The NRA National Firearms Museum is a museum located at the

NRA The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent gun rights lobbying organization while contin ...

Headquarters Building in

Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is part of Northern Virginia and borders both the city of Alexandria and Arlington County and forms part of the suburban ring of Washington, D. ...

. Approximated 2,500 guns are displayed in 15,000 square feet. The NRA National Firearms Museum is operated by the Museums Division of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA), with partial funding provided by the NRA Foundation, a 501(c)3 corporation. It was established in 1935 at the old NRA Headquarters in Washington DC, and moved to its current location in 1998. The museum's exhibits cover seven centuries of firearms development and history. The main museum galleries are organized chronologically. Exhibits include firearms used for competition shooting, hunting, personal defense, recreational shooting, and police work. Also on display are military arms used by the United States, its allies and enemies in major conflicts from the American Revolution through Desert Storm. Each gallery is evocative of a period of time in American history, including a stockade fort at Jamestown, firearms of the Old West, a Coney Island shooting gallery ca. 1900, and a kid's bedroom from the 1950s. Life-sized dioramas include a nineteenth century rifle-maker's shop, a trench on the Western Front in WWI, and a shelled-out town square in Normandy in WWII. Two galleries feature firearms and the arts. "The Robert E. Petersen Gallery" features masterpieces of firearms engraving. The "Hollywood Guns" exhibit features actual guns used in movies and television over the past 80 years. Historically attributed guns on display include: * Guns owned by Presidents

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

, John F. Kennedy,

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War I ...

, and

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

* Firearms of exhibition shooters such as

Annie Oakley Annie Oakley (born Phoebe Ann Mosey; August 13, 1860 – November 3, 1926) was an American sharpshooter who starred in Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. Oakley developed hunting skills as a child to provide for her impoverished family in western ...

, the Topperweins, and

Ed McGivern Edward ('Ed') McGivern (October 20, 1874 – December 12, 1957) was a famous exhibition shooter, shooting instructor and author of the book ''Fast and Fancy Revolver Shooting''. McGivern performed extensive research into the art of handgun sho ...

* The first machine gun used in combat by the U.S. Army ( Roosevelt's Rough Riders) * Guns of Olympic gold medalists including Launi Meili, and other shooting champions * A massive four-bore rifle carried on the Stanley expedition to find Dr. Livingston * Sidearms of American generals and

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of val ...

recipients *

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

's flintlock fowler * Arms attributed to Gen.

W. T. Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...

, abolitionist John Brown, "Buffalo Bill" Cody, and other historic figures. The NRA Museums Division is the custodian of approximately 10,000 firearms with many of them displayed at three NRA Museums - the NRA National Firearms Museum in Fairfax County, Virginia; the NRA National Sporting Arms Museum at

Bass Pro Shops BPS Direct, L.L.C, doing business as Bass Pro Shops, is an American privately held retailer which specializes in hunting, fishing, camping, and other related outdoor recreation merchandise. With headquarters in Springfield, Missouri, Bass P ...

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an esti ...

; and the Frank Brownell Museum of the Southwest at the NRA Whittington Center in

Raton, New Mexico Raton ( ) is a city and the county seat of Colfax County in northeastern New Mexico. The city is located just south of Raton Pass. The city is also located about 6.5 miles south of the New Mexico–Colorado border and 85 miles west of Texas. His ...

. The NRA Museums Division has published three books on firearms - ''Illustrated History of Firearms'', ''Treasures of the NRA National Firearms Museum'', and ''Guns of the NRA National Sporting Arms Museum''. It has produced five seasons of the cable television shows ''NRA Gun Gurus'' and ''NRA Guns & Gold''. NRA Museums staff, firearms, and locations are featured on ''Gun Stories'', ''American Rifleman Television'', the "NRA News Curators Corner" segment, and other television shows.

References

{{Authority control Fairfax County, Virginia Industry museums in Virginia Military and war museums in Virginia Museums in Fairfax County, Virginia National Rifle Association