Fairground guns

[torrens]

I noticed at Ilkeston Fair last year there was a stall with Relum or Slavia breakbarrels. Another stall had Thompson lookalike BB machine guns with gas hoses and also several BSA Cadets, those must have earned their retirement by now......

[TawnyBoo]

YOU CAN BUY THE TOMMY'S HERE http://www.shootingstargames.com/ my friend had 3 in a trailer with a huge commpressor to keep the things running. we loaded the tubes with bb's and poured them down the butt. ....... well it was never a full tube with a full tube i could cut the star out most the time

[moomoo]

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

or soul even

[ggggr]

I want one of those five men in a tin box,knockdown targets. Well two actually
Somebody must have one knocking about or maybe the tinbashers/lazer cutters can get busy and then batter them a bit so they are "antique" as I believe they are not PC now?


I was also toying with the idea of a chrome gat. How accurate are they with corks?

[harry mac]

I was also toying with the idea of a chrome gat. How accurate are they with corks?

You opening a gallery Guy? The Gats aren't even accurate with pellets. Why would they be accurate with corks?!

[martini1215]

Chrome Gat is about as accurate with corks as the black Gat is Guy, I have sat for ages with mine using corks in the house to try and knock stuff over or with Darts playing 501(wow those games last forever if you have to start on a double) I often wonder did they make up for the error of their ways with accuracy on the Gat Rifle or was that not very good either
ATB Martini

[ggggr]

Chrome Gat is about as accurate with corks as the black Gat is Guy, I have sat for ages with mine using corks in the house to try and knock stuff over or with Darts playing 501(wow those games last forever if you have to start on a double) I often wonder did they make up for the error of their ways with accuracy on the Gat Rifle or was that not very good either
ATB Martini

The gat would not be for me (honest). I gave the gat rifle away. It was pretty good fun for knocking over cans in the yard and made a pretty good noise as well. The trouble with them is the loading is a pain.

I wonder if anyone has made an adapter for a gat to replace the probe and for it to take bbs like the stinger?
I'd still like the tin men in a box knockdown target if anyone has one?

[keith66]

A friend of mine Bob died some years ago of lung cancer, a proper old time East end villain he told a tale of how in his youth he & a mate nicked some winchester pump action rifles from a range on Canvey. "Playing" with them in his mates bedroom one went off & put a .22 short into the top of his foot. Knowing it would be a nicking if he went to hospital his mate cut the bullet out of the sole of his foot with a sharp penknife. When asked on monday morning at work why he was limping he said he had trod on a nail. Hard bloke thats for sure!

[harry mac]

You might have to dust off your CSE metalwork skills Guy. All the "tin man" targets I remember seeing had a home made look about them.
Santa's bringing me one of these.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pistol-Magne.../dp/B00871VF3A

[ggggr]

You might have to dust off your CSE metalwork skills Guy. All the "tin man" targets I remember seeing had a home made look about them.
Santa's bringing me one of these.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pistol-Magne.../dp/B00871VF3A

I bought a sears moving target that had ducks on it. It looked the same as the Webley one with the hares on it. I gave it away eventually as it used to hypnotise people when you put it on in the house. Bloody pain having to make more cardboard ducks out Rice Crispy packets.
I wonder if any of the metal workers could get some tin men made up? I guess that they would laser cut them now? If there is a problem with the legality of it now, they could leave them out in the rain for a while to go "antique".

I was thinking that maybe a few more targets from the days of the empire could be made as well? How about a few Zulus or Fuzzy Wuzzys? Just the thing to go with your pre war classic