Archive for January 2013

2013

What a busy beginning to the new year. After spending a little more than two weeks in South Africa over Christmas, I arrived back in the USA on New Years day. But I would not have much rest before our semester start on Jan 7 as I flew to Dallas on the 2nd to attend the Dallas Safari Club/American Custom Gunmakers Guild 2013 meeting, together with a group of MCC gunsmithing students. This was the first time the ACCG was displaying in conjunction with DSC. It was truly an experience to see the high quality of work that the ACCG members had on display. The show also gave us the opportunity to speak to and pick the brains of ACCG members which was very educational. The DSC show was also a very worthwhile experience as there were many manufacturers of fine firearms with booths such as Fausti, Rigby and O’Farril Shirley to name a few. Rigby had one of their gunsmiths on hand and he actually performed some work in their booth and answered any questions about his work and techniques. Another highlight of the show was the opportunity to attend the ACCG banquet on Saturday night. Personally, I was also honored to receive a scholarship from ACCG during their annual meeting on Friday morning.

My thanks goes to ACCG for not only the monetary award, but also the high regard they have for the potential of my work. Since I am busy thanking people, I should also thank Pete Brownell of Brownells for helping defray the cost of the ACCG banquet for myself and all the students of gunsmithing schools that was in attendance at the meeting. Finally, I have to thank my good friend Sydney for the donation of air-miles that helped get to and from Dallas. I am grateful for the help from all of you.

Back in North Carolina, and back into the start of a new semester. This is the 5th of six and is going to be a very busy one.

Friday means I am back on an aircraft, this time heading for Las Vegas and SHOT show 2013. This is the largest trade show of its kind in the world with over 600000 square feet of exhibits and more than 60000 attendees. It is only open to the industry. All the major manufacturers attend and this is an excellent opportunity for networking and learning more about the firearms industry. Most of the suppliers that gunsmiths use also attend and it is a good opportunity to also thank them for their support of our program at MCC and to give them feedback on their product lines. At the end of the show, there were many sore feet but (for me at least) many new contacts made.

The trip to Las Vegas was also special for me this year as I was able to attend the American Pistolsmith Guild’s annual meeting and banquet. This came about as a result of a scholarship that they awarded me and I was publicly recognized as a winner during the meeting. Again, I am honored for the high regard that they viewed my potential.