Colonel North takes a break from Fox to share Memorial Day stories with NRANews

Fairfax, Virginia - Today you're celebrating Memorial Day with family and friends. Maybe there's a cookout, a parade or a visit to a museum on the agenda. Just make sure to get back to you tv set by 5:00pm this afternoon for a special edition of NRANews on Sportsman Channel.

Kicking off the program from inside the National Firearms Museum will be special guest and NRA Board Member Lt. Colonel Oliver North. Taking a break from his busy schedule, Colonel shares stories from his time in the field with the men and women who serve.

Follow the Colonel is Monday regular Philip Schreier. Pulling his regular Curator's Corner duty, Phil provides a two-fer of historic Military rifles ... including one from Colonel North's era.

"We had Colonel North take a closer look at our rifles after the show," said Schreier. "What a thrill."

To hear from Colonel North, and see what Phil brought to the table, tune in to Cam & Company today at 5:00pm on Sportsman Channel -- a Memorial Day special on NRANews.

From Sportsman Channel - Sportsman Channel Introduces a Live Social Media On-air Ticker Featuring Viewer Dedications this Memorial Day

New Berlin, Wisconsin – Sportsman Channel, a leader in outdoor TV for the American Sportsman, is pioneering again in the industry launching outdoor TV’s first-ever live on-air social media feed that will populate viewers’ Memorial Day dedication messages from Twitter using #SPORTSMANHEROES. The content will stream on-air live via ticker throughout the network’s eight-hour long NRA Guns & Gold Marathon, which celebrates “Firearms & Freedom,” beginning at 5pm ET/PT on Monday, May 27, exclusively on Sportsman Channel.

“Because social media has become an everyday platform for many consumers, and complements the TV viewing experience, we wanted to use Twitter to do something unique that allowed our viewers to voice their own tributes and dedications this Memorial Day,” said Gavin Harvey, president and CEO of Sportsman. “This allows our viewers to celebrate and honor memories and loved ones while allowing us to continue to innovate across multiple platforms to provide viewers a more compelling and engaging experience.”

Sportsman Channel will kick-off the ticker content with the first dedication: "Sportsman salutes America's #SPORTSMANHEROES. We appreciate and honor you this Memorial Day and every day!”

Sportsman Channel is the social media leader in the outdoor TV space, developing not only more fans and followers but generating higher engagement rates in almost every category, as well as earning accolades along the way. In only a year, the network went from 140k total social media users/connections to 400k to date. This includes Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Google+, Instagram and Pinterest. Sportsman was also honored this year as a finalist for the CableFAX Best of the Web Awards for “Best Use of Facebook,” selected alongside some of the best-known brands in television including ESPN, CNBC, and AMC.

NRA Guns & Gold Marathon: Every gun has a story. And these stories mean freedom. This Memorial Day, remember our heroes and the guns they brought to battle during the NRA’s Guns & Gold Marathon on Monday, May 27 beginning at 5pm ET/PT, exclusively on Sportsman Channel. Kicking off this eight-hour marathon is the network’s live ground-breaking new series, NRANEWS Cam & Co, with host Cam Edwards live from the NRA Museum tackling the news of the day with special guests. Following Cam & Co, NRA’s Guns & Gold with hosts Jim Supica and Phil Schreier episodes get rolling at 6pm with a brand new episode at 9:00 pm and 12 pm, where Jim and Phil return to the Wanenmacher’s Tulsa Arms Show. There they encounter more unique firearms with one commonality…a great story.

NRA’s Guns and Gold is brought to you by America's foremost advocate of Second Amendment rights, the National Rifle Association (NRA). NRA has four million pro-second amendment members, plus millions more interested in shooting and hunting sports and legislation.

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About Sportsman Channel:
Launched in 2003, Sportsman Channel, and Sportsman HD, is the only television and digital media company fully devoted to the sportsmen and women in the U.S., delivering entertaining and educational programming focused exclusively on hunting, shooting and fishing activities. Sportsman Channel reaches more than 32 million U.S. television households and is available in HD. Visit www.thesportsmanchannel.com, follow on Twitter, @SPORTSMANchnl (twitter.com/SPORTSMANchnl) and Like on Facebook, facebook.com/sportsmanchannel

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Fairfax, Virginia - This weekend is more than just a three-day excuse for shopping, over indulgence and carousing with friends. It's about Memorial Day. The day we remember those men and women who fell in the service of our country. While we don't begrudge those who choose to include the shopping and carousing with friends, we do suggest that you spend the day remembering. Visit a Civil War battlefield, stop by memorial, or tour the National Firearms Museum.

