Buckhorn Saloon & Museum, San Antonio

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For over 129 years, The Buckhorn Saloon has always been known as a gathering place for good conversation, great food and spectacular wildlife exhibits. Today, the saloon houses a Café, Gift Shop, Shooting Gallery and our two museums, the Buckhorn Museum and the Texas Ranger Museum.

http://www.buckhornmuseum.com/

O.k. . . . I'm not into taxidermy, but this was a great place to get out of the 101-degree heat. Of course, being able to imbibe in an adult beverage (obtained in the saloon) while exploring the museum helped me to overcome my squeamishness about seeing an amazing array of animals stuffed and mounted. What is unique is that visitors can get up close and personal to the exhibits (no touching allowed!). A Buffalo-Bill look-alike, gals dressed up like saloon servers, and a personable bartender made this one of the best events of our visit. The TX Ranger exhibit is a must-see. Don't let the "saloon" cause concern for parents - this is a totally family-friendly activity. Worth the the admission, but be aware - the animal displays may wear thin on little ones, but they will love the old west and carnival exhibits.

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That's exactly how I found the Buckhorn to be. Its a combination of two museums, a saloon and a gift shop. The saloon is really quite beautiful - it's really a big, rather beautiful bar. Admission to the saloon is free - you can order food and drinks there, and just relax in "wild west spendor".

The Buckhorn also has two museums. One, the Texas Ranger Museum, I found to be very informative. It's a history of the famous Texas Rangers with displays of some of the more famous of these brave men. Also check out Rangertown, a recreation of turn-of-the-century San Antonio. You can also see Bonnie & Clyde's car - bullet holes and all!

The other museum, the Buckhorn, is great if you enjoy animals. Make that big, stuffed animals. And lots of them. Life sized animals, everywhere you turn. You can also enjoy the Hall of Texas History Wax Museum, with wax figures of famous names in Texas history. If you don't like being around stuffed animals, you can only choose to pay for the Rangers museum or just have a drink and a bite to eat in the Saloon.

The Saloon itself is kinda cool, and huge: 3,000 square feet. Famous names like Pancho Villa and Teddy Roosevelt were rumored to have planned their battles here. It's also got a gameroom and curio store...all free of charge. Check out the Hall of Horns - hundreds of horns on the saloon walls. They really make it feel like you're in the wild west, in the middle of San Antonio!

I found the Buckhorn to be a fun place to visit for an hour or two. It's located only two blocks from the Alamo. Stop by after touring the Alamo for food, a rest, and a fun experience.

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I have to admit I probably wouldn't have ventured into the Buckhorn Saloon if I hadn't been invited to a private party there. Once inside the doors though, there certainly was plenty to look at - if taxidermy, uncomfortable looking furniture and other weird and wonderful things with a cowboy bent and a Wild West connection are what you're looking for. They started collecting the heads and horns (and a whole lot of other stuff besides) you see on display when the saloon opened its doors over 120 years ago, and they're still at it.

The saloon has seen a few changes of address and owners since it first opened its doors in 1881. When the previous owners moved their brewing operation out of San Antonio, the grand-daughter of the original owners bought the collection to ensure that this piece of San Antonio history stayed in the city.

Between the vast collection of stuffed animals, fish and birds that fills room after room upstairs, the old-style bar with yet more heads and horns of every variety imaginable ranked up the walls , the hearty Texan menu and the gift shop, you could certainly spend a few entertaining hours here.

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This was a real awesome place to see. I wasn't sure if I wanted to venture in, but I did anyway and I thought the place was really cool. Lots of things to look at, a bar to have a beer, snack bar in the corner to eat dinner or lunch. Lots of tables to sit at and a gift shop in the front. Oh there is a museum on the facility to explore. Cost just a little, but might be fun to look around

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The Museum houses a pretty amazing collection of more than 4,000 items which covers stuffed wildlife, rare firearms, spurs and saddles, a cowboy gallery and various other artifacts.

The museum covers more than 33,000 sq ft and is worth the visit.

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The saloon part has an 118 year old bar - plenty of stuff heads mounted on the wall. There is also live entertainment. Seemore of the Buckhorn Museum in a Travelogue.

Hours: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. or later, Sunday - Thursday; 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. or later, Friday and Saturday.

The museum is known for it's collection of cowboy memorobilia, horns, fins and feathers. There is also a wax museum and changing exhibits.

Some of the pieces are rather exotic, strange or deformed. Examples are the 2-headed calf and a lamb with 8 legs. Some of the horns hanging above are strangely deformed as well.

The saloon is over 120 years old and contains some of the original furnishings including the back bar which was handcrafted of marble and cherry wood. I suppose a beer would go down easily after viewing the strange collections.

Open:
Sunday to Thursday - 10 a.m.-5 p.m.
Friday & Saturday - 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Admission:
Adults $10.99, Children $7.99, seniors (over 55) $9.99