I'm getting mail regarding the guns I built and an auction.

Please note the comments I've placed on the Classified thread.

Gary

Best to just copy here ....

Just be aware:

I feel obligated to note a few things regarding this gun. This regards the one they call Lot 233

I did make it for Gaylord. It was the first Bison. It's 45 caliber.

However: Gaylord browned it himself - while it was fully assembled - with the stocks in place. This lead to various things being compromised. The cocking lever became frozen, and the joints of metal to metal fits were filled with the acid.

Also, the stocks (which were bonded in place with a 200 degree release Epoxy) were loosened by the acid. When a stock later came off ... it became a really yuck, yuck for the hate Barnes crowd. One of the guys then decided I was too dumb to glue things correctly ... so he reportedly used a good old permenant bond glue to reset them. Now ... I'd used what I used so the wood COULD BE removed from the metal when needed, with simple 200 degree heat gun heat. Now ... who knows?

It was also a real cause for clowns when plans for this gun were offered on the net. That would indicate the gun had been disassembled and fooled with.

SO: I made the origonal gun. THIS is not the origonal gun any longer. Therefore: please do not buy it and expect me to warrenty it. I would rebuild it, in my time and at your expense. But don't go for any "excellent condition" clause if offered. I've rebuilt OTHER guns so disclosed.

Gary



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/09/2012 01:03AM by barnespneumatic.

In addition:

I see that their Lot number 300 is a 32 caliber Delta Ranger. It was an earlier Delta. Was the regular power of about 140 fpe. It was not a Magnum gun. I don't know anything about it's condition. I have not seen it in many, many years.

Last: Their Lot 323 is an air cane I made. It's a muzzle loader for round ball 45. .454" The ramrod is attached to the tip and stores inside the bore. It's a CO2 gun. A small paintball tank is screwed into the handle (which is the firing reservoir). It was in the 110 fpe range I recall. It was a unique exercise in about 99. I've not seen it since.

It's not my intention to shoot down anybody's sale or interest. It's my intention to disclose information the sellers clearly do not know. And, it's my intention to not end up between ANOTHER representation of an "as new" gun and the need for a total rebuild.

Gary

Good info Gary, thanks for bringing us up to speed on these.

well , yet again , my grandads words spring to mind
always tell the truth ,,, and no one can call you a liar.
glad the info is out , but wether or not it will ever be read by the right people is a different issue.
i do hope who ever buys the guns has done a web search first . and then they dont try to hold you to blame for what they have bought as its probably not what they would like to own.

Hi Tom
This is an issue I never foresaw. The guns go out, and vanish into time. I rarely ever see them again. People don't usually post or share info on them. So, when they turn up again ... it's a mystery within that circle. I was naive enough to think the guns, owners, and myself would build a loose family. But, you've read the forum since it started. You've seen them go out ....
So, I can't vouch for their history as I otherwise could.
Gary



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/19/2012 07:51PM by barnespneumatic.

its strange , yes , they are guns , i weaer a rolex , its a watch ,. i ride a ducati , its a bike.
but ,,, each is more than the sum of its parts ... each is a peak in design and a marvel of precission engineering.
much like your guns , they are different things to different people , wether its seen as an example of outstanding design and craftsmanship , or an outrageously accurate power packed air gun,. im sure they are revered for what they represent to each owner , so i can understand why they vanish.
what i dont understand is why so many have turned up all at once , or ,, more to the point ,,, why someone who has gone to the lengths involved to own one , two , or even three would actually think they couls improve on them.
be interesting to see what they sell for , on one hand ,,, a chance to own a gun in real time , and on the other , pos cost the same again , to sort them ,,, i just hope someone dsnt buy them and expect them to be as they left you in the first place.
air cane sounds amazing though. ,, just add its silent too , and id go hunting for that myself.

Hello Tom,

It's lost in the thread somewhere ... but these were estate guns. Fellow passed a few months back - had a big collection of many types of guns.