With 15 galleries and almost 3,000 guns on display, the NRA National Firearms Museum covers the history of the United States Armed Forces like no other institution in the United States.

"Our exhibits tell the story of America through firearms. The wars we fought, the battles we won and the sacrifices made by the men and women of our nation's military. Providing a fun, educational setting for our service members to bring their friends and families is an honor that all of us here at the museum welcome." -Jim Supica, Museum Director

Located at 11250 Waples Mill Road in Fairfax, Virginia, the museum is located off exit 57 on Interstate 66. Open from 9:30am to 5:00pm, there is plenty of time to stop by before or after any Memorial Day events you have planned.

Accommodating for groups large and small, the NRA Museum is a perfect passageway for families, friends and all to learn more about one of America's essential building blocks and those who defended us all in battle.

For more on the NRA National Firearms Museum, visit their website at www.nramuseum.org.

The revolvers that cemented Colt's place in firearms history

Houston, Texas - Did you know that Samuel Colt was out of the gun making business? Sure enough, back in 1843, Sam Colt's Patent Arms Manufacturing of Paterson, New Jersey, declared bankruptcy and closed up shop. If it wasn't for an order from Captain Samuel Walker of the Texas Rangers in 1847 (as well a helping hand from Eli Whitney Blake), then his name would have been lost to the collectors and trivia buffs.

But Sam Colt persevered. Persevered well enough that his earlier works, the Paterson and the Walker, are kept in the highest regard by collectors like Frank Graves from the American Society of Arms Collectors. It's also the reason why we are able to share parts of Graves' collection with you tonight on Curator's Corner.

Shot during the Annual Meeting in Houston, Mr. Graves was down in Texas for the annual Gun Collectors competition put on every year by the National Firearms Museum. When he came upon Frank's Colts, our man Philip Schreier (Senior Curator for the National Firearms Museum) knew he had a winner.

"To see a collection of Colts in such good condition is a rare treat," said Scrheier. "But that's what we've come to expect from Frank."

The five and six shot Colts (Paterson and Walker respectively) differ in a number of categories. While the Paterson is lighter and easier to fire, the .44 caliber Walker is a heavier beast that endured as much punishment as it put out.

But don't take our word for it, take the word of Frank and Phil. They've been around these guns for decades and will be sharing the spotlight tonight as NRANews returns to Texas for this week on Curator's Corner (Monday nights at 5:40 on Sportsman Channel).

Dallas Arms Collector brings in .54 caliber rifle to NRA Convention

Houston, Texas - While on the road the Annual Meeting in Houston, the boys from NRANews kidnapped Philip Schreier (Senior Curator for the NRA National Firearms Museum) for the better part of a Sunday afternoon. With Phil hitting the road for an extended stay at your better Best Westerns and Holiday Inns for the better part of two months, there was a need to get a few episodes of Curator's Corner in the can. All they needed was a handful of guns and a quiet corner of the George R. Brown Center. Guess which was easier to find.

As luck would have it, there's a Gun Collector's Competition at every NRA Convention. Handpicking a favorite or two, Phil was about to convince collectors with the top displays to come on camera with a gun and a story. This week's entry comes from Dallas Arms.

Cletus Klein from the Dallas Arms Collectors Association to be specific. Seems Cletus got his hands on an 1850s era Plains Rifle made by a Mr. Samuel Hawken of St. Louis, Missouri. Just what Phil was hoping for.

"To see the exceptional work on such fine guns is a real treat," said Schreier. "There are a lot of people out there with a Hakwen's rifle, but there aren't many people out there with a Hawken rifle like that."

Unfortunately, we weren't able to get a shot of Cletus' rifle, so we're share shots of a similar rifle here at the National Firearms Museum. But that doesn't mean you have to miss it too.

Just make sure to tune in to Sportsman Channel tonight around 5:40pm as Cam & Company presents the latest edition of Curator's Corner from Texas.

From Tennessee to Texas with Elvis Presley's 357 Magnum

Houston, Texas - There was plenty to see during the 142nd NRA Annual Meeting in Texas. Celebrities like Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck and Ted Nugent, manufacturers like Otis, Marlin and Colt along with plenty of shotguns, rifles and pistols for all. But unless you sneaked into a closed set filming of Curator's Corner, you probably didn't see this gun.

What we have here is the gun of royalty. The King. Elvis himself.

"Mr. Tom Morgan, from Whiteville, Tennessee brought in a Smith & Wesson 357 Magnum Revolver, serial number 688344," explained National Firearms Senior Curator Philip Schreier. "According to the pictures and provenance, this highly engraved and inlaid revolver once belong to Elvis Aaron Presley."

