which is replacing the popular Guns West! display.

There it will join other famous Hollywood guns from films like “Dirty Harry,” “Beverly Hills Cop,” and “Avatar.” If you live out West and you're not heading to Virginia any time soon, it might be a good idea to attend one of the shows and see these icons while you can.

That's all we have for now, so tune in tonight for all the details as Senior Curator Phil Schreier tells it all at 10:20 pm EST tonight at NRANews.com or on Sirius Patriot channel 144.

It isn't every day the NRA National Firearms Museum welcomes a special guest blogger. NRAblog was pleased to welcome Steve from The Firearm Blog, pictured at right with Assistant Curator Matthew Sharpe, to the Museum Wednesday for a brief tour.

"This is huge," Steve said of his tour. "The Museum is just so full of history. I'm really loving this...I can't even tell you how excited I am."

Steve, whose blog tagline is "firearms, not politics," has the following philosophy for his site: "I want (it) to appeal to a worldwide audience, so I focus on firearms and shooting rather than country-specific politics." While in Fairfax, he met with Ed Friedman of Shooting Illustrated and others in the NRA's Publications Division. "I'm here to meet anyone I can," he said. 

Steve plans to make an appearance at the 2010 SHOT Show, his first. Below, Steve and Museum Director Jim Supica share a word about the Mayflower Gun, which graces the Museum's entrance.  

To arrange your own exclusive tour of the NRA National Firearms Museum, call 703-267-1600. 

You never know who you're going to run into in the halls of our NRA National Firearms Museum. Last week, we ran into NRA Whittington Center Executive Director Wayne Armacost. Originally from Maryland, Wayne was back on the East Coast to visit family over the Christmas break. While here, he thought it would be nice to take a 'Phil Schreier' tour of the museum.

While the rest of his family was distracted by Supica's Safe, NRAblog pulled Wayne aside to ask a few questions:

So who'd you bring out today?

My father, Uncle John and cousin Craig.

Their first time at the museum?

Yeah. We've wanted to go for years but it was tough getting everyone back at the same time.

And the Whittington Center -- what's on tap for the new year?

There is a lot. The season kicks off with Becoming an Outdoors Woman (BOW) in New Mexico, turkey hunts, and Rocky Mountain 3-Gun that's been sold old for a while now.

After that we'll be hosting the Black Powder Silhouette Championships, New Mexico YHEC, as well as some law enforcement and military groups that'll be training out there. You know, there aren't very many facilities in the U.S. that can handle such a diverse group of events.

Sounds busy.

It is. Might get even busier if we're successful in expanding our facilities to include a 1,500 or 2,000 yard range. But we're still waiting on that one.