[Tennboy]

Attended the Knoxville gun show this morning with catsnguns who is visiting friends and family in his native Oak Ridge this holiday weekend. Arrived at 9AM to beat the crowds and picked up a very nice Smith-Corona 03A3 at a reasonable price on our second visit to the seller's table. He had just sold a 1909-mfd. M1903 to Alvin York's son (via York Jr.'s "agents"...York is in his 80s), and sure enough he had in his log "York", "Pall Mall, Tennessee." The seller claims that York was seeking an 03 that had the same/similar originality, date and features that his father carried in WWI. It was one I was looking at closely earlier.

Catsnguns' and my collections focus on military surplus firearms, so that is what we sought out. Saw a scattering of Yugo and Czech Mausers, Yugo & Norinco SKSs, a Krag, '03s, Garands, M1 Carbines, Finnish & Russky Mosins, '50s-era NATO semiautos, all the usual suspects....some reasonable and some ridiculous.

We had a memorable time and I enjoyed the conversation and comeraderie as much as the show. We must get catsnguns to post how he arrived at his Gunboards moniker...its hilarious .

 

[catsnguns]

Meeting Tennboy after simply conversating over the net and phone was a interesting and enjoyable expirence. A true profesional and gentleman in the classic sense of the word. I would have never been able to have gotten back to the fair grounds without him driving given the apparent utter chaos of the road network in that part of K-town. While the prices on most things were high it was nice to walk through a show that was more than a beef jerky event and talk with people who know and understand mil-surp firearms.
Again Teenboy I enjoyed the show and walk through and I will try to stay in touch and get together the next time I am in town.