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  • The NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits: Each year, a designated amount of floor space is made available at no charge to the affiliated gun collector organizations interested in exhibiting collections of firearms for members and the public.

    Future locations and dates for the NRA Annual Meetings & Exhibits are: Phoenix, Arizona, May 15-19, 2009.

  • The National Gun Collectors Committee Awards Program: Since 1960, the Gun Collectors Committee has presented awards to encourage the development and public display of exhibits from affiliated gun collector organizations. These awards are the highest honors that an affiliated club can earn for public exhibits of firearm collections. Top honors in the awards category is the Gun Collectors Committee Trophy, awarded each year for the Most Outstanding Exhibit.

    Other awards include the Best Educational Display Awards, where two plaques are awarded in each of four categories: Antique Arms, Classic Arms, Contemporary Arms and Combined Arms. Special certificates of recognition are awarded to no more than ten exhibits for specialty items and unique groupings.

    Silver medals bearing the official seal of the NRA are awarded to outstanding individual firearms. Up to 10 of these medals can be awarded at each annual meeting. Also, up to three miniature silver medals may be awarded to miniature arms displayed at the meetings.

  • National Gun Collectors Leadership Seminar: Entering its 16th year of operation, the National Gun Collectors Leadership Seminar was designed to provide elected leadership of affiliate organizations with an annual forum to share ideas and information of interest to clubs nationwide. Typical seminar topics have included Q & A sessions with BATF officials, membership recruitment strategies, conservation and care of firearms workshops, information exchanges on safety and insurance coverage concerns.

    The next National Gun Collectors Leadership Seminar will be held July 29-31, 2009, in Anchorage, Alaska.

  • National Gun Collectors Show & Conference: The First Annual NRA National Gun Collectors Show & Conference was held in Nashville, Tenn., September 19-20, 1996. Nearly 4,000 NRA members and gun collectors gathered at the Opryland Hotel for three days of gun trading and selling. With more than 700 tables of quality collector's grade firearms for sale and on exhibit, the Nashville show quickly assumed the title of "The Finest Gun Collectors Show in the Country."

    The 13th Annual National Gun Collectors Show will be held August 9-10, 2008, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

  • National Gun Collectors Show Awards Program: The NRA Gun Collectors Committee authorized the creation of the National Gun Collectors Show Awards Program for excellence of exhibits at the National Gun Collectors Show & Conference. Top honors are recognized by the E. Andrew Mowbray Educational Trophy for Exhibit Excellence.

    The Gun Collectors Awards Competition marked the first time that the NRA recognized and awarded individual arms collectors.

    Over $12,000 in cash awards are made to winning display exhibitors at the National Gun Show on an annual basis. Awards for best Colt, Smith & Wesson, Ruger and military displays are sponsored by their respective clubs as well as the Missouri Valley Arms Collectors Association.

  • Man at Arms Magazine: As "the NRA Journal for the American Arms Collector," Man at Arms provides the gun collecting community with fascinating articles and photographs from the various fields of arms collecting. Published bimonthly, every issue has a special column dedicated to gun collecting news from NRA Headquarters. Through this column, most of the up-to-date information in the field of gun collecting is disseminated to our affiliates. Regular subscription rates are $32.

    Many affiliates have suggested that the NRA needs a magazine just for gun collectors. Some have recommended that we make Man at Arms available as an optional magazine with membership. One reason NRA has not offered this option is that the current circulation of Man at Arms indicates only a relatively small audience of dedicated arms collectors. You and your club members can reverse this trend by encouraging Man at Arms subscriptions. Please call 401-597-5055 or 1-800-999-4697 to subscribe today.

  • The Traveling Exhibit Program of the National Firearms Museum: This program was instituted in 1990 as a way of saying thanks to affiliates who graciously donate financial support to the museum's programs. As many as 18 affiliate visits have been made annually in the past few years. Affiliates currently helping to fund the museum's programs may apply for the traveling exhibit to visit your gun show by calling the Gun Collector Programs Department at 703-267-1601.

  • National Gun Show Awards Program: A little-known but extremely valuable resource for gun show chairmen is the the NRA Gun Show Manual. A guide to safe and efficient gun show operation, this manual highlights the newest awards program administered by the department, the National Gun Show Awards Program. The awards program is designed to recognize affiliated and commercial gun show promoters who run their shows within the spirit of those guidelines described in the show manual. A bargain at $30, the manual is available by calling 703-267-1620.

    Thank you for your continued interest in and support of the Gun Collector Programs of the National Rifle Association of America. Please forward any inquiries and comments to: Philip Schreier, Senior Curator, National Firearms Museum, 11250 Waples Mill Road, Fairfax, VA 22030 or call 703-267-1601.