NRA Museum and Peterson Gallery

[Bill Murphy]

Went down there for a look a couple of weeks ago. Not much in Parkers except Robert Stack's famous vent rib 28 gauge. I don't know why they didn't get all of Stack's Parkers that Petersen owned, but they don't seem to have them. I posted about my visit a couple of weeks ago. I don't know where the thread is. I never get much feedback on my posts about visits to the museum, but I will keep posting regardless. The Petersen Room is astounding. It contains the most amazing collection of .410 shotguns ever assembled. To clarify how this display came about, you must understand first that the Petersen family donated the three Invincibles, the #100,000 AA Grade, and an Annie Oakley gun to the National Firearms Museum in 2008, after loaning them for several years before that. On Petersen's death, the family told NRA that they could "shop" 400 items for a further donation. The museum sent representatives to California to select the items. They did a fantastic job of selecting items that would be of interest to people with interests like Bob Petersen, and us. Petersen was a serious hunter of African game and there are guns suitable for that sport, like .600 Nitro Express double rifles by Purdey, Jeffrey, Holland and Holland, Daniel Fraser, and another. There are outrageous custom engraved guns that we may not appreciate, but are worth seeing for their artistic merit. The NRA people were very intelligent in their decision to select Petersen's collection of Gatling guns which occupy one whole mini room. Another great selection was the group of British and other cartridge boards and corporate displays from early gunmakers like the wonderful Harrington and Richardson board. The entire design for the room was the work of NRA curators and was completed in a matter of months. It appears to be someone's life work. Please come down and look at this great display, a gift from one of our most generous members.