Philip Schreier, Senior Curator from the NRA National Firearms Museum, sends us his final report from the Boy Scouts of America's National Jamboree in Ft. A.P. Hill, Virginia:

NRA Rocks Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree: Part 8

By: Philip Schreier

(Ft. A. P. Hill, Virginia) - Well the last campfire has been extinguished at the conclusion of the BSA 100th Anniversary National Scout Jamboree. After 10 days in the heart of Virginia, 46,000 Scouts and leaders prepare for their long journey home. The 17th National Jamboree (the 9th for this author) and the last of 8 to be held at Ft. A. P. Hill, is now a fond memory for tens of thousands of boys. For most, this Jamboree was their first, and for many, the Jamboree offered a young Scout his initial experience shooting an air rifle, shotgun and/or black powder rifle.

As the Action Centers are dismantled and the 76,000 acre military reservation is returned to its former state of affairs, many Scouts and Scouters alike are asking how they can purchase one of the hundreds of firearms used during the historic event. Fortunately, for them, many of the guns are for sale through licensed FFL dealers.

Four different firearms are currently available that each bear Scouting's 100th Anniversary Jamboree logo or BSA Centennial logo. The 20ga Remington 870 Wingmasters, 12ga Beretta A3901 semi-automatics and two beautiful .22 caliber Henry Golden Boy rifles, one an Eagle Scout commemorative, can be purchased through the factory direct to your local FFL dealer.

Contact the factory direct for details and pricing and send a signed copy of your dealer's FFL to:

Remington Arms Co. c/o BSA Offer P.O. Box 700 Madison, NC 27025 1-800-243-9700

Beretta USA 17601 Beretta Drive Accokeek, MD 20607 1-800-929-2901

Henry Repeating Arms Company #59 East 1st St. Bayonne, NJ 07002 201-858-4400

Phil Schreier, Senior Curator of the NRA National Firearms Museum, will appear on Target Talk, a weekly firearms radio show recorded in St Louis, Missouri.

On Sundays, from 6 to 7 p.m. Central Standard Time, hosts Steve King and Amy Chase bring listeners the latest from the firearms community. Tune into The Big 550 KTRS, or check their website for recorded episodes.

"The topic of the day is our exciting exhibit of movie firearms, Hollywood Guns," Schreier said. "From John Wayne to Tom Selleck and every gun-slinging movie star in between, this exhibit is your chance to see the guns of reel heroes." Schreier will be appearing live from 6:15 to 6:45 p.m. CST on Sunday, September 5.

Steve King is an NRA Certified Instructor and an NRA Recruiter. At left, he interviewed Deputy Executive Director of NRA General Operations Andrea Cerwinske and Executive Director Kayne Robinson at the 2009 SHOT Show. If you're in the greater St Louis area, stop by King's firearm supply store, Metro Shooting Supplies.

In July of 2010, National Firearms Museum's Phil Schreier traveled to Fort A.P. Hill, Virginia for the Boy Scouts of America’s National Jamboree. Tonight, he brings a little of the spirit he found there to Curator's Corner. It arrives in the form of an officially licensed Ruger Boy Scout 10/22 Rifle.

With an 18.5" barrel and a gold bead sight, this limited edition rifle comes with a ten round magazine and a classic walnut stock. It is there, on the stock, where things really get interesting.

Carved in various spots along the stock are symbols of Boy Scout lore. In the rear is a rendition of of Norman Rockewell’s 1944 famous painting, We, Too, Have a Job To Do. Also carved into the side is the Boy Scout logo, the Boy Scout oath, and the Boy Scout law which reads, “A Scout is: trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent.”

But that's just a fraction of what this gun has to offer. To hear the whole story, tune into tonight at 10:40 p.m. Eastern Time on Sirius/XM Patriot or NRANews.com for Senior Curator Phil Schreier’s take on the Ruger Boy Scout 10/22 Rifle.

NRANews Executive Producer John Popp and his band of audio/technical wizards stopped by headquarters today to shoot segments for the show. They left with a little more than originally planned.

"Taping at NRA Headquarters accomplishes two things," explained Popp. "First, shooting here provides our viewers with an actual view of the building. We tape our interviews at the museum, in the hallways, on the range - where ever we can find a free space.

