Fairground guns

[ggggr]

See thread below. Ive picked up a paratrooper with 3ft of chain fixed to it by a large pop rivet and assume its an ex fairground gun. Its got me thinking--What guns are used on fairgrounds now? (not been on one in about 20 years).
I really cant remember what guns were on when I was a kid but suspect they were ancient cadets and meteors. I remember one rifle was so weak that it wouldnt knock the tin man over even if you hit him on the head! Did the guns used on static fairgrounds differ in different parts of the country? Im sure quite a few people will have memories about this?

[clueless]

Hi, I grew up in Harrogate and the fair there used paratroopers when i was a kid.. All the fairs i have been to recently have had no shooting stalls at all, must be a sign of the times

However i went to a fair in Denmark last year and that had a range with semi-auto rimfires, great fun

[OLD JUD]

Back in the 60's old Diana's, sights were set off zero so you couldn't win that cuddly toy!

[edbear2]

I've seen, from the 1960's up to the present.....paratroopers, cadets, cadet majors, meteors, dianas....and haenel 310 bolt actions......most usually with the telltale skywards pointing barrel, and carefully "adjusted for maximum profit/windage" rearsight.....used to be the little tin boxes with knockdowns....prize was a smelly, fluffy toy, coconut, or plaster ornament.......or some times a bottle of pomagne/cheap spirits or similar hanging by a bit of twine carefully set 1/4 of an inch away from a pipe....you had to cut the string with a pellet (some carefully frayed to give the impression it was possible!!).....I actually won 2 bottles to the dismay of the stallholder in cirencester mop many moons ago....the strings were touching the pipe...I was loading the pellets backwards....and it was busy so they didnt notice me firing all the extra pellets I had brought from home...the other good one was the ping pong ball on the waterjet....usually with haenels.......in fact, at last years bristol air balloon festival, there was a stall with 310 bolt action guns.all well used but still going strong....the stall holder was complaining about how many magazines were stolen each season.....Pistol wise, gats with corks shooting packets of fags off shelves, and another favorite of my youth.aeromatic full auto bb guns ..shoot out the red star on the target.....have seen this done only once, by a ex squaddie...he was about 50 years old back in the early 70's, and was firing 2-3 shot taps......the stallholder must have looked for 5 mins for a bit of red ink left.....then his mate looked, by then everybody was giving them a bit of stick, so they handed over the money....think it was £10....not to be sneezed at in those days!

[edbear2]

P.S.......until last year at the welland steam rally, there was an old boy with winchester mod 1890 pump rimfires.....I had a long chat with him....he had been doing it for 40 odd years and was on the point of retiring.... And I realised as we spoke, that I, as a nipper, had actually used his stuff when about 10 years old in cirencester!.......back then he had about 8 rifles, and 2 webley mk6 .22 revolvers.....the ammo was piled loose in a huge mixing bowl in the middle of the stall, and the targets were steel knockdowns on a track (little ducks and rabbits) and hundreds of old glass bottles .....At last years fair there was another guy with the old winchesters....he had a gypsy horse drawn caravan, with two 30 steel pipes going through it from about 5 foot in the air....down to the ground behind the caravan......the ends had steel backstops, and you fired the guns with the muzzles inside the pipes at the distant targets....all a family owned and original vintage fair set up......but there were a lot of snidey comments coming from people when they saw/heard the guns....not from the country types of course!......just smiles and memories

[aeron]

Didnt the .22 rimfire use disintegrating rounds ?

[Hemmers]

However i went to a fair in Denmark last year and that had a range with semi-auto rimfires, great fun

There was one at the Midlands Game Fair last year down the hill from the AirGun Expo. A load of .22 semis, or if you paid more, you could shoot the "AK47" (another .22semi with a bad body kit/aftermarket stock).

[edbear2]

Didnt the .22 rimfire use disintegrating rounds ?

They used to use "bb caps".......really early on....basically not much more than a primer and head......but the ones I shot in the 70's were normal .22 short eley years ago, and .22lr recently.........the odd splash or two happened, everybody would just giggle.......pre currant P.C. fun and games......very slight chance of a small injury.....thats what made it fun.....we would save for weeks and shoot dozens of bottles to bits faster than the old guy could replace them....he would only get annoyed if people shot across, rather than straight down range.

[skeeter]

Every year at the end of July, there has been a .22 rifle range at the War And Peace Show, The Hop Farm, Beltring, Kent. It's all permanently setup and mounted on a large trailer, it even has an extractor fan ventilation system.

According to a Home Office booklet entitled "firearms, approval of rifle and muzzle-loading pistol clubs, a paragraph on the last page but one, states,

"MINIATURE RIFLE RANGES AND SHOOTING GALLERIES"

A person operating a miniature rifle range or shooting gallery at which either miniature rifles not exceeding 5.84mm (.23) calibre or air weapons are used may posses, purchase or acquire such miniature rifles and their ammunition without holding a firearm certificate. Anyone may use these rifles and ammunition at a range or gallery of this type without a firearm certificate. No club approval is necessary.

