Visit to NVCurmudgeon and Big Gun Show

[Urny]

I hope this is a satisfactory place to post this report. 45Nut can move it if not, I s'pose.

Friday herself and I went to Reno to meet with Bill and spend the day touring the Big Gun Show at the Hilton. Bill is almost the perfect guy to go through a good sized gun show with; he is willing to accomodate my rather leisurely pace at such events and is an interesting and interested companion. I will say, though that he has no interest in restraining anothers (me) excesses in a place of such treasures. Also, Bill seems to be able to start conversations with the table holders very easily and naturally, which is sometimes hard for me because of a naturally surly disposition. After the show, we got to meet his wife, Fran, and she treated us to coffee and desert, and showed us around their lovely little bit of Nevada. Nice place, they have chosen well. They chose well in each other, too.

Right off the bat, Bill took me to the cast supplies guy in the second big room. I wound up with two new old molds, a 358156 and a 280473, both two cavity, and a bunch of old boxes of gas checks at low prices. One box of .25 caliber checks is marked "From R. W. Kampen", Rockford Illinois. If anyone knows anything about this person and his gas checks, please post what information you have. There's so much in the boolit casters past not widely known. I think this gentleman's table will be my first stop every time we are able to go to this particular show.

We saw many fine, OK, and opposite of fine guns, rifles, shotguns, little guns, and they ranged from under $100 to one shotgun for over $25,000. More in the higher and middle price ranges than low I think. Lots of fine Mausers and Mannlicher Schoennauers. I never can spell that last one right, thinking about looking it up and writing on the monitor base with majic marker. The Mannlichers are my current passion, very pleasing to see so many at the show. Lots of BRNOs too, especially the Fox .22 Hornet. LINDA got pretty jazzed about a couple of Colt Lightnings in .22, but settled for a NIB 1991 Commander, old roll mark, .45 ACP. Gotta love that woman.

I had wanted to look at the display of JDS Quick Measure, a fascinating design that is really fast in use. We found their booth at the end of the day, only a few feet from friends Marty and Darlene Shaw's table. Marty and Darlene are Elko's gun shop owners emeritus, having recently sold the shop and semi retired. Marty and meself went to high school together and his invitation to work for him in the gun shop brought me to Elko 23 years ago, so I owe him a big thank you. I'll bring the measure to NCBS '05 so everyone can see how it works. For those misfortunates who can not make it, I believe www.quick-measure.com will give you a good picture of it.

Bill wore his USS Turkey cap, which got him in lots of interesting conversations, hadn't realized so many gun show vendors were navy types. I had better let Bill tell that story, though. I mentioned wanting to find a cast boolit vendor because I might not have time to cast enough .45's for the shoot, and Bill sent me home with a box of nicely cast H&G semi wadcutters, over 800 of them! Let me tell ya, everyone I have met in this cast boolit world have been great people, and Bill stands out as one of the best. He picked up some goodies there, but again, that is his part of the story. We went for a late lunch, and found all the casino's restaurants closed until suppertime, except for Chevy's Fresh Mex, so we ate there. Never had Chevy's before, and can now recommend it to all. Great food.

OK, guess I've used enough band width, so time to shut up now.

Ernie

[NVcurmudgeon]

