Gun Collectors Corner Crazy Things Collectors Do By: Daryl Valdes W


elcome to 2017. The 45th President of the United States is official as of January 20th. I am so glad to say it is not President Hillary Clinton, an avowed anti-gun and big government proponent with a tendency for selfenrichment. We collectors can now catch our breath and reflect on who our pro-gun friends have been and who our gun rights enemies are, and what might have been.


I was doing a lot of mental math in October and November 2016 trying to figure out whether I should bite the proverbial bullet and buy the one or two things on the top of my list or roll the dice. It looked dire, and I will confess that I began watching the election results coverage trying to anticipate how much the panic prices would increase relative to the availability of what I have wanted to add to my collection.


that?” is one of my favorites to use, “uh sir the folks in line behind you want to pay for their groceries….” Yes we can lose perspective after a few negotiated discounts at the gun show. We also collect gun stuff that is associated with our collections. I like to collect pins related to firearms, such as the little Glock pistol, the tiny Winchester AA shell, TSRA pins, exotic pins collected at the SHOT and NRA shows.


One of my heroes is Lee S. who you will find him behind his table at the Houston Gun Collectors Shows bedazzled in his awesome array of pins and patches. Last time I talked with him, he still needs some TSRA pins to complete his collection.


I also have a collection of the Glock logo stickers. The early ones have a gold background with the Austrian and U.S.


I challenge you to gift at least one TSRA membership. If you do, we can double our membership to 80,000 before the Texas Legislature goes home this year.


Thanks to you collectors and gun rights enthusiasts, we won. But stay vigilant. There are still things to do here this legislative session.


Sign up friends and relatives — a TSRA membership is a nice gift. I challenge you to gift at least one membership. If you do, we could double our membership to 80,000 before the Texas Legislature goes home this year. Back to the crazy things we do as collectors. Haggling is one thing we like to do. “What do you have to get for


30 | TSRA Sportsman


flags and a non-railed G17. The later ones turned silver and removed the flags and moved to Gen 3 and Gen 4 models. To feed my sticker habit, I have moved to stronger fixes like finding someone to custom-create stickers. Shawn at frekigraphix@gmail.com recently re-created a HK pictograph sticker set complete with thumb lever and single through full auto bullet icons. It’s so cool! Being a fan of the late brand of awesome British carbines, I also had him create a Sterling sticker. Maybe in a galaxy far far away, but around here trying to find


Sterling collectibles is difficult. One brand that I admire for


generating brand collectibles was Ruger. They had ashtrays, tie tacs, cuff links, ties, patches and even supported a Ruger Collectors Association. Many of the large firearms manufacturers now offer branded items for sale, after realizing that in the 1950s Ruger capitalized on a loyal customer base eager to associate with non-politically correct firearm brands.


There are also gun books to collect.


You have vintage (old), first editions, limited editions, private editions, reprints priced right, signed copies and on and on. There have been times in our family when the budget just did not support gun collecting, and it was gun books that helped me make it. A friend turned me on to Half Price Books and I have made it a habit to stop in while traveling to other cities. My newest book is the Seven Serpents Colt wheel gun book by Brown and Fjestad from Blue Book Publications. My favorite publisher of gun books is Collector Grade Publications. My favorite of their books is their book on Sterling’s titled The Guns of Dagenham, which is unfortunately now out of print. Let me close by reminding you that the TSRA Annual Meeting is in Austin on Feb. 25, 2017. Come out and join in the fellowship and learn what TSRA is doing and does for Texas. Make sure you bring that new open carry rig to show off too and men you are invited as well.


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