"Second is the wild cards. Today, for example, we ran into Competitive Shooting's H.Q. Moody. That impromptu meeting turned into two separate interviews. They wouldn't have happened if we weren't here at headquarters."

In addition to the Moody interviews, Popp and his crew had the opportunity to sit down with Ruthann Sprague from NRA Women's Programs, J.R. Robbins from NRAHuntersRights.org, and (pictured above) National Firearms Museum's Phil Schreier. All of which are scheduled air on NRANews.com somewhere between 9pm and midnight Eastern Time over the next few days.

NRA National Firearms Museum Senior Curator Phil Schreier was recently in Newark, Ohio, for The American Thompson Association’s 19th Annual All Thompson Show and Shoot. He provided us with these photos and told us a little about his trip.

“I’ve been to five,” Schreier said of the annual gathering. The Association, an NRA affiliated collector’s club, was awarded the NRA Gun Collectors Committee Trophy at the 2010 NRA Annual Meetings and Exhibits in Charlotte. Read more about the 2010 NRA National Gun Collecting Awards.

What do the Tommy Gun enthusiasts do at their show? The purpose of these meetings, their website says, is to gather and share experiences andinformation on the Thompson. Mixed with a good deal of fun, of course.

“It’s a two stage shoot,” Schreier explained. “The first stage you shoot your firearm on full automatic for five different stages, at 20 rounds each, with the focus on accuracy.”

“The second stage is a steel falling plate contest. That’s for speed.”

Given the chance, Schreier could hardly observe the event – he brought his Thompson and joined the competitors on the firing line. How'd he fare?

“Well, the guy that knocked me out of the first round won the overall competition,” he said with a smile, “so if I had to get beat by someone, at least I got beat by the guy who won it all.”

In addition to his time on the firing line, Schreier provided interviews for a few episodes of American Rifleman TV. 

“Anyone interested in joining the Association should check out their website,” Schreier said. Download an application here. Annual dues are $30. “They are a great group and a wonderful extension of the NRA’s commitment to gun collecting.”

More...

Philip Schreier, Senior Curator from the NRA National Firearms Museum, files another report from the Boy Scouts of America's National Jamboree in Ft. A.P. Hill, Virginia:

NRA Rocks Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree: Part 7
By: Philip Schreier

Ft. A. P. Hill, VA - Of the five different areas Scouts can enjoy shooting at the BSA National Scout Jamboree, the newest Action Area is called Buckskin Games. Here Scouts experience numerous facets of life as a Mountain Man in the 1840's. Of course, no Mountain Man experience is complete without a chance to shoot a black powder percussion rifle. Here Scouts meet up with period clad NRA safety instructors and learn a bit not only about safe firearms handling but also on black powder shooting.

Once up on the firing line, they get personal instruction on loading the gun themselves and then they fire a .50 caliber Lyman percussion rifle at a playing card which they get to keep as a souvenir. They say that once you smell black powder on the firing line, it gets in your blood for life. At 300 Scouts a day at each of the 4 Action Centers, that adds up to a lot of future black powder enthusiasts!

----------------------------------------------------------------

Be sure the check out part One, Two, Three, Four, Five and Six of Senior Curator Philip Schreier's reports on the Boy Scouts of America's 100th Anniversary at the National Jamboree in Ft. A.P. Hill, Virginia.

Philip Schreier, Senior Curator from the NRA National Firearms Museum, continues reporting from the Boy Scouts of America's National Jamboree in Ft. A.P. Hill, Virginia:

NRA Rocks Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree: Part 6
By: Philip Schreier

This year, on February 8th, the Boy Scouts of America celebrated their 100th Anniversary. Originally founded in England by Lord Robert Baden-Powell in 1907, the American version began in 1910 and less than a year later Marksmanship Merit Badge was added to the ranks of proficiency badges that Scouts could earn. Ever since then, shooting has been an integral part of scouting. At this, the 17th BSA National Jamboree, shooting continues to play an exciting role at 5 different venues of 4 Action Centers.

Air Rifle shooting is as popular with the Scouts as BMX racing, SCUBA and Rappelling. Up to 800 Scouts a day visit each of the 4 Air Rifle pavilions at the 4 Action Centers. They are all given a brief safety class on firearms handling by volunteer NRA Training Counselors, Certified Instructors and Range Safety Officers. After they each receive safety glasses they proceed to one of the 40 shooting points and shoot 10 rounds from Crossman 761 air rifles at paper targets set 20' from the firing line.

