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Tommy Gun at the Fair


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When I was a kid (late 1950's) Willow Grove Park amusement park in suburban

Philadelphia was still hanging on as an old fashioned amusement park.

It was like a time capsule with two wood roller coasters, a Ferris wheel,

an old fashioned fun house, etc. And it had the BB Thompsons but I don't

remember them having the buzz-saw rate of fire as seen in Dan's video.

If I recall correctly they were loaded thru the buttplate a tube of BBs being

dumped into another tube in the stock. There were all sorts of metal targets

that got knocked over and could be reset upright when the guy pulled a lever.

There was also pools of water with little ships to knock over and spraying

the water was the best because you could see all the splashes.

I can imagine what a kid of today playing a high tech video game would

think of something as lame as a BB gun, but that was a great time and a

great memory. Thanks Dan!

 

Bob

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When I was a kid (late 1950's) Willow Grove Park amusement park in suburban

Philadelphia was still hanging on as an old fashioned amusement park.

It was like a time capsule with two wood roller coasters, a Ferris wheel,

an old fashioned fun house, etc. And it had the BB Thompsons but I don't

remember them having the buzz-saw rate of fire as seen in Dan's video.

If I recall correctly they were loaded thru the buttplate a tube of BBs being

dumped into another tube in the stock. There were all sorts of metal targets

that got knocked over and could be reset upright when the guy pulled a lever.

There was also pools of water with little ships to knock over and spraying

the water was the best because you could see all the splashes.

I can imagine what a kid of today playing a high tech video game would

think of something as lame as a BB gun, but that was a great time and a

great memory. Thanks Dan!

 

Bob

The shooting gallery i went to as a kid was like the one you described but in addition to the Thompsons it had a few fixed guns on stands sort of a .50cal looking thing which was my fav. I think it was .25cents to shoot a tube of bbs.
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Back in the day i ordered one of these from a magazine. Mine ran on cans of Freon and you could really hose down the bottles and cans. It was a lot of fun. Buying Freon and bb used up an ample amount of my paper route money though ha!!

 

http://www.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=1703

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

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Back in the day i ordered one of these from a magazine. Mine ran on cans of Freon and you could really hose down the bottles and cans. It was a lot of fun. Buying Freon and bb used up an ample amount of my paper route money though ha!!

 

http://www.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=1703

 

There was actually one on Gunbroker last year; guy only wanted $75 I think, but had no idea if it worked.

I too remember the tube of BBs for loading. My brother and I tried (with no luck) to shoot out that star way too many times. But it sure was fun, back around 1960.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

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Back in the day i ordered one of these from a magazine. Mine ran on cans of Freon and you could really hose down the bottles and cans. It was a lot of fun. Buying Freon and bb used up an ample amount of my paper route money though ha!!

 

http://www.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=1703

 

There was actually one on Gunbroker last year; guy only wanted $75 I think, but had no idea if it worked.

I too remember the tube of BBs for loading. My brother and I tried (with no luck) to shoot out that star way too many times. But it sure was fun, back around 1960.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

the magazine was empty it had a cover on the bottom. turn the gun upside down and pour a whole box of bb in there and away we go. The magazine was pressurized and there was a pick up at the bottom. The bb just went up the tube and out the barrel

Edited by Petroleum 1
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The trick to shooting out the star with these guns is to fire in bursts around it so you basically cut the star out, otherwise the edges of the star will remain intact and get you every time. I learned that after dropping $20 and having a fun half hour at a fair one time.
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Back in the day i ordered one of these from a magazine. Mine ran on cans of Freon and you could really hose down the bottles and cans. It was a lot of fun. Buying Freon and bb used up an ample amount of my paper route money though ha!!

 

http://www.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=1703

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

Don't hook one up to a air tank! :o

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Back in the day i ordered one of these from a magazine. Mine ran on cans of Freon and you could really hose down the bottles and cans. It was a lot of fun. Buying Freon and bb used up an ample amount of my paper route money though ha!!

 

http://www.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=1703

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

Don't hook one up to a air tank! :o
I never did that but Why not?? With a regulator you can adjust the pressure to a safe level.
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Although what passes for "sights" on a Feltman Shoot-The-Star carnival gun are fixed (cast into the pieces) the point of aim is actually adjustable via a couple of set screws at the end of the barrel which hold the actual barrel in the casting. You can actually get the thing to be pretty accurate. . .

 

The original manual lists several ways the game operator can change the odds of success (apart from mis-adjusting the aim which is not mentioned) including changing the rate of fire and using larger star targets --there were 3 sizes of stars I believe. Not to mention who's to say you're getting a full 100 rnds. in the loading tube. . .

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Back in the day i ordered one of these from a magazine. Mine ran on cans of Freon and you could really hose down the bottles and cans. It was a lot of fun. Buying Freon and bb used up an ample amount of my paper route money though ha!!

 

http://www.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=1703

 

 

Sent from my iPhone

Don't hook one up to a air tank! :o
I never did that but Why not?? With a regulator you can adjust the pressure to a safe level.

Homemade ; Propane take with just a store bought valve and hose kit, no reg.

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I remember those at the Louisiana State Fair when i was a kid (late '60s). If a sliver of red was left, no prize! :angry2:

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Carnies that did the Minnesota State Fair had the old Tommies too....but....instead of a hundred BB's, they'd load the gun with that brass tube and it didn't look full.

The guy said there were a hundred in there and I could count them if I wanted to.

I pocketed a few and took them home.

Lead, #2 shot.

Spattered all over the place.....bet they had plenty of room to bounce on down the barrel!

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