Records and Research at the Cody Firearms Museum

Here at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West, we house in our archives and collections several artifacts and historical documents on a variety of topics that visitors from around the world come to enjoy. The Cody Firearms Museum offers the ability to purchase either a factory letter containing the archival information on a given firearm (given there is a surviving record from the manufacturer) or to perform advanced research on one of our collection items for researchers who want to be able to get an in-depth look at the artifacts in question. Or to answer more unconventional questions that go beyond what is in the records.

            The Cody Firearms Records Office works with records for seven historical firearm manufacturers (Winchester, Savage, Marlin, AH Fox, LC Smith, Ithaca, Lefever). For many collectors of the listed brands above, a factory letter serves as the certificate of that given firearms assembly or origin with all the surviving information that was recorded by the manufacture for a given serial number. Often but not always detailing: Configuration (barrel type, stock type, trigger, chokes etc.), dates of manufacture and shipping date, and any other information that was attached to that order. The amount of information can vary from gun to gun and manufacturer to manufacturer so please be sure to call or text the records office ahead of ordering at 307-578-4031 and ask what information could be available for a given type of firearm and what it would cost to produce a letter with that information.

The non-member price for most factory letters as of June 25, 2026 is $80 plus shipping and fees for a letter with configuration information, or $40 plus shipping and fees for a Winchester letter that only has the date the serial number was stamped to the receiver. For those who join the membership with the firearms museum they are entitled with their active membership to a number of “E-mail Searches” which provides the same factory information in a PDF format sent one to two business days after it has been requested as a “try before you buy” for collectors and members who would like to see what info is available before purchasing a firearm or a letter for one. For membership prices feel free to call the Membership office at 307-578-4008.

There are a variety of ways to reach out to the records office for a factory letter. You can go on our website and click the “Research” drop down menu at the top and then click “Firearms Records” and then once on the records office page just click on the name of the manufacturer you are interested on getting a letter for, which will take you to a brief on what info we have for those firearms and the online order sheet at the bottom of the page which you can fill out to request a factory letter. Alternatively, you can email our work emails at [email protected] or [email protected], if all else fails you can call the office directly and we can take orders over the phone.

            Records are not the only means of firearms research that can be done here at the Center of the West. For questions that go beyond the record books, such as measurements or hands-on research on the firearms in the collection you can reach out to Tyler Berger the Cody Firearms Museum Research Assistant at [email protected]. He will be able to assist you with your research and questions if you provide him with photos of the firearm in question or a with a write up of what items you would like to investigate. Firearms research is conducted at $65/hr. For any special photography requested of one of the artifacts in the collection that goes for $95/hr. Many of the one-of-a-kind pieces that are in the collection attract all types of researchers, gunsmiths, enthusiasts and historians who have then gone on to write books and articles that cover the innerworkings or dimensions of rare and exclusive firearms.

We ask that you please do not bring any firearms into the Center of the West or the Cody Firearms Museum. The best way to get the info you are looking for is through the email provided with Tyler.

        Here at the Center of the West our collections are active, and we invite researchers and enthusiasts to help us push forward our understanding of the American West using the vast resources and collections curated here in Cody Wyoming. Consider reaching out to us here at the center or booking a vacation to Cody experience all there is to see. While you are here consider getting an in depth look at the Museums and hands on with some of our collection items by booking an Exclusive Tour for any of our five museums or even booking a Vault Tour to get inside one of the Firearms Museum vaults and learning about the daily operations of the CFM and the variety of firearms that are not currently on display. For whatever pulls you westward, we hope to see you soon here out here in Cody at the Center of the West!