Renovation of Sagamore Hill brings portion of Theodore Roosevelt's private collection to the National Firearms Museum

There's something special at the NRA on President's Day.

Above is the icon hat worn by the Rough Riders — a group of cowboys, prospectors and hunters from the American southwest who answered President McKinley's call for volunteers to serve in the Spanish-American War. As a matter of fact, it's the hat worn by Teddy Roosevelt. While Roosevelt's home (known as Sagamore Hill) is under renovation, that hat and more will reside here at the National Firearms Museum.

"President Roosevelt was a world-class hunter, adventurer and Life Member of the National Rifle Association," said National Firearms Museum Director Jim Supica. "It's an honor to provide a home for these wonderful pieces of history."

Starting with his days as a Dakota Cowboy and going all the way through his famed expedition of the Amazon River, the portion of Sagamore Hill's collection entrusted to the museum ranges from the obscure to the mundane. There's a rug made from the skin of an African lion, prints and paintings, an assortment of rifles and clothing worn by the man.

Personally, it's the New York Governor's chair that stood out for me. But that's before I had the chance to truly take it all in.

For the rest of the crowd it might be the Scott Sons .4 gauge shotgun, Roosevelt’s naval cloak, the elephant foot wastebasket or the Rough Rider coat. With almost a hundred different items to choose from, we’re sure there’s something that will tickle your fancy.

Although finalizing the layout will take a little time, we’ll be sure to let you know when the Roosevelt Exhibit officially opens. And the good news is there’s even more to come. Who knows? With a little bit of luck, we might even get ‘The Big Stick’.

DC News crew brings cameras to the National Firearms Museum

Aaron Gilcrist, host of NBC 4's Washington Nonstop, interviews National Firearms Museum Director Jim Supica.

Beginning in the Robert E. Petersen Gallery, Gilcrist kicked things off with an interview of Museum Director Jim Supica before focusing on the collection. Accompanied by Channel 4 multimedia journalist slash reporter slash field producer Jennifer Doren, the crew went from gallery to gallery in an effort to show a little bit of everything the museum has to offer.

"We're always looking for different opportunities and avenues to share all the wonderful pieces we have here at the National Firearms Museum," said Supica. "Aaron, the young man who performed the interview, had good questions, was very friendly and did a great job. I can't wait to see the show."

Highlighting everything from the Colt Vampire Revolver to the Ruger Gallery's Hollywood Guns collection, Washington Nonstop filmed about as much of the museum as one can cover in a thirty minute show ... twenty-one minutes if you don't count the commercials. To see it for yourself, all you have to do is tune it at ... wait, when does it hit the air?

"We usually have a two to three week turn around time," said Doren. "Check with us in about a week and we'll know for sure."

Once they let us know ... we'll let you know.

Smith & Wesson Single Shots originally marketed to competitive shooters and hunters alike

Smith & Wesson Single Shot 4th Model at the National Firearms Museum.

Staring in the show is National Firearms Museum Director Jim Supica. Recognized in most circles as a Smith & Wesson aficionado, Supica was beyond please to come across such a beautiful piece.

Based on a double action revolver frame, the straight line got it's name because of the hammer. Instead of following the conventional arc or pivot used for most pistols, the hammer on these .22s travel in a straight line.

With an eleven year production run between 1925 and 1936, there were less than 2,000 of these pistols ever created. This particular piece in the National Firearms Museum comes with the original steel pressed case along with the standard cleaning rod and screw driver.

To learn more of about these Smith & Wesson specials, tune in tonight at 10:40 pm as Supica is again joined by Don Kull of ArmsBid.com and Executive Producer John Popp at the Tulsa Arms Show for another great episode of Curator's Corner on NRANews.com and Sirius/XM Patriot Satellite Radio.

National Firearms Museum staff discovers treasures on the road

Have you been watching NRA Guns & Gold on the Sportsman Channel this season? Not sure what it is? Then you don't know what you're missing.

