Aussie traveling through US - where to visit

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jrckelley

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Hi Guys,

long time reader (dont post much -mainly on an aus board) but i enjoy reading about things I cant own. That being said, Australia aint as bad as you probably imagine regarding owning guns. If your committed and willing to jump through some hoops, you can still get pretty much any pistol and any rifle excluding semi auto centre fire (there is even an avenue for that - however due to import restrictions (ie supply constraint) they are priced like your NFA item. $10,000+ for a semi ar15 - so no point for me at the moment). I am just finishing a 12foot x12 foot concrete strong room for my collection if thats a guide to my own items.

any ways, I will be travelling through the US at the end of april and was hoping to visit some places of note, regarding firearms (in the same way i'll be visiting car museums, famous food outlets, national parks and bars - basically stuff that appeals to me).

Last trip I stopped by the machine gun range in Vegas vbut I am looking to go beyond that this time (although i love wearing my bullet riddled t-shirt at inappropriate times).

Are there any good museums to visit (like the Royal Armouries in leeds england) or do any of the manufacturers have museums?

I am also thinking of doping by the Rocky Mountain Machine Gun Shoot if it ends up going ahead (similar to knobb creek which has unfortunately been cancelled).

If any one has any recommendation of good ranges to go where i can have a go of some unique items, that would be much appreciated (a 1000 yard range for a 50 would be nice).

I am traveling from the 21st of April and I will be covering alot of ground by car. I am pretty flexible with my plans. Broadly speaking i will be driving from LA to Chicago then down to Arkansas then back to LA (stopping along the way).

I know I am asking for a fair bit of info and I appreciate any feed back. I cant get enough of the US. I have been all over the world and the US (particularly the people) cant be beat (beside AUS of course).

cheers,
 
Corvette Museum and a build plant- Bowling Green Kentucky

I got a tour of the build plant, went to the museum and they let me start a 'Vette and drive it off the assembly line.
 
you might consider the jm davis gun museum in claremore oklahoma...it is the largest private gun collection in the world (so they say)...lots of western historical stuff there too.
 
New Orleans is a pretty good drive from Arkansas, but it is home to the National WW2 Museum, which is quite an experience from both a historical and weapons perspective. If you have the available time, it is well worth the visit.
 
jrckelley said:
Hi Guys,


Last trip I stopped by the machine gun range in Vegas vbut I am looking to go beyond that this time (although i love wearing my bullet riddled t-shirt at inappropriate times).

Are there any good museums to visit (like the Royal Armouries in leeds england) or do any of the manufacturers have museums?

I am also thinking of doping by the Rocky Mountain Machine Gun Shoot if it ends up going ahead (similar to knobb creek which has unfortunately been cancelled).



cheers,
Click to expand...

There are at least two places other than "The gun Store" in Vegas you should check out.

As for Knob Creek... the April shoot has been canceled, but there is supposed to be an October shoot - basically due to flooding issues. On various forums I've cautioned people about reserving travel and lodging for April shoots - spring just seems to be a bad time of year for that part of Kentucky.
 
If you drive through Waco, Texas the Texas Ranger Museum is there. There is a fake AK 47 at the Bill Clinton Museum Library in Little Rock.
 
I am not sure what part(s) of Arkansas you are planning to pass through, but there is a shooting range in central AR you may want to contact for information about rentals and a day of private instruction. It's called VETS Shooting Center. They have an 850 yard range according to their website and they run long-range precision shooting events, though I did not see a .50 on their rental list, and the owner participates in long-range shooting competitions. Might be worth looking into.
 
I concur with the Browning and Buffalo Bill museums. I have some favorites that might be a little less gun related, but I will share in case you need more stops. I think all of these have websites, so you can search for them on the "interweb" and decide if you want to partake.

From the Cold War:
I just visited the Titan Museum outside Tucson AZ (Suaharita?) and it was a lot more interesting than I thought it would be. It is not a long tour but really cool. You can have lunch at the famous El Guero Canelo in Tucson. You can also go see The Thing outside Benson, which will likely be the worst and cheesiest thing you see in the US.

Almost forgot the other big Tucson attraction: The Pima County Air Museum. If you like planes at all this is a must see. Tucson also has a Cavalry museum that I have not been to.

The National Atomics Museum in Albuquerque is another amazing museum, with lots of deactivated but otherwise real nuclear ordnance. Also some planes and missiles. Also informative displays on some scary nuclear weapon related accidents that used to be closely held secrets.

I think it is called the National Radiological Museum in Las Vegas. Mostly focused on testing of nukes. Another fascinating museum.

Back to guns:
Too bad you aren't going farther East. The National Firearms Museum in the basement of the NRA HQ is really quite good. That also puts you close to Gettysburg which has a great museum and is a fascinating tour. When I lived out that way I used to take people on the self-guided battlefield tour in my car; the visitors center sells a very nice audio CD set with maps.

Speaking of AUS, have you been to the Lithgow factory? I went to that museum a few years ago and it is breathtakingly wonderful.
 
I just wanted to second the Titan missle museum, just did it a couple of weeks ago, they have hourly tours on week days, would love to go back some time for the detailed 5 hour tour done about half a dozen times per year. I was lucky to have a former Titan crew member giving the tour, lots of obscure facts. As to the Pacific War museum in Fredricksburg TX, it is worth doing, but I would not make a special side trip for it, Fredricksburg itself is a bit of a tourist destination in the out of the way bed and breakfast kind of way (lots of great German food). Of course if your going to be in that area don't forget to go see the Alamo in San Antonio, or on second thought maybe forget to see it, last time I was there about 15 years ago (the Alamo, not San Antonio), it was packed shoulder to shoulder with tourist.
 
If you're passing through St. Louis on your way from Chicago to Arkansas, stop and see our Arch. The National Museum of Westward Expansion is located underneath, which is pretty sweet.
 
the wwII museum in new orleans is pretty good. there is the national firearms museum in virginia if you make it that far east. and if you get to ohio stop by dayton and hit up the national air force museum, its pretty awesome
 
Close To Chicago in West Central Wisconsin...

http://www.thehouseontherock.com/

I have been there a few times... The website does not do it justice...

Literally unbelievable.... Life Changing experiance... HUGE collections of everything and anything in a museum like setting ... Huge collection of very antique firearms...

Let me know if you are thinking about checking it out, with a little advanced knowledge, i would be happy to show you the way.. I live in S.E. WI about 1 hr. from Chicago...

Outdoorsman1
 
you might consider the jm davis gun museum in claremore oklahoma...it is the largest private gun collection in the world (so they say)...lots of western historical stuff there too.
Click to expand...

+1
Second the J M Davis gun museum.
 
JRCkelly

If you are going through Colorado you might give this man a call he has a large range and many weapons including a 50 Barrett and a
Browning machine gun call ahead to verify. It is open to the public. He also has many videos on youtube, check it out.
Nick

1225 Dragonman Dr, Colorado Springs, CO 80929
http://dragonmans.com

(719) 683-2200
 
I would suggest you shoot everything you can't shoot over in Aus. Also, if you are able, legally buy and ship an AR-15 back to Australia so you can have one without having to pay $10,000..I am sure there is a way to do that.
 
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