Lions Club Gun show

[7mmstalker]

Went to the little one-room gun show in Eagle River on Saturday. Not expecting much really, but was an interesting morning.
Arrived around noon, hoping to look for a Rockchucker reloading press, more on that later. As we approached the door, my young son paused and says "hey dad, that's Dan Sullivan" . Seems like he was making an appearance, as there was a lady with him there setting up a camera on a tripod. Being camera shy I decided to let my son take the lead and introduce himself, after all he was toting his muzzleloader, a good example of the hunting outdoorsman in the making. He promptly refused. So I walked up,introduced myself, and got my 10 seconds of fame and a campaign trail handshake.
Anyway, on to the gunshow. Son wants to trade in his smokepole for something more useful or easier to shoot and burn up ammo. No takers, and he is heartbroken. He has had this little rifle for a few years and does some really good shooting with it. In his mind it it surely equal to a 45-70 Springfield or .22 Revolver. None of the collectors or traders there are willing to share his point of view and we leave after a thorough test of any and all tables for a possible deal.
Dad also wants to see this little musket move on to a new owner, he has outgrown it's small size and is getting ready for more long range shooting. So on a whim we went up the road to Boondock sporting goods. Over the years we have bought some rifles, reloading gear, and "stuff" from them and always got good stuff at a fair price. The guy at the counter listens to my kiddo's proposition; "trade this kid size musket for the stainless .22 on your rack?" To my surprise he says, "lets go talk to the boss". So in he goes to the office and then gets a detailed and honest explanation of how business is done, and why a kid's muzzleloader rifle doesn't equal a SS Marlin takedown .22.
I was really impressed that they took the time to treat him like a valued future customer, so we made a deal and everybody went away happy.
Soooooo, no reloading press for dad, but son has a new rifle to test and master, that's a good thing. Winter season is full of shows and I will find myself a press.
Nothing ventured - nothing gained!

[Armymark]

That's a great story, and a great lesson. I loved going to gun shows with my Dad! Thanks.

[SmokeRoss]

I went to a gun show at the Egan Center years ago. You'll see how long ago in a minute. I dropped my son off at Borders Books and he was going to take public transportation to the show later. Well, son finally shows up. While talking to me, he says "Pat Buchanan is here." I asked him if he meant here as in the gun show, or here as in Anchorage. I hear., "I'm right here" I turned around, and presidential candidate Buchanan was standing right behind me. BTW, I have been to the ER gun show several times and know most of the vendors there. Small world.

[7mmstalker]

Pretty neat to see the likes of Pat Buchanan up here. He is on the radio occasionally and I enjoy his commentary on the state of the union.

Keeping with the forum topic, I found a good press.
The thread on case annealing has some good info, a good read. That made me wonder about neck re-sizing.
Some time back the idea of a 338-06 got to me and I now have most of the pieces gathered to have a good fishing / camping rifle. An experienced 'smith suggested that 35 Whelen brass would be the best choice to re-size for this gun. In that way if my customized ammo gets out of my hands and somebody unknowingly tries to use it in their 35 Whelen rifle, the problem would be far less severe than using 30-06 brass and that ammo somehow getting crammed into a rifle with a .308 bore.
My question is would the 35 Whelen cases likely need neck reaming after being shrunk to .338?

[.338-06]

In a word, yes. Not too much though.

[rbuck351]

Maybe not. Most rifles have more clearance around the neck than they need and some times brass a little thicker in the neck area is a good thing. You will just have to measure things and see.

[limon32]