As the story goes, Elvis bought the revolver - carved and inlaid with gold and silver designs including a bear, bobcat, moose, mountain lion, puma, deer and antelope - from a sporting goods store in Beverly Hills. The gun, along with a personalized "Elvis" carrying case, traveled with the King everywhere.

In fact, it was momentarily in the possession of then Vice President Spiro Agnew ... who returned it due to concerns about the King's legal standings. In time the 357 Magnum (along with pictures of the Elvis with the gun and the registration) made it way to Mr. Morgan. He was nice enough to bring it to the NRA Convention.

Now if you didn't make it to the convention, or you weren't invited to the closed set, that doesn't mean you're out of luck. You can still see it this afternoon on Sportsman Channel around 5:40pm eastern time during another edition of NRANews.

Pirate Pistols, Revolutionary Shotguns and Buffalo Rifles at NRA Convention

Houston, Texas - With great old guns comes great responsibilities. Okay, so that's a touch to close to Spiderman, but the principal is pretty much the same. But let's go a step further. That's accept the face that with great old guns come great old stories. And there there plenty of great stories to be had yesterday at the NRA Antique Guns and Gold Showcase.

Manned by experts throughout the firearm industry, including Guns & Ammo writers and Blue Book of Gun Values publishers (along with a few cats from the National Firearms Museum), the Antique Guns and Gold Showcase was an opportunity for people to bring in that rifle, pistol or shotgun that's be sitting in the closet for ages and find out what it's worth. Better yet, some even had a story to go along with the guns.

One great tale came for a young lady who brought in her father's shotgun.

"We found it when we cleaned out my mother's house. My dad sold truck parts and I'm sure that he traded some part for this gun somewhere down the line. Course we had no idea what it was so we brought it here and found out it's a Darne."

"Our expert here, Steve I think his name is, said we need to take this to an auction house and we should come back with a tidy sum."

Another one dates back to the Mexican Revolution.

"My Grandfather used this shotgun to fight off revolutionaries during the Mexican Revolution," said one Texas native. "They came into town, started shooting things up, and he protected his home and my grandmother with this shotgun.

"Years later, my mother used it to fight off a robber. So this gun has a very important history with my family. It helped protect generations."

Others arrived with claims of famous outlaws, legendary movie stars, wild west shootouts and even a pirate tale or two. Frankly, there was so much going on that we probably missed some real treasures.

Luckily we weren't the safety net. That job was left to the hosts of NRA's Guns and Gold (Monday nights on Sportsman Channel).

There with a seven cameras, dozens and lights and all the expertize that one could hope for, all of our experts funneled the truly amazing guns to the Jim Supica and Philip Schreier. There, on camera, they told the owners about the manufacturer of the gun, the history of the gun and finally the price of the gun.

While we can't go into the details here, trust me when I say they were something to behold.

But that doesn't mean you're never going to see those guns. In fact, if you tune into Season Three of NRA's Guns and Gold on Sportsman Channel, then you'll have a front row view.

Until then, here's a look at the wonders we did see:

Five guns from the NRA Museum tell the history of America

Fairfax, Virginia - Remember when we told you how The Blaze TV came down to Fairfax for a look at a few of our treasured guns here at the National Firearms Museum?

Remember how everyone kept asking when that footage was going to hit the air?

Well we finally have you're answer ... today at 5.

Closer to 5:40pm according to producers of the show. And we'd like to think they have a little insight when it comes to the schedule.

Launched by political commentator Glenn Beck (the keynote speaker for the Annual Meeting's Stand & Fight Rally), The Blaze is a news website/television network. An internet bound entity at first, The Blaze is airing on the Dish Network.

As we told you in the original article, the primary focus of the shoot was the Mayflower Gun. Discovered in a secret hiding place inside original Mayflower colonist John Alden's home, the Mayflower Gun is believed to be the first firearm to reach American soil.

Other guns that made the list include:

• A Brown Bess Flintlock Musket
• A Sharps Rifle
• Roosevelt's Model 3 Fabrique Nationale Model 1900 Semi Automatic Pistol
• A 1911 pistol carried by Congressional Medal of Honor award recipient Joe Foss

Each gun highlights a significant point in American History, be that an important point in American History or an important point in the evolution of firearms. Either way, there are plenty of firearms to choose from here inside the NRA Museum.

"When we welcome a tour or a film crew to the National Firearms Museum, it's not long before you see their eyes light up," said NRA Museum Director Jim Supica. "Their blown away by the size of the collection and the stories behind the guns. It's a great way to learn more about America's history."

You will have your chance to learn a little more history by tuning into The Blaze TV at 5:40 this afternoon.