FORT SMITH -- A Fort Smith-based company is partnering with the U.S. Marshals Museum to offer a limited edition Colt Peacemaker air gun to commemorate the U.S. Marshals Service's 225th anniversary and to help support the museum.
A news release from Umarex USA said the company will manufacture 500 of the Peacemaker replicas, which will have U.S. Marshals Service emblems on the grips and will be numbered from 1 to 500.
Museum Development Director Alice Alt said Wednesday that the museum was pleased that Umarex decided to make the gift that celebrates the museum and Fort Smith.
The company is donating the first of the series to the museum, and the museum is purchasing numbers 2-10. Alt said air gun No. 1 will go on display at the museum, and the others could be sold at fundraisers or in the museum store when it opens.
Umarex spokesman Justin Biddle said Wednesday that the company will donate a percentage of the gun sale proceeds to the museum, but he couldn't say how much that donation would be.
"The Limited Edition U.S. Marshals Peacemaker will serve as a tribute to our nation's oldest federal law enforcement agency started by President George Washington and the first Congress 225 years ago," the release stated.
The company will accept orders for the air gun from dealers at the Shooting Hunting and Outdoor Trade Show from Tuesday-Jan. 23 in Las Vegas, according to the release. The guns are expected to sell quickly.
Umarex USA, with its plant at Chaffee Crossing in Fort Smith, develops and markets air guns under brands licensed by its parent company, Umarex Sportwafffen GmbH & Co. KG. Brands include Walther, Smith & Wesson, Browning, Ruger, Beretta, Colt and Heckler & Koch.
The U.S. Marshals Museum is planning to build a $50 million, 52,000-square-foot national museum on the banks of the Arkansas River near downtown Fort Smith. Ground was broken for the project in September, and the museum opening is expected in 2017.
State Desk on 01/15/2015