artie in miami

I was wondering if there is a show that is better than Knob Creek for class 3 parts, kits etc...I have heard that attendance is slipping at the creek and there is very little shooting. Is there anything out West that rivals it...I have had really good luck in the past at Knob Creek but have been told by many of the local collectors that it is going down hill fast. I can remember when I first went ten yrs ago hearing the miniguns roar at least once every hour and there was tons of stuff coming out of the Ukraine etc...good times ! artie

Can anyone recommend a book or other reference that explains the differant types of 50 round thompson drums...I seem to remember reading on one of the thompson collectors websites that there were five or six variations of the auto ordnance L Drums (Bridgeport, New York etc etc). I picked up a bunch around ten years ago from a guy in Poland that was bringing them in from the Ukraine before the borders tightened up. He had them from all three major manufacturers : Seymour, Crosby, Auto Ord. and was selling them for $200 each, cheaper if you took a bunch...so I did ! Thanks artie in miami

Every so often one of the "BSA" thompson mags in .30 tokorev (mauser) shows up on one of the auction sites or vendors. I picked up two of them last year to go with my chinese modified 1928 parts set...also found a spare bolt that was modified. This way, I don't need the mag-well adapter the chinese came up with...that involves drilling a hole in the trigger group and some other modifications...the BSA mags slide right in. They were not cheap...around $500 each !! But...at least now I have the entire conversion set. artie

ARt That name rings a bell...where do I know that from ?? thanks very much artie in miami

I lucked out and found several of the early WW2 composite 1918A2 BAR buttstocks and need the hardware (sling swivel mount and butt plate). this type take the stock swivel assembly with the monopod hole in the plate...if you have any or know where to locate them, please let me know. thanks email me at asmith1@dadeschools.net Always looking for any/all BAR parts artie in miami

What type of gun is that ? I know that there is a sten MKIII ?? a

I'm sure some others wil have more info. I believe it was a fairly common way to package them (protected oil and sealed in wax), it may be pictured in ATII. I have seen them before. - Ron I saw something similar two years ago at knob creek...think the vendor's name was "Bernard" I remember thinking that they looked pretty "funky" and passed on them...not my finest decision ! artie

I think you will have a tough time finding that wood....I have been looking for several years with no luck. Did you try omega weapons systems in arizona for the bipod...I know he has the bipod head and spare legs...his prices are right out of the 1980's...check it out. artie

Can anyone tell me the size and pitch of the threads on the 1918A2 Browning Automatic Rifle barrel ? My machinist messed up the threads trying to remove the bbl stub, and wants to buy a tap (tap/die) to clean up the threads before putting the bbl in my Phil Ord 80% receiver. Thanks artie in miami

Contact MG DAve at sarco (mgdave@sarcoinc.com is his email) I seem to remember them selling nosepieces in one of their ads in SGN. artie

I just had a buddy of mine ask about the vert grips....he ended up buying some from Dan Block the woodsmith...he was more than pleased...in case you are looking...originals are very, very expensive ! artie

I had a similar experience at knob creek a year and a half ago...IMA had a box on their table marked "bar support kit $150" and I did not spot it until saturday late in the afternoon (long after ohio ord and everyone else had fleeced all the bar parts from the tables). I got curious and opened the box, expecting it to be a case of the rubber mag covers, a magazine and maybe a leg for the bipod....inside was an entire parts kit minus the trigger group !! The parts kits were going for $1500 at that time and I guess they had the box with them for several shows and never changed the price...or they did not know the value. I had previously (the show before) picked up several trigger groups for $50 ea from sarco....so....I got an entire BAR parts kit for $200...that was the buy of the show for me !! So, I know what you mean when you say "couldn't get the money out fast enough ! artie in miami {jimmy cagney} You dirty rat! {/jimmy cagney} Seriously, great score.

The ramrod pipe looks British to me and leads me to believe it's a Bess pattern, but could be 1796/1839. It's tough to tell even when blown up. Now I am wondering, is there an older one I am missing? - Ron Well you blew it I was hoping to get more people to mention the Bess since you just "alluded" to it in your first post.... :slap: Yeah, it look like what is probably a 3rd model Bess. I was also surprised at the number of MP40's that came home. When I first started to collect back in 1972 in Connecticut, I put an ad in the "bargain news" a free paper that was circulated in my area of CT. Within about 5 years, I had located 7 MP40's that vets wanted to sell and was able to make a deal on four of them. That was before I knew that they were a no-no...I had them proudly displayed on my bedroom wall right beside my two MP44's that I had also picked up. Needless to say...they are long gone. One of them had the very early leather strap (waffen marked) that kept the bolt handle from moving back...that was before they put the safety on them. I believe it was a "BNZ40". I am still kicking myself for that one ! artie