Also known as, Damn, my feet hurt
From 8 this morning 'till 6 this evening at the Wanamacher Gun Show in Tulsa. Firearms in all directions, ammo and cleaning stuff and knives and components and tools and books and, and, and...
God, it was a long day but I like a good show. Besides finding stuff to drool over and/or buy and/or talk about, you can meet some interesting folks. And there's stuff to look at and go, "Huh?"
Case in point, finally saw some ammunition for the .17 Aguila. It's basically a .22 Long Rifle case necked down to hold a tiny .17 caliber bullet. What makes it a "huh?" is that there was not a single firearm in the whole bloody show chambered for it.
Neat stuff, among other things was a beautiful BSA Martini rifle. This is a British single-shot, in this case with a kangaroo stamp on the barrel, 'Commonwealth of Australia' and NSW on the receiver. Beautiful condition, and very tempting, except for one thing.
There is a type of ammo called a 'wildcat'. Usually, someone has a bright idea for a new cartridge, makes or has made dies to take brass from an existing cartridge and reshape it, gets some suitable bullets and works up loads for it. Sometimes this leads to a cartridge that gets very popular and some major company begins making it, like the 7mm/08. Other times it remains a curiosity. This lovely rifle was chambered for a round made by necking .22 Hornet cases down to .17 caliber. The rifle came with the forming dies, but... Some cases can be a pain to form, then they should be fireformed to fit the chamber of that firearm(load with a light powder charge and bullet, shoot), then you can work up a load that's actually usable. With that to do just to shoot it, no thank you.
In a way it's probably a good thing; if it had been some standard cartridge I'd have been damn tempted to make an offer, so I was saved from temptation. Dammit.
Some various bits & pieces did come home with me, and had the day with a friend, so all worked out well. Or so I'm telling my legs.
By the way, do not be fooled. Seriously hot ladies are to be seen at such events, often wearing leather and shirts with things like "Body piercing by Ruger" on them. How can people not like gun shows?
2 comments:
Yeah, I have to agree. I managed to march through in 6 hours. The 50th. Anniversary flyer said there were 6 miles of aisles and I believe it. Managed to pick up a few goodies but still refrained from breaking the bank. A hard show to leave.
The "eye candy" is always fun to look at. Noticed the Ruger shirts too:-)
My all around favorite gun show! The gun show of gun shows!
Seemed to be a Kerry free zone too.
Six hours?!? How fast do you trot?
I was there pretty much opening 'till closing with a friend, and there were some aisles didn't go through.
'Course, when my friend stops to talk, he TALKS, and it does slow things down a bit.
I just wish I could have found some Martini sling hooks and studs.
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