I'm here to tell you that Ernie and Linda are the perfect company cruise the aisles with. This was by far the best show experience I can remember, and I've passed more tables full of guns than many of you have all types of tables. (For landlubbers,that is a play on, "I've passed more ship's masts than you have telephone poles." Speaking of ship's masts, I wore my USS Gurke (DD 783) cap, and it was a great conversation piece. Early in the day, I bought a 1970 edition of "Handloaders Digest" for my collection. The price was one Yankee dollar,which I gladly paid to a distinguished looking gentleman. He had been a member of the original crew of a destroyer commissioned in 1943. Naturally this led to a comparison of different classes of destroyers, and a war story or two. I had the privilege to thank my new shipmate for his service, the bulk of which was in his late teen years. Later on the cap drew the attention of an Air Force veteran, which led to men of all branches of the service telling jokes about all other branches. Near the end of the show we heard shouts of "turkey, turkey!" I looked to see who was being called a turkey and moved on. Suddenly, a youthful and athletic man hopped over his table and hustled after me calling, "Gurke,Gurke!" (I am also youthful and athletic,but the acoustics in that crowded hall were terrible.) This gentleman had been on the USS Rowan, (DD782) one of the four ships of my division during the same years. Unknown, he and I had been to a lot of exotic places tgether. I won't say how long ago it was, but it was when we all really liked Ike. Now my cap has become the "turkey cap," with no disrespect to Private Gurke, USMC who smothered a grenade to save a buddy. I didn't find any moulds at the first stop, but I found a like-new set of RCBS handles and a Lyman .356" G&H die for $23, less than half of list. One thing I've always had an itch for is .410 adaptors for my large 20 gauge Ithaca/SKB double. Those are to introduce SWMBO to shooting the shotgun,
but mostly for fun. Gauge Mate has an excellent video presentation showing a shooter changing and shooting his 12 gauge side by side as a 12, 16, 20, 28, and .410 in about sixty seconds! I found a new Sunday belt, hand made in USA for the price of the Chinese laminated cardboard ones that many stores carry. However these belts were size-stamped a bit small. I know for sure that I wear a 32 belt, and I had to buy a 34 for a good fit. I added some bargain priced primers, which made up for my show ticket and found the ammo that Duke had asked me to find. By far, the high point was all day, when I could say,"look at this!" and have Ernie, and sometimes Linda, turn with a big grin and share my enjoyment of a fine firearm. There were too many such guns to tell about. I managed to exhaust my stash, plus slightly more than the General Fund monies authorized by my CFO. Serindipity arose when Ernie and Linda's friend Marty had a Remington 14 forend assembly on his table and opined that he might have a magazine dust cover for my R 141 in his garage. They had to practically throw us out of the show at closing time. I really appreciated showing off my best friend, Fran, and happy home to Ernie and Linda, especially after making them drive through a surprise snow. I am slightly embarrassed by the conduct of my sixteen pound Cockapoo, doing his best wolf of the tundra impression for our guests. Can we do it again tmorrow? curmudgeon

[JDL]

Urny,
Aren't those Mannlicher-Schoenauers works of art? The only one I have ever owned is a MCA .30'06 and is definately the smoothest operating bolt action devised by man. Probably won't ever be able to afford another but, sure like to look at them and wish!-JDL

[Urny]

My position on the M-S is pretty much a reflection of yours, JDL. Beautiful rifles that I probably can not afford more of, but can dream. Mine is a .270 full stock, double triggers, and Redfield mounts. It is not by any stretch of the sock a collector grade rifle, but suits me pretty well. My Hertel & Reuss variable is out for repair and has been for some time, so it carries a Weaver K1.5 with a steel tube for now. Have not had time to load for it at all, but with Remington 150 grain Corelokt, it keeps five just over an inch, sometimes just under when I am right. Wonder why gunwriters can't make full stock rifles shoot?

I sure hope we get to do it again, Bill, many times over.

Ernie

[Buckshot]

............Bill and Urny, really great reports I enjoyed reading them. I sure wish I could have been there. Having met both guys (and Linda) at the Winnemucca shoots, I can also attest they're all fine company to be around.

I must also confess to having been a 'Tin Can' sailor: USS Noa DD-841. I don't know so much about the Greyhound of the fleet thing, as standing planeguard duty for carriers was tough. They'd just turn into the wind and steam off over the horizon, while we busted a gut at 34 knots trying to keep up!

I'm sure the firemen down in the hellhole's watched thier boiler pressure and superheat guages with rapt attention as Capt Parrenboom passed the word to the mustang Lieutenant chief engineer, "More turns Mr. Henly, more turns".

..............Buckshot

[NVcurmudgeon]

Ernie, I've pencilled, nay chiseled, you in for all the Big Reno Gun Shows on my schedule.
Rick, Here is a misfit story that only a sailor can appreciate fully. When the Gurke was on plane guard duty, my station was "swimmer". That is because my billet was Seaman number such and such in Second Division. According to the Watch, Quarter, and Station Bill, Seaman number such and such in Second Division was the swimmer. This despite the facts that I weighed 117 lbs. and had never swam farther than 150 yards in my life. Thank God no plane splashed when we were on plane guard. I would have had to leap out of the motor whaleboat, swim to the hopefully floating plane,and drag the probably injured and unconcious pilot out and tow him back to the boat. Yeah, right. Bill

[Urny]

That's good, Bill. I'll get those dates chiseled in myself. Don't believe I wish to deprive myself of the company or the show any longer.

Ernie