Are you looking for some summertime reading material? Do you enjoy classic hunting adventures from around the globe? Then log on to the NitroExpress.com Forum. There you’ll find links for literally hundreds of vintage hunting stories, and even complete books, such as Teddy Roosevelt’s classic African Game Trails and Good Hunting, plus the wonderful book African Campfires by Stewart E. White, one of Roosevelt’s close friends and hunting companions.
Among the downloadable titles are The Man-Eating Lions of Tsavo (leaflet edition) by Lt.Col. J. H. Patterson, the true tale that inspired the Hollywood movie, The Ghost and the Darkness, staring Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer. The online version of the Man-Eaters of Tsavo book (right) is a shorter, 140-page edition created for Chicago’s Field Museum, which purchased the skins of the lions from Patterson and put them on display.
Today, October 27th, is the birthday of President Theodore (“Teddy”) Roosevelt. An avid explorer, hunter, and firearms enthusiast, Teddy Roosevelt (TR) was a larger-than-life figure who lead this nation as it emerged as a world power.
Theodore Roosevelt — A Great Leader
If you want to learn more about TR, we strongly recommend Theodore Roosevelt on Leadership, a book by noted author and political analyst James Strock. This work captures the vision, commitment, and personal courage that marked Theodore Roosevelt’s career. Theodore Roosevelt was a leader of uncommon strength who, through the sheer force of his extraordinary will, turned America into a modern world power. Thrown headfirst into the presidency by the assassination of his predecessor, he led with courage, character, and vision in the face of overwhelming challenges, whether busting corporate trusts or building the Panama Canal. Roosevelt has been a hero to millions of Americans for over a century.
Story by Lars Dalseide forNRAblog.
Last year, the National Firearms Museum received a shipment from Sagamore Hill — the ancestral home of President Theodore Roosevelt. While Sagamore Hill undergoes renovation, the National Parks Service was kind enough to lend a portion of the estate’s collection to the NRA Museum. That collection now is on display under the exhibit named Trappings of an Icon.
“Basically it tells you about the life of Theodore Roosevelt,” explains Senior Curator Phil Schreier (in photo above in coat). “Hunter, Statesman, Soldier. In the first case we have two firearms from his hunting career. First an 1886 Winchester rifle known as the tennis match gun because he used winnings from a tennis match to purchase the gun.”
The second firearm in the opening case is a suppressed Winchester model 1894 rifle. A favorite of the President’s when clearing the grounds of the local, pesky critters. Schreier explains: “Archie Roosevelt wrote that his father liked to shoot varmints around Oyster Bay with this gun so he wouldn’t disturb the Tiffany and Du Pont families that lived near by.”
For more on the opening of this special Theodore Roosevelt collection, tune in to Curator’s Corner on NRANews and SiriusXM Satellite’s Patriot AND Patriot Plus.
Story based on report by Lars Dalseide for the NRA Blog
The NRA National Firearms Museum will soon showcase the historic Theodore Roosevelt collection in a major exhibit. One highlight of the upcoming exhibit will be a high-grade 1886 Winchester rifle owned and used by Roosevelt before, during, and after his presidency.
Teddy Roosevelt loved Winchester lever guns. In his book Hunting Trips of a Ranchman, Roosevelt wrote: “The Winchester stocked and sighted to suit myself is by all odds the best weapon I ever had, and I now use it almost exclusively[.]”
According to Senior Curator Phil Schreier, this Winchester was highly customized and upgraded for its famous owner. Notable custom features include Monte Carlo cheek piece, checkered pistol grip, flat metal buttstock, and deluxe color case-hardening. Given its beauty, one might doubt that President Roosevelt actually hunted with this rifle — it looks too shiny and new. There’s a reason for that — he kept sending it back.
Records show that Roosevelt’s rifle went back to the Winchester plant on five separate occasions. Each time to be refit and refinished to the President’s specifications. That’s why the rifle remains so pristine more than a century after it was crafted. For more information on this rifle and the Roosevelt Collection, tune in to Curator’s Corner on NRANews.com and Sirius/XM Patriot Satellite Radio.
The NRA’s new television series, Guns & Gold, debuts tonight at 9:00 pm on The Sportsman Channel. The premier episode is well worth watching. Tonight’s episode will feature Winchester firearms. Arms historians Jim Supica and Phil Schreier of the NRA Firearms Museum review some classic Winchesters, explaining the history (and monetary value) of the rifles. In addition, expert Mike Fuljenz of Universal Coin & Bullion appraises treasured guns and coins from homes of everyday collectors.