For many Scouts, including this author, their first time shooting was while wearing a Scout uniform. An event warmly remembered for the rest of their lives and one that is hoped will lead to a lifetime of enjoyment in the shooting sports.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Be sure the check out part One, Two, Three, Four and Five of Senior Curator Philip Schreier's reports on the Boy Scouts of America's 100th Anniversary at the National Jamboree in Ft. A.P. Hill, Virginia.

Philip Schreier, Senior Curator from the NRA National Firearms Museum, continues reporting from the Boy Scouts of America's National Jamboree in Ft. A.P. Hill, Virginia:

NRA Rocks Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree: Part 5
By: Philip Schreier

Scouts love to race mountain bikes almost as much as they love to shoot air rifles, so a natural combination of the two is a recipe for success at the National Scout Jamboree in Ft. A.P. Hill. The Jamboree Bikathlon is a two-wheeled version of the challenging Olympic winter sport, the Biathlon. Here's how it works;

Scouts take to a specially geared 20" BMX mountain bike and race over rugged terrain until they arrive at one of two shooting stations. There they dismount from the bike and meet an NRA certified instructor coach who scores their efforts as they fire five shots at the falling plate targets. They then get back on the bike and ride on to the next shooting station before they ultimately proceed to the finish line.

Most Scouts were averaging four to five minutes on their runs but the best time of the day came from one Scout who shot a perfect 10 and crossed the finish line in just under two minutes. Action Center C reported that nearly 800 Scouts a day rode and shot on the course, making for an estimated 28,000 Scouts who tried the event at the four Action Centers over the nine day Jamboree.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Be sure the check out part One, Two, Three, and Four of Senior Curator Philip Schreier's reports on the Boy Scouts of America's 100th Anniversary at the National Jamboree in Ft. A.P. Hill, Virginia.

Philip Schreier, Senior Curator from the NRA National Firearms Museum, continues his reports from the Boy Scouts of America's National Jamboree in Ft. A.P. Hill, Virginia:

NRA Rocks Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree: Part 4
By: Philip Schreier

Action is the word of the day at the Scout Jamboree and the Action Centers is where it is at. The 76,000 acre Ft. A. P. Hill, which is host to the National Jamboree for the 8th time since 1981, has four separate Action Centers scattered around the reservation. Each Action Center has a Trap Shooting venue and when we visited, Action Center C was being run by Art Schneyer of Durango, Colorado.

An NRA Life member and NRA Training Counselor, Art is just one of 27 staff members, all NRA Certified, who assist up to 400 Scouts a day in learning proper firearms safety and shotgun handling before they try their hands at shooting brand new commemorative 20ga. Remington BSA 870 Wingmaster shotguns. Each Scout gets to shoot 5 shells at clay pigeons thrown from an automatic trap thrower. Scouts who volunteer to help load the trap machines qualify to shoot an additional 5 rounds.

Dedicated Scouts who endure the long lines to shoot can actually finish off the most difficult of the requirements for Shotgun Shooting Merit Badge at the Action Centers.

When you multiply all the numbers by 4, the number of Action Centers, you will quickly find out that in the 9 days of the Jamboree, over 14,400 Scouts will fire 75,000 rounds at the Trap Shooting Action Centers staffed by over 100 trained and dedicated NRA Training Counselors and Certified Instructors.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Be sure the check out Part One, Two, and Three of Senior Curator Philip Schreier's reports on the Boy Scouts of America's 100th Anniversary at the National Jamboree in Ft. A.P. Hill, Virginia.

Philip Schreier, Senior Curator from the NRA National Firearms Museum, brings NRAblog another report from the Boy Scouts of America's National Jamboree in Ft. A.P. Hill, Virginia:

NRA Rocks Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree: Part 3
By: Philip Schreier

The National Venture Crew Staff has expanded their Action Center at this Jamboree with a Wild West theme, complete with an OK Corral shooting center. This is the third Jamboree that Venture Scouts have staffed an exciting experience that goes far beyond the traditional boundaries of most scouting programs. As with the last three Jamborees, the National Rifle Association has a popular and prominent presence.

