H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted January 11 Share Posted January 11 I got several S&W letters in the mail today that I ordered in early December. I am impressed by the quick turn around. I am also impressed how each letter seems to be custom written and not a form letter. Each one goes into general details about the model, and even that is not generic. For example, I got letter for 5 different M&P/Victory/Model 10s, and the "general section," of the letter was unique for each pistol. Then of course, then is the section on the individual gun itself, which goes into a lot more than just the dry stats like you get from other factory letters. For one letter, I got a copy of the original factory invoice, and one even had a copy of an article from American Rifleman about the original owner of one of my pistols! Which is the highlight of this post. Apparently, my New Model 3 Target that was made in 1887 was originally purchased by Arthur Corbin Gould of Boston, who was a champion target shooter back in the day. I never heard of him, but it's nice to know that one of my guns was once owned by someone "important" in the history of the shooting sports, and he was a local boy as well. All of this info, including the "extra details" on my New Model 3, was included in their standard price, with no premium charged for the additional information like some others do. (Hello, Colt?) Anyway, when all is said an done, I feel that S&W provides the best value for their letters. They go into a lot of detail, and are much less expensive than others who charge a lot more for less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watab kid Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 glad to hear this , sounds like these letters would be worth having , ive not done this with any of ,mine but i do have a few that probably deserve it , i wish all the factories still existed as they did when these firearms were mfgred but alas , thats not the case Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted January 12 Author Share Posted January 12 I am in the process of documenting as much of my collection as I can. If I can't get a factory letter, I'll e-mail the manufacturer and ask when the gun was made, putting their response where the letter would go if they did them. Failing that, I'll use whatever online tools I can find to get information. It's been a rewarding process. I've got letters from (or for) Colt, S&W, Fox, Parker, Winchester, Marlin, Ruger, Webley and Browning. I've got e-mail from Auto Ordinance and Beretta, and letters of authenticity from the CMP, and Mitchell's Mausers, and even some info from the NRA via Dope Bag for one of my Remingtons. I'd oddly fun doing the research, if expensive when you have a big collection. (My own guns, my Dad's, my brother's, and my nephews' all included!) By far, the most difficult stuff to track down seems to be Remington, but the data is available. Anyway, that's all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gunner, SASS #1940 Posted January 18 Share Posted January 18 How did you contact S&W? It might be worth it for me to get a couple of letters. How much did it cost? Thanks!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted January 18 Author Share Posted January 18 3 hours ago, Gunner, SASS #1940 said: How did you contact S&W? It might be worth it for me to get a couple of letters. How much did it cost? Thanks!! https://swhistoricalfoundation.com/letter-process/ $100 regular price $90 for members of S&WHF or S&WCA $75 for members of both. Worth joining both if you have a lotta letters to get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watab kid Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 i agree with you on that joining thing , also might learn some new things - not that i think you dont already know it all , im speaking for me that does not and learns something new every day if i can , what bothers me about the letters is if i letter all my worthy ones i think it will cost more than another addition to the collection , thats a tough pill to swallow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619 Posted January 19 Author Share Posted January 19 7 hours ago, watab kid said: i agree with you on that joining thing , also might learn some new things - not that i think you dont already know it all , im speaking for me that does not and learns something new every day if i can , what bothers me about the letters is if i letter all my worthy ones i think it will cost more than another addition to the collection , thats a tough pill to swallow I am lettering EVERYTHING in my collection. Colt, S&W, Winchester, Marlin, Savage, Parker, Webley, Browning, Ruger, and then digging up what info I can on everything else. It's expensive, and time consuming, but I think it's worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
watab kid Posted January 19 Share Posted January 19 i admire that , it is a big job , ive researched everything i have to a degree possible , but not looking to letter everything , may change my ind one day , Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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