I was clicking away of some of the links, over at the right side of my blog page, that I have not visited recently enough, when I got to the one for the ArmsLocker. I clicked on it and got an unfamiliar looking page with the ArmsLocker logo at the top of the page but with no forums showing up (seems the address changed a it, I have now updated it in my link list). Anyone who has been to this site in the past knows that there were plenty of forums at the ArmsLocker site. If you visited the site in the last couple of years, you may have also realized that despite all the available forums, interest in that site was way down. I don't know why, it was a good forum with good people for the most part registered to use it and it had many interesting threads/posts. It was also run by a man that knows a thing or two about guns and about how to run a forum. Go figure, it was going bust anyhow.
With my interest in guns, my registration on said site, my having picked the name for said site (I am honored my creation was chosen), you probably can imagine that I was sorely disappointed to see what seemed to be the demise of the ArmsLocker. I was, then I became apathetic of a sort and I have not visited the site in weeks, maybe even a month or more. Then when I visited today and the site appeared to be down, it sank home that a good thing was gone and I had not done enough to prevent it from being lost though I did try a bit to help to keep it going. Then I clicked on the ArmsLocker logo at the top of the page. I don't know why I did it, perhaps maybe just curious, or hopeful, to see if the site was still alive. That click redirected me to what appeared to be the ArmsLocker forums but in a very new and somewhat abbreviated format.
It seems the site had fired its best shot and needed to be reloaded and that is exactly what was done. Where there used to be more forums, there are now a few less. The color scheme was also changed. Things certainly looked different so I supposed that Rich Z, the owner of the Armslocker, had made some format changes in the hopes of resurrecting the site. I was wrong. Upon looking at the 'Announcements' forum to see what was up with the new look, I immediately saw this thread: "ArmsLocker now has a new owner". It seems that Rich Z. laid his guns down, so to speak, regarding the ArmsLocker (though he is still a forum member). I cannot blame him. What I must do is congratulate him for bringing his guns to the fight in the first place and for the fact that he kept shooting his best shots all along despite the fact that the odds of success seemed against him. He is a good man who created a good gun forum site and who kept it up and running for years. I wish him the best in his other ventures. One of those is another forum he has up, one of a different nature, http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/ - a great site for the reptile & amphibian enthusiast.
As for the new owner of the ArmsLocker, his name is Lash. I know little else about him except that he went to the reloading station, set up the press and dies and has loaded a new charge into the ArmsLocker. He promises to keep the ArmsLocker going, to keep it free for users, says of himself that he likes guns and that he plans to improve the site and have the community grow by utilizing what Rich Z started. Sounds like a good deal to me and I for one intend to give it some help getting back off of the ground. With that in mind, I ask my readers to visit the site, and if you at all like what you see, I encourage you to register to become a member and then start posting in the forums. Just reading is one thing but keep in mind that forums are forums because we share our information and our stories there. Forums cannot succeed if all the visitor does is stop by to read them, you have got to contribute to keep it interesting and therefor to keep it going. Little posts, mediums sized posts, big posts - it does not matter - just post. So register there but take some shots too - start firing away with some of your firearms related anecdotes, your firearms information, pics of your guns, lists of your favorites, questions about firearms and other such shots. You don't have to be a great writer or a gun-know-it-all, just like at the range all you have to be is a shooter. So, keep a good thing going by keeping the ammo coming and remember it may have been reloaded but your finger on the trigger is what keeps it firing. Please, let's all take our best shots for the ArmsLocker, for the new owner Lash, for Rich Z who started it all and for our own enjoyment of our firearms related interests.
All the best,
Glenn B
