It wasn't the sort of sign usually posted in the Sheraton Boston Hotel. "No firearms may be carried in or out of the hall except by exhibitors," it read. But the hotel needed that sign last week, for it was hosting the 97th annual convention of the National Rifle Association--praised by its friends as "the defender of our rights to keep and bear arms" and damned by its foes as "the head of the gun nut lobby."

Some 20,000 of the NRA's 960,000 members attended the convention. They listened to speeches opposing proposed gun legislation, saw demonstrations of the U.S. Army's small arms exhibit--"the finest in modern and antique firearms and the men most knowledgeable about them," according to NRA publicity.

Many of the people in the exhibit hall could as easily have been attending the General Mills stockholders meeting next door. Dressed in conservative business suits, they admired the flintlock rifles on exhibit, talked about the Safety for Hunters program, or carefully handled $300 shotguns and rifles shown by the major firearms companies. At one exhibit, fifteen salesmen impeccably dressed in yellow blazers politely aided prospective customers for Winchester rifles while a pretty girl passed out leaflets detailing the ammunition produced by the company.

"Kennedy Specials"

There were also some representatives of that sub-species of gun-owners that refer to Italian Carcano rifles as "Kennedy specials." Some wore Texas boots and baggy jackets with string ties; others just dressed in T-shirts and blue jeans. They tended to wander over to the one dealer who offered surplus military rifles. They debated whether to pay $23.50 for a Mauser rifle of the type used by France's Civil Guards. Or, for $74.50, they could purchase the "hard-hitting and battle tested U.S. M-1 .30 Cal. carbine which wrote the obituary of Nazi and Nip alike from Anzio Beach all the way to Okinawa!" One man admiring the surplus weapons said, "I just want something cheap to do some target shooting with."

The company selling the surplus arms--Century Arms, Inc. of St. Albans, Vt.--promised delivery of the guns within one or two weeks.

At the rear of the hall were the Exhibits of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marine Corps. Most of the armed service exhibits spotlighted the M-16 rifle currently used in Vietnam. A Marine sergeant in dress blues defended the rifle, which has frequently been accused of jamming in combat. "It shoots real fine, even on full automatic," he said. An Air Force man in civilan clothes ponited out one of the finer points of the M-16--an attachment which fires grenades: "It's really two guns in one. Weighs a total of 9 pounds. You fire this 40 mm. grenade. It takes nine seconds to hit and then fragments into 350 pieces traveling at 4500 feet per second." He paused for a chuckle. "Of course you don't have to hit someone directly with it--just get close." The NRA members looking on nodded approvingly.

Between color panoramas of napalm strikes and smiling Vietnamese peasants, the Army waxed poetic:

Men my argue forever on what wins their wars,

And welter in cons and pros;

And seek for their answer at history's doors.

But the man with the rifle knows.

Military exhibits were quite in order at the NRA convention, for the organization has had cordial relations with the armed forces ever since it was founded in 1871 by a group of National Guard officers to foster civilian marksmanship as an aid to military preparedness. Usually at least one retired or active duty Army officer sits on the NRA's board of directors.

For over 40 years, the Army subsidized the NRA's National Matches held in the summer at Camp Perry, Ohio. This year, President Johnson cut the appropriation for the National Matches, which last year cost the government $1.1 million, allegedly for economy reasons. The action followed a strong push led by Sen. Edward M. Kennedy '54 to end a giveaway to an organization opposing the Administration's stand on gun laws.

Surplus Bonanza