Mine turn up from time to time. As I mentioned ... I should have seen that this career was gonna run smack into the bottleneck of "human nature". I expected a "friend per gun" result of making things of this quality and complexity. So; I'd stay in touch and know where things were, their condition, and stay a part of the equation. But every condition known to man continues to dictate who cares to stay in touch. Who cares to become a friend. The handmade airgun is not the bridge OVER human nature. So, my hope for a "friend per gun completed" wasn't realistic. They will surface and disappear again in a heartbeat.

And, that one fact is the crippling influence to my model of business. At several hundred hours apiece; I can't make enough guns, fast enough, to continue a fresh flow of new guns across this screen ... to meet the desire for constant entertainment. It was always intended that each gun placed would add to a flow of information and user experience which would compound into a great mass of entertainment value. Without that, there are gonna be gaps in the flow. With each gap ... you loose the momentum. Has nothing to do with the guns, quality, accuracy, value ... it's the 24/7 entertainment cycle. There's always something else a click away.

much truth and wisdom ... its a funny old world really.

Well guys i am the new caretaker of a Barnes Custom cane and could not be happier to drive 12hrs to inspect the weapon i admired.
Better yet when my elbow locked into place with my number in my hand as the auctioneer yelled yabadaba SOLD made it all worth the weight. Those of us who made it there had the chance to fondle our choice of gun. I even had to duck a few times cause of flying pellets. WOW cant move that fast any more hence the cane! I share a few of your aliements gary 30 yrs of iron work takes a toll and some titanium to overcome.
I really enjoyed the 3 page directions and info from the screened soft balls of lead to private maple stock you rescued from your grandfathers barn that he cut in his prime. Sooo just wanted to let you all know i could not be happier with the quality of the cane it shoots great even found the extra sights that were fabricated for it.THE EXPERIENCE SURVIVES!!!

Hello Kurt,

Well - congrats, and thank you very much - for wanting it. I sincerely trust that you enjoy it for many decades.

That is a very early example of a Barnes Pneumatic PCP.

I'm glad it's in shooting order. I recall it being a fun pc. Thanks for posting regarding it.

God Bless,
Gary

oh well done indeed , now can you post the pics please please ,,,, please.
looking forward to seeing them ,,, hope you enjoy it im sure it was well worth the drive ,,, how far away was it from you ??

Here are a couple of pics for your viewing. If you notice the fine tooling on leather handle and some metal engraving on theback action hammer. To quote GB this is a mans cane with raw power and is a fine example of all around talent with wood, leather , brass, steel that all come to gether to project lead 45cal down range kersplat.The ride from Michigan to North Carolina was about 800 miles and i drove straight threw .To much for a 50yr old man to do but i would prob do it again. The excitement in seeing the internal mechanics that are hidden were too great i had to take off the wood and explore and was happy with what i saw. Good job gary even for 1998 which was prob early in your pneu career.Iposted a picture of my Christmas card and family to show a couple of my toys Hope you enjoy Hey Gary you were saying you are a little rusty on carving, engraving maybe a year or more since last time wellllllli could send the cane to you and you could PRACTICE on it (like you need it) judging by your latest work . It must be like welding or riding a bike you never forget!! Keep up the good work and remember keep on plinkin away
.
. ps. thanks to my son for helping with pics

Thanks
Kurt

Hello Kurt,

Looks like a well rounded family pic. Hello All.

Glad you like the pc. So - you've been SNOOPIN' already, have ya? hahah.

Use .454" ball for best. If it will take a .457" it will be a punch to start, but it will definitely still come back out.

That was a fun build. Back when everything was still new.

Enjoy. Don't shoot 'yer eye out!

Gary

I will enjoy thanks much and i will try to not to shoot my foot off or get my nose stuck in back action hammer. If you got any other canes around i sure would like to see them. I was thinkin maybe an air crutch or double barrel airgun walker would be cool too for when i get into my twilite years well we can talk later Well i have to get the ramrod unstuck from the wall bfore my wife gets home God bless

I'm gonna draw up some plans for that walker. That's a great idea!

