NRA's Frank Brownell Museum of the Southwest opens Saturday

The Frank Brownell Museum of the Southwest, housed at the NRA's Whittington Center, opens this Saturday, August 30. The grand opening of the highly anticipated museum highlights 130 firearms that contributed to the exploration and development of the southwest, specifically the northern New Mexico region.

The Frank Brownell Museum of the Southwest is funded by a generous donation from Frank Brownell of Montezuma, Iowa, the CEO of Brownells, one of the nation's largest gunsmithing and firearms accessory businesses. The museum is a welcomed addition to the 33,300-acre, world-class shooting facility, which attracts 200,000 visitors a year.

Life-size mannequins depict the uniforms, firearms, and equipment used by Union Soldiers at the 1862 battle of Glorieta; the men from Raton who served in Troop G of Theodore Roosevelt’s Rough Riders in the Spanish American War; and the men of New Mexico who served in the famed Thunderbird Division (45th) in the Second World War.

The Whittington Center, established in 1973, will become home to the largest collection of firearms and related memorabilia on display in the state. One section of the museum illustrates New Mexico's history, from the earliest days of the Spanish conquest through the modern era. Other sections showcase firearms used in hunting the six species of game found on the center's sprawling preserve and the firearms used in any number of the regional, national, and international shooting matches held at the center's world-class ranges.

The museum is open year round, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays. It is located 10 miles southwest of Raton off Highway 64. Call (575) 445-3615 for more information.