One of NRA’s most public and best-known figures in the gun world—and its leading voice when it comes to firearms, history and our Second Amendment heritage—E. Philip Schreier III has been appointed director of NRA Museums. “Phil,” to his friends, has been an NRA National Firearms Museum staff curator for 33 years, starting as a curatorial assistant in 1989 at the previous National Firearms Museum in Washington, D.C., before being elevated to senior curator, a position he served in for most of his decades-long career.
He has fulfilled many roles, including as manager of the NRA Gun Collecting Department—a tenure that saw him attend literally thousands of gun shows across the country and world—as well as senior curator of exhibits. It was in the latter post that his vision for firearms, freedom and the American experience took shape in the form of NRA’s National Firearms Museum that opened in 1997 at NRA’s relocated headquarters in Fairfax, Va. Through its exhibit cases and the more than 2,000 firearms on display, Schreier’s storytelling and ability to make the history of firearms relatable to everyday Americans shines every day.
An Eagle Scout, Schreier worked in a host of jobs for nearly a decade at Goshen Scout Camps ranging from rifle range instructor to shooting sports director and then program director, earning NRA Certified Instructor credentials in multiple disciplines. He attended the University of Maryland, then was briefly a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms inspector before joining NRA as a staff curator.
Schreier has been a face of NRA on television and the Internet for decades. He was one of the anchors of the popular History Channel program “Tales of the Gun” early in his career, as well as more recent shows such as “Lock N’ Load” with his close friend and NRA Director, the late R. Lee Ermey. He, along with former NRA Museums Director Jim Supica, co-hosted “Gun Gurus” on the Outdoor Channel. He also has appeared on “Gun Stories” with Joe Mantegna, and he has appeared in every episode of “American Rifleman Television” since the show’s inception and first broadcast in 2003. NRA Publications Editorial Director Mark Keefe told Schreier at the time,“ We won’t do this without you, Phil,” and they have not. Schreier was also one of the main voices for NFMs “Curator’s Corner,” which can be viewed on YouTube.
Schreier has also written hundreds of articles for American Rifleman, American Hunter, America’s 1st Freedom, Shooting Illustrated (for which he is a Field Editor), Man At Arms, Wild West, Guns & Ammo, Surplus Firearms, Military History Illustrated and a host of others.
An avid gun collector, he is a member of the American Society of Arms Collectors and the Company of Military Historians, plus too many other gun-collecting organizations to list here.
Executive Director of General Operations Joseph P. DeBergalis Jr. said, “There is no one who loves and shares his passion for firearms better than Phil Schreier.” He added, “Phil will ensure the unique American heritage of the Second Amendment will continue to be told every day at the National Firearms Museum, the National Sporting Arms Museum and the Frank Brownell Museum of the Southwest.” For more information go to nramuseum.org.
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