Oh, My....that small-town gunshow AGAIN!

[BruceB]

There were a few interesting guns I would've liked to buy. One was an 1884-marked Trapdoor rifle, perfect bore, but with chromed bands, hammer and lockplate for an asking price of $635. The action case-colors were still very good. Bands etc can be replaced rather easily. What a shooter this would be.

Another was an as-new Pedersoli Sharps, heavy barrel in .40-65 caliber, with Montana Vintage Arms Soule-type sights, for $1300....there's about $550 in the sights alone! This was a very attractive rifle, with subdued case colors and nice dull oil-finished walnut. Looks just about as good as my Shiloh, and that is saying something, believe me.

Ah, but the CASTING stuff...you guys ready?? I spotted several Lyman mould boxes on one table beside an as-new #450 lube-sizer. Looked at the end of one box, and it said "462560"!!!!!!!! Could it be? This is not an easy mould to come by, so I opened it up for a look-see. Sure enough, it WAS a 462560 in new condition AND with a Lyman hollow-point pin, AND with a very nicely fitted HP plug in place for casting non-hollowpoint boolits. The price?? Wait a sec....the 450 sizer had a die installed, and on the tag it said"Lyman 450 sizer with FOURTEEN DIES, $35.00"!! So, after ripping my hip pocket in quickdrawing my wallet, the fella also said, lessee...$35.00 for sizer, SIX BUCKS for the mould...gimme $40.

The sizer, the mould, and dies in .431(2), .403, .511, .454(2), .429, .312, .509, .354, .258, .410, .380, and .357, for forty measly bucks. I didn't even bother checking diameters before buying, as I KNEW there'd be some in the batch I can use, and so it turns out.

Not bad? It gets better. I returned to this table a while later, and was looking at a Lyman mould box that said "457195" on the end. Not too familiar with that identifier, I opened the box and found ...an UN-USED Richard Hoch nose-pour and double-cut-off (base and nose) #459425 mould, which translates to a nominal .459 -diameter/425 grain boolit. These Hoch moulds retail from Midway for $120.00, and I got this one for the munificent sum of....again, SIX dollars!!

I clutched my stolen goods tightly and ran giggling for the truck, hoping to avoid getting arrested for highway robbery on the way out. I'm still on a high!

Don't pass up the little shows, because you just never know.....

[9.3X62AL]

THAT is a fine day of work, Mr. Bannister! I could have driven to WMCA--paid that price--and still be money ahead when I got home.

[No_1]

Sometimes one never know when the sun is shining right on us. Good job and enjoy!

Robert

[imashooter2]

You should have worn a mask... Great find!

[dragonrider]

That's thievery, where a cop when ya need one :mrgreen: A seriously good deal.

[NVcurmudgeon]

Arrrrgh! It's NEXT weekend when the outlaws descend upon our place and I have to get out of town. Oh well, if I had seen that deal, I would be shopping for a .45/70! Congratulations.

[beagle]

BruceB..Good score on the 462560/HP. That's a great combination. Despite what is written, they will feed and shoot well in a M1895 Marlin .45/70 and right well too./beagle

[waksupi]

Ya thievin' varmint!

[Bass Ackward]

I clutched my stolen goods tightly and ran giggling for the truck, hoping to avoid getting arrested for highway robbery on the way out. I'm still on a high!

Don't pass up the little shows, because you just never know.....



Bruce,

Boy are you dumb. :grin: You knew that wasn't normal! Had to be some devine intervention taking place. God casts and molds things too ya know. I would say that the good Lord was helping you save all that money so you could have afforded that 40-65 and YOU MISSED the opportunity.

Probably would have went back over there and just got a fabulous price on THAT TOO! Then we couldn't have lived with ourselves. So .... we feel a little better now, thanks.

Yea. You better stay away from Vegas. Get on a streek, start lighting up a table and then turn and walk out before you peak. :roll:

Tisk, tisk, tisk.

[FISH4BUGS]

..........this weekend was the usual collection of crap. I did not see ONE lever action Marlin, or ANY reasonably priced moulds. ONE H&G #50 double cavity mould in fair condition for ONLY $50. I am giving up on gun shows.........until the next one. You never know what you might find.

