Checking out the Shooters in Fairfax

For the whole time I've lived in NOVA I've been aware of t he NRA Headquarters in Fairfax. I've driven countless times past their building next to Rte 66 and seen the signs on Rte 50, always saying to myself that one day I would drop in and have a look. So with Sunday being a miserable grey and rainy day I decided it was time to go.

The website boasts of the museum housing the finest collection of firearms in the world but I wasn't expecting to see that much and was assuming I'd be in and out within 30 minutes. Well I was wrong. This was in fact a large area and it was quite impressive to see so many guns in one area. I didn't know where to look first.

I decided to check out the pistols first as I've always loved them. I really liked the clean lines and simplicity of this Swiss gun.

But this Smith & Wesson was my favorite and if I had been able to hold it, I wouldn't have given it back. I had a hard time pulling myself away from this gun to look at the rest of the museum.

These Colt pistols were quite pretty but I'd determined as I walked around that I wasn't really into all the 'pretty' guns.

I loved these displays of ammunition.

There were also a few 'back then' displays which were very well done.

Of course there had to be a statue of Charlton Heston, a very good likeness, in his favorite role of Will Penny.

There was also a movie room with posters and weapons used in many famous films. It was an impressive collection. There was also a NRA store and here I bought my first ever shot glass.  I found that I'd spent about an hour and a half walking around but I'm going to go back at some point and read more about some of the guns. And to see that Smith & Wesson again...