Every day for this entire year I will post a old school printed gun advertisement.

[6string]

1981 Pistolsmith ads

If you were a pistolsmith looking to promote business, advertising in American Handgunner gave lots of exposure.
Some guys spent a lot on trendy custom work back then. Judging by some of the posts elsewhere on the forum, not only is much of that work now out of favor, it has actually devalued some of the guns!

 

[6string]

1981 pistolsmith "Ad"?

Today I guess I'm doing a "Double Feature"!
The theme is custom pistolsmiths in American Handgunner, 1981.

In addition to conventional advertising, another way American Handgunner promoted pistolsmiths was through special photo spreads and their monthly custom gun giveaway. The latter promoted both the featured pistolsmith and the magazine. Very clever!

I personally love the guns shown here, but what do you think?
Does this custom work enhance or detract from the original?
Did Ron Power "ruin" a couple of S&W model 58s?

 

[AJ]

Today's offering, only 30 more days to go.

 

[mauser9]

All priceless good ole ads. Recall those Remington YellowJacket rounds very well. Fed well in my Ruger 10/22. Us "older boys" can really appreciate those fond memories. Those older guns are often works of art.

 

[AJ]

All priceless good ole ads. Recall those Remington YellowJacket rounds very well. Fed well in my Ruger 10/22. Us "older boys" can really appreciate those fond memories. Those older guns are often works of art.

I have 4 bricks of Yellow Jackets that I shoot in my K-22. I had five, but have shot one up. Bought five bricks about a year ago from the LGS for $20.00 a brick, they came out of an estate buy. May try them in my 10/22 to see how they run in it. The Yellow Jackets do not want to feed in any of my auto pistols.

 

[ajgunner]

I have 4 bricks of Yellow Jackets that I shoot in my K-22. I had five, but have shot one up. Bought five bricks about a year ago from the LGS for $20.00 a brick, they came out of an estate buy. May try them in my 10/22 to see how they run in it. The Yellow Jackets do not want to feed in any of my auto pistols.

Pretty certain that you will find they won't feed in a 10-22 either.

 

[6string]

All priceless good ole ads. Recall those Remington YellowJacket rounds very well. Fed well in my Ruger 10/22. Us "older boys" can really appreciate those fond memories. Those older guns are often works of art.

Back in the early 80s, Remington marketed the Yellow Jacket (HP) along with the Viper: same thing but solid point.
All were reliable and accurate.
Fast forward to 1999/2000, and I found that even Remington target ammo had really gone downhill. Unreliable functioning/cycling, plus you could count on two or three duds in one of those plastic 100 boxes. I don't recall the exact specifics, but by that point, the rimfire manufacture or ownership had changed.
That was just the beginning of woes for the Remington brand.

 

[AJ]

If you want reliable and accurate ammo then you use some of the older American offerings or you use high end European ammo. In my target rifles I use mostly Eley Black Box or SK Rifle Match. In my target hand guns I use older CCI Standard Velocity or older Federal Automatch. Most of the American ammo I am finding has a fair amount of FTF's lately.

 

[pawncop]

I have a model 57 that received the Nitex finish. The revolver was purchased from my former chief who carried it as a deputy around Houston area several years ago.

I have been very grateful for the commitment of everyone sharing these wonderful ads and the memories they invoke.

 

[Moo Moo]

A bit of everything for today.

 

[rogerwnuss]

Since today is January 5th. There will be five posted today to make up for lost time.

I remember when HKs were that price, and I stuck with Colt AR cause they were like four- something....
Also, in that era, spare HK 308 mags were about 60 bucks. The zillions of cheap surplus mags didn't get here til early to mid 90s when Germany switched to G36

 

[6string]

More from American Handgunner, 1981.

-Remington ran two full page ads. The XP-100 in 7mm BR was, and is, a radical product for a major manufacturer: Chambered in a wildcat cartridge using specialized (and expensive) brass, and sold without sights or scope.
-The Dan Wesson .44 Magnum was a top choice for IHMSA.
-Before the Dillon 550, or even the 450, there was the RL300.
-This Thompson Center ad is very different than the one I posted previously from 1967. No mention of 38 Special or 22 Jet. Now, they're promoting the powerful, heavy recoiling Herrett wildcats. Their own line of scopes were really quite good, too.

 

[AJ]

Since we are in the final surge to the finish I will post some more today.

 

[Moo Moo]

Today's selection for your viewing pleasure.

 

[6string]

From American Handgunner 1983

1) Sokolovsy 45 Auto Master. Machined from stainless steel, with no external levers, screws, or pins. I think they sold for about $4000 at the time.
Read more here:
NRA Museums:
Also shown in the same picture, the ubiquitous Nu-Line ad promoting their amazing array of custom revolver conversions.
2) Another cool gunsmith ad!
3) This is the promotional centerfold (?), advertising the magazine, the contest, and, of course, the amazing .44 Special conversion by ASP. These were very expensive, I recall.
4) The ODI Viking uses an unusual double trigger. There is a "double action" trigger that cocks the hammer, and a trimmed down 1911 type trigger to release the sear. You really could feel the double action up to the point you reach full cock, then a pretty decent SA release.
5) The classic HK P9s. Still a revolutionary design!

 

[AJ]

Some more for today. Earlier Remington ads.

 

[6string]

Yet more from American Handgunner! This time 1985.

1) HK P7. The "squeeze cocker" model. Clever and innovative. Pretty darn accurate little pistol, too!
2) The Unique DES 69. An excellent French-made .22 target pistol. It sat low in the hand and had a very centered point of balance. It felt easy to shoot it well. Robert Beeman imported these along with his extensive selection of European airguns.
3) We all know the high quality 1911s and ARs by Les Baer. Before that, he was a well noted gunsmith.
4) UZI, one of the quintessential action movie guns of the 80s. Here's the carbine and the pistol, along with a cute model.
5) Fred Schmidt was a regular advertiser in American Handgunner. (I posted one of his ads previously.) He also made these excellent PPC revolvers featuring extra short cylinders to take best advantage of full wadcutter loads. These gun giveaway contests were a brilliant marketing idea. They promoted the magazine, always featured fantastic custom guns, and gave a huge boost to the custom pistolsmith marketplace.
By the way, those groups shown are 12 shot 50 yd groups.

 

[AJ]

More from Guns & Ammo Annuals........

 

[Moo Moo]

Sorry guys. I'm a bit slow today getting my post on.

 

[6string]

Hi AJ and MooMoo,

AJ, your Para-Ordinance ad sure brings back memories! That was from when they were still in Ontario, Canada.
Originally, Para-Ordinance only made the wide, double stack 1911 frame, magazines, and a few small parts like the wide bow trigger, etc. You needed the rest of the parts to build it (barrel, slide, sights, etc). This was years before your ad was produced!
The company was a side project of the guys that ran a gun shop in the north part of Toronto. Actually, they sold motorcycles and guns! They were one of DuPont Canada's Remington customers. My Dad would occasionally bring me along when his dealer visits fell on a weekend.
We arrived at this shop on a Saturday. The whole front is Harley Davidson motorcycles and biker gear. At the back of the shop is a huge wall of steel bars. It looked like a prison! You walked through the steel door and you were in the gun shop.
They were really big on Springfield Armory. They had plenty in the way of M1a1s, and also BM-59s. The latter were branded Springfield Armory but were assembled using Beretta BM-59 parts and SA Garand type receivers.
Definitely not your typical Canadian hunting-fishing outdoors store!