I agree with you. It's not like I am a collector, although I can understand collecting. The gun was left to me by someone who wanted it "cared for" and looked after. So it is my job to do it.
To answer an earlier thread about travelling with the gun outside of Mexico, I had a chance yesterday when the Mexican Army Captain in charge of firearms registration happened to visit my store to play "what if" with his knowledge of the system. I asked him, hypothetically, if someone WANTED to take a registered prohibited firearm OUT of Mexico, HOW would one do that?
"Well," he replied, "if it is registered and needs to be repaired by someone who does not LIVE inside of Mexico, it would have to be disassembled and the broken part shipped or preferably taken to the U.S. for the repair." We discussed this, and I asked pointed questions and have come up with this answer.
To remove the .357 from Mexico, I would have to disassemble it totally. This means, I hope you understand, removing the barrel pin and barrel as well. All the parts OTHER THAN THE ACTUAL FRAME can be transported (by me, as I have the permit) without hassle. The frame can also be transported, by me, without hassle, as long as the other parts are not present. In other words, I would have to tear the gun down and transport ALL the parts up to the border and cross them. This is not illegal. I would then have to return and grab the frame and transport it to the U.S. . To do that legally, I would need to have the A.T.F. form that allows me to import it but those are not all that hard to get, I had one for my K-38 when I was hoping to come up for a match in San Antonio -- although I never went due to finances. BUT, I got the import form easily enough.
I have rebarreled several guns, I have no problem actually doing it, and have all the tools here. I simply would have a problem doing it with THIS particular gun. I can imagine Phil wincing in Heaven and striking me with a lightening bolt for even doing it.
The penalty to be caught on the open highways -- especially outside of this State of Guanajuato where I would have no protection (my girlfriend works DIRECTLY with the State Governor, it helps when I can have "the man" give anyone hassling me a ring on the phone over some minor indiscretion...) would be JAIL. And remember; a MEXICAN Jail. Going to a Mexican Jail for ANY gun is a risk I am sure some people would take, but not me.
So I cannot bring the gun out to show it. But I have it and will protect it. IF I ever thought I had to sell it, I would inform you lot -- after all, I really seriously doubt there is a group of people in the World more qualified to have it -- and that would be that. If my health fails, or something happens to me, I have shown my girlfriend these threads and informed her that she should make sure the gun stays protected and that she should inform you all of it's sudden availability.
But I am only 49 (I was an IPSC Director at 22, the youngest in the World at the time according to Cooper and Murray D. Gardner, the Canadian Regional Director of the time), and I intend to last a while longer.