I have visited the show many times, but haven't asked the operator of the rifle range whether he has any certificates of any kind, I don't think many gun shops will sell thousands of rounds of .22 ammo, or rifles without any kind of authorization.

[barryeye]

As a lad in Tottenham circa 1965 a traveling fair used to come to the Lordship Lane Park once a year. Top of my mates and my list was the .22 shooting gallery. As already mentioned they used .22 rim fire Winchester pump actions. We would wait until the gallery was very busy and then pay a horrific charge for 10 round of .22 long rifle. The stall attendant would load the rifle and leave us to engage our card target. One of us would shoot and a mate would stand very close to the shooter on his right. After a reasonable time we would indicate to the stall attendant that we had finished. He would check that the rifle was empty and then wheel in our target.
“Sorry lads. You need more practice. No hits at all” he would say or words to that effect.
Heads hung in fake shame we would retreat from the gallery.
Of course there were no hits on the target. That was the plan. The shooter would aim and pretend to shoot but pump the action and eject live rounds. They would be scooped up by the mate on his right. This was the only way we knew of getting .22 ammo without a firearms certificate. Highly illegal and very expensive.
The treasured rounds would be fired later in one of our very legal .22 smooth bore “garden guns”. Very inaccurate but there was the thrill and lure of forbidden fruit.
In later years the ruse was cottoned on to and the number of shooters was limited or attendants increased.Do NOT try this at home.

Confession is good for the sole.
Barry

[magicesperanto]

Last one I saw was about 20 years ago at a steam fair.
A clever system where a .22 RF pump action fired down a metal tube about 18” diameter X 20ft or so long.
At the far end was an illuminated card target and bullet trap.
At the front-end the rifle was chained so that it was free to aim, but 6” of barrel was inside the tube so could only be aimed into the tube.

[Hemmers]

I have visited the show many times, but haven't asked the operator of the rifle range whether he has any certificates of any kind, I don't think many gun shops will sell 10's of thousands of .22 ammo, or even rifles without any kind of authorization.

Quite a few smallbore target rifle clubs operate under this exemption. The NSRA issues "exemption certificates" to such clubs, which quote the relevant bit of the Firearms Act and features the club name, NSRA affiliation number, etc. It's in no way official like an FAC, but offers a certain marque of legitimacy to claiming under the exemption as the dealer can nip to the phone and at least check the club is real (as opposed to someone just randomly walking in and saying "hello, Ii'd like to buy a rifle under this exemption").

It's still perfectly legal for a dealer to sell under that exemption, and is used by a few clubs across the country but it ultimately relies on you having a relationship with a dealer who knows you're legitimate. I wouldn't presume to be able to walk into a shop in Leeds with a certificate for a club in Hampshire and expect them to sell me anything. On the other hand, a local dealer who knows the club exists, knows it's legit, etc would be happy to do it.

[Jim McArthur]

As a lad in Tottenham circa 1965 a traveling fair used to come to the Lordship Lane Park once a year. Top of my mates and my list was the .22 shooting gallery. As already mentioned they used .22 rim fire Winchester pump actions. We would wait until the gallery was very busy and then pay a horrific charge for 10 round of .22 long rifle. The stall attendant would load the rifle and leave us to engage our card target. One of us would shoot and a mate would stand very close to the shooter on his right. After a reasonable time we would indicate to the stall attendant that we had finished. He would check that the rifle was empty and then wheel in our target.
“Sorry lads. You need more practice. No hits at all” he would say or words to that effect.
Heads hung in fake shame we would retreat from the gallery.
Of course there were no hits on the target. That was the plan. The shooter would aim and pretend to shoot but pump the action and eject live rounds. They would be scooped up by the mate on his right. This was the only way we knew of getting .22 ammo without a firearms certificate. Highly illegal and very expensive.
The treasured rounds would be fired later in one of our very legal .22 smooth bore “garden guns”. Very inaccurate but there was the thrill and lure of forbidden fruit.
In later years the ruse was cottoned on to and the number of shooters was limited or attendants increased.Do NOT try this at home.

Confession is good for the sole.
Barry

Great post, Barry.

Jim

[DJS]

This rifle range was at the Dorset steam fair last year.
Pic 1
Pic 2

The rifles were Winchester pump actions and were using standard .22lr ammo. It was great fun, they even let my 5 year old son have a go!
Daz

[edbear2]

This rifle range was at the Dorset steam fair last year.
Pic 1
Pic 2

The rifles were Winchester pump actions and were using standard .22lr ammo. It was great fun, they even let my 5 year old son have a go!
Daz

Thats the guy who was at welland steam fair!.......saving my pennys already