Santa Barbara Historical Arms and Blades Show July 19-20 - who's going?

[pitfighter]

Great write up - well done!

I am not so sure it is getting harder to find non-messed with K98's so much as now you are noticing the messed with ones
It has been pretty tough to find good ones for a long time.

[peppermintman]

Santa Barbara gun show was pretty cool to visit but as mentioned small and when I took out the cell phone no no no, so ok whatever. One guy was walking around trying to sell his Garand tanker, flash suppressor included for $2500....meh. He seemed like he just wanted to show it, not talkative at all.
Saw the Overton type stock for my Garand but the numbers looked very thin and long to me. Didnt buy but I ain't giving up. Maybe tomorrow.

[edgerly779]

I was there early and no parking fee and no one at back door I dropped a consignment model 98 off. Did not see the batf. Picked up parts fro remington model 6 rolling block and some 45 acp parts. Got a neat small drop point browning knife good for detail skinning. Picked up an old trap door wall hanger single shot with octagonal bull barrel I have to figure out caliber.

[toro1]

Santa Barbara gun show was pretty cool to visit but as mentioned small and when I took out the cell phone no no no, so ok whatever. One guy was walking around trying to sell his Garand tanker, flash suppressor included for $2500....meh. He seemed like he just wanted to show it, not talkative at all.
Saw the Overton type stock for my Garand but the numbers looked very thin and long to me. Didnt buy but I ain't giving up. Maybe tomorrow.

I picked up a an IHC stock that is a bit on the rough side and saw another for sale at $260 I think. Was the Overton you are talking about the one for $260? The guy had some other things I was interested in so I have his phone number if you think it might be a different one. Overall the show was pretty good and I think you could get any bayonet you wanted (for a price) as there were tables covered in them.

[Emdawg]

As a vendor, that show was slow and boring. Hardly anyone was dealing and selling a thing.

There was three 98k's there. One was a decent Romanian-capture. Another was a Radom/Steyr bnz 43. Had a lightning rune on it. Mis-matched bolts on both of them

The guy I was sharing a table with sold a 98k that was a 1943 Sauer. All-matching numbers wit a mirror bright bore. He let it go for about $900!

Another guy walked up with a C96 Broomhandle with a wooden holser-stock. Wanted $800. Another guy in my row got it for $550.

One guy let go of a 1905 Tula M91. Nice Finn capture with an original bayonet. All for $250.

I had no money.

[Syntax Error]

Great write up Capybara! It was good to finally meet you in person. Yes, I think I did quite well with the Model 1917 that I bought for $425, and it's in quite good condition for the price with an excellent stock, bore, and metal, and not so bad of a deal if I do say so myself! I will be taking pictures once I get some sunlight, I just got back home now so if I take pictures it will be crappy photos under crappy lighting.

The Remington M91 in pristine condition was just phenomenal! And I think at $2,000, that is actually a reasonable price though I asked the seller if he was flexible, and he would have been, so whoever chooses to buy that gun would probably be able to get it less than $2K. Not every day you see literally a factory fresh mint condition M91 Remington, that really is the highest quality Russian M91 you can find out there, and was simply beautiful.

It was pretty cool to see a Chauchat, a Fusil Modele 1917 semi-auto rifle in 8mm Lebel, and of course, the M1918 "T-Gewehr", which was that beast of an anti-tank rifle. Truly a good show this year, I would have to say, lots of interesting stuff, and a surprising amount of Model 1917 rifles amongst various vendors, too.

[Capybara]

Thanks for the link to that anti-tank rifle, I was wondering what that was. Let us know how that Enfield shoots, you really did well there, it's a beauty. If I wasn't in the middle of a very expensive kitchen remodel, I would have made on offer on that Remington M91, that gun will haunt my dreams, it was really exquisite. Did you see the k43 that was on the rack above it? That was an interesting rifle as well, but well out of my budget.

Good meeting you there too, enjoy your rifle!

[Syntax Error]

It was good to meet you to Capybara, it seems like you went to the show with a lot of things to do and managed to get a good experience there. I enjoy this show every time it comes around, glad I had the time to go to SB to peruse the shelves.

I actually did manage to shoot the M1917 today since I also planned on hitting Winchester Canyon after the show. I picked up a box of Fiocchi .30-06 from one of the tables and shot the gun for groups and chrono'd the gun. It was shooting the ammo about 3,000 FPS and was shooting a little high and to the left, so I think I may have to drift the front sight post a little to adjust for windage. This is one of the failings of the Model 1917 - lack of easily adjustable windage, so this is something I may have to purchase a tool for.

I did see the K43, though I do not know too much about them to be honest. I will say unless it's literally mint condition, $5K is a little too much. I was paying more attention to that pristine M91 Remington and the Gewehr 98 sniper that was on the top, too, which was beautiful. The M91 did look all correct from what I can tell, it has an American black walnut stock, correct 1917 Russian double-headed eagle cartouche on the right side, all matching numbers, US Property flaming bomb cartouche near the front of the magazine well on the bottom of the stock, etc. It was simply beautiful, I don't know if it got scooped up, but you do not see a mint condition M91 Remington all the time, so if it's something you are on the fence about, maybe you should get it!

[Capybara]

Dang, you don't mess around. already shot it? Ha, ha, I think that M91 would max out my credit card. I just can't swing it, although I know that rifle is a GREAT investment that will soon double in value. They aren't making a whole lot more of those.

One other thing I forgot to add to my report above. Since when did 1895 Nagants double and triple in value? I bought two in Arizona last year, unissued with all of the accessories, one '44 Izhevsk and one 30s Tula, they are both either never issued or beautifully re-arsenaled. I saw a few run of the mill Nagants in not as good condition as mine today for $350.00 and $400.00 there at the show today. What gives? Since when did run of the mill, used to be $99.00 all day Nagants become as valuable as Husqvarnas and French Nagants?

[Emdawg]

You gus talking about the Dr. with the nice Remington M91?

He packed up his stuff and left around 4 or so. Wait till next show.


If there will be one...

[Capybara]

Yes, that was the guy. Wish I could have bought his M91 and the K43. But I'm not wealthy ;-(

[VoxVeritasVita]

Thank you Capybara for your very informative post on the show and remembering my 7.7 inquiry. I might just go in the am and but a few rounds. Haven't shot the Arisaka in over 20 years as my Lee Enfield British .303 until last weekend. I was friggin scared to death to shoot the .303 after so long, however we keep our WWII collection well preserved and stored correctly. I hit my buddies gong at a 100yds and it flipped end over end off the stand a few feet. Shot about 20 rds and still have a bruise on my shoulder, but sure was worth the fun and memories of when I shot it when I was a kid. Looking forward to the same experience with the Arisaka. Thanks again!

[DesertWalker]

The next show

I think some of us guys who live some distance from Santa Barbara will have to plan on a trip for the next show. The descriptions here have been very enticing.
Maybe wear the T-Shirts so we can identify each other. Always something new to learn and maybe something to bring along to trade,too.

[I Swan]

Show sucked. Doubtful I'll be back much. I did like seeing the Mauser anti tank rifle I've only ever seen a few in person. I'm not liking this retarded trend last few years of atf showing up at shows with a table especially if they can't answer most questions. Maybe the money would be better spend infiltrating the Hells Angels and soending millions to have the cases thrown out and also letting guns "walk" to criminal elements in Mexico.

[Capybara]

I Swan, you must obviously look for different things than I do, I really liked the show. It was leagues better than the lame Ventura Beef Jerky show, there were actually a lot of cool guns for sale, what's not to like?