[versifier]

Yeah, I wasn't too impressed with Manchester, either. I guess I looked through the same selection of moulds. The only two that looked interesting at first glance I already had, and in better condition. There were three or four single cavity Lee's at one table for $25 & $30! Shades of ebay. One guy had two very beat up K31's for $160 each, one hadn't even been cleaned. I brought my 85 yr old father and he had a really good time looking at Springfields, Garands, carbines and other WWII stuff. I couldn't help but notice more than a dozen Arisakas, most with chrysanthemums ground off and in the $90-150 range, except one that was intact with a typical stock that looked liked the beavers and termites were fighting over it for over $300. I pointed it out to the old man and he laughed and said of the one he brought back: "Well, the price was right. I picked it up off a pile of the with the matching bayonet before the Marines crated them all up. Guess I should have grabbed a few more, but I was looking for swords." (Hmmm. It does like cast much more than jacketed, but I'm still working on the right load.) For me, the highlight of the whole show was a Burnside carbine with the pop-up breech. I had never seen one before except in photos, and the owner let me check it out - I was careful not to get any drool on it, and equally careful not to look at the price tag. Dad was opening his mouth to offer to lend me the cash, but I headed that thought off at the pass and told him not to even think about it. :-D I suspect he still gets the same kick out of seeing my eyes light up that I get watching my own kids.

[dragonrider]

I was going to go to the Manchester show, now I am glad I didn't. Thanks guys.

[BruceB]

It does seem that I snookered myself in one minor way, with the deal made yesterday.

The Hoch mould doesn't fit any of the various handle types I have on hand, so I'm looking at having to buy a set of Hoch handles from Midway or wherever. They list them at $29.99, so it won't be quite as cheap an acquisition as it first seemed. Still a heck of a deal, though......makes it $35.99 for mould and handles instead of $150 if I bought both at retail prices.

I forgot to mention that I also saw a very nice full-length Krag rifle with excellent bore and very good exterior, unaltered, for $600...another temptation, but my budget wasn't really up to buying rifles this weekend.

[Bigjohn]

BruceB,

NOW that you have "Burleyed" the water you had better keep your hand in the boat as all the "Casting Sharks" aka ya buddies, will be circling lookin' for a morsel to swallow. (Key Bruce the sharks theme 'Duh dum, da da da da [to crescendo]') [smilie=1:

You may think you got the deals of a lifetime but they were merely the distraction to keep your away from the real deal; the one you missed.:twisted:

All I can say is I'm on the wrong continent! Damn it.

:drinks:
John

[SharpsShooter]

It does seem that I snookered myself in one minor way, with the deal made yesterday.

The Hoch mould doesn't fit any of the various handle types I have on hand, so I'm looking at having to buy a set of Hoch handles from Midway or wherever. They list them at $29.99, so it won't be quite as cheap an acquisition as it first seemed. Still a heck of a deal, though......makes it $35.99 for mould and handles instead of $150 if I bought both at retail prices.

You DO realize Bruce.......we are all broke up about you snookering yourself.:violin:

PS I'll give you $36 for the 450 and you keep the dies.:-D

SS

[NVcurmudgeon]

Bruce, don't rush into ordering Hoch handles before you check that mould against RCBS handles. The one Hoch mould I had worked just fine in modified RCBS handles. Said modifications are well within my capabilities, using a hacksaw, file, and drill.

[BruceB]

Taking friend Curmudgeon's advice, I have successfully adapted the Hoch mould to my RCBS handles.

It only involved reaming one of the existing mounting holes by 1/64" , and then grinding a large notch to accomodate the pivot bolt for the top-and-bottom sprue cutter.

The handles are still perfectly OK for other moulds, and this preserves the original el-cheapo nature of the deal!

The bullet, nominally .459" and 425 grains, actually casts at .4588" and 428 grains in straight WW. Close enuff for guvmint work, like 'they' say.

Aaaaaahhh...I do love happy endings.

[catboat]

Makes it worthwhile to know what your looking for, and having some cash in your pocket. Even at that price, the guy was probably making a couple of bucks.

Nice score.

[fourarmed]

The bigger "monthly" shows are pretty much the province of the professional gunshow dealers around here. The one-time or yearly small town shows are where the bargains are to be found.