Cody Firearms Museum

If you are true devote of firearms, old and new, there are a handful of museums that are on your "must see" list. The Imperial War Museum in London, the Musee de l'Armee in Paris, the National Firearms Museum in Fairfax, Virginia, and the Springfield Armory, in Springfield, Massachusetts. (To its shame, the Smithsonian's firearms collection, with over 7000 items of historical significance and which should be world class, is kept in a locked room with no provision for public viewing.) On the same list must be be included the Cody Firearms Museum, part of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, located in Cody Wyoming, to which I recently travelled.

The collections in the Cody Firearms Museum cover the history of firearms from the earliest hand cannons to the positively futuristic Gyrojet. The museum visually documents multiple threads in the development and use of firearms in the United States, including the history of U.S. military firearms, the evolution of firearms in the Western United States, and the changing product lines of a myriad of manufacturers. Among the manufacturers represented by specific collections within the museum are: Colt, Smith & Wesson, Winchester, Remington, Savage, Ruger, Sharps, Maynard, Mossberg, Parker, Browning, Weatherby, Spencer, Hotchkiss, and more that I cannot remember.

The U.S. military collection begins with European muskets used during the Revolution, including French 1763 Charleville muskets and English Brown Bess muskets with Tower markings. Domestic manufacture starts with contract muskets, before the establishment of the Springfield Armory in 1794 and Harper's Ferry Armory in 1796. The collection well represents the muskets and rifles of the Early Republic, including all three variants of the Springfield 1795 musket (shown). The collection continues with the first Hall breach-loading flintlock rifles, and an example of a screw-breach loader almost identical to the famous Ferguson. The collection documents the transition to percussion, with an entire case of Civil War rifled muskets, and the subsequent introduction of metallic cartridges with Spencers and Allin conversions, evolving into the Springfield Trapdoor. There is even a 1870 Springfield manufactured rolling block on the Remington design. Krags, '03s, Garands, rotary magazine Johnsons - they are all here, culminating in the Armalite AR-15 design (in cutaway form) that introduces the M-16 rifle and M-4 carbine. Military pistols are here as well, from flintlocks to Civil War Colts, Remingtons, and LeMats, a plethora of 1873 Colts (more commonly known as "cowboy" guns), the Colt 1911 ACP, and ultimately the 9mm Beretta M9 (FS92). If the U.S. military used it, there is certain to an example in the museum's collection.

Although the museum primarily documents the American experience, it includes significant firearms of foreign manufacturer. The earliest are the matchlocks and wheellocks brought to America by the colonists, and some examples of North African flintlocks that I think date to the days of the Barbary pirates. Then as now, Americans imported fine firearms from Europe, even after they started making their own. Contemporary with the Pennsylvania long rifles are such gems as this matched set of dueling pistols, imported from France. A four-shot revolving flintlock pistol of Italian make is notable, as are the various "pepperbox" pistols.

This incredibly well preserved Volcanic repeating pistol represents a nexus of Smith & Wesson with metallic cartridges, and the genesis of what will become the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Horace Smith and Daniel Wesson will take their patent on the bored through cylinder and build on Samuel Colt's revolver design to become what is arguably the world's premier designer of revolvers. Their partner in the Volcanic company, Oliver Winchester, will work with foreman B. Tyler Henry to develop first the Henry Rifle (the Civil War rifle that confederates claimed Yankees would "loaded on Sunday and fire all week"), and then the long line of Winchesters starting with the 1866 "Yellowboy" and 1873 of cowboy fame.

The Winchester collection is probably the most comprehensive of all, with multiple examples and variants of all Winchester's famous rifles. But, beyond the well known, the museum also houses such rare finds as this display of Winchester's abortive foray into pistol manufacturer. Smith & Wesson rifles, Remington pistols, Colt revolving rifles - all the oddities resulting from manufacturers' excursions into unfamiliar territory are here.

Winchester's prolific manufacture and unparallelled popularity means that their rifles were frequent companions of the famous, like this 1895 in .405 Winchester that accompanied Teddy Roosevelt on his hunting trip to Africa in 1909. Other famous rifles are Jimmy Stewart's Winchester '73, from the movie of the same name, and a number of presentation rifles whose previous owners' names escape me at the moment.

Another designer to have their development work documented at the museum is John Browning, American's most prolific and and talented creator of firearms. Many of the designs are familiar to Browning's fans as either intermediate or final versions of his well known rifles. There are also surprises, such as this .44 caliber "slide action" rifle (right), reminiscent of the Colt "Lightning" slide action rifle, of which I am particularly enamored.The details (right) of the Colt rifles show remarkable similarity to the Browning design. The Colt was offered in three models: the large frame (two rifles at left, with longer receivers) was chambered in heavy cartridges like the .38-56, .40-60, .45-65, or .50-95. The medium frame (center two rifles) was available in .32-20, .38-40, or .44-40 (compatible with common chamberings of the 1873 Colt Single Action Army), the small frame (right, with brass magazine gate) in .22 Long. Finicky, and difficult to maintain, the Colts are nonetheless one of the fastest manual loader rifles to shoot. With a little practice it is simplicity itself to cycle the action without changing the grip or stance and without loosing acquisition of the target. Beyond their utility, I find their simplicity of line and delicacy make them one of the most elegant of rifles every made.

Another design which I find overwhelmingly elegant is Smith&Wesson's "perfected" target pistol. Built on a revolver frame, and used for Olympic and match competition, the "perfected" pistol is one of the most eminently pointable pistols ever made. Its top break design returns the barrel to the exact same position with the frame every time, reducing variances that might affect accuracy. These pistols are surely the pinnacle of an outstanding production in the Golden Age of revolver manufacturer.

The last image presented is that of the two airguns (similar to those?) that accompanied the Lewis & Clark Expedition of 1803 to 1806. The left hand gun has a metal butt that serves as the air reservoir. The guns are capable of repeated shots between fillings, and have more than enough velocity to take game. Just another example of the unexpected in American history.

I spent all afternoon in the Cody Firearms Museum, and never did see any of the other four museums in the complex. Even so, I hurried through the exhibits, and did not have time to study each presentation in detail. I took about 250 pictures to document my tour, but still missed entire topics. The size and scope of the collection is simply astounding, and a must see for any fan of firearms.