Winchester Repeating Arms Company. Herb Houze

       National Rifle Association

       CODE OF ETHICS FOR GUN COLLECTORS AND DEALERS

       ‘A listing of practices considered unethical and injurious to the best interests of the collecting fraternity.’

      1. The manufacture or sale of a spurious copy of a valuable firearm. This shall include the production of full scale replicas of historic models and accessories, regardless of easily effaced modern markings, and it also shall include the rebuilding of any authentic weapon into a rarer and more valuable model. It shall not include the manufacture or sale of firearms or accessories which cannot be easily confused with the rare models of famous makers. Such items are: plastic or pottery products, miniatures, firearms of original design, or other examples of individual skill, plainly stamped with the maker’s name and date, made up as examples of utility and craftsmanship and not representative of the designs or models of any old-time arms maker.

      2. The alteration of any marking or serial number, or the assembling and artificially aging of unrelated parts for the purpose of creating a more valuable or unique firearm, with or without immediate intent to defraud. This shall not include the legitimate restoration or completion of missing parts with those of original type, provided that such completions or restorations are indicated to a prospective buyer.

      3. The refinishing (bluing, browning, or plating) or engraving of any collectors weapons, unless the weapons may be clearly marked under the stocks or elsewhere to indicate the date and nature of the work, and provided the seller unequivocally shall describe such non-original treatment to a buyer.

      4. The direct or indirect efforts of a seller to attach a spurious historical association to a firearm in an effort to inflate its fair value; efforts to “plant” a firearm under circumstances which are designed to inflate the fair value.

      5. The employment of unfair or shady practices in buying, selling, or trading at the expense of young and inexperienced collectors or anyone else; the devious use of false appraisals, collusion and other sharp practices for personal gain.

      6. The use of inaccurate, misleading, or falsified representations in direct sales or in selling by sales list, catalog, periodical advertisement and other media; the failure to make prompt refunds, adjustments or other proper restitution on all just claims which may arise from arms sales, direct or by mail.

(*) Preceding a title indicates the book is currently in print.

Chapter IV

       The Arms Library

      The importance of a few basic titles to start the neophyte on the right foot has been discussed. As the collector progresses, he will soon find his greatest asset to be a good arms library, coupled with the knowledge of how to use it. Very likely this is one of the most underestimated and underutilized of all natural resources in collecting; whether in firearms or any other hobby. Research works are of key importance to the gun trader and the collector alike; especially so in this day and age with the strong competition prevalent. Utilizing the facts and minutiae gleaned from those reference works is very much analogous to separating the men from the boys on today’s gun market. Just about everybody knows the basics, but the fine points—that’s where some get lazy or lethargic, and that’s where some of the biggest bargains, and even “sleepers” can still be found. Normally a collector’s astuteness is in direct proportion to his reading list. Reading chapter and verse of most reference books is unnecessary, but one should at least be familiar with the general content and coverage of as many of the gun books as possible. Not all arms books are worthy of purchase. As a matter of fact, considerable misinformation and unsubstantiated facts are to be found between the covers of many titles, and hence, discretion must be used in their purchase. Following published reviews or seeking advice and opinions from knowledgeable fellow collectors is the best way of judging a book’s value; the unworthy ones usually have acquired a reputation that precedes them.

      In recent years the book market has been flooded with elegant examples of the publisher’s art, exemplified by massive tomes illustrating exquisite arms from many leading museums and collections. Often derisively termed “coffee-table” editions, they are most often seen available during the height of the pre-Christmas selling frenzy when the gift-book market is at its peak and the book buyers sense of judgment and discretion is often at its lowest! These books are quite aptly named; first, they are so damned big they rarely fit on a library shelf, and thus the only place to put them is on a coffee table. Secondly, that position seems to be their chief redeeming value (as if some status symbol) where they may be idly thumbed through to admire the handsome photography. It would be unfair to condemn them all, but the majority contain quite elementary texts and the guns illustrated are very often repeated book after book. The profusion of these volumes is becoming tiresome, and the collector (and his relatives too!) is warned to exercise judgment before laying out large sums for the coffee table titles. An observation of this aspect of the gun book market reveals that most are issued at very high prices and within a year are generally remaindered at prices substantially below the original retail. For the casual or even active gun trader such picture books do not offer much other than a few moments of idle musing.

      Quite often gun books are themselves good investments. It is an interesting fact and one quite consistent over the years that many titles, especially those that are considered standard reference works or basic to various specialties, become more valuable the moment they go out of print. Quite a few arms books are published in limited quantities by small publishing firms or privately printed by the authors themselves.

      In many instances once the first edition is out of print, there is little chance that the title will ever become available again. In such cases the price often can increase, two, three or four times over; based not on rare book status, but on the value of its information to the collector. Of course, in a great many instances the publisher does reprint the book if it has proved to be popular; but with present day publishing in a volatile state, one never knows if a book will ever come back once it is out of print. These remarks are not intended to spark any speculation in book buying (sometimes a hazardous game), but they do reflect the fact that arms books are worthy purchases from the financial standpoint as well as the literary.

      A few dealers specialize in gun books and issue annual catalogs describing their complete stock. The annual edition of Gun Digest includes a detailed section covering most books currently in print on the subject of collecting as well as shooting, repairing, etc., antique and modern guns; also listed are various dealers handling these titles.