Fairground Air Guns

[silva]

The local village shows round our way had a stall with Asi Commando's and the fun fare at Barmouth had compressed air full auto Thompson machine BB guns, that had to be fired from the hip at a red star target. Llanfyllin show had a rotating target on a driven belt, with a variety of loaned airguns to use. I remember that was the first time I fired an airsporter !
The Royal Welch Fusilers had a recruiting trailer range at Welshpool Show in the early 1980's with rimfire .22 SLR's shooting at Nato type targets and it was free for children ! I have looked for the military specifications for this portable trailer range but never managed to find them, does anyone on the BBS have anymore info, though perhaps it was made in their workshops and didn't have a military type approval, it isn't in the ranges manual.

[fat man]

Some great memories of a using a Thompson look alike bb firer at the fair in Barry Island Vale of Glamorgan early 80,s - it might have been a Mc Glashan as it was at least 40-50 years old then. My own fave "fair - ground gun" is my much prized Anschutz 275, 4.4 ball shot bolt action rifle. Mines nickel plated and has a six shot mag. Operates very much like a Mauser bolt action and I delight in using her.

[silva]

Hi Fatman, Was it Barry Island or Porthcawl that still had a anti aircraft gun that you could sit on from the war on the seafront in the 1970's ?

[fat man]

Hi Fatman, Was it Barry Island or Porthcawl that still had a anti aircraft gun that you could sit on from the war on the seafront in the 1970's ?

barry island I beleve, and then outside porthcawl was a ww2 prison camp from which there was an escape by german pows in 1944 I think

[Aimstraight]

Apart from the usual air rifles at the mobile fairground, I remember one occasion on a permenant stall at Belle Vue (Manchester) where you could fire a rifle that used brass cartridges (probably 0.22), at a target card on a pulley system that you pulled backed towards you to check the results. No idea what the type of rifle was, or indeed what my aim was like! That must have been around the early 1970s.

[jassi]

Apart from the usual air rifles at the mobile fairground, I remember one occasion on a permenant stall at Belle Vue (Manchester) where you could fire a rifle that used brass cartridges (probably 0.22), at a target card on a pulley system that you pulled backed towards you to check the results. No idea what the type of rifle was, or indeed what my aim was like! That must have been around the early 1970s.

Was that air rifle? I remember there used to be some early 20th century pump-action .22 Winchesters used in fairgrounds back then.

Ah, those were the days

[Aimstraight]

It used brass cartridges (powder burner) so could well have been a Winchester type....it's so long ago I do not remember the details. Amazed I remember this, but some things do stand out. Don't remember everything from two weeks ago...but there again that was probably quite boring in comparison to firing a rifle back then

[jassi]

This is what I remember - http://beforeitsnews.com/alternative...o-2935096.html

Turns out to be a Winchester 1906

[Aimstraight]

This is what I remember - http://beforeitsnews.com/alternative...o-2935096.html

Turns out to be a Winchester 1906

Good grief, that probably explains why I recently bought an Umerex Under Lever Action (Winchester)

[thisisdonald]

Silva, heres a pic of me shooting those thompsons in paisley in november last year... camo and balaclava optional, no one even batted an eylid!

[Aimstraight]

Silva, heres a pic of me shooting those thompsons in paisley in november last year... camo and balaclava optional, no one even batted an eylid!

The stallholder might have been a tad nervous at first

[p.m.h]

There was a shooting gallery on one of the Blackpool piers in the 70s, I remember getting chased of when I started picking the empty cartridges up off the floor.

In fact, I still have them somewhere. I think there were .22 short.

I also remember the semi auto, looked a bit like the M1 carbine, and had a tube of BBs.

Kind regards,



Phil