The discount has traditionally been dealer price or even below that. S&W (and all the rest) price these guns attractively because they would prefer not to receive the gun back as it is then a used gun. However, I would guess they have a standard plan for disposing of writer returns, like offering steep discounts to employees, etc.
Normal terms industry-wide are 90 day loans, but liberal extensions are often granted. At some point the gun is purchased or returned. Same policy usually applies to scopes, etc.
I don't know who Rockquarry writes for, but he's correct. I bought my M-66-3 from S&W through the PR lady when doing some gunwriting that applied.
One normally must be an accredited gun writer known to the PR person or show a letter from a valid editor assigning a particular story that justifies shipping the gun at that discount or loan rate.
The rate is attractive, but one can often find a good used gun for about the same price.
I do suspect that some firms keep guns for writer loan that have been returned by prior writers. In such cases, it may be possible to work out a better price with the manufacturer.
A famous gun and hunting writer told me that he'd offered to return a rifle that he'd had for an extended time. The manufacturer's president knew him personally and told him to keep the gun. It was far more valuable to the firm being seen in his magazine photos than if sitting in a safe back in the company's offices. But he was a very well known writer with a lot of fans, whose material appeared in the biggest gun magazines.
Most gun scribes don't often get deals like that.
BTW, lest anyone get jealous, gun writing doesn't pay much unless one gets a staff position with a big publisher. I was lucky to get more than $300 for a typical story. I think the most I ever got for a single article was just $750. But if you hit titles like, Field & Stream or,Outdoor Life, the last I checked, many years ago, Field & Stream paid 18 cents per word plus more per published photo. See the current, Writer's Market for present rates. Many magazines, not just gun titles, didn't pay over 5 cents per word. I think a lady whom I knew who wrote for romance/confession magazines didn't always get even that 5 cents a word rate, and she wasn't selling photos as well as text.
On the other hand, being a valid gun writer does let one hang out in the press room at the SHOT show or go on trips where one can meet his favorite scribes. And the manufacturers have hospitality suites where a scribe can get free drinks and snacks. Ruger even hosted a quite nice 30th Anniversary luncheon in San Antonio, where I met some top names in the business, some of whom I already knew.
Yes, I met Skeeter Skelton. I really liked his articles, and I think he was one of the more honest writers. I think, Shooting Times messed up royally in not getting a similar man to replace him after his untimely death.
One writer did try to inherit Skeeter's mantle, I think, doing gun writing with a southwestern flair. I don't know what became of him, but haven't seen his articles in several years. Frankly, I think the only man who can now write in a way to replace either Skeeter or Elmer is Brian Pearce, who I think is still writing for Wolfe titles. (Rifle and, Handloader.)
