The show is a mix of airguns, bb guns, cap guns, sling shots...but absolutely no firearms.
The show started at 9 Am and was in full swing by 10AM. It was tough just walking down some of the aisles at times.
This is a pic from around noon. The crowd is starting to thin out a bit.
The tables held amazing things ranging from left handed 10 meter match guns to rubber band repeaters.
The dealers were buying as well as selling. Here's Steve Joseph with his new Feinwerkbau 124 with a sport aperture sight. It appeared to be almost NIB.
The variety was fantastic.
If you've never made it to an airgun show, you'll see tables full of things you previously only found in the Blue Book.
Many, if not most, of the guns were in exceptional condition.
A ball flask pistol. Seriously.
There was no shortage of vintage American guns. Crosmans and Benjamins were on almost every table and rack.
Dennis Quackenbush was in attendance and brought several of his big bore rifles and pistols. He was reluctant to be photographed as he wanted the focus to be on his work and not himself. Dennis is truly a kind and humble guy.
Nephew Joseph and buddy Joe. I kept slipping Joseph money all day so he could afford to buy something. Can you imagine being a kid and coming home from a show like this empty handed? All of the vendors really went out of their way to talk to Joseph and the other kids who made the trip. Joseph struck a deal with one of the sellers for a nice, used Crosman 1077 for less than half what he could have gotten for it. Theodore Summers sold us 6 spare magazines for the price of five. Thanks Theodore! Joseph did the math in his head and can't believe he can shoot 84 times now before he's got to reload pellets. He's hooked.
I just wanted to pack up this whole table into my car.
Le's see, up top looks like a Benjamin EB, a left-handed Gamo Compact, and a BSF. Below is an FEG CO2 match pistol probably branded as a Daisy.
Pyramyd Air was in attendance selling dented tins of pellets at $5 a tin. They were pouring through them at that price. They also brought several rifles to show and take orders.
Buddy Joe near the end of the show.
Did I mention cap guns? These belong to...
...longtime cap gun collector Bob Bailey.
I think I counted 7 or 8 Daisy CO2 200's. If you ever find one, it's a safe bet that it won't work.
Roman Vitale.
A semi-auto five shot Hammerli match gun.
Mike Sawmiller has some exceptional taste in guns.
There was a Brown pneumatic pistol. Really--a Brown pneumatic. Unbelievably rare.
This was a show for the southpaws.
LH tyrolean.
I bought a few things. I've been semi-hunting for a S&W 78G. Seems like every time I find one, it's a 79 and I didn't want the .177 caliber. The price was right and it was holding gas at the show. It had just been gassed up a couple days before. As I took this picture, one of the valve seals failed. I don't blame the vendor at all. It was just one of those crazy things and I would have bought it for the same price regardless. I didn't haggle on it either as he'd driven at least 6 hours and had to cover the cost of a hotel room. I'm just really glad he was there and brought it. I had the gun fixed with new o-ring seals later that same night. No problem.
Got these from airgun tuner Ken Reeves. They're not complete, but considering how many I had before, this is a goldmine of information.
Pyramyd Air was giving away the pellet pen loader with each purchase. The .20 cal JSB's were hard to pass up at $5 per tin. The Vortek Lampreys are .22 cal--I've never known they were available in that caliber before. I need pellets like a hole in the head. I must have 60K pellets right now.
Took a chance on this. It's a Daisy 790--yeah that .177 cal version of the S&W I've been reluctant to buy. Box is marked as "complete". It's not. The trigger blade is missing. The top slide is also damaged where the rear sight mounts. At least I've got parts for my 78G, or Nick can have it.
Shoot. It's in good condition otherwise. Anybody got a trigger for a S&W or the Daisy? Maybe a broken gun we can scavenge?
Addendum: The seller just contacted me about the box of Daisy 790 parts above. He was horrified to learn that it wasn't complete as he had sold it to me. He offered immediately to refund all the money and let me keep the gun. I don't believe for a second that the seller knew it was missing a piece, and I didn't intend to imply that either. I looked at the box and didn't notice it, nor did he. I have absolutely no intention of taking him up on that offer and I wouldn't hesitate for a second to buy something from him in the future. That's the kind of people this show attracts.
Great time at the show. Put it on your calendar for next year.
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