RGD
I recognize and acknowledge your friendship and affection for Brother Walt, and surely you understand I made no comments disparaging your relationship; my comments related only to my personal experiences with Walt, some of which were far from positive. The LCSCA is not a "club" it is instead an organization of shooters and collectors who appreciate and enjoy shooting an L.C. Smith gun; yet, and unlike some, openly and willingly acknowledge its shortcoming and realize Smith guns fall far from perfection. As to attacks, I haven't attacked you; and as to those to whom you feel have attached you, how can you make a blanket claim that anyone who criticizes you here is a member of the LCSCA? Bottom line is that you can't because you don't know anymore about their affiliations than do I. If you want to know what the LCSCA is and who the people in the organization are, then come to one of the events we host; there's certainly a fair number in the Northeast near where you live. I can assure you there's no finer group of people than the men and women in the LCSCA; but you can continue to be as stubborn as Walt if you choose and simply you'll never know for yourself.
As to your comment "Sorry your club is not the historical record keeper for L.C. Smith/Hunter Arms no matter how much you would like it to be. Bill Brophy made that decision long ago". The LCSCA isn't a museum (is one of our goals however) so the only alternative Brophy had at the time was Cody; and although the LCSCA is not the keeper of the original ledgers, we have an authorized copy of those records that is identical to the copy used by the clerks at Cody in checking serial numbers. You have no knowledge as to how the LCSCA obtained a copy of those records, nor how they've been utilized since; but allow me to share this bit of information "for the record". The majority of the records research performed by Cody revolves around the Winchester firearms records they hold; and because that is a true fact, these Winchester records generate a significant amount of revenue. In contrast, revenues generated by the old Hunter Arms records is miniscule; so obviously the result is that Cody's primary focus is other than LC Smith. Remington Arms, because they purchased the Marlin Firearms Company, is the current owner of the old Smith ledgers (not Cody); and it was the folks at Remington who made those records available to the LCSCA because they understood we'd actually do something with that information. As a result we now have more information, and more accurate information about LC Smith guns production today than ever before thanks to the dedicated, and tireless efforts of Jim Stubbendieck. If anyone is truly deserving of the moniker the "LC Smith Man", then that individual has to be Jim.
Sadly, you've too often demonstrated on this forum that you're not willing to accept the truth even when presented in a manner that is irrefutable. Your lack of an open mind is most unfortunate because you are so enthusiastic about the Smith gun otherwise; but the fact that you're so unwilling to acknowledge some of the most basic truths about Smith guns also means that you'll refuse to ever accept the fact the LC Smith Collectors Association has indeed become "the historical records keeper for L.C. Smith/Hunter Arms". I can assure you that all serious and knowledgeable Smith gun collectors now go first to the LCSCA and Jim Stubbendieck for letters of authentication. Anyone going to Cody first is either misinformed; or like you, stubborn as a mule.
Nudge
For the record, I recognized immediately who NDG was and recalled many of the old "Beans" posts and controversies. As everyone is entitled to their personal opinion, rightly or wrongly; it's OK with me if an individual chooses to ignore the truth, and I'm certainly not attempting an on-line debate with NDG. The majority of my comments were solely intended to either correct the record, or share information with other readers. Tom
