Newsletter Archives for the V.G.C.A.
V.G.C.A. NEWS August, 2003
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This Month's Topics:
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Next Meeting
The next VGCA Meeting will be another joint VGCA-NRA sponsored meeting. It will
start at 7 p.m. on 28 August at the NRA Conference Room and will feature Mike
Kerrick, a writer from the Gun Report. Mike will discuss the guns of Lewis and
Clark, and there will undoubtedly be a surprise or two.
Next Gun Show
Our next show will be at Hugo’s on 27-28 September. Volunteers for the various
committees are still needed, and Emory Hackman will be asking for Safety
Committee and Security Committee volunteers at the next meeting. If you know of
a place or two to distribute the fliers/show announcements, please take a
package or two at the meeting. Signup sheets will also be available for the
various committees.
June Meeting
The last scheduled meeting was in June. Scott Meadows, who was to talk about .45
pistols, had to cancel at the last moment. Phil Schreier introduced a most
worthy replacement, Ken Smith-Christmas, who gave a presentation on the History
of Firearms Involved in the Irish Nationalist Movement. Many interesting tidbits
were shared, and one of the most interesting is that there are 20,000 Nagant
Model 91-30 rifles at the bottom of the ocean near Cork.
Show and Tell
As always, this part of the meeting was outstanding. Some of us just plain keep
repeating that it never ceases to amaze at what the members bring in.
Brian Turner showed a falling-breech rifle made in Norwich, Connecticut. Hack Hackworth then showed us a Springfield .45, and Con Rice followed with a solid-rubber .45 and a Les Baer custom .45. Carl Karesh came down from Connecticut with an Unquality carbine and some fantastic .45s: two USMC 1911s, serial number 43 made on 4 January 1912, a Colt ACE model, and a Singer.
Bill York also came down from Connecticut to show us a 1911 from Julian Hatcher’s estate and a Colt Commander prototype for the Air Force. Vince Rausch followed Bill with a 1905, a 191 1 Navy, a Springfield 1911, two Norwegian 1911s, and a .455 Webley. Al Jorgenson then showed a 1911 C-Model made in 1912.
Addison showed his Ithaca 1911A1 that is still in the grease. Bill Edwards then talked about his Konigsburg .45 and three nonguns: a Singer, a North American, and a John Wayne. Larry Hare showed a Rocky Mountain Arms .45, and Eric Emerson a Yugoslavian AK semiauto chambered in 8mm. Ernie Lyles proudly displayed his new pride and joy, a Liberator, and a .357 semiauto (yes, semiauto) revolver made by Mateba.
New Members
Six new members were welcomed at the last meeting: Christopher A. Smith, Roger
G. Martin, Jerry Keathley, George A. Dixon, William W. Aleshire, and Raymond
Krull. A good way for new members to get involved in the activities of the VGCA
is to volunteer a few hours at our gun shows.
VSSA Meeting
The VSSA Annual Meeting this year and our September show will finally not
coincide. It will be on 13 September at the Fredericksburg Rod and Gun Club.
There will be a swap meet and some great demonstrations: Trap shooting by the
Virginia State Champions, Cowboy action shooting, and IPSIC. There will be a
cook out, and lunch and dinner will be served. The USMC Pistol Team will also be
there. Additional information is available at
Executice.Director@mvvssa.org.
Secretary’s Subtleties
Please folks, do not call me for any additional information about the VSSA
meeting. I don’t know anymore about it. I hope nobody showed up at the NRA
building for a meeting in July. Addison and I received more than a few phone
calls. All I can say is please read your newsletter.
If you can volunteer some time at the show, please do so. The shows are getting more costly all the time, and we are having to hire additional help. Liability insurance is an example of rising costs, $5,500.00 for the two shows per year.
President’s Corner
Let’s make the show in September the best yet. The last one was as good as
any in the past. To keep the shows on the level we want them to be at, we can
use a few more helpers. Come on out and volunteer a bit of your time.
The next meeting is in October, and the November and December meetings are always combined on the first Thursday in December.
Lastly, please don’t forget that
the next election will be for the four officers, and Mike is not going to run
for Secretary again. There will be more about it in the next few Newsletters.
Come hear about Lewis and Clark. -- Addison