National Firearms Museum changes Centennial Collection pistols

"Have you seen the NRA 1911? We just added it to the Centennial Collection. Might be worth a picture." Sure enough it was.

According to Wicklund, there was time when NRA Life Members were allowed to purchase a Colt or Springfield Armory 1911 from the U.S. Army. Course, that time was just prior to World War I, but there was a time none the less. Prior to delivery, the 1911s were altered just a little.

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In two weeks, National Firearms Museum Senior Curator Doug Wicklund (pictured above) will head out west to the North Dakota Cowboy Hall of Fame. Filled with anticipation, he compiled the following preview for what's in store:

What do Luke Skywalker, James Bond and Tom Selleck all have in common?

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Alexandria, Virginia - The crew down at the NRA National Firearms Museum often takes their show on the road. Later this year, they'll be taking part of that show to Alaska. But before that happens, Senior Curator Doug Wicklund brought a bit of the collection to Virginia's Collingwood Library & Museum.

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Assistant Curator Matt Sharpe dons the cover of NRA Insight's March Digital Edition.

Those of us working here at NRA Headquarters are asked, at times, to go the extra mile. Stay late for a project, give up a weekend to work at a show, or, as was the case with National Firearms Museum Assistant Curator Matt Sharpe, stand in as a model for NRA InSights magazine.

"They asked and I answered," said Sharpe. "Who wouldn't jump at the chance to appear in an NRA magazine."

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Looking at 3-time National Police Shooting Champion Robert Vadasz's 5-inch Nowlin 1911 pistol

Over the past few months, NRAblog has been looking at the firearms used by U.S. Border Patrol Agent Robert Vadasz to win the 2011 National Police Shooting Championship. So far, we've touched on his Red Rock 1911, the Springfield Ultra Compact, the Nowlin 1911, and the Bob Jones .38 Special Revolver. To start March, it's another 1911 styled 9mm by famed gun maker John Nowlin, Sr. What makes this one different is that it comes with a 5-inch barrel.

"It's a five inch stock auto," Vadasz laughed. "Make sure you say it right."

More on the Vadasz's Nowlin 1911 9mm pistol...

Fairfax, Virginia - As Lars told you yesterday, we had the honor of welcoming a group of wounded warriors from Project Enduring Pride as they visited NRA Headquarters here in Fairfax, Virginia. The group of nearly 40 included combat disabled veterans and their family and friends. After a quick lunch at the NRA Café, half of the group went to the range with Lars, and the second half came with me to the National Firearms Museum.

Senior Curator Doug Wicklund took the group on a tour of the entire National Firearms Museum, explaining the significance of certain firearms, particularly those relating to the military. The tour began in the Petersen Gallery and included a stop to look at the guns of Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders. The group also looked at galleries containing the guns of the first and second World Wars, the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and firearms used in modern warfare in the Middle East. But what were the group's favorite guns? Those contained in the Ruger Gallery's "Hollywood Guns" Exhibit.

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To paraphrase Senior Curator Doug Wicklund, when Jim Supica went West (for the Tulsa Arms Show), he took Law Enforcement with him. Part of that group included a Sig Sauer P226.

The 226 started playing with the big boys back in 1984 during the XM9 Service Pistol Trials. Though ultimately losing out to the Beretta 92F, the 226 soon became the firearm of choice for a number of America's military outfits including the Navy SEALs.

Weighing in at a slight 34 ounces, the SIG P266 comes in over a dozen different models (Navy, Equinox, Combat, SCT, etc... ) that fire everything everything from a 9×19mm Parabellum to a .357 SIG cartridge. This particular model was donated by the family of Fairfax County Master Police Officer Michael E. Garbarino.

In 2006, Garbarino was ambushed by a carjacking suspect waiting outside the police station for the change in shift. More

I walked into my office the other day to find a package sitting in my chair. It was a plain package, no wrapping and looked a bit suspicious. As what probably happens in other office, practical jokes can be abound (my favorite being a balloon filled office) so I was a touch suspicious upon approach.

Ripping that baby open, I found a copy of the National Firearms Museum's new book The Illustrated History of Firearms resting inside. As I began to thumb through, I discovered that it was not just a copy, but a signed copy. Three hundred pages of firearms bliss created by the staff down there on the second floor. Those guys ... I was touched by the gesture.

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There's always something special to be found at the Nation's Gun Show in Chantilly, Virginia. Just a few miles down the road from NRA Headquarters at the Dulles Expo Center, the Gun Show promises more than two football fields of firearms and accessories. And this weekend, the 18th through the 20th specifically, the National Firearms Museum is bringing out something new from their Centennial 1911 Collection.

"The most popular pieces, like the Joe Foss .45, the Colt Model 1911 serial number 4, and a Luger from the 1907 trials will be there," said Senior Curator Doug Wicklund. "But we're bringing out a couple others too. The British Royal Air Corps pistol and the 1911 that helped chase down Pancho Villa."

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