Gun shows and black powder

The 17th annual Matanuska Valley Sportsman’s Gun Show (sponsored by the indoor shooting range guys) is happening this coming weekend, Feb. 14-15, at Raven Hall on the state fairgrounds. Pending weather, I’ll probably try to make this show.

I can usually be found helping at the Mount McKinley blackpowder table. I’m slumming this year and will still help during the show, but I’m not planning to be a full-time worker this time. In years past, I found myself at the table almost the entire show and never got around to look at much of the other displays and merchandise available for sale.

I’m not looking for anything specific, not that I would have the money to buy something if I did find a treasure I couldn’t live without. It’s just fun to see the different items available. I also have a secondary mission at the show. My wife has decided she wants to sell a couple of her firearms. I told her I’d see what I could do while at the show.

The one gun she wants to sell is a Smith and Wesson (S&W) model 642-2 with a Crimson Trace brand laser grip. She isn’t shooting it much anymore and decided she could use the money from its sale for other things. This model is a five-shot, small frame revolver which is commonly used for concealed carry and personal protection. The gun hasn’t been fired a whole lot and comes with owner’s manual, the factory plastic box, and all the other goodies S&W sells with the gun, including the original factory grips.

The other firearm she’s considering selling is a single-shot, nickel-plated New England Firearms (NEF) Handy-Rifle which can be converted into a single-shot 20-gauge shotgun with the included second barrel which came with the gun. The rifle is chambered for the 30-30 caliber cartridge. I bought it for her when we were living on Afognak Island, and she used it to harvest several Sitka Blacktailed deer over the years we lived there.

This is the only nickel-plated NEF firearm I have ever seen. I don’t think it’s necessarily rare, but the Handy-Rifle model ceased production around 1987, and, for being a well-made but inexpensive firearm, has developed a small following as a collectors’ gun. I was surprised at the current asking price when I checked the gun’s value.

I own several of the NEF and H&R (Harrington and Richardson) rifles and shotguns because they were well made, accurate, and inexpensive at the time I purchased them. I tended to buy the caliber and model I wanted for a specific purpose. For example, I have a 22 Hornet caliber rifle I bought when I needed a light caliber for fox hunting while living on Afognak Island. Years later, I developed an interest in the 17HMR caliber but didn’t want to spend an arm and leg on a rifle to experiment with.

I was able to find a nearly new bull-barreled rifle with a synthetic stock for about half the cost of the cheapest bolt-action rifle I could find in that same caliber. With the savings, I was able to buy a decent quality scope to mount on the rifle to take advantage of the caliber and rifle’s inherent accuracy.

On a related but different topic, I noticed a comment in the monthly National Muzzle Loading Rifle Association (NMLRA) magazine about blackpowder sale and pricing. First, I never thought about the NMLRA selling blackpowder other than at the various matches they sponsor. And second, the price per pound is getting to be ridiculous. Most blackpowder used in this country is imported and tariffs are starting to have a major impact on the powder’s pricing.

After April 1 of this year, with the new tariff costs figured into the cost of the imported black powder, the cost per pound will increase anywhere from $6 to $9 PER pound on current inventory and newly purchased imported powder could rise anywhere from $14 to $18 PER pound. Black powder already costs from $30 to $40 per pound now. If the future cost of powder falls in the range of $60 per pound, shooting muzzleloaders will suddenly be an expensive proposition, rivaling modern centerfire rifle costs.

Don’t forget your better half. Some flowers, candy, and a nice dinner out would be nice on Valentine’s Day!