Steampunk Guns

posted on July 28, 2015
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Michael Ives

An amazing new exhibition is now open at NRA’s National Firearms Museum in Fairfax, Va., and you won’t need to fly a dirigible to see it. Steampunk Guns is the first of several new displays opening in 2015. If you’ve enjoyed films like “Sucker Punch” or “Wild Wild West,” get ready to enjoy an exciting mix of Victorian science fiction, vividly illustrated through the barrel of a gun. Shown below, John Belli’s World’s First Automatic Handgun—just one of our unusual exhibit pieces—reveals what steam power might have done for frontier armaments. 

But if you also want to view “real firearms,” fear not: This exhibit also includes many examples of rare and equally unique collectibles like the “triple threat” Apache revolver and 14-shot Treeby chain gun. 

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 nfmstaff@NRAhq.

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