 

NRA intern Brett Connors displays a Crossman Nightstalker air rifle used at the OK Corral. (Photo by Philip Schreier)

In the OK Corral, scouts can take a seat on the 12 point firing line and shoot 12 rounds from Crossman 1077 air rifles at falling steel plate targets. The top 6 shooters from each relay get a chance to try shooting the Crossman Nightstalker air rifles in a darkened cave-like enclosure using illuminated targets and laser sights.

 

The Venture Staff has run nearly 700 scouts a day through the OK Corral. During the 8 full days of Jamboree, the OK Corral could realize 5,600 very happy scouts.

----------------------------------------------------------------

Be sure the check out Part One and Two of Senior Curator Philip Schreier's reports on the Boy Scouts of America's 100th Anniversary at the National Jamboree in Ft. A.P. Hill, Virginia.

Philip Schreier, Senior Curator from the NRA National Firearms Museum, brings us another report from the Boy Scouts of America's National Jamboree in Ft. A.P. Hill, Virginia:

NRA Rocks Boy Scouts of America National Jamboree: Part 2
By: Philip Schreier

(Ft. A. P. Hill, Virginia) - Of the 46,000 scouts here at Fort A.P. Hill for the National Jamboree, only 700 a day will get the chance to participate in one of the newest and most popular venues to ever make an appearance at a Jamboree. More popular than rappelling or SCUBA diving, Camp Thunder is an action shooting venue where scouts get to experience a modified 5 stand sporting clays event with 12 gauge shotguns.

Camp Thunder is laid out to accommodate 50 scouts at a time, each taking his place in groups of 5 at one of the ten 5 stand positions. Scouts first go through a 20 minute safety training class conducted by one of the 52 staff members, all of whom are either NRA Training Counselors, Certified Instructors or Range Safety Officers. Then they proceed to the firing line after picking up safety glasses, hearing protection and a Beretta A3901 12ga shotgun. The 28" barreled Beretta was specially made for the Jamboree with a stunning engraving of the 100th Anniversary of Scouting Jamboree logo on the left side of the frame.

With shotgun in hand they step up to one of the shooting positions and wait until the coach hands them 2 rounds to insert into the gun. Each scout gets to shoot 10 rounds, 5 groups of 2 rounds each at clay pigeons flying away and incoming. Some are singles, simo-doubles and doubles on report. The scouts are using Federal Premium ammo, 2 3/4" shells with 1oz #8 shot. As a special souvenir, all of the Federal ammo also bears the Jamboree logo.

 

Philip Schreier, Senior Curator for the NRA National Firearms Museum, sent NRAblog the following report from the 15th Annual National Gun Show in Kansas City, Missouri:

Brumbaugh takes Best of Show at NRA's 15th Annual National Gun Show
By: Philip Schreier

(Kansas City, Missouri) - On July 23 - 25, the NRA sponsored it's 15th Annual National Gun Show in Kansas City, Missouri hosted by the Missouri Valley Arms Collectors Association during their 40th Anniversary Show. In addition to the 1,000 trade tables, there were 47 exhibitors who competed for over $11,000.00 in NRA display awards.

NRA judges made the rounds evaluating some of the finest collections of historic arms ever presented in public. From multi-barreled flint-lock combination guns to Barrett .50 sniper rifles, the displays were some of the best we have ever seen.

Winning overall best of show earned Kirk Brumbaugh of Omaha, Nebraska the E. Andrew Mowbray Excellence in Exhibitry Silver Bowl and $4,000.00 in cash from the NRA with his stunning exhibit of Vickers Machine Guns. Other notable exhibits included the M. 1895 Gatling Gun, SN 1041, one of the 4 Gatlings used by Lt. John Parker at San Juan Hill, Cuba on July 1st, 1898 and excellent historic displays of Colt Woodsman and High Standard .22 pistols. All the exhibits were of 1st class quality and the staff of the NRA thanks each and every one of the participants and visitors to this remarkable event.

The 16th Annual NRA National Gun Collectors Show will be held in Dallas, Texas August 20 - 21, 2011.

