Travelling fair airguns 60 -64'ish?

[Tantomurata]

Back in 1974 when I was taken to Blackpool on holiday, there was a shooting stall at one of the fairs that had a BB machine gun.
I wasn't old enough to have a go, but it stuck in my mind.
Does anyone know anything about this stall and the guns used?

[edbear2]

A trip down memory lane here;

http://www.flickr.com/photos/3122848...7621703942883/

These are 275's....but look at the great reactive targets, and also the ping pong balls on water jets.....brilliant fun...like others I remember cadets, meteors, and Haenel bolt action guns. I also have won a tenner on the cut the string thingy, but the aiming point was where the strings passed over a pipe, and one was very close or touching, so 3 hits with pellets loaded backwards did the trick! (we always used to take a few extra wasps in our pockets as kids to "even the odds" a bit......but you had to be prepared to leg it if the stallholder saw you using your own ammo.....only worked when they were really busy).......the normal targets were the tin boxes with the knock downs inside, with a token for each clearing of the targets.....dead easy, even though the barrels were normally bent at 20 degrees and the rearsights were off to one side.....the prizes were naff too, a couple of tokens for a dry coconut, or a couple more for a tacky plaster of paris dog or suchlike.....we used to just enjoy shooting for the sake of it!

As for the chicago or something made full auto bb tommyguns, and shooting out the red star, I have only seen this done once, by a squaddie using a tap tap trigger action.......the prize was maybe 10 or even 20 pounds.....a fair bit back then, and the stallholder must have spent 10 mins trying to find a red bit left before handing over the money

[LeeH]

somewhere I've still got two bits of .22 rimfire brass I picked up from the indoor fun fair at New Brighton on the Wirral near to where I grew up. I was about 7 years old at the time, and the smell of rimfire ammo still takes me back 30 odd years. I remember my dad had a BSA Meteor in the shed, and I used to nick it and fire fishing lead shot out of it. I filled it up with chalk powder once to see the cloud of 'gunsmoke' go off . Dad not amused.

My active love of shooting now goes directly back to such instances in my childhood. I can afford better toys now, but I'm still 7 years old I suppose.

[Lakey]

Here is another great link from an american collector on Air-o-matic semi auto guns. Wish we had had these in the UK, then I would have been a pennyless, but happy teenager all of the time

http://www.marvin3m.com/arcade/rifspor.htm

[sparko]

On Blackpool fun fair In the early 70`s there was a shooting gallery which had 22 rimfires, they were some make of pump action repeater 5 or 6 shot as I remember...with 20yd knockover targets, red carpeted rests for the shooter...Sounds nice!....Seem to remember It being expensive, even then...from the achive...Sparko...

[ogilkes]

I remember using BSA's, B2's, Haenel 310's and DB4s, in the 70s. There were still Winchester .22 pumpers as well.

[harry mac]

I remember using BSA's, B2's, Haenel 310's and DB4s, in the 70s. There were still Winchester .22 pumpers as well.

The big indoor amusement arcade in Mablethorpe, Lincs also had a sizeable .22RF shooting gallery. It had semi-auto and pump action 22s and I think they were Remington, but I suppose they could just as easilly have been Winchester or Browning.
22 shooting galleries are still legal, but I suppose the fact that you hardly ever see them these days should tell us that either their popularity has wained or that insurance premiums are so high or difficult to get that they just aren't viable any more. I do know that if you operate a .22 shooting gallery though, the rifles used on it are exempt FAC.

[martini1215]

I have just been reading the above link and although it doesnt mention airguns it does mention the smallbore ammo and a reference to Clacton having a range where you could plink,hope it proves of interest and takes a few of you on a trip down memory lane
ATB