NRA Guns & Gold follows National Firearms Museum Director Jim Supica and Senior Curator Phil Schreier as they travel from locations like the 2011 NRA Annual Meeting in Pittsburgh and the Tulsa Arms Show. While there, the boys provide evaluations of firearms people bring to the event. Think of it as an Antique Roadshow with a bit of a kick.

Airing on Sunday at 6:30 PM, Monday at 9:00 PM, Tuesday at 12:00 AM and Thursday at 3:30 PM, there'll be plenty of opportunities for you to catch up with the show.

For more on what to expect tonight, take a look at the preview provided above.

NRA brings historical 1911 pistols & engraved long guns to Nevada

Kayne Robinson, Executive Director of NRA General Operations, reviews the National Firearms Museum display of 1911 pistols with Senior Curator Phil Schreier at the SCI Convention.

With no Curator's Corner running tonight, we're taking the opportunity to let you know exactly what the National Firearms Museum has on display at the Safari Club International Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Under the watchful eye of Senior Curator Phil Schreier, you'll be able to catch a look at:

From the 1911 Centennial Display
• Luger 1901 tested by the U.S. Cavalry trials.
• Prototype Savage Model 1907 Serial Number 1 used during the trials.
• Colt 1907 Trials Pistol
• Colt 1911 Serial Number 4

From the Petersen Gallery
• Winchester 21 John Olin Grand Royal King Buck Shotgun
• Engraved J. Purdey & Sons double rifle in .600 Nitro Express
• Holland & Holland .600 caliber Double Rifle and more!

If you're out in Vegas this week, swing by the SCI at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. You can get tickets there at the show, but you must be an SCI member to attend. Don't worry though ... they can sign you up for an SCI membership at the show too.

Find out more about the SCI Convention at www.showsci.org.

A Smith & Wesson Model 2 revolver presented to General William Tecumseh Sherman by the officers of his personal staff in 1869. It now resides in the National Firearms Museum.

As Supica explains it, they started referring to the Model 2 as the Old Army revolver when Smith & Wesson started producing the Model 3. A new guy would ask if this was the right gun to ship and a factory veteran would say, “No, that’s the Old Army revolver.” Makes sense.

The Model 2 came along after complaints regarding the power of Smith & Wesson’s first revolver. Though the .32 caliber was indeed larger then the .22 caliber of the Model 1, it still lacked the power held by their ball & powder brothers.

“If one were shot with a Smith & Wesson Model 2 they’d be really upset,” said Supica. “Especially if they noticed. It was significant because Smith & Wesson was producing firearms that shot self-contained metallic cartridges but it was not a powerful gun.”

To learn more about the Smith & Wesson Model 2 Old Army Revolver, tune in for tonight's episode of Curator's Corner at 10:40 eastern time on NRANews.com or Sirius/XM Patriot Satellite Radio.

Editor's note: Due to technical difficulties, NRANews was unable to run this episode of Curator's Corner on Thursday, January 26, 2012. They hope to air it at a later date. (1-26-12 09:23)

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.

From a Star Wars light sabre to Mel Gibson's Beretta from Lethal Weapon, the group enjoyed perusing the cases and looking at firearms used in some of their favorite films. After their museum tour, the group took a special trip to the National Firearms Museum Conservation Lab where they were able get up close and personal with some very valuable firearms.

Stay tuned for more on the Project Enduring Pride's visit, because Lars is going to bring you photos and details on the group's trip to the NRA Headquarters Range.

The National Rifle Association welcomes wounded warrior group

Project Enduring Pride creates recreational and educational opportunities to wounded service members. Founded at the Walter Reed Army Hospital back in 2006, Enduring Pride helps bridge the return of our wounded service men and women to the civilian world. One of those event took place today at the National Rifle Association.

With a group numbering around forty, including volunteers and family members, Enduring Pride arrived with plans to experience what some of us here at NRA Headquarters see every day. Among the stops were the NRA Cafe, the Headquarters Range and the National Firearms Museum.

