mokuloa
SWCA Member
What follows is an 800-word article reprinted with permission from the Smith & Wesson Collectors Association. The article was just published in the Smith & Wesson Collectors Association Journal, Volume 50, Number 2, Summer 2016 edition. This publication is free to all S&WCA members as part of their annual membership fee.
S&WCA Event Coordinator's Corner
By Rex Halfpenny
S&WCA Event Coordinator
Why did you join the Smith & Wesson Collectors Association? It is a simple question really, but I bet most members would answer it differently. The same question could be asked of any member organization, like the NRA or the National Wild Turkey Foundation. (It is spring turkey season as I write this so gobblers fill my mind and as many early morning hours as I can make available.) For many such organizations, the simple answer is, "To support an organization that promotes a cause I believe in."
But the S&WCA is different. It's personal. Take a look at the member's directory and you will find all kinds of collecting interests, but none explain why anyone joined. I'm sure there are as many answers as there are members.
My answer runs along these lines. My first handgun was a S&W Model 28. I chose that gun because my LEO friends at Honolulu Police Department used S&Ws and they told me about the versatility of having .357 Magnum stopping power for when needed, and the ability to shoot less expensive and low recoiling .38 Specials all the rest of the time. Sage advice, why buy a .38 when you can have a .357?
My two next purchases were a Model 65 and a Model 29. I bought a well-used 65 from a cop for cheap, but paid a hefty premium for the brand new 29 because it was there, in the case at Security Equipment next door to HPD. The 65 was customized with a double action job and a heavy black Bo-Mar rib target sight. It was and still is a fast bullseye gun. I then had two S&W 357s and already wanted them all. But in the interest of full disclosure, I could not shoot the Model 29 accurately. So it sat in the safe while I acquired more 357s. OK truth, I acquired more 38s that could shoot 357s.
Friends asked me why Smith & Wesson? Because I can't buy every gun I see. So I focus on one caliber from one manufacturer. Even then, S&W makes a lot of 357s and when you add variations, well, there is more there than I could afford.
The gun world was changing, revolvers giving way to autoloaders. Gun shops and gunshows filled with table after table of black plastic while blue and stainless revolvers gradually became scarce. At the same time, S&W went through some ownership changes and many people disliked the politics. This was a good thing for me, because it kept S&W prices down. The guns I liked were hard to find but when I found them they were affordable.
Then came the Internet and Gunbroker. A game changer for me and I started buying guns again. After I discovered the Performance Center my appetite for limited run 627s became insatiable, like I had gun-eating tapeworm. On one Internet deal, the seller was a S&WCA member and when he learned of my S&W addiction, he asked if I wanted to join the S&WCA. Next thing you know I was in The Club at last.
Like all other clubs I got an ID card with a number and a magazine. Nothing else changed. I think this is why we lose many new members, they get in and that's it. Unless you go to an annual meeting.
I joined in 2003 and went to my first meeting in Dallas in 2004. I was hooked on day one. A whole room filled with the very guns that had disappeared from shops and shows, and with greater variation than the Internet. The people were great, the guns amazing, and the deals, honesty, and sharing were all eye opening. I admit that I felt my modest collection could not compare to what I saw there and my budget could not begin to fathom the depths of many a deep pocket present. But I quickly recognized this association had tremendous value to anyone who liked Smith & Wesson's. I knew I wanted to be more than a number with a mailing address, I needed to participate.
So over the next few years I wrote articles for this journal, attended the annual meetings and even made it known that I could help with event coordination. Five years after joining I gratefully accepted the position of Event Coordinator. Using my years of experience doing the same thing in corporate America I now get to participate by making it my business to do everything I can to make sure every member who comes to a meeting has a similar experience.
So why did you join the S&WCA? Whatever your answer, come to a meeting and maximize your membership experience. Whatever your S&W passion, the people and guns present will greatly increase the value of your membership.
Thank you for reading this post. For more information about the S&WCA and and application to join please visit their website at Smith & Wesson Collectors Association.
—Rex
S&WCA Event Coordinator's Corner
By Rex Halfpenny
S&WCA Event Coordinator
Why did you join the Smith & Wesson Collectors Association? It is a simple question really, but I bet most members would answer it differently. The same question could be asked of any member organization, like the NRA or the National Wild Turkey Foundation. (It is spring turkey season as I write this so gobblers fill my mind and as many early morning hours as I can make available.) For many such organizations, the simple answer is, "To support an organization that promotes a cause I believe in."
But the S&WCA is different. It's personal. Take a look at the member's directory and you will find all kinds of collecting interests, but none explain why anyone joined. I'm sure there are as many answers as there are members.
My answer runs along these lines. My first handgun was a S&W Model 28. I chose that gun because my LEO friends at Honolulu Police Department used S&Ws and they told me about the versatility of having .357 Magnum stopping power for when needed, and the ability to shoot less expensive and low recoiling .38 Specials all the rest of the time. Sage advice, why buy a .38 when you can have a .357?
My two next purchases were a Model 65 and a Model 29. I bought a well-used 65 from a cop for cheap, but paid a hefty premium for the brand new 29 because it was there, in the case at Security Equipment next door to HPD. The 65 was customized with a double action job and a heavy black Bo-Mar rib target sight. It was and still is a fast bullseye gun. I then had two S&W 357s and already wanted them all. But in the interest of full disclosure, I could not shoot the Model 29 accurately. So it sat in the safe while I acquired more 357s. OK truth, I acquired more 38s that could shoot 357s.
Friends asked me why Smith & Wesson? Because I can't buy every gun I see. So I focus on one caliber from one manufacturer. Even then, S&W makes a lot of 357s and when you add variations, well, there is more there than I could afford.
The gun world was changing, revolvers giving way to autoloaders. Gun shops and gunshows filled with table after table of black plastic while blue and stainless revolvers gradually became scarce. At the same time, S&W went through some ownership changes and many people disliked the politics. This was a good thing for me, because it kept S&W prices down. The guns I liked were hard to find but when I found them they were affordable.
Then came the Internet and Gunbroker. A game changer for me and I started buying guns again. After I discovered the Performance Center my appetite for limited run 627s became insatiable, like I had gun-eating tapeworm. On one Internet deal, the seller was a S&WCA member and when he learned of my S&W addiction, he asked if I wanted to join the S&WCA. Next thing you know I was in The Club at last.
Like all other clubs I got an ID card with a number and a magazine. Nothing else changed. I think this is why we lose many new members, they get in and that's it. Unless you go to an annual meeting.
I joined in 2003 and went to my first meeting in Dallas in 2004. I was hooked on day one. A whole room filled with the very guns that had disappeared from shops and shows, and with greater variation than the Internet. The people were great, the guns amazing, and the deals, honesty, and sharing were all eye opening. I admit that I felt my modest collection could not compare to what I saw there and my budget could not begin to fathom the depths of many a deep pocket present. But I quickly recognized this association had tremendous value to anyone who liked Smith & Wesson's. I knew I wanted to be more than a number with a mailing address, I needed to participate.
So over the next few years I wrote articles for this journal, attended the annual meetings and even made it known that I could help with event coordination. Five years after joining I gratefully accepted the position of Event Coordinator. Using my years of experience doing the same thing in corporate America I now get to participate by making it my business to do everything I can to make sure every member who comes to a meeting has a similar experience.
So why did you join the S&WCA? Whatever your answer, come to a meeting and maximize your membership experience. Whatever your S&W passion, the people and guns present will greatly increase the value of your membership.
Thank you for reading this post. For more information about the S&WCA and and application to join please visit their website at Smith & Wesson Collectors Association.
—Rex
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