Welcome
to the
Utah
Gun Collectors Association
March 2001 Gun Show
"The ORIGINAL
Ogden Gun Show" Our 41st year of Quality Gun Shows in Utah
Click
here for date and location of our next picnic and historic arms shooting
session
Here are some samples of the
educational displays presented by UGCA members.
We hope you enjoy them. Part of the pleasure of
gun collecting is learning about the historical, technical, and artistic
features associated with firearms. Gun shows provide members, and
the general public, a chance to appreciate these aspects.
If you collect guns,
we invite you to join UGCA.
Membership benefits include
for free admission to all UGCA shows, reduced table rates, and a great
newsletter.
Click
here for membership information and application
Copyright 2001 by Utah Gun Collectors Association.
All rights reserved. Box 711161, salt Lake City, UT 84171
Let's go to the UGCA gun show!
Before we look at the
displays, lets see some items that showed up with dealers or the guests.
One especially neat item attracted a
lot of attention.
A beautiful early flintlock Kentucky
Rifle, about .52 caliber with 44 inch barrel and nice Pennsylvania style
brass patchbox. Probably made circa 1790-1810 in what collectors
call the "Golden Age" of rifle making, this is a fine a piece of American
craftsmanship and history as the furniture of the period, but requiring
much more skill to make. Besides the very nice rifle, this had its
original powder horn, along with an amazingly cute little priming horn,
the tiniest horn most of us had ever seen. The larger of the two
horns had wonderful folk art scrimshaw work depicting houses, martial motifs,
etc.
. 
Lots of people bring old guns or related items
to our show for free appraisals or to sell. Maybe you want to do
this at the next show.
Now- on to the Great Displays!
Click on the title to go
directly to one of these displays or enjoy scrolling down the page to see
them all.
The Art of
Gunmakers in the 1600's
Silesia is part of central Europe,
where gun makers of the 1600s were masters of artistic design as well as
makers of fine weapons. These five superb examples of the gun makers
art have similar artistic motifs, with inlays of bone, ivory, and mother
ot pearl on nearly every area of the stock. Four of them have the
recurring theme of hounds chasing rabbits while the other has a beautiful
image of a lovable but mythical griffin. ARms of this quality are
seldom seen outside of the finest museums, and it was an extreme treat
for UGCA members and guests to view these true works of art. These
were on exhibit courtesy of a collector who wishes to remain anonymous.
. 
. 
"The Hunter
in the Old South"
George N. brought out what many people think of as "Kentucky" rifles
and pistols. These were used widely throughout the country with different
areas or "schools" having distinctive features. Here are some nice
rifles and pistols that were used by hunters in the south.
Spur Trigger
revolvers
Jim C. rarely shows his impressive collection of revolvers
circa 1870-1900 which all feature the "spur trigger" instead of the trigger
inside a trigger guard everyone is familiar with. These include Colts,
Smith & Wessons, copies of them, and guns by makers that few people
have ever heard of. Quality ranges from elaborately engraved and
gold plated pistols to really cheaply made examples.
. 
Guns
of the Civil War
Mr. M. ("Ol' sarge in the photo) shared his impressive
variety of Civil War Carbines and revolvers and related items. He
enjoys preserving these historic arms and explaining their features to
visitors.
. 
Evolution
of German Light Machine Guns
An American, Hyrum Maxim, invented the Maxim mg08 machine gun (and its
nearly identical British cousin, the Vickers) prior to WW1, built around
an ingenious "lock mechanism" that performs most of the complicated steps
involved with firing, unlocking, extracting, ejecting, cocking, loading,
and locking a piece of machinery at a firing rate of about 10 rounds per
second. However, the water cooled gun weighted over 68 pounds, limiting
its use to fixed positions in the trenches. In 1915, the Germans
made a modified version (the mg08/15) weighing about 48 pounds, which became
the first widely used machine gun for maneuvering in the field, an attempt
to overcome the ghastly casualties of mass attacks against trench lines.
