We set out to find a ghost town.  Just a meandering drive through Oklahoma, curious because of something we’d seen on television.

As we approached Claremore, we decided to take a side trip to the Will Rogers Museum.    http://www.willrogers.com/     We were there, after all.

Then while wandering back through the town, we saw a gun museum.

“Guns!” exclaimed Bo. “Let’s go see guns!”

I’ve told you that I collect coffee mugs.  Compared to this museum, my collection of around 175 mugs is kind of like that first knife that was drawn on Crocodile Dundee – when he said “Knife?  You call that a knife?  Now THIS is a knife!” Well, THIS was a collection.

Various accounts list the collection at the J.M.Davis Arms and Historical Museum as consisting of 20,000 to 50,000 guns and other items.  Further investigation (and exploring the museum) reveals that the number includes 12-15,000 guns, and  the rest is knives ( yes, Dundee’s is probably here), saddles, Native American artifacts, and other historical items.  Knowing that the museum only houses part of the collection – some are either too precious, being repaired, or kept private – I had no trouble believing the figure.  http://www.thegunmuseum.com/

On the way back, he remembered another place with guns, so we went through Berryville, Arkansas ( Yeah…Bo was on a roll) and visited the Saunders Museum.  There’s a collection of 400 handguns, and more rifles, Native American pieces, and items collected as the Saunders’ traveled through various countries in the late 1800′s –  early 1900′s.  Impressive.  http://www.berryville.com/museum.html

As a novice gun-person, I am both awed and dismayed that there are so many different kinds of weapons which we call guns.  The craftsmanship on some of them is wondrous – truly artistic.  Others are obviously only concerned with the art of killing.

Sort of says something about us, doesn’t it?

Oh – I’ll tell you about the ghost town later…..