After lunch, they split into parties of two; one headed for the museum and the other for the range. Senior Curator Doug Wicklund provided the museum crowd with a personalized behind the scenes look at the museum's collection while Debra Crews oversaw the pseudo matches on the range. The results were nothing less than positive.

"This is the first time we've had a shooting event," said Pride Director Ken Strafer. "The NRA has truly gone out of their way. I didn't expect this today."

Outdoor Channel host helps say goodbye to SHOT Show

I was only a couple of months into my tenure at the NRA when Michael Bane arrived with cast and crew to film a few sequences of his Outdoor Channel show Shooting Gallery. Shooting inside the National Firearms Museum, it was a thrill to see everything come together right there in my new backyard.

Later that night, a contingency of NRA staff and Bane's crew met for dinner where we talked about the genesis of his show, his background in firearms and how the two groups might work together in the future.

Since that day, we've run into the Shooting Gallery crew at events like the Bianchi Cup, the NRA Annual Meetings and, of course, SHOT Show. Funny thing is, there was no sign of Bane or the others as I made my way through the Sands Expo Center halls this year ... until the last day that is. In fact, Bane and producer extraordinaire Marshal Halloway were the last people I saw before exiting the Expo.

With pro shooter Randi Rogers arriving for her Outdoor Channel interview, I only had a few minutes with the guys to compare notes. Exhaustion prevents me from recalling the entire conversation, but I believe it included Mossberg's Tactical Lever Action Shotgun, the Steven Tyler rumor and plans for the Annual Meeting in St. Louis.

It was great to catch up, but I didn't want to keep Rogers waiting too long. I said goodbye, shook a few hands and made a b-line for the Mirage. A couple of steps into the journey, I ran back in for a shot of Bane in pre-interview form. He stopped, gave me a quick smile and told me to hit the bricks.

Like there could be a better closing to SHOT Show 2012.

3-Gun Nation's Rumble on Range highlights top multi-gun competitors in Las Vegas, Nevada

Special to NRABlog by Philip Schreier, Senior Curator, National Firearms Museum
Clark County Shooting Range, Las Vegas, NV

One of the great things about any shooting match, or shooting industry events like the SHOT Show, are the side-matches or side events. The SHOT Show is no exception and Wednesday evening at the Clark County Shooting Range, 3 Gun Nation held their "Rumble on the Range" National Championship. The $50,000 Championship was the shoot-off between 8 nationally ranked 3 Gun champions and was quite the exciting event well attended by over 450 spectators. The venue, The Clark County Shooting Range is considered to be one of the newest and finest ranges ever built in the country and offers platforms for nearly every conceivable shooting event from Sporting Clays, Cowboy Action Shooting, Mounted Cowboy Shooting and numerous others. The facility also has numerous classrooms, a cafe and a pro shop. Lights provide a well lighted range so shooting can take place well after the sun sets in the Nevada mountains. The combination of artificial light, Nevada desert and concrete berms gave the event an aura of taking place on the moon.

The event started off with a great trick shot show hosted by shotgunner Patrick Flanigan and two other gifted pistol and archery shooters. Free food and drink was provided and despite the chill in the air, the audience crowded around to get a better view of the wizardry of the gun.

3 Gun Nation, co-founded by former American Rifleman Associate Editor Chad Adams, is the next level in exciting shooting competition. Sanctioned by NRA Sports and sponsored by Brownells, Leupold, and the NBC Sports Network, the event starts with a single elimination head to head race for speed and accuracy with one other competitor. The first targets are falling plates and busting clays with a shotgun, then on to the rifle competition and finishes up with more falling plates and busting targets with a semi automatic pistol. Magazine changes, tracer rounds and suppressed rifle fire all add to the excitement and challenge to this fast pace shooting game.

If this is enough to wet your appetite, then check out www.3gunnation.com and NBC Sports' From the Lodge to catch up on the final results from the 3-Gun National Championship.

Shots from the 3-Gun Nation Championship During SHOT Show in Las Vegas