Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

Missoula Gun Show this weekend. It kinda snuck up on me…didnt know about it until someone asked me “Are you going to the show this weekend?”.

Highlight of the show? Getting to actually handle one of these. Serial #20 on the one I got to handle. Of the 300+ guns made there is supposed to be something like a 10% survival rate meaning theres only about 30 or so of these antiques out there. Know whats kinda odd…every one that I see pictures of is almost perfectly preserved…like no one ever carried and used them over the last hundred years. Anyway, it was an amazing bit of history and I got to get my fingerprints all over it. Its no .45 Luger but its still something you dont see every day.

Picked up a set of 10×32 compact binoculars by IOR/Valdada. Guy wanted $200, knocked him down to $180 and a buddy gave me $30 towards them as a late birthday gift. So, in the final analysis, $150 for a very nice pair of binoculars. They’ll be perfect for hunting season and girlwatching. The binoculars I want quite badly are the IOR 10×56 with rangefinding reticle…an exact copy of what my riflescope is. That would be perfect as a companion for my rifle. Sadly, It appears IOR has changed up their product line and those binos may not be available. Typical…all the really cool stuff gets discontinued.

No guns that jumped out at me. Found a deal on CCI Magnum primers for $20/brick but just didnt wanna spend the money. Still and all, a fun show to wander through and I got to spend it with some friends, which is always nice.