Went to the little one-room gun show in Eagle River on Saturday. Not expecting much really, but was an interesting morning.
Arrived around noon, hoping to look for a Rockchucker reloading press, more on that later. As we approached the door, my young son paused and says "hey dad, that's Dan Sullivan" . Seems like he was making an appearance, as there was a lady with him there setting up a camera on a tripod. Being camera shy I decided to let my son take the lead and introduce himself, after all he was toting his muzzleloader, a good example of the hunting outdoorsman in the making. He promptly refused. So I walked up,introduced myself, and got my 10 seconds of fame and a campaign trail handshake.
Anyway, on to the gunshow. Son wants to trade in his smokepole for something more useful or easier to shoot and burn up ammo. No takers, and he is heartbroken. He has had this little rifle for a few years and does some really good shooting with it. In his mind it it surely equal to a 45-70 Springfield or .22 Revolver. None of the collectors or traders there are willing to share his point of view and we leave after a thorough test of any and all tables for a possible deal.
Dad also wants to see this little musket move on to a new owner, he has outgrown it's small size and is getting ready for more long range shooting. So on a whim we went up the road to Boondock sporting goods. Over the years we have bought some rifles, reloading gear, and "stuff" from them and always got good stuff at a fair price. The guy at the counter listens to my kiddo's proposition; "trade this kid size musket for the stainless .22 on your rack?" To my surprise he says, "lets go talk to the boss". So in he goes to the office and then gets a detailed and honest explanation of how business is done, and why a kid's muzzleloader rifle doesn't equal a SS Marlin takedown .22.
I was really impressed that they took the time to treat him like a valued future customer, so we made a deal and everybody went away happy.
Soooooo, no reloading press for dad, but son has a new rifle to test and master, that's a good thing. Winter season is full of shows and I will find myself a press.
Nothing ventured - nothing gained!

Thats awesome they took the time with your kid! I've tried to stop in there a few times cause I keep hearing good stuff about them but i'm never there at the right time. I don't make it up that way all that often. Thanks for sharing the story, made me smile!

[AlaskanTides]

Went to the little one-room gun show in Eagle River on Saturday. Not expecting much really, but was an interesting morning.
Arrived around noon, hoping to look for a Rockchucker reloading press, more on that later. As we approached the door, my young son paused and says "hey dad, that's Dan Sullivan" . Seems like he was making an appearance, as there was a lady with him there setting up a camera on a tripod. Being camera shy I decided to let my son take the lead and introduce himself, after all he was toting his muzzleloader, a good example of the hunting outdoorsman in the making. He promptly refused. So I walked up,introduced myself, and got my 10 seconds of fame and a campaign trail handshake.
Anyway, on to the gunshow. Son wants to trade in his smokepole for something more useful or easier to shoot and burn up ammo. No takers, and he is heartbroken. He has had this little rifle for a few years and does some really good shooting with it. In his mind it it surely equal to a 45-70 Springfield or .22 Revolver. None of the collectors or traders there are willing to share his point of view and we leave after a thorough test of any and all tables for a possible deal.
Dad also wants to see this little musket move on to a new owner, he has outgrown it's small size and is getting ready for more long range shooting. So on a whim we went up the road to Boondock sporting goods. Over the years we have bought some rifles, reloading gear, and "stuff" from them and always got good stuff at a fair price. The guy at the counter listens to my kiddo's proposition; "trade this kid size musket for the stainless .22 on your rack?" To my surprise he says, "lets go talk to the boss". So in he goes to the office and then gets a detailed and honest explanation of how business is done, and why a kid's muzzleloader rifle doesn't equal a SS Marlin takedown .22.
I was really impressed that they took the time to treat him like a valued future customer, so we made a deal and everybody went away happy.
Soooooo, no reloading press for dad, but son has a new rifle to test and master, that's a good thing. Winter season is full of shows and I will find myself a press.
Nothing ventured - nothing gained!

Ive got a rock chucker in great condition ..... Taking up room on my bench... I've been thinking of of boxing it and storing it. However my wife isn't as sentimental as I am and it's just a matter of time before I garage sale it anyways.. PM me a fair price for a good condition press.. We will talk

[.338-06]

I resized 50 .35 Whelen nickeled brass to .338-06 and they were shaving the .338 bullets when I tried to load them. I only had to ream out the necks very slightly for the bullets to load without shaving. As these were the only .35 cases I ever tried, it might just have been them.

[peaceman]

I saw the little muzzloader there last night. I didn't know they made them so small. I thought about it for a moment for my 7 year old but wasn't sure if it would fit. How old was your son when shooting it? How many grains of powder were you using and I assume you were loading .45 roundball?

[7mmstalker]

Ya, it has a real small stock. I guess he was around 9 yrs. he is a tall boy but pretty slim. He never complained, the loads varied, 60 or 70 grains (volume, not weighed) of Goex ffg. That little rifle shot really good with a lubed patch and round ball. I would have to dig for it, but I am sure all of the "stuff" is still around. If you decide to get that rifle, I will find the loading bits -measure, ball starter, patches, balls etc. I'm pretty sure there are some T.C. maxi-ball hunting bullets also, though we never did try them.