I joined both the Collector's Association years ago and the Historical Foundation as soon as it was formed by the Cheelys. All the benefits discussed here are useful but I had another reason to join as well.

It has been my experience that certain collectors (myself included) reach a point where it becomes less about finding and owning specific guns than it is about finding and understanding more about the history, the development, the contemporaneous users and the survival rate of specific guns. I'm jazzed to collect data, documentation and history, especially if it is unpublished. The S&WCA Journal is a great place to share this research. The gun magazines on the newsstands are superficial, especially when it comes to collectible guns. They are a mile wide and an inch deep. The S&WCA Journal gives me the opportunity to publish articles that go deep. I hope they are interesting and help advance the knowledge base about a specific gun or topic.

If you are passionate about sharing your specific expertise then the Journal, and the annual Symposium are great outlets to do so. I encourage all members to write. Even if you are intimidated about the idea there are folks who are anxious to help and you are helping all of us, including future collectors, when you do so.

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Kevin Williams SWCA1649 HF208