Cody Firearms Museum — Attraction in Cody

Having visited the Firearms Museum before the 2019 renovation, I anticipated a great experience when I returned recently to see the renovated and expanded museum.

Pros: A huge inventory of firearms from various periods, including unique and unusual items. Bill Ruger’s Hawken collection, which is nicely displayed. Many Browning prototypes and the Olin collection of Winchesters.

Cons: Lots of wasted space. Most of the items are in drawers (for use of space, but I thought lots of wasted space could have been utilized for a better display.) Randomly organized. Poor lighting downstairs along with items displayed in drawers prevents seeing much detail or color. Many of the information cards are obviously incorrect. Examples: a Remington Model 513S manufactured about 1940 is listed as a model 613 made in 1907; a Winchester Model 94 in .44 Magnum is listed as “.43 caliber.” (.429 bore rounded to .43, but the cartridge designation would be more useful); a Glock 32 is listed as a .357 “magnum.” Many, many examples of such errors exist.

Overall, I was very disappointed in the new museum, but I appear to be in the minority based on the other reviews. Just my opinion. Your...

Muslims are required by their faith to go to Mecca once in their lives. The Cody Firearms Museum has the same requirement for gun nerds.

An astonishingly, exhaustingly comprehensive collection of all things that go bang and can be carried by a single person. Budget two days. Sensory overload kicks in after a few hours and at that point you've only covered about a fifth of what's there.

And (John Moses Browning) there are THREE OTHER MUSEUMS under the same roof. Seriously - two days minimum. Anything less and you'll just have to come back. Bring money. Pack a lunch. It's a world-class firearms museum. Take your time...

As a prior visitor, I was stunned by how much was lost in the 2019 remodel. What was once a dense, encyclopedic archive of firearms - where you could spend hours absorbing detail - has been stripped down to a lowest-common-denominator experience. Interactive exhibits and broad thematic galleries now take precedence over deep history and rare displays. My first visit in 2016 and subsequent visit in 2018 were all-day affairs. My return in 2024 barely lasted an hour and change. I left disappointed, not because it was bad - but because it used to be brilliant. I don't think ill be making the trip to...