Philip Schreier, Senior Curator ffom the NRA National Firearms Museum, brings us the following report from the Boy Scouts of America's National Jamboree in Ft. A.P. Hill, Virginia:

NRA Rocks BSA National Jamboree
By: Philip Schreier

(Ft. A. P. Hill, Virginia) - Over 46,000 Boy Scouts, Leaders and Staff have descended upon Ft. A. P. Hill, Virginia for the next 10 days to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Boy Scouts of America. In this, their 17th National Jamboree, Ft. A. P. Hill is now the 14th largest community in the state of Virginia and the NRA has a powerful presence there, as they have ever since Marksmanship was adopted as a merit badge back in 1911.

NRA HQ staff, training counselors, certified instructors and range safety officers have volunteered to help the BSA run and manage the many shooting sports related activity areas. Scouts can complete most requirements for the Rifle Shooting and Shotgun Shooting merit badges as well as shoot air rifles, shotguns on the trap range, and targets in the "OK Corral" set up in the Venturing Program Area. New to the Jamboree this year is Camp Thunder, an activity area where scouts get to experience the thrill of shooting 20ga shotguns in a modified 5 Stand Sporting Clays event.

Between now and August 4th, we will bring you news of all of these activities and more as the Jamboree progresses.

The Missouri Valley Arms Collectors Association, an NRA affiliate since 1953, hosts its 40th Annual Kansas City National Summer Arms Show in Kansas City, Missouri, this coming weekend.

If you’re in the area, stop by to see the many different exhibits competing for 10 Special Judge’s Awards for Exceptional Collector Exhibits, The People’s Choice Award, Gun Report Magazine’s Best Educational Award, and many more.

The 15th Annual NRA Gun Collectors Show is sure to be one of the event’s most exciting exhibits. NRA’s own National Firearms Museum Director Jim Supica and Senior Curator Phil Schreier will be on hand to display the world-famous .44 Magnum from Dirty Harry, currently housed at the Museum’s Hollywood Guns exhibit.

The Summer Arms Show is open to the public. The hours are 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Friday, July 23; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, July 24; and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Sunday, July 25.

Admission is only $8 for adults and free for children under 12, and the address is the K.C.I. Exp. Center, 11730 N. Ambassador, Kansas City, MO, 64195. Find more information here, and check back with NRAblog for a recap on winners and more! 

Thanks to Phil Schreier of the NRA National Firearm Museum for the following piece outlining the importance of the Maltese Falcon. Schreier is pictured below in his first "Phil Noir" segment of Curator's Corner for NRA News.

Early on in Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon, Sam Spade’s partner, Miles Archer, is shot while shadowing a man named Thursby. In a first edition of the novel, on page 17, Sam appears at the scene of the crime and his friend, police detective Tom Polhaus displays the weapon he found that was used to kill Miles. Sam replies to Detective Polhaus’s question about the gun’s maker: “Yes, Webley-Fosbery automatic revolver. Thirty-eight, eight shot. They don’t make them any more.”

Indeed, they don’t make them any more – and they haven’t since 1925. The Webley-Fosbery was the brainchild of General George Vincent Fosbery, VC of Great Britain. He designed the world’s first commercially successful automatic revolver in 1895, and nearly 4,000 of them were produced up through the end of World War I.

It’s said that the Fosbery was the answer to a question no one ever asked. Today it remains one of the great collectible arms that falls into the category of curiosa.

In the internet-savvy world of today, anyone reading Falcon for the first time could simply pull up an image from Wikipedia to see and understand what it was Detective Polhaus and Sam Spade were talking about. But in the 1930’s, such resources weren’t even dreamt of, and an automatic revolver in .38 caliber must have been a sensation akin to Flash Gordon's ray gun.

Adapting Hammett’s novel into a film script garnered an Academy Award nomination for director John Huston – but it was easy work, as he faithfully copied every nuance of the written word into lines that Bogart would later immortalize. The script as written by Huston had Spade stating exactly what was written on page 17 of the book. Yet when it comes time to watch and hear Bogart actually speak the lines, we hear something very different:

SPADE: Yeah, Webley-Fosbery .45 automatic, eight shot. They don’t make them anymore.

Well, someone got something mixed up; as they say, “there is many a slip twixt the cup and the lip.” The Fosbery was produced in both .455 and .38 calibers. It was also produced in six and eight shot models, however, it was only produced in an eight shot version in the .38 caliber configuration. There was no eight shot .45 Webley-Fosbery. In the film, Officer Tom holds the revolver out for Sam to inspect. The gun in the film is unquestionably the six shot, .455 caliber version. So Bogey is only half wrong.

More...