About Us
After much work, the husband and wife team, Hans Kurth and Eva Szkultecki opened the Cody Dug Up Gun Museum in downtown Cody, Wyoming, just outside Yellowstone National Park, to the public in May of 2009, showcasing Hans’ life-long collection. After the past 38 years of collecting, the collection now has over 1300 items, including many types of weapons other than firearms, such as swords, bayonets and knives, as well as related items of interest. The museum has many rare relic firearms such as Model 1860 Henry Rifles, Colt Model 1873 Single Action Army Revolvers, and even a Musket found embedded in a tree.
The collection was started when Hans was just a kid going to gun shows, and grew from there. Gun shows, gun shops, antique stores and malls, yard sales and auctions were all favorite stops for him.
Over the years the collection grew and grew. Hans would find the relic guns just about anywhere and anyhow possible, even buying relics while in Iraq in 2006. The starting of a museum would see both of them move to Cody, Wyoming from their native Canada, just to make it all possible. Hans had been visiting the area for years previously, for the various Winchester Clubs gun shows and numerous auctions which the area is known for. The beautiful State of Wyoming attracted both Eva and Hans for many other reasons as well, such as the numerous parks and outdoors activities.
Eva is a proud member of the International Association of Women, NRA Business Alliance, American Alliance of Museums, and holds a College diploma in Business and Computer Science, while Hans is also an NRA Business Alliance member, Certified Firearms Expert and Curator of the Cody Dug Up Gun Museum. Over the past years Hans has also belonged to many Collectors Organizations throughout the US and Canada. The Cody Dug Up Gun Museum is honored to have been officially listed in the Blue Book of Gun Values, as well as the Blue Book of Antique American Firearms and Values, and has been featured in American Handgunner Magazine. The Cody Dug Up Gun Museum has also been featured on videos by ForgottenWeapons.com and Guns.com, on Youtube.
