Early morning, actually. I started early Saturday. The Data Viking visited and we walked through the Tri-State Gun Show, out at Stout Field National Guard Armory. It was unusually crowded; it's generally more of a collector/hunter show but this one had a considerable number of what Tamara Keel calls "gen. pop.," the gun-owning Everyman. This may be due to recent White House mentions -- or it may have simply been that the weather was unseasonably pleasant, upper 40s to low 50s and sunny, and people were motivated to get out. We saw any number of interesting things and many familiar faces.
One of the more interesting things at the show was a Spanish .32-20, a relatively close copy of a Colt that was made in Eibar;* another was a lovely nickle or chrome-plated High-Standard "Sentinel Deluxe" .22 revolver. Fit and finish was unusually good and the (factory) plating was both bright and warm, which is why I'm not quite sure what metal it was. The Deluxe versions look to run about $300; this was marked a dollar less. I own three non-Deluxe Sentinels and it's a long time between paydays, or I would have been tempted -- this is still a "sleeper" among .22 revolvers, with very good stocks, light weight, smooth double-action and modern, large sights. Other than the Deluxe, prices range around $200 - $250. They shoot as nicely as any .22 revolver from Colt, Smith & Wesson or H&R and you'll have plenty left over to buy enough ammunition to get good with it.
We ran a few errands and I was running out of steam; he left, I went to bed early and managed to get a full eight hours before my early shift. Perhaps I won't have to fight quite as hard to stay awake.
_______________________________
* Eibar was a major center of gun-making activity in Spain. It's also in just about the center of Basque country, which has enjoyed at least a degree of autonomy in Spain since 1979. Make of that what you will.
Sounds like you had a good day. And that sounds like a good gun revolver to keep an eye out for.
ReplyDeleteAmong the many gun regrets is not buying one of the top break H&R .22s when they were available.
ReplyDeleteOf course it is not too late to fix that regret!
The local gun shop/range had a long barrel H&R although not a top break. The exact model escapes me at the moment. I decided to go back the next day and buy it, and yep, too late.
My wife and I were headed to the large gun show near Philly recently and after seeing the line of cars exiting the highway, we passed on by.
I remember visiting an old school gun store with my Father in the late sixties and seeing a wooden barrel with a bunch of trapdoor Springfield barreled actions stuck in it. The pricing was twenty five dollars. Sigh. Another gun store's centerpiece was a Gatling Gun chambered in .30-40 Krag.
Thank you for bringing up some good memories.