EP>         Bill, I couldn't understand why anyone would want a revolver
 EP>         chambered in .45 ACP. Now I do. Good thinking. Ernie P.
Thanks for the reply, Ernie.
In my browsing for a .45acp revolver, (braced with the knowledge I gained 
from this echo on what to look for), I ran into what I consider a sad 
story....
At a gun store I'd done some business with from time to time in a small town 
west of Ft. Worth where I travel on business semi-regularly, I asked if they 
ever got an S&W 1917.  Guy behind the counter I usually dealt with said that 
matter of fact, they had one now, in the most pristine condition he'd ever 
seen, but the owner's brother wanted it so the owner was holding it for him.
I asked to see it, so the counter guy went and got it out of the safe to show 
me.  It was an absolutely perfect example, with no evidence of wear 
whatsoever, stamped with US Army markings, and we both marveled at how it 
could be so old and yet in such good condition.
I asked where they got it, and here comes the sad part.  The counter guy said 
a very young man came in one day wanting to sell it.  Because of the young 
man's age and the type and condition of the gun, the owner was suspicious 
that it might be stolen, so he questioned where he got it.  He said his 
Grandfather recently died and left it to him in his will. Said he was told 
his Grandfather had owned it for many years.   When asked why he wanted to 
sell it, he said it was so he could take his girlfriend to Ft. Worth for the 
weekend and party.
The town the store is in is small enough that it only took a couple of phone 
calls to verify his story, so the owner bought it.  Wouldn't say what he paid 
for it, but it was nice enough that the owner put a $450 price tag on it 
before his brother decided he wanted it.
Somehow I found that profoundly sad that his Grandfather cherished the gun 
enough to hang on to it all those years, specifically called out in his will 
that it should go to his grandson, and the little ingrate felt a party 
weekend with his girlfriend had a higher value.
Somehow the worth of a family heirloom such as this is being lost on some, 
hopefully not all, of the newest generation.
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