Trafalgar Classic Arms Fair
Coinciding with the Trafalgar shooting meeting at Bisley every year is also the Classic Arms fair. As a regular on the Gallery Rifle circuit, I tend to skip competing at the Trafalgar to avoid doing too many competitions too close together. This also helps on the relationship front... However, this also means that I don't get to see what's on show at the fair.

This year some friends persuaded me to pop in and have a look. I normally try to have a look around the fairs on with other events. There is always the chance of coming across something that you really wanted or needed, even if you weren't aware of this before. I wasn't too sure this would be the case at the Classic Arms fair though, as I am into modern guns and shooting disciplines. Well, that is if you can call the Marlin 1894 design a modern gun I suppose.

At the fair I ran into an old friend Prakash, a full bore shooter. As his main discipline is F-class rifle, I was surprised to see him there too. Here is his interest in the fair in his own words:
"There was something to interest all shooters and their needs. I personally love collecting knives and found some good collectors pieces that were available for purchase. It was possible to strike a bargain and negotiate prices below ticketed amounts. Deals were there to be done and many visitors were doing just that."

Walking through the fair I noticed that main aim is cater for the Classic Arms aficionados as expected, but there were quite a few items of interest to me. Some interesting deactivated military weapons were for sale at some stalls. I also found a good supply of brass & bullets relevant for me at good prices. Sometimes even better prices than at the Phoenix fair, as the calibres were not necessarily that interesting to the Classic Arms market.

The best deal by a mile was found at the Allwood's tent. As usual there was a good selection of 2nd hand magazines, leather holsters and 2nd hand rifles. In between the exotic calibre weapons I found a .44 Marlin 1894 24" cowboy. These babies are becoming more difficult to come by, especially with Remington's take-over of Marlin. Not only was this rifle in very good nick, it was on offer at a very reasonable price of £350! At that price it is definitely a must have.

So, as the happy new owner of a .44 Marlin cowboy, I think I will definitely attend the Trafalgar Classic Arms fair next year. And from the envious looks of some of my fellow club members, I won't be the only one!

Shoot's well too.