Are those old fashioned pneumatic carnival BB "machine guns" available?

[Joshua Tree]

Are those BB firing pneumatic carnival "machine guns" available used? You know (fellow older guys), the kind at a circus/carnival/attraction where you had to shoot 100% of a red star printed on a sheet of heavy paper to win a prize?

My dad always said that they had really loose barrels, diameter wise, so you could never win a prize. Of course, you could never see how loose the barrel was, because the row of BB guns were mounted with a limited traverse for safety.

I wouldn't mind just seeing how the mechanisms worked.

[chris1911]

They still have them, you don't have to be an older guy. Now though they also have booths with Airsoft M9s that you shoot targets with and you get like 12 shots to hit 6 targets from 5 yds. They range from 3" to 1". I swear the BBs shoot more inaccurately than those tommy gun games.

Back on topic though, they don't actually shoot BBs they shoot #2 shot. Vintage Pneumatics Corporation made them. They're not very cheap, $4-500 IIRC. I've seen them on eBay and Gunbroker before.

[chris1911]

http://ww.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=180387

This guy was selling one but you just missed it!

It sold for $1200.

[jl7422]

You are referring to the Tommy gun, originally made by Feltman beginning in the 1940's and still being made today by Shooting Star. To my knowledge, they were never available directly to the public--only sold as multiple-gun carnival midway sets-- the current manufacturers do not sell individual guns to the public, just the sets.

To answer your question; original guns do come up occasionally on classifieds and the gun auction sites, and are usually snatched up immediately, regardless of cosmetic condition. They are very robust (would have to be to last 60+ years in the hands of countless carnival midway users). It took me 2 years to find mine. It's a blast to shoot, completely reliable and once the sights were adjusted, surprisingly accurate.

[Joshua Tree]

Thanks, guys!

Is it just my imagination, or were there also a twin grip thumb trigger guns, ala Browning M2?

[stilly]

They still have them, you don't have to be an older guy. Now though they also have booths with Airsoft M9s that you shoot targets with and you get like 12 shots to hit 6 targets from 5 yds. They range from 3" to 1". I swear the BBs shoot more inaccurately than those tommy gun games.

Back on topic though, they don't actually shoot BBs they shoot #2 shot. Vintage Pneumatics Corporation made them. They're not very cheap, $4-500 IIRC. I've seen them on eBay and Gunbroker before.

LoL. Because BBs are shaved down and reused again and again. Have a look at them if you can. Never reuse an airsoft pellet, but the metal bbs in the full autos first pass over some sandpaper...

If I were to want to look at a DECENT looking gun of today, I would look at a DROZD. They DO look nice.

[jl7422]

There were a couple of spade-grip 1919-style BB-gun machinguns--one made by the same company as the Tommy - (Feltman) and one made during the war and used as a first step in the trainnig of aerial gunners known as a MacGlashan.

Both very rare, expensive and collectable.

[Misterclick]

Are those BB firing pneumatic carnival "machine guns" available used? You know (fellow older guys), the kind at a circus/carnival/attraction where you had to shoot 100% of a red star printed on a sheet of heavy paper to win a prize?

My dad always said that they had really loose barrels, diameter wise, so you could never win a prize. Of course, you could never see how loose the barrel was, because the row of BB guns were mounted with a limited traverse for safety.

I wouldn't mind just seeing how the mechanisms worked.

Shot one just a couple of weeks ago. Short controlled bursts. Would post a pic of the prize but don't know how on the iPhone! fun stuff. I was thinking it would be fun to own one!

E-

[m98]

Played it once. the sights are all f upd. i had to shoot and watch where the shots impacted and kentucky windage it. i cleared the star except for a faint hair of red the length of less than 1/16". the guy had to LITTERLY put it up to his face to examine it and after 15secs says its no good....friggin douche bag. just give up the toy for my 4yr old pointing at the toys on the wall.

[jamesob]

they had big bores and the bb had been shot millions of times. they still make them and from time to time come up on ebay, pricey but still around.

[jl7422]

The original factory literature suggests several ways the operator can make the game more "challenging" for the player:

While the sights on the gun are not adjustable per-se, the barrel is. So point-of-aim can be adjusted to align with the (fixed) sights. It's an easy process--just takes a minute. The rate of fire can be adjusted internally--higher the rate, shorter your "turn" and lesser your chance to shoot out the star. And there are several sizes of star targets--larger the star, less your chances.

Also, they were designed to shoot #1 chilled lead shot--although most sources you read claim they take #2. They will feed #2 just fine, but it rattles around in the barrel a bit on the way out, and so goes your accuracy.

Not to mention, did anybody ever stop and count to make SURE you were getting the promissed "100-shots" you paid for??

[SB1964]

Those things are cool. I never got a friggin prize though, close, but no cigar!

[89 Vision]

Check out the OP's product in this thread.

http://www.calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=770420

[redcliff]

I"ve always had a fondness for them too, but they're just not that convenient to operate to make it worth investing in one imho. The $$$ Drozd Blackbird and for substantially less $$ the Umarex Steel Force or Steel Storm should satisfy most of that craving.

[carnygunner]

Are those BB firing pneumatic carnival "machine guns" available used? You know (fellow older guys), the kind at a circus/carnival/attraction where you had to shoot 100% of a red star printed on a sheet of heavy paper to win a prize?

My dad always said that they had really loose barrels, diameter wise, so you could never win a prize. Of course, you could never see how loose the barrel was, because the row of BB guns were mounted with a limited traverse for safety.

I wouldn't mind just seeing how the mechanisms worked.

they r based on the same principal as ur air rachet impact gun and such. thers a bras tube tht feeds the #2 lead bbs to the air block which then pushes the bb to a carriage tht raises the bb to the barrel and the air pressure shots the bb out at the target thts how it works. I run a 6 machine gun setup for the carny season here in western Canada for almost 8 mnths of the year. yes I am a carny and the are not rigged just poor shots. hell I hv had top notch hunters and military not beat it but 4 yr old boys and normal folks win it lol.