Spencer marketed as the first successful repeating pump action shotugn

Senior Curator Philip Schreier readies for an NRAnews shooting with a Spencer Arms pump action shotgun in hand.

Fairfax, Virginia - "The shotgun is the mother of all guns."

At least that's what Philip Schreier thinks. Given that he's the Senior Curator for the NRA National Firearms Museum, you should probably take what he thinks into account.

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Winchester Model 1887 Shotguns works with a Browning designed Lever Action

Fairfax, Virginia - Winter's arid chill has been replaced with the promise of warmth and honeysuckle as springtime returns to the National Firearms Museum. The coats are lighter, the sun is brighter, and the days are longer than those from long months past. Springtime brings but one thing to mind for Senior Curator Philip Schreier; shotguns.

"It's time to dust off our shotguns, our plus fours and tweeds and head to the skeet/trap fields to enjoy the rites of spring passage."

Today, for Curator's Corner, Schreier is dusting off a relatively rare Winchester Model 1887 Lever Action Shotgun. Yes, a lever action shotgun. Bet this is a first for most of you out there ... I know it was for me.

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National Firearms Museum exhibits at Wanenmacher's Tulsa Gun Show

Tulsa, Oklahoma - April 6th & 7th marks the return of Wanenmacher's Tulsa Gun Show. 11 acres of rifles, pistols, shotguns and accessories for experienced and novice gun owners and collectors alike. A tiny portion of all those acres will be taken up by the NRA's National Firearms Museum. That and a little bit more.

"We're filming more episode of NRA's Guns and Gold," said National Firearms Museum Director Jim Supica. "Every year we see an incredible collection of guns here in Tulsa. That's why we keep coming back."

Pulling patrons from the show floor, producers for NRA's Guns and Gold go in search of the historic, the eclectic, and the unusual. Guns that will make the home viewers bridge to the edge of their couch and say wow. Guns like the one the museum brought for display.

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Shotgun from 1866 rotates cartridges like a six-shooter

"When we look at firearms technology and advancements, what people purchased or bought very early on, firearms were a necessity," Schreier explained. "They were a necessary piece of inventory if you chose to live out on the plains.

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Philip Schreier shares stories of repeating and lever action shotguns

Fairfax, Virginia - When NRANews calls to schedule another segment of Curator's Corner, there are only two questions for us to answer. Is Phil available and what are we shooting. They placed that very call just yesterday — the answer was yes and shotguns.

Focusing on shotguns was a natural selection. Not only are they the latest firearm to find themselves cast upon the national stage (thanks to a questionable method of self-defense suggested by everyone's favorite Rhode Island resident), but shotguns are regarded by most to be the firearm from which all guns were born.

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Going back to the U.S. Military's first smokeless powder rifle

Fairfax, Virginia - Sometimes you get the bear and sometimes the bear gets you. For NRANews, the bear of a schedule got hold of us when it comes to Curator's Corner.

That's because the Curators' Corner we told you was running a few weeks ago (John Wayne's Single Action Army from Rio Lobo on Curator's Corner) was changed at the last minute to another episode. The John Wayne piece is running tonight. What did run, and what we're sharing now, is the piece that ran way back then ... the Winchester Model 1895 Lee Straight-Pull.

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"Crown Jewel" of Collectors’ gun shows promised 1,000 tables of antiques and memorabilia

Timonium, Maryland - The weekends can sneak up on you fast.

As last weekend approached, for example, I ran down to the National Firearms Museum to check on Philip Schreier. Phil is one of two Senior Curators at the museum. He tends to have his finger on the pulse of the firearm nation. But Phil was no where to be found. He was gone. Gone to the Baltimore Gun Show.

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Heavy barreled, pistol grips and custom carving for Whelen's Winchester

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Curator's Corner segment of NRANews highlights Single Action Army from Peckinpah classic

Fairfax, Virginia - Nobody made Westerns like Sam Peckinpah. And none of his movies were more controversial then his 1969 epic The Wild Bunch. The tale of aging outlaws trying for one last score, the group is led by Pike Bishop. Played by William Holden, Bishop spends the film fighting for his life with a Colt Single Action Army in hand.

That is the revolver you will see this afternoon on the Sportsman Channel's NRANews.

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