This feature appears in the July ’16 issue of NRA America’s 1st Freedom, one of the official journals of the National Rifle Association.
From their Wyoming Armory in Cheyenne, the Freund brothers, Frank and George, created the finest in frontier sporting arms. Modifying falling-block Sharps rifles with custom breechblocks, lockplates and sights, Freund & Bro. built arms uniquely suited to the demands of the mountains and plains, shooting conditions far removed from the East.
These two .40-caliber Freund Improved Sharps rifles illustrate the “Boss Gun,” a 30-inch tang-sighted gun engraved “American Frontier,” as well as a lighter 28-inch rifle delicately engraved with the figure of a Freund Indian holding a tomahawk and the name “Peirre Lorillard”—possibly referring to Pierre Lorillard, a wealthy tobacco heir and thoroughbred horse-racing enthusiast. Both rifles are now featured in a new exhibition in the galleries showcasing the extensive arms collection of lender Peter Dowd.
The NRA National Firearms Museum at NRA Headquarters in Fairfax, Va.; the NRA National Sporting Arms Museum at Bass Pro Shops in Springfield, Mo.; and the Frank Brownell Museum of the Southwest at the NRA Whittington Center in Raton, N.M.; each have fine selections of historic arms on display. Admission to each is free, and donations are gratefully accepted. For more information, visit nramuseums.com, phone (703) 267-1600 or email [email protected].
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