Monday, June 02, 2008

Quickie Fun Show Recap.

So, me being me, I just couldn't stand not having any real dough to blow at the show. I looked through the VFTP arsenal, playing a game of "Which one of these things is not like the others?" and decided that my 6.8mm SPC AR-15 was the odd gun out.

The 6.8 was a pretty nice AR, with some fairly top-shelf components: A MagPul M-93B stock, a Vltor CASV-EL forend, and an EOTech 512 holosight. The downside was that your average yob in the aisles was just going to ask "Whut kinda lower izzat?" and wander off when hearing "Superior Arms", because the average yob doesn't realize that all lowers are made in only a couple of places. Most folks wouldn't see the $900+ in accessories bolted to the gun.

The folks running a few specialty AR tables would be able to tell it was a pretty bucks-up carbine at a glance, but they're buying for resale and they have to make a buck. Unless they already have a customer lined up for a fairly high-end 6.8 carbine, they're not going to be willing to risk sinking too much in it on speculation. I was on the other horn of a dilemma I've faced countless times from the other side of the counter. (ColtCCO can probably picture the look on my face as I considered my prospects; the rest of you can get the effect by imagining the results of the expression "like chewing on a cat turd".)

Oh, well. The price I was asking was a reasonable one; a reseller could make a bit of money on it, and it was a damned good deal for an end user. If it sold, it sold, and if it didn't, it wouldn't kill me to take it home again. Early in the morning of day two I was strolling it down an aisle when I heard "Hey! Didn't you sell me a 9mm AR at a show in Knoxville?" from a table to my left. Indeed I had. It was the the folks from JSE Surplus. She asked how much I was asking, I told her, she knew a deal when she saw it, and I was flush.

The main reason I wanted to generate some cash was that this Indy 1500 was the best show for Trapdoor Springfields I have seen in over a decade. Most gun shows I've been to, I'd been lucky to find a bare handful, and even mediocre examples tended to start around $800. This weekend though, it seemed I couldn't turn around without bumping into another one, ranging from ugly pieces sporting tags in the $5-600 range to nice rifles with stickers north of a grand. I wanted a Springfield because I had an example of every primary US martial longarm from the Garand back to the Krag-Jorgensen, and that meant it was time to add a floptop to the museum.

The gun I settled on was a standard M1879 rifle that dated to 1884. It had a stock that had been sanded at some time in the distant past, obliterating its cartouches, but the finish was worn to an even brown patina with no really serious pitting anywhere, the screw heads were un-buggered, it was mechanically tight, and (mirabile dictu!) the bore had good, strong rifling and was rather amazingly bright for a rifle that had been built before the discovery of smokeless powder and a half century before the introduction of non-corrosive primers.

Following my maxim of always trying to turn one gun into two, I also browsed the Smith & Wesson selection at the show, coming up with a nice Model 1 1/2 Centerfire (basically a .32 S&W companion to my .38 Single Action, similarly dated, also nickeled, and in a little better condition.) Happy as a clam with my new acquisitions, I'll call it a successful show.

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

All my guns are odd ones out. The only two that "match" are a .22 pistol and a .22 rifle. Everything else is... well, whatever it is.

I wish I had enough gear to trade for other gear. Then again, I just got my 6.8 and have no reason to get rid of it yet.

Jason said...

Can't wait to see pics of the new Springfield. They are truly magnificent rifles!

Anonymous said...

Ah, yeah. The gun store clerk who cares, with the face that says "Damn, man - why'd you have to go deck out this thing with goodies at full retail? I'm just gonna have to give you pennies on the dollar for all those accessories, cause no one's gonna pay ME for them. And 6.8? Who am I gonna sell this to? I gotta buy this with real money, and then hope someone wants this weird-ass expensive thing."

Know it, lived it, loved it. Glad it found a home at your asking price. BTW, shoot me an email - I tried your tamslick addy a few weeks back, and it bounced. The short version is that the Scout rifle come available to you in a year, I got all the guy's and some of the people who emailed me wanna take up a collection to buy it for you.

I'm in. ;)

alath said...

Trapdoor Springfields are past the "oldness horizon" of my owning and shooting guns, so I'm curious: do you consider your new rifle a shooter, or a safe queen? Do you plan to reload for it? If so, will you use real black powder, or a modern substitute?

Tam said...

For the limited amount of shooting I'll ever do with it, unjacketed .45-70 cowboy loads will be just fine. They are generally loaded with Trapdoors in mind.

Matt G said...

"For the limited amount of shooting I'll ever do with it, unjacketed .45-70 cowboy loads will be just fine. They are generally loaded with Trapdoors in mind."

I'm so glad to hear that you're going to shoot it. Seriously.

And, uh, stay away from anything remotely Garrett or Buffalo Bore, mm'kay? ;)

Tam said...

Hey, it's a gun. It's made to be shot.

As soon as I can get my hands on shootable .41 Swiss rimfire and 11mm Gras ammo, I'll shoot them, too. :)

NotClauswitz said...

That 6.8 tickled about all my tacticool buttons, the 4moa dot on my Aimpoint makes me feel inadequate.

B.S. philosopher said...

I regularly shoot my 1873 trapdoor with low-power .45-70 cowboy loads. At 100 yards, with iron sights, I can keep it inside of 3 inches.

They are hella fun to shoot and get lots of attention on the firing line.

Especially from the tactical tommies with the latest tacticool Earschplittin-loudenboomer 6.8MM black rifle with ACOG sights.

Most of them simply can't believe that you are actually shooting a 130 year old rifle.

Most are embarrased by having it outshoot them...

Tam said...

BSP,

Some folks do shoot both kinds, you know. ;)

Anonymous said...

"Most are embarrased by having it outshoot them..."

I had a buddy of mine show up at a "tactical rifle" class with a 308 bolt action, iron sighted, 5r clip loaded rifle.

Everyone else showed up with tacticool, advanced sighted, laser twitched, 5.56mm 30r AR's.

Guess whom everyone, including teachers, gently ragged on?

Guess who knocked down more targets with one shot (it's not how many times you can shoot, it's how many times your bullets hit the target and how hard), had fewer jams and generally, made the AR guys look a little silly.

By the second day the AR's were being stripped of "stuff" so fast it was comical.

Beers were bought. Order was restored.

B.S. philosopher said...

If you shoot both kinds, by definition, you aren't a Tactical Tommy.

I even own a black Rifle. Of course as a traditionalist it's a Colt SP1 with no forward assist and triangular handguards...

Anonymous said...

Tam, you can get .45-70 ammo loaded with black powder. Use the 500 grain roundnose lead bullet for maximum authenticity.

However, all standard brands of .45-70 ammo are loaded to such low pressures that they are safe to use in the old trapdoors. The standard smokeless 300 grain JHP will work just fine, but you don't want to shoot dozens of boxes worth in your 1884, as the steel isn't as tough as a new rifle, and the jacketed bullets are said to wear the rifling. I used modern factory ammo in my 1888 Trapdoor and it worked just fine. I am not talking about Buffalo Bore, Corbon, or the PMC +P ammo here, just the regular stuff from Winchester, Remington, Federal.

Tam said...

I snagged some unjacketed cowboy loads from a small-volume local commercial loader with a good word-of-mouth rep. I'll probably keep to that until I can get some dies.