Guess my pictures of the cane were not good enough to solicite any comments , tried to get some close ups of the detail.I am pretty new to the big bore thing and got turned on to cane thing in my accumulation of air guns after the carnival obsession peaked .The Macglashan and Feltman pictured in my earlier post sure were alot of fun returning to working order, not bad technology for 1939 from either inventer and one can really appreciate the effort that went into developing them much like i imagine Gary doing r&d only on much more intense level and then decorate them with his own personal design not just copying an earlier gun.I have always been a hunter and fisherman made my own stick bow and arrows and harvest meat, tie my own flies and catch trout and steelhead now i think i will have to keep my eyes open for a large cal air gun. What really peaks my interest with you gary is making ALL from the confines of a one man shop.No store bought items put together.You must really enjoy your craft even after turning yourself into a business. Does it ever get boring or do you just keep mixing it up?I heard some coyotes this morn at work 4am sure wanted to get out in woods and soak i t all in MICHIGAN . Well i have been sittin on mail box waitin fer my smoke print hope all is well in Barns house and everyone else i am outa hear got to go crab fishing on beiring sea tonite

Thanks
Kurt

Stay safe. I enjoyed your post. I'm very sorry for the response you got. I've said it a hundred times. Pointless again.
Sounds like you have many skills and enjoy much. Thank you, once again, for driving all that way, and wanting to own one of my pcs.
God bless, Gary

Hello Kurt,

I'm a bit late to the party as far as perusing the pics goes. Guess it got a bit lost down at the bottom of a pretty long thread, thought I'd read all the posts on that one.

I like the closeups of the air cane, do you think you could post one of the whole shebang from tip to tail, I'm having a hard time visualizing how the whole thing would look.

The vintage airguns are pretty intrigueing as well, are these the predecessors to the travelling carnival / state fair "shoot out the red star" type games? Do they use steel BBs or lead shot? Run off low pressure air or a piston system of some kind?

Sean

Hello Sean ya the pics of the cane are not the greatest it was amazing i was able to get them on at all {not much of a computer guy} Iwill get some complete pictures also the custom Ladonna case that preserved it in near pristene condition.The macglashan tommy gun was from frontier land in California disney land, It shoots steel ,174 with low pressure air 24 volt system, All of his guns work from pretty much the same valve and solonoid system that earned him a military contract building aeriel training weapons for WW2,The feltman cony island was from New York opposite ends of the country , It also shoots ,174 {they were cheep} with low preasure hose feed 110 volt system, This later became the shooting star guns after changing the design to hand held no electricticy and #2 chilled lead shot probably cause of the shoot yer eye out richochet effect It is all fun and games till some one looses an eye ,

Thanks
Kurt



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/14/2015 09:45AM by kurt wag.

Nice post Kurt. I'd like to see the whole cane too. I don't think I've ever seen it on any of the old sites either.

BTW, the walker idea is excellent!

Hello jerry i also looked around for it thinking it must be archived some where but could not find it , Hope these pics give a better idea of my new cane guns actual sizeit is very cool and the prize of all my cane guns, Besides the crapy picture in the blue book of air guns of Garys other cane i have not seen any other made in USA that are compairable, ( think i got a man crush on GB andhis talent) It is exciting to locate these treasures that make me happyand also some day meet the maker and swap moose stories, Thanks for sharing in my excitement

Thanks
Kurt

Wow, that IS one fancy setup. Don't shoot 'yer eye out indeed!

Just think about how many BBs have been down the tubes on those arcade guns. If they had round counters, they'd probably have to have eight or nine digits to keep up.

The internals are very tuff and durable design to take the abuse put on them by a carny operator who probably doesnt care about maintnence . The browning style machine gun does have 5 place counter with 200 rnd mag . It only counts mag but has a reset lever on side to keep operators from ripping off the owners i would imagine not for pm. it was a great find at Rock Island auction and was in pieces labled as model gun but i knew what it was lucky me only a couple known to exist

Thanks
Kurt

I suspect that anything operated by carnies is about as fool-proof and durable as it gets. Of course, back in the era when those guns were built, they didn't exactly worry about saving weight or optimising the design. Durable and heavy were the order of the day.

It's like cars these days. They get great mileage and they've got all kinds of features, but how many of them will still be around in fifty years? I suspect that there will be more '57 Chevys in working condition fifty years from now than there will be 2012 model anythings.