The Gun Museum Thread

[Kirk Freeman]

In another thread we referenced the Cody museum and it dawned on me that INGO--as the "N" in INGO stands for knowledge-- needs, no, cries out for, a gun museum thread.

Let's list the great gun museums of the world. We all have obvious ones in mind so no harm posting them, but let's see if we can get a "comprehensive" list. Comments welcome if you have toured a particular one.

I'll start with an offbeat one and a mainstay:

The J. Curtis Earl Exhibit in Idaho (yes, yes, we know it is a PaK, not a howitzer): https://iawca.smugmug.com/Other-1/J-Curtis-Earl-Exhibit/i-P78rcxf

Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall in Pittsburgh: Soldiers & Sailors Memorial Hall & Museum

 

[rob63]

It would be hard to beat the Frazier Museum in Louisville

The Indiana War Memorial has an excellent collection.

The Tippecanoe Battlefield Museum has a surprisingly nice collection.

If you like antique arms, the Chickamauga Battlefield hosts the Fuller Gun Collection, probably the best collection of antique US military guns in existence.

A surprising one is the National Museum of the American Indian has a small, but very nice collection of guns related to the West.

Can't forget the NRA National Firearms Museum!

National Museum of American History

 

[maverick18]

Fort Chadbourne in Bronte, TX. Its a frontier fort that has been restored and has a HUGE gun collection, both period correct pieces all the way through modern arms.

Welcome! - Home

 

[OneBadV8]

Tanks have guns on them...

Ropkey Armor Museum

 

[Tactically Fat]

It would be hard to beat the Frazier Museum in Louisville

The Indiana War Memorial has an excellent collection.

The Tippecanoe Battlefield Museum has a surprisingly nice collection.

If you like antique arms, the Chickamauga Battlefield hosts the Fuller Gun Collection, probably the best collection of antique US military guns in existence.

A surprising one is the National Museum of the American Indian has a small, but very nice collection of guns related to the West.

The Fuller Collection is spectacular, both in scope AND in display. And it's such an easy drive from here.

Another one is the one in the La Porte County Historical Society's W. A. Jones Collection. La Porte County Historical Society - W.A. Jones Exhibit I've only seen it once - and that was before it was moved from the basement of the courthouse annex downtown out to the present location. I HOPE they've done a much better job with researching, cataloging, and display than there was previously - for it left a lot to be desired. But it's still neat to see all those old things!

 

[boogieman]

The J. M. Davis gun museum in Claremore, OK is really cool and has an interesting history. The have guns from a bunch of old west gunslingers and everything back to a 500 year old Chinese hand cannon. It is supposed to have over 20,000 firearms and over 1200 beer steins.

Welcome to the J.M. Davis Arms & Historical Museum

 

[cosermann]

Rock Island Arsenal Museum, Rock Island, IL - Rock Island Arsenal Historical Society

 

[indiucky]

As someone already said...The Frazier museum is great...I worked there for about a year and I can tell you I saw something new or interesting every time I went into work...

The best part was taking a smoke break by the side of the building while in period dress packing a Brown Bess, Long Rifle, or British Hanger (small sword)...The looks I would get from passersby were classic.....

Owsley Frazier Brown was a pillar in the gun collecting fraternity (even though he put R L Wilson in jail lol).....The man had more money than he could count but would sit in his wheel chair by me as I was greeting visitors and talk guns, Ohio Valley History, etc....Never once did I feel like he thought he was any better than me or anyone else...A truly great man and philanthropist.....

 

[junk]

I really enjoyed Gettysburg , and the west point museum

 

[Liberty Sanders]

The Patton Museum at Ft. Knox...hey, tanks have guns, right?

The last room has all of his personal stuff including his Colt SAA and his Smith registered magnum. The Colt has the notches that he filed into it after his shootout with Villaista Captain Julio Cardenas and his men. Included are the trophies he took from Cardenas, his guns, spurs and saber.

It seems that in a lot of my gun books every other photo of a super-historical gun comes from the Autry Museum. I REALLY want to go there but it's in Los Angeles, a place that I want nothing to do with.

 

[87iroc]

We are heading to Fort Knox over Spring Break this year. Its on my bucket list and its a day trip so its cheap.


I was at the Cody Firearms Museum in 98. It was very very very...did I say Very well worth the stop.

Cody Firearms Museum | Buffalo Bill Center of the West

I agree with the Indiana War Memorial. We toured that at fall break. Pretty neat.

This looked neat when I drove by in Vincennes. Still want to go back and check it out. Unsure of guns, but I know they have lots of military stuff.

Indiana Military Museum

 

[stephen87]

I know it's not a "gun museum" per se, but last I was at the arch in St Louis, they had a small collection of older arms. Pretty cool stuff in there.

 

[RustyHornet]

I'll second the Tippecanoe battleground museum. I was very shocked at the firearms collection in there. Wasn't something I was expecting. If you go, take a walk around the grounds, quite a few very old grave sites of soldiers who were KIA and there is a neat old church with a cemetary. Very cool to see.

 

[KagA152]

The Remington plant in Ilion, NY has a very nice museum and it's free. They also used to do a tour but after the Sandy Hook madness it ended. Some layoffs occurred as a result but they have hired that amount and more back within the last year so hopefully the tour will make a comeback.

The Henry Ford Museum in Detroit also has quite a large section dedicated to firearms.

 

[87iroc]

This thread would make a good 'sticky' for those of us planning road trips. I'd veer a bit off the beaten path or adjust my route to hit one. These types of stops are good for letting the family stretch their legsn on a long trip.

 

[17 squirrel]

National Museum of the Marine Corps
Triangle, VA.

The Airborne & Spec Ops Museum
Fort Brag, Fayetteville. NC

The Spy Museum
Washington,DC

 

[gglass]

My favorite gun designer:

John M. Browning Firearms Museum  


Ogden, UT

 

[17 squirrel]

The FBI has a Museum, but unfortunately it's now closed to the public.
As a school kid we were taken there twice, once in elementary and again in junior high school. Lots of firearms of famous and not so famous criminals there. Every tour ended at the range with a agent shooting a Thompson with a drum magazine, he would shoot a few bursts and then finish with a Mag dump.
One lucky kid would get the full sized B29 ? Target to take home.

It's a national shame it's not open to the public any longer.
Like the underground trams for Congress and the Senate, as kids during class outing to see Congress we were taken for rides on the tram..

 

[JEDenny]

Tanks have guns on them...

Ropkey Armor Museum

Sadly Fred Ropkey passed away the Ropkey Armor Museum has closed and is in the process of selling off all the inventory. I along with the KILROY military vehicle club will make one last visit to the museum in March. Fred's wife has agreed to open it one last time for us. Wish I had the money to purchase one of the tanks.

 

[tallend]

A second on the Davis Museum in Claremore,Ok--------the guns were "willed"to the state, provided they build a suitable place to show them..
They were originally stored in a Hotel and Cafe(owned by Davis)---------I saw a part of the guns in the hotel/cafe (about 63 years ago) and many years later,in the wonderful museum------The Will Rogers museum is(was?) also in Clarermore