Tag Archives: virginia Gun Collector’s Association

Poking through Collector’s Corner in Atlanta

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Tucked away in the “100s” the collector section at NRAAM took up the first aisle of the Georgia World Congress Center exhibition hall and the assemblage of preservationists, auction houses and relic curators had a rare firearm exhibit open to the public rivaling anything you could see in a museum.

I went poking through them.

A Colt Python owned by Elvis that has been in the news lately

The Georgia Collector’s Association was on hand with an extensive collection of antebellum-era master gunsmith/silversmith/militia colonel Wiley G. Higgins, who made firearms in the Indian Springs area of Monroe County (which was the frontier in the early 1800s and capital of the Creek Indian Nation) prior to the Civil War. He was a fan of extensive patch box work on his stocks

How about a correct U.S. Navy Model 1861 Plymouth Rifle with bayonets brought to the show by the Virginia Gun Collectors Association? Just 10,000 of these .69 caliber muzzle loaders were made for the sea service during the Civil War and the OSS later wound up buying 500 from a surplus dealer in World War II to arm local militias in the Pacific islands.

More in my column at Guns.com

Inside the Collectors’ Corner in Louisville

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With over 800 booths and vendors, the sprawling National Rifle Association Annual Meeting and Exhibits in Louisville two weeks ago had something for everyone– especially collectors.

Tucked away in the “6000s” the collector section at NRAAM took up one almost forgotten corner of the Kentucky Exposition Center but for those who were lucky enough to find it, the assemblage of collectors, auction houses and relic curators had a rare firearm exhibit open to the public rivaling anything you could see in a museum.

How about a prototype Radom VIS, serial number 108, in unfired condition. One of just 134 early guns made, there are only five left in circulation today and won the 2015 Silver Medal at the NRA’s Meeting in Nashville?

How about a prototype Radom VIS, serial number 108, in unfired condition. One of just 134 early guns made, there are only five left in circulation today and won the 2015 Silver Medal at the NRA’s Meeting in Nashville?

Or the only known low serial number Polish Army Radom Model M.31 (SN#45) in existence and a super rare Maroszek rifle Kbsp wz. 1938M (SN#1030). Speaking of NRA Silver Medals, the Maroszek picked up one of its own in 2014 in Indianapolis.

Or the only known low serial number Polish Army Radom Model M.31 (SN#45) in existence and a super rare Maroszek rifle Kbsp wz. 1938M (SN#1030). Speaking of NRA Silver Medals, the Maroszek picked up one of its own in 2014 in Indianapolis.

The Smith and Wesson Collectors Association came correct with a table of rare guns owned by former NRA directors and well-known shootists Col. Rex Applegate, Bill Jordan, and Cecil King. King’s .44 Military smoothbore, the only gun known to have been made by S&W in this configuration, has a 6.5-inch barrel with a BATFE C&R approved smoothbore barrel– the attachment on the muzzle is the choke!

The Smith and Wesson Collectors Association came correct with a table of rare guns owned by former NRA directors and well-known shootists Col. Rex Applegate, Bill Jordan, and Cecil King. King’s .44 Military smoothbore, the only gun known to have been made by S&W in this configuration, has a 6.5-inch barrel with a BATFE C&R approved smoothbore barrel– the attachment on the muzzle is the choke!

The rest in my column at Guns.com