Dear Customer Service

by
posted on August 15, 2011
keefe2015_fs.jpg (1)

Early Monday morning I received a call from NRA Secretary Edward J. “Jim” Land, Jr., USMC (Ret.). Jim has the difficult, and at times enviable, job of running the corporation part of the Association, including the NRA Annual Meetings and the NRA Board Meetings. A shooter’s shooter, Jim is double distinguished, was a Marine officer in Vietnam and is one of the fathers of the modern Marine Corps sniping program.

Jim is both my friend and hero, so when he needs help with a firearm or equipment or just getting to the right person, I’m always happy to help. He called me to his office for “some help with the Leupold people.”

I sent the following to my friend Pat Mundy of Leupold’s marketing department (a really good guy) without further explanation and the attached photo taken on Jim’s desk:

Dear Pat: Do you know Jim Land is? He's NRA Secretary, one of our top officers of the Association. He's a retired USMC major and was Carlos Hathcock's CO in Vietnam.

He asked me to have a look at his Leupold binoculars. He likes them quite a lot but has been having some trouble with them.

Is there a guy you really trust in customer service we could send them to? Nebraska deer season is right around the corner, so we are hoping for a quick turnaround.

Many thanks,
Mark iv

What I didn’t tell him was that Jim had left the binoculars (forensic examination indicates that, at one time, they were Leupold Wind Rivers) on the bumper of a truck, and they fell off in a field last deer season. They were subsequently well and thoroughly minced by a bush hog clearing the field.

To paraphrase my favorite Leupold ad of the 1980s: “That bush hog thought my binoculars were just another stump …"

Latest

 American Revolution painting
 American Revolution painting

The Shot Heard Round The World: The Arms & Events Of April 19, 1775

April 2025 marks 250 years since the momentous events at Lexington and Concord—the opening salvos of the American Revolution. Today, exhaustive research of primary accounts and surviving firearms and artifacts give us a clearer picture of what really happened.

Gun Of The Week: Browning Citori 825 Field

Learn about Browning's latest version of the famed Citori shotgun, the Citori 825 Field, in this week’s range video.

The Armed Citizen® April 18, 2025

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

"The Shot Heard Round The World:" 250 Years Later

On April 19, 1775, simmering tensions between Great Britain and her colonists erupted into warfare with the engagements at the Massachusetts towns of Lexington and Concord.

Watchtower Firearms Re-Organizing

Watchtower Firearms, a veteran-owned firm based in Texas filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection in late February 2025 to restructure and re-organize its financial structure.

The Road To Revolution: 250 Years Later

The militiamen who stood in defiance on Lexington Green are the first who fired upon the British regulars, but the road to revolution was paved long before gunfire erupted on that cold April morning in Massachusetts.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.