Watch the video below to preview Guns & Gold, and to learn about Teddy Roosevelt and the Winchester Model 1895. Roosevelt loved the 1895. He famously referred to his 1895, chambered in .405 Winchester, as his “Big Medicine” rifle. Did you know T.R. took a crate of 1895s to Africa for his safaris?
If you miss Monday night’s 9:00 pm premier of Guns & Gold, this same episode will be repeated at 12:00 am (midnight) Tuesday, and 3:30 pm Thursday. For more info, visit NRAgunsandgold.com.
Former President Theodore Roosevelt was the “founding father” of the NRA National Matches*. Teddy Roosevelt believed the world was a dangerous place. To assure peace, Roosevelt believed that America needed to be prepared to fight. At the Opening Ceremony of the 2011 NRA National Championships, Dr. Joseph W. Westphal, Under Secretary of the U.S. Army, echoed the views of Roosevelt, who believed “The first step in the direction of preparation to avert war, if possible, and to be fit for war, if it should come, is to teach men to shoot.”
“Though the world has changed considerably in the last century, it is just as unsettled as it was when President Roosevelt established this competition in 1903,” Dr. Westphal said. Roosevelt, who served as an Army colonel during the Spanish-American War, witnessed firsthand how unprepared U.S. soldiers were victimized in battle. Despite winning the conflict, the U.S. suffered disproportionate casualties due to the lack of firearms training.
In his speech at Camp Perry, Dr. Westphal observed that President Roosevelt was a strong advocate of marksmanship training:
“Reflecting with regret on the casualties the U.S. took in the Spanish-American War, President Roosevelt said: ‘The great body of our citizens shoot less as time goes on. We should encourage rifle practice among schoolboys and indeed among all classes as well as in the military services, by every means of our power. Thus and not otherwise may we be able to assist in preserving peace in the world. The first step in the direction of preparation to avert war, if possible, and to be fit for war, if it should come, is to teach men to shoot.’ “
Westphal Invokes History at Camp Perry Ceremonies
Westphal cautioned that we should not forget the lessons of the past: “So I bring these old historic notes of long-forgotten battles, not because they are curiosities, but because they remind us of why Americans began gathering here over a century ago. It was because they knew the terrible consequences of not being ready for war. In establishing the National Matches at Camp Perry, they promoted the importance of marksmanship in the nation’s defense.”
“Today the Civilian Marksmanship Program trains some 400 marksmanship instructors a year. In addition, 200,000 to 300,000 young people and adults receive training in marksmanship and firearms safety through clubs and junior ROTC,” Westphal said. “The thousands of competitors who will take part in these matches follow on the heels of millions who have benefited directly … from the marksmanship training and safety programs promoted here.”
*In February 1903, an amendment to the War Department Appropriations Bill established the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice (NBPRP). This government advisory board became the predecessor to today’s Corporation for the Promotion of Rifle Practice and Firearms Safety, Inc. that now governs the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP). The 1903 legislation also established the National Matches, commissioned the National Trophy and provided funding to support the Matches. This historic legislation grew out of a desire to improve military marksmanship and national defense preparedness. President Theodore Roosevelt, Secretary of War Elihu Root and NRA President General Bird Spencer were among the most important supporters of this act.
Among the downloadable titles are The Man-Eating Lions of Tsavo (leaflet edition) by Lt.Col. J. H. Patterson, the true tale that inspired the Hollywood movie, The Ghost and the Darkness, staring Michael Douglas and Val Kilmer. The online version of the Man-Eaters of Tsavo book (right) is a shorter, 140-page edition created for Chicago’s Field Museum, which purchased the skins of the lions from Patterson and put them on display.
Former President Theodore Roosevelt was the “founding father” of the NRA National Matches*. Teddy Roosevelt believed the world was a dangerous place. To assure peace, Roosevelt believed that America needed to be prepared to fight. At the Opening Ceremony of the 2011 NRA National Championships, Dr. Joseph W. Westphal, Under Secretary of the U.S. Army, echoed the views of Roosevelt, who believed “The first step in the direction of preparation to avert war, if possible, and to be fit for war, if it should come, is to teach men to shoot.”
Westphal Invokes History
