Fairground shooting galleries

[Blunderbuss]

As a very young kid long before my parents relented and let me get my first air gun, my only chance to fire "real guns" was at the fair. Forty years later I can still remember feeling giddy with excitement at being handed a fist full of pellets, barely being able to see over the counter or cock the ancient old springer chained to it. To a soundtrack of deafening music and girly screams from the waltzers accompanied by the whiff of diesel, candy floss and puke!

 

Anyone remember the old full auto bb guns that ran off an airline? ISTR you had to shoot a little red star out of a paper target to win, but no one ever did coz the **** would always find a tiny fleck of red, or so rumour had it use a red pen :o

 

My excitement peeked when I went to one at Blackpool, and they had proper powder burners! Pump action .22 rimfires, I could scarcely believe it. I sneakily kept one of the rounds for a few years, a .22 short with a nickel plated case. I eventually realised I could get in the poo for having it, by that stage I'd joined the cadets and and snook it into the range one practice night and fired it out of one of the No8 rifles.

 

Another one was a TA unit at a county fair, running a stall where you could shoot SLRs, which were bigger than I was. They had .22 conversion kits in, and you fired them into the back of a lorry come mobile range! My memory fails me a bit, but I'm fairly sure there were no ear defenders or shooting glasses and no minimum age - I know I couldn't lift the rifle on my own so was helped by one of the blokes on the stand Brilliant! I'm sure health and safety and PC nonsense have consigned stuff like that to the history books now.

 

Anyone know of any decent old fashioned galleries still doing the rounds?

 

At some stage in the future, when I've got a bit of time on my hands I fancy building one in the attic Proper vintage sign writing, ping pong balls on jets of water - the whole shabang. Of course I'd have to shell out for a whole load of vintage air rifles to do it justice, How cool would that be?

Edited May 19, 2011 by Blunderbuss

[webber]

When my brother and I were still at junior school we spent a few summer holidays at Pontins Holiday Camp at Middleton Sands near Morecambe.

There was a proper .22 rimfire rifle range. I'll never forget it.

 

I remember the first time that Dad took David and I down to the range. Dad put a few shots though each of about 6 rifles, and declared them all as ****. He demanded from the little man in the brown overall his punch and hammer. Dad set about the sights on the rifle that he declared the best, and kept at it until he was satisfied that it wasn't going to get any better. He then showed David, me , and the attendant the serial number on the rifle, and instructed the attendant to ensure that he always gave us the same rifle when ever we went down to the range. I don't think that the attendant dared not to oblige.

 

In those days, it was a proper family holiday, with grand parents and uncle in attendance; David and I therefore had plenty of visits to the range; try though we did, we never managed to out shoot Dad. Sadly he's now blind, but last year managed a trip down to St. Dunstans. His love of shooting was rewarded. They have a 10 metre range, with specially adapted air rifle and sight; you couldn't knock Dads score. I have his card somewhere, I'll try to find it and take a photograph to post on PW. Shooting for the blind; you bet.

 

webber

[Bazooka Joe]

As a very young kid long before my parents relented and let me get my first air gun, my only chance to fire "real guns" was at the fair. Forty years later I can still remember feeling giddy with excitement at being handed a fist full of pellets, barely being able to see over the counter or cock the ancient old springer chained to it. To a soundtrack of deafening music and girly screams from the waltzers accompanied by the whiff of diesel, candy floss and puke!

 

 

Brings back memories.....My father let me have a go at the local fair once, they had the knock down plates, about an 1" wide & 6" long, half a dozen standing side by side, they were the targets, but I didn't know that, being my first go as a youngin.

 

Had a look round what to shoot at, wallop...the biggest plate on the top shelve came crashing down, the ones you got for a prize.

 

I was chuffed to ****...till the second wallop, straight round the lug off my father, he had to pay for it

 

Laughed at it afterwards, was a talking point for years before every fair, needless to say the stall owner wasn't impressed one bit

[Blunderbuss]

When my brother and I were still at junior school we spent a few summer holidays at Pontins Holiday Camp at Middleton Sands near Morecambe.

There was a proper .22 rimfire rifle range. I'll never forget it.

 

I remember the first time that Dad took David and I down to the range. Dad put a few shots though each of about 6 rifles, and declared them all as ****. He demanded from the little man in the brown overall his punch and hammer. Dad set about the sights on the rifle that he declared the best, and kept at it until he was satisfied that it wasn't going to get any better. He then showed David, me , and the attendant the serial number on the rifle, and instructed the attendant to ensure that he always gave us the same rifle when ever we went down to the range. I don't think that the attendant dared not to oblige.

 

In those days, it was a proper family holiday, with grand parents and uncle in attendance; David and I therefore had plenty of visits to the range; try though we did, we never managed to out shoot Dad. Sadly he's now blind, but last year managed a trip down to St. Dunstans. His love of shooting was rewarded. They have a 10 metre range, with specially adapted air rifle and sight; you couldn't knock Dads score. I have his card somewhere, I'll try to find it and take a photograph to post on PW. Shooting for the blind; you bet.

