So during our recent trip to San Antonio, I had the opportunity to tour the Texas Rangers museum inside a local bar. Cost $20 to get in, lots of great taxidermy, and about 40,000 sq ft of interesting information about a number of former Texas rangers...lots of interesting firearms and I thought I'd share some photos of them.






































Robert

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Robert
SWCA #2906, SWHF #760

Those Rangers Law-Dawg’ed with STYLE!

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No school like the old school.

Rangers frequently drifted in and out of the job in the old days. Might start out as a Ranger, later leave and take a job as a county sheriff, city marshal, police chief, etc., maybe become a farmer or rancher for awhile, then go back to being a Ranger again. Texas politics had a lot to do with the fluidity of the job. Frank Hamer did that. At the time of the Bonnie and Clyde ambush, Hamer wasn't a Ranger at all, despite what everyone thinks. He was an agent for the director of the Texas Prison System. Before that he was in the state highway patrol, but wasn't being paid for it.

The real official Texas Ranger Museum is in Waco, not at the Buckhorn Saloon. Far, far better, no comparison possible.

Great museum! No nonsense guys.

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No baby we aint

I went to the Waco Texas Rangers Museum a few months ago and really enjoyed it. Was really surprised at all the 1911 Colt .45s and Commanders.

Occasionally some authentic Texas Ranger guns show up at the San Antonio gun show. Last show there was a Remington Model 81 in .30 Rem. Probably authentic but the provenance documentation was a little sketchy - just copies of the original documents. There is also a sort of semi-official Texas Ranger cemetery close to Bandera, which is not too far from San Antonio.

The Buckhorn museum has a lot of Teddy Roosevelt memorabilia. The Texas Rangers part is well laid out, but small.

The Waco museum is much larger. But what the Buckhorn does have and Waco does not is the replica '36 Bonnie & Clyde Ford V8. The fake bullet holes looked real upon first sight.

And yes, there are a lot of 1911's as well as '73 Colts, various S&W single actions and .357 Magnums on display at both museums.

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View from down under

It was my privilege several years ago to visit the one at Waco. My BIL took me while I was on a short visit there. It is a real education. It probably would take most if not all of one day to properly see it maybe even a day and a half.

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I Cor. 10:13 "1611KJV"

Heck, I remember going to the Lone Star Buckhorn saloon as little sprout. Lone Star Brewery was co-located on Roosevelt Park on the south side of San Antonio and there was a giant public swimming pool there. My brothers and I would catch the bus to go swimming and then go to the saloon to buy a soda and look at all the stuff there. Since Lone Star left that area I did not know where they the stuff moved to.
The Rangers did a lot of work and were given great latitude to ensure the peace an prosperity in a big state.

Back in the day, there were many faked B&C "death cars" traveling around the country. The small town rubes would pay 50 cents so they could brag about seeing it. Pretty simple to make one - buy a similar car, shoot it full of holes and splash some cow or pig blood around the interior. I remember reading that the authentic death car still exists in some collection.

I remember that location, too, Peyton.

But I think the original Buckhorn Saloon was downtown San Antonio before it was closed due to “urban renewal” of the area. Lots of old buildings torn down to make way for “progress”, some of it for Hemisfair.

It was in the late ’50’s that my dad took me to the Buckhorn Saloon to see the exhibits. What made the greatest impression on me was the elephant skull on display. I don’t remember the skull moving to the Lone Star Buckhorn, but only made a quick trip through that one once.

All my San Antonio kin have passed, so don’t make many trips back to the area.

Thanks to raljr1 for posting the photos!

Apparently it’s in Nevada, north of Vegas.

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View from down under

The only thing in Waco worth seeing. I wouldn't make a special trip, but definitely worth a look if you're in the area.

The Buckhorn also has some display stuff on the Topperweins, exhibition shooters that were San Antonio’s, IIRC.


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Never been to the one in San Antonio but my folks were from Waco. It takes as long as 2 full Days to see all that in it's entirety seeing everything and not rushing.

It's a good way to spend a couple of days and worth the trip from just about anywhere as far as I'm concerned. Any Texan worth his salt should go there if you haven't already. You ain't a REAL Texican until you do.

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Real men love cats!

the elephant skull is still there.

I was happy to share the photos..

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Robert
SWCA #2906, SWHF #760

There is also the Texas Ranger Heritage Center in Fredericksburg which is run by a group of real retired Rangers.

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6/23/2022

I am blessed to own this Ranger’s gun:

I wanna go back to see the mammoth fossils.

And Mt Carmel too.

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View from down under

Those guys sure had some fancy "bar b que" guns and fancy gun belts and holsters. Some of them are a bit over done but a lot of them look really sharp. Former Harris County Sheriff Johnny Klevenhagen (SP) had some of the nicest. A brace of 1911s. I could spend a week in there and still not have enough. Miss Pam always takes my credit cards and check book away from me for a while after a vistit.

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Real men love cats!

Never been to the one in San Antonio but the one here in Waco is always worth another visit.

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KM
S&WCA 3110 S&WHF 625

Don't forget the Twin Peaks. For those who don't know, see: 2015 Waco shootout - Wikipedia

In the Waco museum gift shop I found both a leather pistol pouch and a full notebook/writing tablet cover. Both were around $350 from memory and both were beautiful.

Karen told me I should buy one, but it was still early in our journey and I hesitated to spend that much money on a single item. As it was we had plenty of funds.

The best thing about both was that they had been made by prisoners in the local lockup "learning a new trade".

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View from down under

I believe these Ranger guns in San Antonio will go to The Former Texas Ranger Foundation in Fredericksburg Tx when they complete their museum.

One of the services available from the Texas Ranger Museum is a historical research office. In return for a modest donation (currently $25) the staff will research available records to document the service of specific individuals. The records are not complete, and there were several periods in which Ranger commissions were given to some people who were not officially employed (railroad detectives and others known to assist the Rangers in the course of investigations), as well as honorary or special Ranger appointments at various times.

I recently had occasion to call on the Museum staff for research of a name that family members believed to have served as a Texas Ranger. The circumstances included a very high-grade Colt Government Model .45 (custom built by noted gunsmith A.D. Swenson). Had the Ranger connection been confirmed the collector value of this heirloom pistol would have easily been doubled.

It turned out that the name was not found in any official records, which certainly disappointed the heirs. While I continue to suspect that the gentleman in question was a Texas peace officer, and may have worked closely with Rangers over his career (1920's to 1960's), the records do not support such a connection. So, the heirs have a $3000 to $3500 collector's pistol instead of a $5000 to $10,000 piece of Texas history. The family certainly wishes that the results had been different, but it is better to know this information prior to attempting to sell the pistol to a knowledgeable collector.

I was in the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame in Waco just a couple of days ago. Very impressive. That was kind of a bucket list thing of mine for a long time so when I got the chance to visit I jumped at it. Those boys like their hardware FANCY!

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Everybody could shoot

Lots of history. I've seen some of these sidearms before. All are beautiful works of art.

BUT I don't know if I'd completely trusty an M1911 as a semi automatic "Fitz Special"...especially since most of the Rangers carry them condition one.

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The Last Standing Knight