Firearms history

In 1901, William F. Cody was photographed on a group hunting trip near Yellowstone National Park’s East entrance. Cody Firearms Museum Curator Danny Michael says he’s carrying an 1895 Winchester rifle.

Cody Firearms Museum Curator Danny Michael says a lever action shotgun shows a different side to the man.

Elizabeth, nicknamed Plinky, and her husband Adolph Topperwein rose to fame as a sharpshooting duo known as the “Fabulous Topperweins.” They showcased their marksmanship skills on stage in the first half of the 20th century touring for nearly four decades

Around 20 rifles at the Cody Firearms Museum came from Coors Brewing Company. Curator Danny Michael said Coors used these firearms in the 1980’s to try and revive a target shooting festival that combined marksmanship with beer drinking.

William F. Cody might not have become “Buffalo Bill” without an 1866 Springfield trapdoor needle gun. That’s according to Danny Michael, curator of the Cody Firearms Museum at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West.

One of the firearms Roosevelt used on the trip, an 1895 Winchester lever action rifle, is now on display at the museum. Michael says the highly embellished rifle tells us a bit about who Roosevelt was as a hunter.