 

webber

 

Nice read. I raise a glass to your dad

[Mungler]

Wow this has jogged a memory.

 

I dunno how old I was but I would say 10.

 

Southend amusement arcades on the sea front, they had .22rf semi autos in a range in one of the arcades. No glasses and no ear defenders of course.

 

Later on the air powered tommy guns shooting the red star for a fiver that no one ever won, but everyone was happy to have a go, just to get a go,

 

Ah..., memories...

[Blunderbuss]

Anyone remember the old full auto bb guns that ran off an airline? ISTR you had to shoot a little red star out of a paper target to win, but no one ever did coz the **** would always find a tiny fleck of red, or so rumour had it use a red pen :o

 

Later on the air powered tommy guns shooting the red star for a fiver that no one ever won, but everyone was happy to have a go, just to get a go,

 

A bit of Googling.......

 

 

 

 

Edited May 19, 2011 by Blunderbuss

[majordisorder]

 

Another one was a TA unit at a county fair, running a stall where you could shoot SLRs, which were bigger than I was. They had .22 conversion kits in, and you fired them into the back of a lorry come mobile range! My memory fails me a bit, but I'm fairly sure there were no ear defenders or shooting glasses and no minimum age - I know I couldn't lift the rifle on my own so was helped by one of the blokes on the stand Brilliant! I'm sure health and safety and PC nonsense have consigned stuff like that to the history books now.

 

 

That wasn't at Beachley camp was it? I remember going there as a kid to the open days and having a crack on the SLRs, no ear defenders required :unsure:

[ziplex]

Great to read some of this certainly jogs the memories a bit.....can't remember the airline guns but I can remember using a 'chained' air rifle to break the string that was holding a bottle of Coates cider swinging over a bunch of straw bales, how I did it I don't know but I did. Can't really remember the conversation that took place but the local thugs who happened to witness this incredible feat were trying to 'convince' me to hand it over, I could run back then

[highseas]

ime not as old as you lot but can remember local fairs at home and one in morcamb? maybe? any how them old air guns with the ****** up open sights i used to ask to use the darts (the little red blue and yellow ones, .177 darts in the .22 :blink: )they where hope less lol. and as for them tommy guns how awsome would one of them be in a barn full of rats or ferral pigeons

[Dave 101]

My club run a mobile air rifle range , its an old caravan that opens out at the back . They take it round to the local school fetes and country shows .

 

Dave

[deny essex]

This takes me back some , living on Canvey Island since the age of 9 the Canvey Casino was my stomping ground, it had the .22 rim pump and semis, air rifles and almost anything else that could fire a projectile at one time or another, of corse my mates and me just had to fire whatever was going at the time, that was before the age of saving the money for getting off with the girls.

When we moved to Canvey from the east end of London it had just started being developed as a London get out, plenty of open fields and farm land where we used to take our catapults, air rifles and pistols out and about, borrowing an older brothers air weapon and pellets, of corse telling him later.

Dumb as we were we used to have war games in and around the old gun placements and pill boxes dotted on canveys coastline shooting at one another as Germans and Allies.

How none of us lost an eye or had anything more than a bruise as stones and pellets ricochet'd around the concrete buildings I will never know.

[Blunderbuss]

I've not seen a fair with rimfire rifles for years. I recall reading somewhere that the .22 rounds used were special gallery rounds with frangible bullets to avoid ricochets. I think they were made of sintered lead or something like that - powdered lead "glued" together. Also that they were lighter than the standard .22 short 29gr bullet, but higher velocity. They certainly sounded loud to my then untrained ears.

 

It used to be the case, and I think it still may be, that a shooting gallery owner doesn't need an FAC for .22 rifles. There was a specific exemption for this in the 1968 act, and I don't think (though not 100%) that its been removed since.

[Frenchieboy]

I can remember the "shooting galleries" on the fair grounds very well. With the old springers you had to knock down the targets that looked like little metal footballers stood in a row, they were about 3 inches high and an inch wide as I recall. There would sometimes be a "gallery" that had .22 semi autos where you could shoot at things like table tennis balls bobbing up and down on the top of water jets and several other types of "fun" targets!

As for the air line driven ones where you had to shoot the entire red star from the target - I have never seen anyone do that successfully even though there would always be a couple of targets on show that it had been done on!

You don't see them much nowadays - Something to do with health and safety no doubt!

[stubby]

This takes me back some , living on Canvey Island since the age of 9 the Canvey Casino was my stomping ground, it had the .22 rim pump and semis, air rifles and almost anything else that could fire a projectile at one time or another, of corse my mates and me just had to fire whatever was going at the time, that was before the age of saving the money for getting off with the girls.

When we moved to Canvey from the east end of London it had just started being developed as a London get out, plenty of open fields and farm land where we used to take our catapults, air rifles and pistols out and about, borrowing an older brothers air weapon and pellets, of corse telling him later.

Dumb as we were we used to have war games in and around the old gun placements and pill boxes dotted on canveys coastline shooting at one another as Germans and Allies.

How none of us lost an eye or had anything more than a bruise as stones and pellets ricochet'd around the concrete buildings I will never know.

