While a friend and I were out West hunting mule deer, we had an opportunity to zip on down to Cody Wyoming and visit the Buffalo Bill Center of the West. And more importantly, to Cody Firearms Museum housed in the right wing.
A Couple of Things I Learned
This being the first time I had ever visited the Buffalo Bill Center I didn’t know what to expect. But one thing struck me before I even set foot on the property. We ran across a couple who were staying at the same hotel as us.
It seems these two were on a mission to visit the best museums in the world. Which on it’s face is a noble cause. But what was interesting was they were spending many weeks and doing it consecutively. The museums were as follows:
The Louvre in Paris.
The British Museum in London.
The MoMA (Museum of Modern Art) in New York City.
The Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody, WY.
Having been to the Louvre and knowing the reputation of the other places the lady listed, the look of shock on my face must have been obvious. For she immediately asked why we were going to the BBCW?
I looked her dead in the eye and said, “We will be spending the entire day looking at the guns. We drove in from deer camp for the Firearms Collection”. Despite the the look of confusion on her face, I was never able to divine if she wasn’t aware of the firearms collection? Or if maybe there was more to see than just guns? I learned later that the Buffalo Bill Center of the West is a world class museum that houses all kinds of historical and cultural artifacts. A very important place indeed!
But I was on a mission. And the mission is complete. We spent 5 hours inside the Cody Firearms Museum (wing). It consists of two floors and holds more guns than I could shake a iPhone 6+ at. But I tried. 1050 photos later and 3% battery power left, we got it done. So over the next few weeks I will be posting individual articles about specifics collections or individual firearms I found interesting or historically significant.
So Ya Ain’t Into 6-shooter, Eh?
Let me dispel a myth that might not seem obvious to the average AR-15, gun-loving, Glock-Shooting, wonder-9-aficionado. There’s more than just cowboy guns here. There are military weapons. Class 3 weapons. Rare tool-room samples. WWI collections. WWII collections. Korean War Collections. Vietnam War Collections. Desert Storm. Proto-types. Good ideas. Bad idea. Dumb-ideas. Dangerous-ideas. Commercially successful and professionally disastrous.
They have it all. So in that vein, here are the very first things you see as you walk into the Cody Firearms Museum wing.
Marky
www.tacticaltshirts.com
www.john1911.com
“Shooting Guns & Having Fun”
Areas of focus: Defense and National Security, Modern Light Weapons, Small Arms, Weapons Training.
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