Is the NRA Whittington Center worth a visit?
- Thread starter MCMXI
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dprice3844444
member
your driving past it,might as well
YES!
Double Naught Spy
Sus Venator
If you are going to go and shoot, then heck yes. I am not sure that I would visit it otherwise. It is just a big gun range that you can drive around and look at some of the shooting areas, but that isn't a terribly exciting stop unless wide open space gun range is part of your particular interests.
We go there as often as possible. It's probably the nicest range you've ever seen. Also, housing is very affordable if you want to stay a night or two. They have greatly upgraded the museum.
Check to make sure nothing big is going on when you're going to be there. Their website is much better than it used to be:
www.nrawc.org
Check to make sure nothing big is going on when you're going to be there. Their website is much better than it used to be:
www.nrawc.org
If you have the time and you're going through Oklahoma, I HIGHLY recommend the 45th Infantry Museum in Oklahoma City http://www.45thdivisionmuseum.com/ , and the J.M. Davis Gun Museum in Claremore, just NE of Tulsa http://www.thegunmuseum.com/ . These are two AWESOME museums and well worth the time to visit! The Davis is the largest private gun collection in the world and is mind-blowing.
There's also the Woolaroc Museum, but that's a little harder to get to and would take a whole day in itself. http://www.woolaroc.org/ Also a very incredible place, the estate and private collections of the founder of Phillips Petroleum.
There's also the Woolaroc Museum, but that's a little harder to get to and would take a whole day in itself. http://www.woolaroc.org/ Also a very incredible place, the estate and private collections of the founder of Phillips Petroleum.
Thanks everyone for your very helpful replies. I'll be shipping the vast majority of my firearms to Arkansas but will have some nice 1911s with me. I figured at the very least I could spend a couple of hours on the IPSC steel range, visit the museum and then spend a few hours exploring Raton. There doesn't seem to be anything going on at the Whittington Center when I plan to be there so I should be able to do some shooting (I'll call ahead to make sure). I'll be driving from LA to Flagstaff (470 miles), Flagstaff to Raton (550 miles), Raton to Oklahoma City (440 miles) and finally Oklahoma City to Little Rock (340 miles) so a one day layover in Raton will make for a nice break from the road.
rondog, a big thanks to you for this excellent suggestion. I will most definitely take the time to visit the 45th Infantry Museum in Oklahoma City. OC is on my route and it's my last stopover before Little Rock.
rondog said:
rondog, a big thanks to you for this excellent suggestion. I will most definitely take the time to visit the 45th Infantry Museum in Oklahoma City. OC is on my route and it's my last stopover before Little Rock.
MarshallDodge
Member
I have been down there several times and enjoyed it, especially with THR folks.
Check out the old mine while you are there.
Check out the old mine while you are there.
4v50 Gary said:
Well, it looks like I'll be spending a couple of nights at the St. James Hotel so I'll definitely eat dinner there at least one night. I'll be counting the bullet holes in ceiling between courses!
rondog said:
As a follow up on your excellent suggestions, I'll be in Oklahoma City on a Monday and the 45th Infantry Museum is closed on Mondays. So now I've decided to take an 80 mile detour and visit the J.M. Davis Gun Museum in Claremore instead.
This will be a nice firearms themed road trip. Staying at the historic St. James Hotel, shooting at (visiting) the NRA Whittington Center and visiting the J.M. Davis Gun Museum.
Thanks to everyone for your suggestions.
Just arrived at the NRA Whittington Center and will be out at the IPSC range if anyone wants to shoot a couple of Ed Browns or Dan Wessons. The St. James Hotel is wonderful. I even managed to buy a couple of custom knives from Steven Rick who was in the bar at the hotel last night. Sure is some lovely country up here.
Yep, the NRA Whittington Center and the St. James Hotel sure are worth a visit.
Yep, the NRA Whittington Center and the St. James Hotel sure are worth a visit.
hirundo82
Member
rondog said:
Is it good for a whole day's visit? I'm looking for a destination for a roadtrip while I have some time off in January, and that looks interesting.
I don't know about a whole day, but several hours there is no problem. There's guns there that will flat amaze you. Personally, I get bored walking around looking at guns for hours, and my feet protest loudly. There's lots of other cool stuff there, but still, a whole day in a museum? Brutal.
If you're going to Oklahoma, consider the other two I mentioned, the 45th Infantry Museum in OKC and the Woolaroc in Bartlesville. Both excellent, and the Woolaroc will amaze you, it's got all kinds of things, guns are just a small part of it. And the 45th Infantry Museum is in an area of OKC that has several other museums that I've never been to that sound very interesting, like a Firefighters Museum for one.
I don't know if this'll work, but here's a link to my Photobucket album of the 45th Infantry Museum. I haven't made an album yet for the J.M Davis Museum. http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b150/rinselman/guns/45th Infantry Museum/?albumview=slideshow
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Double Naught Spy
Sus Venator
I don't think you will need a few hours to explore Raton, LOL.
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