The First Quarter 2008 LOCKED AND LOADED …



LOCKED AND LOADED …
Words From RSA President
Rich Shepler

By the time you read this, the Las Vegas antique gun
show, RSA Annual Membership Meeting, 2008
SHOT Show and most hunting seasons will be
history, along with many short lived New Year’s Resolutions.
But the year is still young and it is an opportune time to tend
to those gun collection activities you may have procrastinated.
It is easy to put off or not think
about some aspects of maintaining our
collections, and there are others which it
never hurts to reconsider.

Following is a list of things to do or
consider. You need not try to do everything
at once, but perhaps some of these should be
added to your To Do List.

√    Are your guns stored safely away and in a manner reflecting your current family situation? Accidents do not just happen. Is it in compliance with applicable laws?

√    Have you cleaned and lubed all your pieces recently enough?

√    Do you have adequate insurance coverage for your collection? Standard homeowners policies will provide only very limited coverage for firearms and other collectibles. You need a specific rider or free standing policy to have good insurance coverage. If your policy requires specific listing and/or valuation of some of your guns, when was the last time you updated it? You may be under-insured.

√    Have you considered a safe/vault to protect from fire, water and theft? Not all safes are designed to protect from all these risks and if you can move your safe around, a thief can carry it away. A closet with a lock may keep your guns away from little ones if they do not know where the key is, but it does not protect its contents.

√    If you have a defense gun, have you honestly practiced enough with it recently?

√    Are your records up to date? Does your family know where they are should something happen to you? Does your will still handle your collection as you wish? You do have a will don�t you? Does your executor know how to best dispose of your collection?

√    Reconsider and update your want list. Are there guns you might trade or sell to obtain others you want more?

 

√    2008 is an important election year, and not just at the Presidential level. Make certain you are registered and vote. At least consider candidates� positions on issues with an impact on your collecting and shooting hobbies.

√    Have you contributed recently to one or more organizations
dedicated to preserving your gun rights? Some contributions
are tax deductible while others are not.

√    Make a resolution to introduce a person, especially a
young person, to gun collecting, shooting or hunting � and stick
with that resolution.

√    Have you made note of 2008 dates for
gun shows and other events related to your
gun hobbies? Mark them on a calendar. –
RSA’s 2008 Seminar will be in Louisville,
Kentucky, 1 – 3 October and there are two
gun shows there that weekend, as well as
many other interesting and fun things to do
in the area. Put it on your calendar and
make plans to join us! You will not regret
it.

√    I know you have paid your RSA 2008
dues or you would not have received this
Journal. But how about annual dues for the
NRA and other gun related organizations,
licenses which might need to be renewed or
publication subscriptions about to run out?

√    Buy and read a gun related book. There have been several
excellent ones written by RSA members on Remington topics the
last couple of years. See ads elsewhere in this Journal or on the
RSA web site for some of them.

√    Write and submit a Journal article.

√    Volunteer to do or help with an RSA exhibit/booth at a
gun show.

√    Did you wish you were in better shape last hunting or
shooting season or just treking around the floor at gun shows?
Start an exercise program now.

√    Do you need to spend some time at the reloading bench?
This list is not exhaustive nor does all of it apply to
everyone. But hopefully it will get you started thinking about
what should be on your New Year’s Gun To Do List. Create one
and then start checking things off.

       
Best regards,

       
       
Rich Shepler

       
       
RSA President

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