This collection was started in 1992 by Dr. Jim L. Davis.  Dr. Davis has been an active collector literally from the age of seven years old.  His interest started with collecting toy guns and cap pistols.  This interest in firearms was enhanced by World War II (WWII) and the armament that a youth of seven was exposed to, and by demonstrations put on by the military in its War Bond sales drives.  Also, during this period of time any boy was free to purchase firearms, both BB guns and Cartridge guns.  Dr. Davis, at age nine, first had an old Stevens Favorite single shot .22cal. rifle.  The extractor was broken so after each shot the spent shell had to be extracted with a pair of needle nose pliers.  This procedure of firing, extracting shell with the pliers, and loading a new shot became a very rapid process.  At age eleven he found a Mossberg Model 46B at the local Western Auto Store two blocks from his home.  This store was a kid's hangout for bicycle parts and dress up accessories.  The price of the rifle was $10.00, an enormous price for a eleven year old in 1945.  The owner of the store, without telling Jim, would tell prospective buyers that the rifle was on hold.  Dr. Davis was able to earn the $10.00 in a few months and bought the rifle.  The store owner also threw in a box of .22cal. Long Rifle shells.  Those wonderful days are now long gone when a kid had the freedom to own his own firearm.  During WWII most high schools had Army ROTC programs that were required for all male students.  Every high school had a rifle range in the basement and all candidates were required to qualify with a .22cal. rifle.  Even the girls could shoot if they desired as a PE class.  

In 1960 Dr. Davis, upon discharge from the U. S. Army, became a high school teacher teaching Advanced Algebra, Wood Shop, and Drafting.  He was shooting in .45cal. Hardball matches at the Dallas Pistol & Revolver Club at this time and admired the fancy, tuned up 1911A1 used by some of the advanced shooters.  The price of one of these was prohibitive for a high school teacher making only $3600 a year.  He did not want to convert his Colt 1911A1 because he was still competing in Hard Ball matches.  Val Forgett had started an import firearms company called Service Armament, importing surplus military rifles and pistols.  He was offering Colt Model 1911 surplus pistols for $19.95.  Dr. Davis purchased five of these.  The idea being that if he screwed up one he would have another to try again.  When the pistols arrived there was a huge letdown.  None of the guns were Model 1911A1 parkerized military issue, but all were Colt Model 1911 WWI vintage pistols that looked like an outhouse product.  However, upon cleaning the pistols, every one turned out to be in Mint Condition.  They were covered with British Proof Marks.  One was not .45cal. but some .455 Ely caliber.  Two others had R.A.F. acceptance marks.  These pistols were lend lease fireams sent to Great Britain as part of our Lend Lease program during WWII.  The collector bug bit and Dr. Davis ended up with a collection of 125 different variations of the Model 1911-1911A1 pistol.  This collection included the North America made in Canada, the Singer, UMC, Russian Contract and one of the most rare, the Egypian Contract of only twenty two pistols.  The appraised value of this collection today would be $750,000 .

This collection was later followed by a collection of over 145 Military and Assault rifles in the 1980's.  Many of these were Class III Full Auto both pistols and rifles.  This collection was liquidated in the early 1990's.  In 1992 Dr. Davis acquired his first replica percussion revolver.  It was a Lyman Remington Beals Model.  This was followed by a Remington New Model Army by Pietta from Cabela's.  He quickly realized that these revolvers were a bonanza as a collectable firearm.  These revolvers did not require an FFL, and there were many different models and variations available to build a collection.  The prices were low in comparison to other firearms.  However, there was no literature to act as a guide for a potential collector.  The collector bug bit really hard this time and the quest was on for both firearms and information.  This Collection is the result of nearly twenty years of research and collecting.