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 (Editorial
Continued) The eagle is our symbol and the flag is
our union, and united we stand behind it. We are all
Americans, so ride for the brand, friend. It is the Cowboy
Way. Join the NRA. Join SASS. Join NCOWS.
Join your local shooting club. Support your local cowboy
shooting club, not by bickering or complaining about a match, but by
making it better with your efforts. There is room for all of
us if we support one another, our country, and the Bill of Rights.
Remember the "Spirit of the Game," and be part of the "Spirit
of America".
I also encourage you to
support all gun manufacturers. I feel it is important that
some updated information is provided to our readers about the status
of Smith and Wesson.
Those people who were instrumental in
the notorious agreement with the Clinton Administration are now gone
from Smith & Wesson. The initial arrangement, designed by
previous management, that they were going to implement with their
dealers, which was extreme by any standard, has gone by the wayside.
Smith and Wesson was purchased by Thomkins Corp, a British company,
in the 80's. It was the decision of this management and
parent-company ownership by a British firm to comply with the
Clinton Administration's demands. The company was then
purchased by Safety Hammer in March/April of 2001. There is
currently a name change pending to Smith and Wesson Holding
Corporation. This is now an American company, owned and run by
Americans.
We need to realize that if
the company were to go under due to customers' lack of support,
our support, we will become unwitting pawns in the victory by the
gun-control advocates and it would be a loss to all of us. The
loss of just one gun manufacturer is a win for the anti
gun-political movement. I believe we have reached the
management of Smith & Wesson with our objections to their
actions. It is now our role to support a new management group
and help them survive and grow.
Smith & Wesson has just
donated a brand new S&W Schofield for one of our charities - a
special gun and holster auction for the families of the rescuers who
lost their lives in the September 11th catastrophe. We
appreciate their support and also their foresight in bringing back a
classic frontier firearm.
Happy trails and God Bless
America, Chucky
PS: SHOOT! Magazine has two
specific charity activities going on, for which all the proceeds go
to the families of the firefighters, policemen, and rescue workers
who lost their lives in New York, including the family of Sidewinder
Pete. One is with Tombstone Outfitters and is the "Ride For
The Brand" T-Shirt on page 9 of the Jan/Feb 2002 issue. The
other is an auction of a fully engraved Smith & Wesson Schofield
and matching gunrig with the contributors being Black Hills Leather,
Smith & Wesson, Jim Downing (The Gun Engraver), GUNBROKER.COM on
page 8 of the Jan/Feb 2002 issue.
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