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Old 12-30-2016, 05:28 PM
DCW DCW is offline
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Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Daytona Beach, Fla.
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A recent move of the household's "Gun Room" provided Ol' DC a chance to again cross paths with each firearm in his collection as if it were arriving anew, again. (Say that quickly three times.)

Whether each came directly from a previous owner or through intermediaries like auction houses or local gun stores after former owners traded it for a newer, sleeker and shinier firearm, all have tales to tell.

Stories that sometimes are easily coaxed, like that of an engraved, gold-inlaid Model 39 given to a 1960s Smith & Wesson board member. Yet, at other times they're difficult to understand, exhibiting scars of abuse, indifference and indignities once suffered while stuffed beneath a truck's seat or thrown into a tool box.

Some folks have at times looked at this collector rather strangely, trying to somehow fathom why someone, maybe anyone would care to collect upwards of 350 firearms, firing rounds through but a few, but admiring all.

The reasons are myriad beyond those stories referenced above, and even include hedging inflation (savings) or, especially as this collector sees it, the artwork found not only in a design or on that design's exterior, but the craftsmanship found within.

Better: This wannabe gunsmith can gain self-satisfaction by working within to smooth a trigger's pull or the strength exerted in its pull.

When I made the Gun Room move there was no intention to open each box or sock or rug and retrieve anything from inside. It just sorta happened when an old guy's memory was jogged and, as too often happened, he suddenly remembered a certain model and its configuration from Smith & Wesson.

One gun turned to two, then three and, well, you might imagine the rest of the story. For those who might need help envisioning such, it follows below. And I actually didn't even come close to opening them all . . .



Later.
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