 

snap denny

 

we used to go to a bit of waste ground called the "butts" all walking down the road with air rifles, if you did happen to get stopped by police, it was only so they could look and have a chat before being sent on your way, still holding your gun.

once on the waste ground, we would split into teams, we would use those copper BB's and after cocking the springer and closing, load them from the front of barrel, either singularly, or in two's and three's for the shotgun effect, a little plug of earth, stopped the balls rolling out if you aimed downwards, the only rule we had was NO HEADSHOTS, maybe we were safety minded as kids but just did'nt know it, but as you say, its a wonder no one was seriously hurt

 

on one occassion, this "new kid" came along, he was scottish and the biggest billy ball $hitter going, the teams divided, he climbed a tree to be a sniper, everyone gathered at the base of tree, loaded shotgun style and fired up, poor sod must of had a good 100 bb's, anyway, he fell out of the tree, a good 25ft, he was more worried about his gun, as he'd borrowed it from an older brother without asking, we were all worried, we nearly wet ourselves laughing

Edited May 20, 2011 by stubby

[Blunderbuss]

I recall reading somewhere that the .22 rounds used were special gallery rounds with frangible bullets to avoid ricochets. I think they were made of sintered lead or something like that - powdered lead "glued" together. Also that they were lighter than the standard .22 short 29gr bullet, but higher velocity. They certainly sounded loud to my then untrained ears.

 

I'm on a mission with this now! , some googling for pics of the rifles and ammo:

 

 

 

 

 

[figgy]

I remember using the usual bent barrel springers in the seventies and eighties,aim at your target and clip the edge of the next one .

 

The automatic airline one i used looked more like a SLR and it used normal air gun pellets loaded into a clear plastic tube then emptied into a hole in the end of the stock, same red star target though.

 

Me and my mates all thought we could shoot out the red star, not a chance,had more fun on repeated goes drawing faces and shapes in the card target,unbelievably quick to get through a hundred shots.

 

Wonder what one would be like out in the field with a bottle conected.

 

ATB figgy

[harpoonlouis]

Anyone who lived around Nottingham will know Goose Fair, huge fairground on the first weekend in October(?).

 

Got myself an unpaid job loading the long tubes that were tipped into those under lever rifles on the shooting gallery.

 

In the Army Cadets we used to march up and down the high street with the contents of the armoury, SMLE 303s and a BREN gun, all live! One summer we got to go to Beckingham Camp ( think that is the right spelling) where the army sorted rubbish ammo returns from various places. We used to make up magazines of ammo for the Bren and belts for a GPMG from partial boxes of returns or boxes of ammon that had been damgaged or got wet and gone green then we got to blast it all off on the range.

 

Happy days.

[Breastman]

When the Metrocentre (v large indoor shopping centre in Gateshead) first opened it had a gallery with 3 of those full-auto airline Thompsons in the amusement arcade quarter, i lost track how much pocket money i spent on them

 

I seem to recall them firing rice grain shaped metal ammo rather than BB's or lead air rifle pellets though Then again it was a good 15-20 years ago so i could be wrong

 

Mark

[mowdy]

two years ago at the Galoway country fair there was a .22rf gallery range on a artic trailer body.I did not have a go on it but there were plenty who did!.

Last year though it was not at the show

 

Bob

[Tam]

two years ago at the Galoway country fair there was a .22rf gallery range on a artic trailer body.I did not have a go on it but there were plenty who did!.

Last year though it was not at the show

 

Bob

 

:yes: Rifleman i think

[Paladin]

Hands up those of you who used your own pellets? One of theirs two of yours! 18 coconuts off the string one week, They were held up with a piece of car innertube over the coconut and tied with string over some conduit pipe, and you had to cut the string!!! they must of thought these Brummies can shoot. that was about Fifty years ago I was about 14 and my mate was about 16. My dad bought me an air gun when I was about 9 and would'nt let me use it on my own untill I could shoot a match from across the yard. Oh how I practiced, in those days you scavenged Pop bottles and took them back for a refund off the deposit 2 or three would get you a box off 200 cat slugs.

 

Thanks for the flashback

Paladin

[oldspot]

There is a chap who comes to the Great Dorset steam rally every year with a .22 lr Holcroft tube range that was horse draw when it was made (about 1912 i think). You shoot down 10m or so long steel tubes a foot in diameter at paper targets with winchester underlever rifles that were .22short then converted.

[TaxiDriver]

:yes: Rifleman i think

'Rifleman' if its the same one is at a so called game fair at Barleylands, Billericay this weekend.

[steve_b_wales]

I too, remember the times when I 'had a go' at the .22 short rifles at the fairground. Also, having a go at the air rifles, shooting the skeleton's, and winning my mother a 'top quality' chalk ornament!

I was around 12 years old then, and would never have thought that, many, many years later, I would be firing, and owning bigger caliber rifles. Also, owning large caliber pistols in the 1980's.

 

Steve.

[Muggins.]

Some great memories mixed in there, way back in the days when boxing and wrestling were features of the fairground. All gone now.

Don`t often see a big wheel now.

muggins.