Just in case the brass "Bulldog" Gatling from U.S. Armament didn't turn your crank, if you'll pardon the pun, there were some lovely Gardner guns in .45-70, too.
U.S. Armament is apparently also the company to which you should turn if you have a yen for an adorable breechloading 50mm Krupp mountain gun. And it's pre-1899, so no paperwork necessary, as long as you don't hanker after firing anything other than solid shot.
(The 50mm uses fixed ammunition, like your .22LR only much bigger, instead of a separate bagged powder charge and shell. I'm pretty sure that not even Old Western Scrounger has ammunition, so it would be a reloading-only proposition...)
24 comments:
Tam, in some ways you lead a magical life. You know that?
WANT!
Is there a Kydex Holster for 50 mm Krupp, and does it come in Rare Dark Earth? ; )
Oohh.... both the brass Gatling gun and the copper Gardner gun are nothing but pure pr0n.
Were they just display, or did they shoot, too? Did you get to shoot them?
The Graybeard,
No, they were in sales area in the pole barn, not on the line.
That copper-colored Gardner is purely the coolest thing, isn't it?
I saw these guys at Knob Creek this year. That FN CAL sure is something! I'd sell a kidney to get one of their Gardners or Gatlings, too.
I'm not sure if it was these guys or someone else, but I also saw a rare Nepalese early automatic gun, a Mitrailleuse, I think. It was a custom job they'd managed to drag home from a vault in that country. It looked like a blast furnace with a barrel.
Copper(colored) machine gun in 45-70? HOW DID I NOT KNOW ABOUT THIS!! Thank you Tam, I now have a new goal in life.
:-D
I am extremely happy that I live in a nation where you can drop the price of a brand new Subaru Forester on a repro Gatling gun. Seriously, brings a tear to my eye.
Tam,
You beat me to it. I was going to say that the copper colored Gardner was totally awesome!
Garry James recently did a "test" of U.S. Armament's brass "Bulldog" Gatling in .45-70 in "Guns & Ammo". The cover blurb about it caused me to buy the magazine and even though he owns and shoots a lot of cool old guns, he was ecstatic about their new Gatling.
For those who have not been, the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot is not about shooting machine guns. There is also a very large gun show going on with plenty of guns, Title I & II, parts, magazines, ammunition, coffe cups with guns on them, solid aluminum guns, and Wookie flags (but not a single IIIper flag).
It is an event of the gun culture and it is my belief that all true gun nuts should experience it (I've taken down there thrice).
Shootin' Buddy
One of each please. And that 3lb deck gun to boot... there is no shortage of houseboats for sale in my area... :)
Rule 34 has just been invoked.
@Shootin Buddy: What do you have against Threepers?
You must be really good social company for Tam, to have her put up with your political opinions.
@Matt: Yes indeed, and ain't it wonderful?
I'm thinking that Model 1892 3 pounder would be just the thing to keep tailgaters at bay from my pickup...
I have GOT to get there one of these days
When I was a kid, my father was stationed at Floyd Bennett NAS in Brooklyn for a couple of years, and I'd play hookey with a buddy to go over to Manhattan (the bus was only fifteen cents then, and they gave you a transfer you could use on the subway).
There was a surplus store a few blocks from Times Square, filled with neat camping gear, 1903 Springfields for $29.95 ($10 more for high numbers), and with two of those lovely 50mm Krupps flanking the front door, half blocking foot traffic.
I remember thinking "God, if I only had $200, one of them could be mine". Since I was making about $4.50 a week delivering the N.Y. World, Telegram, and Sun, it wasn't a very realistic hope.
Of course the 50mm is adorable.
It was developed under the aegis of Friedrich Alfred Krupp.
The US Armaments Gardner is an interesting sort of anacronism. When the Gardner was developed, it would have been too difficult and expensive to manufacture it out of steel. When we were down at Curt's shop to pick up some guns (a gorgeous Sterling Mk V presample and an FNC) they were in the initial phases of building the first Gardner and he said that it would have been FAR too expensive to manufacture it out of brass like the originals. It was easier and MUCH cheaper to manufacture it out of steel and then finish it...which allowed them to make some beautiful anacronisms like the copper color and blued Gardners.
On the other hand their Bulldog Gatlings can be turned on a lathe and finished (rather than using a casting) and so can made out of brass and still maintain the price point they are shooting for.
@Bubblehead Les: If you really need a Krupp holster one I can likely get you some cheap 4x8 sheets of Kydex and you could overmold one yourself. Spent 10 years working in their R&D lab and can still get sheet with slight imperfections for cheap.
A pic of my buddy Mark's three boys with the blued Gardner AND Steve Lee of "I Like Guns" fame. They also got to be on Mail Call with R. Lee Ermey the other year when they were at Knob Creek also...lucky bastards!
http://i76.photobucket.com/albums/j22/RevGreg/onetimeposts/latranyi_boys_and_steve_lee.jpg
I have a soft spot for mountain/pack guns. I'd like to see a carbon-fiber-ish "Pack 120mm mortar" with a sectioned tube & sufficiently broken-down hardware. That came in under the 82mm mortar, mass-wise.
Might even be jump-able (static line) by the crew.
Add some GPS HE & DPICM rounds and I'd be one happy (ex) abn light infantryman.
Hmm, reaching for my Kipling right now (I have a crumbling 1928 edition with the swastika on cover) and looking up "The Screw Guns."
WV: culturth. Yes, I wespect all culturth.
My daughter spent almost half an hour on Saturday looking at those. I may have found a geek thing for her.
Of course, she turned around and almost knocked over a display case full of antique bolt actions, but you take the bull to the china shop and expect some breakage. Luckily, the rack righted itself and my retirement fund is saved!
Justthisguy,
No kidding? I've got that set of Kipling too. Any idea what they're worth?
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