45Broomhandle
Member
I was a young newlywed in Indiana in the 1950s when I met Bob Tingle of Shelbyville, Indiana. Just outside this small farming community an elderly farmer had turned one of his cornfields into a shooting range for muzzleloading enthusiasts of the area. This became the original home of the National Muzzleloading Rifle Association I was told.
Bob had a small gun shop where he built front-stuffer rifles and pistols. His guns were of top quality and I've heard there are still a number of them being shot at the NMLRA matches now held in Friendship, IN.
Bob's guns were not cheap, and starting a new family I didn't have much cash available for guns. Bob was a kind-hearted guy and he came up with a solution for me wanting to own one of his huge brass-framed .44s. He had one he had made a mistake in drilling one hole in the wrong position. He offered to sell me that gun with the error - filled and redrilled - at a MUCH reduced price. I managed to scrape the purchase price together and became the proud owner of a Tingle pistol.
Shortly thereafter I also bought a beautiful walnut shoulder stock from Bob for the gun and he was kind enough to serial number it to match my pistol. Years later, far away from Shelbyville, I became more interested in the many surplus M1 carbines flooding the market and sold my Tingle outfit.
I never again heard of Bob Tingle until about 50 years later. I ran across an article in The Gun List (now called Gun Digest the Magazine) by Dan Shideler about the Tingle guns. Dan wrote that Bob had died back in the '50s or '60s of a heart attack while walking from his home to his gun shop during a snow storm.
I've recently won at a Minnesota auction one of those big Tingle .44s. These were in-line designed guns, which I had forgotten how "modern" that was considered back then. My question is: does anyone else have a Tingle, rifle or pistol, and if it's a rifle, is it also an in-line design?
Also, I don't recall ever seeing any kind of advertisement for Bob's guns. Does anyone happen to have something like that?
Thanks in advance for any info. Below is a picture the auction company furnished of the Tingle which should be on its way to me now.
Best regards ~ ~ ~ 45Broomhandle
Yes, I carry a gun, 'cause a cop is too heavy.
Bob had a small gun shop where he built front-stuffer rifles and pistols. His guns were of top quality and I've heard there are still a number of them being shot at the NMLRA matches now held in Friendship, IN.
Bob's guns were not cheap, and starting a new family I didn't have much cash available for guns. Bob was a kind-hearted guy and he came up with a solution for me wanting to own one of his huge brass-framed .44s. He had one he had made a mistake in drilling one hole in the wrong position. He offered to sell me that gun with the error - filled and redrilled - at a MUCH reduced price. I managed to scrape the purchase price together and became the proud owner of a Tingle pistol.
Shortly thereafter I also bought a beautiful walnut shoulder stock from Bob for the gun and he was kind enough to serial number it to match my pistol. Years later, far away from Shelbyville, I became more interested in the many surplus M1 carbines flooding the market and sold my Tingle outfit.
I never again heard of Bob Tingle until about 50 years later. I ran across an article in The Gun List (now called Gun Digest the Magazine) by Dan Shideler about the Tingle guns. Dan wrote that Bob had died back in the '50s or '60s of a heart attack while walking from his home to his gun shop during a snow storm.
I've recently won at a Minnesota auction one of those big Tingle .44s. These were in-line designed guns, which I had forgotten how "modern" that was considered back then. My question is: does anyone else have a Tingle, rifle or pistol, and if it's a rifle, is it also an in-line design?
Also, I don't recall ever seeing any kind of advertisement for Bob's guns. Does anyone happen to have something like that?
Thanks in advance for any info. Below is a picture the auction company furnished of the Tingle which should be on its way to me now.
Best regards ~ ~ ~ 45Broomhandle
Yes, I carry a gun, 'cause a cop is too heavy.
