While I admire and encourage the entrepreneurial spirit of sharing one's knowledge in a publication, I don't agree with the suggestion several have made regarding the PGCA underwriting some of the expense. Doing so has the appearance of condoning amateur gunsmithing. There is a fuzzy area of someone working on his own firearm, and working on a "friend's gun". I can see the disclaimers already.
Some PGCA board members have stated their own personal experiences with one professional gunsmith or another, and I think in those instances, it's apparent that's what they were; personal experiences, and not Association endorsements.
The assumed safety, and reliability of a potential purchase I might be considering would have the added factor thrown in: Never been touched, worked on by only skilled gunsmiths, using proper tools, techniques and materials, and now, worked on by shade tree mechanics.
Lastly, I am reasonably confident that the reserve of funds available to the board is not limitless, and many worthy expenses have to be weighed annually, many of which get tabled.
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