The exhibit explained the changes in this gun, and also how it led to the
sneaky development by the Nazis of a much better gun in Switzerland in
the 1930s. This became the mg34, adopted in 1934 with a weight of
about 24 pounds and many innovative features that continued in used in
armies for the rest of the 20th century.
Note: Machine guns are legal to own ONLY after passing a strict
background investigation by the FBI, payment of a large tax, and approval
of local law enforcement officials, and registration of the guns.
These are legally owned by a medical doctor who has complied with all the
rules on these. He enjoys history, and also enjoys shooting these
on occasion!
. 
. 
Imperial
Russian Side Arms
Jeff D. collects items from the Russian Army, prior to the
1917 overthrow of the Czar. This display includes two variations
of Smith & Wesson revolvers made in 1874, and some edged weapons.
Note that the scabbard for the sword at the top also has two loops where
the bayonet is carried. Everyone wonders how the Russians carried
the bayonets for their Mosin-Nagant rifles. The infantry had no scabbards,
but kept them on the rifles at all time. The cavalry (Cossacks) carried
them attached to their sword scabbards. Now you know!
. 
The
Evolution of the Colt Dragoon
Jim C uses some really great modern replicas of the extremely valuable
originals to show how Col. sam Colt improved his pistols over the years
from a very basic concept (the revolver cylinder) into practical arms for
use by our mounted troops. Jim loves to explain the story to visitors.
Winchester
1873
Al is a serious Winchester collector, and brought
out this superb Model 1873 rifle in .38-40 caliber for us to see.
Notice that the butt is 2 inches shorter than standard, and it even has
the correct letter from the original factory records confirming this rare
feature. On the right are three very scarce variations of the reloading
tools used with the early Winchester rifles and carbines. Cowboys
out on the frontier had to reload their own ammo when they could not get
"store bought" ammo.
. 
Native
American Lithics
Always popular with the public, Mr. B. brings
an amazing display of weapons, tools, and other artifacts from the earliest
Americans. Apparently efforts by the Utahns Against Bow and Arrow
Violence were unsuccessful in outlawing or confiscating the dangerous assualt
weapons of the period, as a large number have been recovered for display
here.
. 
Western
Military History Association- "The Children's War"
Reflecting the youthful ages of many combatants
during the Civil War, here are exhibits of tye types of uniforms, camp
gear, and weaponry used. Also a child, learning about history, and
proud ofher dad's work to educate others.
The
graveur's Art
Geroge's award winning display of outstanding artistry
in wood and metal. Incredible skill is needed to combine the utilitarian
aspects of a top quality firearm and the best artistic qualities of engraving,
sculpting, and carving in walnut, steel and precious metal
Cowboy
Shootist- Single Action Shoting Society
Ken brought out many of the neat guns used by
the "cowboy action shooters" in their fun filled competitions. Both
men and women compete in these events, using inexpensive modern reproductions
(or sometimes very valuable originals 100 year old guns). Thanks
Ken!
Stevens
Single Shot .22s
Ralph shared his collection of a wide variety
of models, all by a single maker. Hundreds of thousands of these
were sold between 1890 and 1940 for use by youngsters learning to shoot
safely. Most were used hard, and examples in nice condition are surprisingly
hard to find.
An
Army of One?
What a deal! Everyone else is selling guns, but this guy
will give one away FREE to man or women 18 or older, along with lots of
ammo and training in their use, along with a paycheck! Between talkling
to prospective recruits, he is studying manuals for promotion exams.
An
Army of Volunteers
Every organization depends on a small cadre of
great people who do a lot of work. Here are two guys and a gal who
do so much for the Utah Gun Collectors Associaion, the National Muzzle
Loading Association and the National Rifle Association. THANK YOU
ALL!
SEE YOU AT THE NEXT UGCA SHOW!
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