The Buckhorn Saloon & Museum and Texas Ranger Museum

Reviews 5

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Jennifer N

Came here with the family on someone elses decision, most of us werent too thrilled to be going here, but we all agreed because it was so hot to wonder outside in the San Antonio Summer heat. We got our admission from a lady near the Alamo/Ripleys area, where there was a discount offered. The tourist center also has coupons for the museum as well. The ticket is very reasonable its about $20 for an adult but you can find it for less from these other locations and I have found coupons on Groupon but it was expired for the time I went. Its a short walk from the Alamo. Not usre about parking, but there is plenty of parking near the Alamo and around Downtown ranging from $5-$20 depending on time and day. The museum is right at the corner and hard to miss. The people inside were super friendly, and helped guide us to the entrance. There is a ton to look at right when you walk in. The gift shop is on the right and the cafe is on the left. The museum is in the back behind the bar. The best part about this museum is that you can grab a drink, alcoholic or non alcoholic and drinking it while you explore the museum! There is a ton of stuff to look at here, and the best part is that it is a semi voice guided tour, where the speaker in each room will reset and talk about a specific area of the museum and have a spot light on it. The bad part is if you miss a part you have to wait for it to cycle around and the lights get dim in the areas that is not being discussed. It was a far more interesting tour than I was imagining, there arent a ton of signs for you to have to read while going through the museum, but it is nice to have the voice tour while you stroll through. There are a lot of things that you can actually touch to as compared to other museums. You can go to the "bar/saloon" and you can even go into the jail. The kids in our group and all the adults actually really enjoyed the optical illusion area. It was very interesting and hands on! Everyone loved it, we had a blast in there and probably spent a good hour in there wondering and playing with stuff. The kids got lost in there while the adults went around the rest of the museum. Its located upstairs with the animals and such. There are also a couple of the penny crushing machines in this museum alone as well. The purchase of the ticket got you 10% off of food in the cafe. We all stopped at the end to have lunch, it was very museum poor quality though. The sliders were well over well done. The meat was to the point it was crunchy it was so over done. The fries were cold and meh, frozen of course. The appetizer sampler was about the same as the sliders, the fried cheese was the better of all the food selections. I wouldnt really recommend eating here unless you are super starving, but I would say try to find another place to eat in the area. Other than the cafe and the food, the museum was great and I would highly recommend others to come here when you are in town.

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Travis Bailey

My wife and I spent our anniversary in San Antonio this weekend, and before we jumped in the car at the hotel and headed back home, we decided to walk downtown for lunch. As we walked down town a man stopped us and talked to us about The Buckhorn and told us it was an old saloon with quite a bit of history, and they had really good burgers. He went on to tell us about all the different game animals they had, which caught my attention being an avid hunter, then he said there was a Texas Ranger museum in it with some neat artifacts, now hes speaking my language being a huge history buff and all. What Im getting at, is my wife and I ended our anniversary weekend at The Buckhorn and what an experience it was. i ordered the Buckhorn burger (highly recommend it) and my wife ordered the bacon cheeseburger (also recommend it), and as we waited on our food to arrive we had a very informative talk with the bartender about the history behind the bar itself, and a brief history lesson on the saloon itself and how it came about. After our meal we spent the next two hours looking through the museum (which has way more than just a Texas Ranger section). It was a very fun experience. The employees are really friendly and are willing to answer questions. I highly recommend making a stop by The Buckhorn during your trip to San Antonio I promise you wont regret it!!! I cant wait to go back.

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Vanessa Diaz

*Warning* Do not attend if youre an animal lover! We were disgusted and appalled the second we entered. The museum displays wild life specimens from all over the world, killed then sold by poachers to the highest bidder. * The first specimen we encountered was a large mounted African Lion, who met his demise at the end of a poacher’s rifle, which left a significant and clearly visible bullet hole. Due to poachers, their population has dwindled to an estimated 32,000. When I asked the employee where this specimen was acquired he advised me it was purchased from a private hunter AKA poacher!!! *The exhibit displayed a mounted Lynx, killed by a poacher. The Lynx is the world’s most endangered feline whose population has dwindled to an estimated 38 breeding females! "Love animals: God has given them the rudiments of thought and joy untroubled. Do not trouble their joy, dont harass them, dont deprive them of their happiness, dont work against Gods intent. Man, do not pride yourself on superiority to animals; they are without sin, and you, with your greatness, defile the earth by your appearance on it, and leave the traces of your foulness after you--alas, it is true of almost every one of us!" --Fyodor Dostoyevsky (novelist)

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Tony T

This saloon is over a 130 years old and its located right off the RiverWalk. Folks here are super friendly and we found that even the patrons were all conversationalist!! The Buckhorn Museum has been collecting wildlife trophies from all over the world for over 130 years; including fish from the seven seas and animals from every continent. Amazingly it houses animal trophies of some animals that are now on the endangered species list and it does so because they were trophied long before they ended up on the list. This place is essentially a Bar, restaurant, Café, Gift Shop, Shooting Gallery and our two museums, the Buckhorn Museum and the Texas Ranger Museum. Go in for a beer and a chat with the bar keep, and a gander at the saloons most prized record holder which is the famous 78 Point Buck right over the bar back.

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Colin Sullender

I came here for a private event, so this review will only cover that experience. If youre having a conference at the massive nearby convention center you probably shouldnt schedule a dinner at the Buckhorn Saloon & Museum. The former can probably hold 10x more people whereas the later is far too small for such an event. When the line for literally everything wraps around the room and dozens of tables, youre going to have a bad time. Sure there was plenty of food and drink but the process of getting it was an absolute nightmare. So if youre planning an event, please make sure there is at least some room for the attendees. P.S. If you dont want to see stuffed animals everywhere, this probably isnt the place for you.

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