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I think Roger Blaisdell took the top honors as far as recent acquisitions were concerned. He displayed his new MATCHING butt flask rifle and smoothbore long guns—complete with original pump! One such gun is surprising, but to have a matched pair in such incredible condition is a very rare treat. Besides that, Roger also had a duelingstyle pneumatic pistol with integral pump. This little jewel was fully the equal of the long guns in condition and rarity. As I understand it, the long guns came out of an estate (where else?), but I don’t know where the pistol originated.


Mike Burleson departed from his traditional multi-table display of his personal collection to feature a multi-table sales table, instead. It must have worked, because every time we looked, someone was walking off with an armload of guns and boxes. I’m sure Mike went home with a lighter car and a heavier wallet—a condition we all strive for at every show.


On day one, I saw a gorgeous Benjamin 600 repeater with 90% or more of its original black nickel finish still in place. Collectors know how scarce the 600 is in any condition, but here was a beautiful example—perfect for a prime spot in any collection.

Jim Dobbs brought a BSF S54 underlever, guns and shuttling to the range to sort out the new one. A pernicious valve bounce was plaguing performance, as will happen with most new things.


Collectors were not forgotten at this show, either. Richard Schmidt had an Erma ELG 10 on his table, along with a deluxe FWB 124 and a pretty decent Hakim trainer. Richard and others also supplied many of the highly desirable Crosman Mark I and II pistols; and this year, they increased the fun by adding many Crosman 600s. If you were looking for one of these models, I don’t think you would have walked away disappointed.


Larry Hannusch set up his six ball flask bigbore deer hunting guns, along with several cased sets, his civilian Girandoni by Joseph Schembor, and a stand of butt flask rifles and (I assume) smoothbores. He also brought me a replacement Sharpshooter pistol for the one I destroyed while testing it for Airgun Revue #1. What that means is we’re back in business, and I can finish the test in the next Revue. There have been some other surprising acquisitions along these lines this year, so there’s plenty of material for a whole new article.

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