PROOF: WAMO Powermaster a Wham-O PRODUCT

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Fishcake - Every time someone refers to an article about a gun I'm interested in I immediately head for eBay and eventually I'll find for sale the one magazine or book I want. May take a while, and I may have to buy a whole pile of other magazines with it. But, when the latter happens I just take the one I want then put the others back on eBay.

As you're probably aware, there are several other online sites, besides eBay, you need to check for wanted goodies like that.

I'm still confused by your refering to the pirate pistol as a Hamilton. I've got three guns representing the Hamilton Rifle Co. of Michigan, even the Hoban when George Hoban bought out Hamilton in 1945. But I remember no reference to any Hamilton pistols. I correspond with a gent who has been compiling info on the Hamiltons for a number of years. I'll check with him about the pistol, IF you're sure it's a Hamilton gun!

As for the WAMO tommygun, I'll certainly be on the search for one. Thanks for the heads-up on it. I've never seen another reference to it before yours.

Best regards ~ ~ ~ 45Broomhandle
V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V

I carry a gun 'cause a cop is too heavy.
 
45Broomhandle,

Are you familiar with the H&R 755 Safari from the 1960s? It's a single-shot blow-open action .22 LR rifle that operates curiously like the Wamo Powermaster.

The timing of the Safari is curious because that is about the time Wamo sold the Powermaster (or got rid of it in some other way) to Floyd Hyde Engineering, so Hyde could design his CO2 pistol into the Powermaster frame. The H&R used the same action as the Powermaster, but not many of the same parts, so Hyde may have sold that part of the patent or rights to H&R to make some extra money.

There is also supposed to be a Winchester single-shot with a blow-open action but I don't know anything about it.

Fishcake
 
45Broomhandle,

I probably should change what I call that pistol because it is definitely NOT made by Hamilton. It is made by Wamo. But the plaque on either side of the pistol (I know of three) says Hamilton.

Fishcake
 
Hi Fishcake. Not familiar with the H&R Safari 755 you mention. Tried to look for some reference but nearest I could come up with was their 155 Shakari. As for other H&R guns, I've never been a big fan of theirs, but I would like find one of their Handy-Guns in .22rf and one of their Ultra Single-Shot Targets marked USRA.

About the Winchester pistol - only single-shot .22rf I've seen mentioned was one built on the 1902 rifle action, and the article says they occasionally show up on the market though no record of them ever actually going into production. No mention of blow-open action.

I'm in a constant state of learning by trying to educate myself about the guns I've already got. And other folks are constantly showing me how much I DON'T KNOW by bringing up some new, fascinating, exotic item I've never heard of. That's all part of the fun of collecting for me.

Best regards ~ ~ ~ 45Broomhandle
 
I think Fishcake may have accidentally mis-spoke on the "Safari"; it's actually a 755 "Sahara", and they're definitely unusual rifles. They were built from 1963 until 1971, and have a full-length Mannlicher-style stock.
 
Hi SDC. I can't find anything on the Sahara 755 either! (?) Any idea where I could locate some more info on it, a website URL perhaps?

Do you ever post on CanadianGunNutz? My screen name there is mauser. That gang comes in handy when I run across a Canadian made gun I need info on. A good example was a Tobin .22rf single-shot I recently got. Finally found a guy up there who had owned 4 of them over the years, and his last one was going up for sale that very weekend in Ontario.

Do YOU by chance have any OLD copies of Rod and Gun In Canada? I'm looking for one with a copy of the ad offering a Tobin for selling five subscriptions to the magazine. Tobin was primarily known for shotguns when it started up down here, and after moving to Woodstock, ON. But tough times and a new owner caused him to seek business by making the cheap little .22s for R&G, who were also located in Woodstock.

Best regards ~ ~ ~ 45Broomhandle
 
Sorry I don't have any pictures, but Cornell Publications is selling a copy of H&R's 1964 catalog that covers the Sahara ( http://www.cornellpubs.com/Templates/H-R1964.htm ); there's a picture of the 755 on the cover, 2nd long gun from the bottom.
Yes, I do browse through CGN as well, and it's a good forum for specifically Canadian stuff. Sorry, I haven't seen any copies of Rod & Gun In Canada (at least lately), but I'll make sure to keep my eyes open.

Edit to add: Gunbroker had one for sale at http://www.gunbroker.com/auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=92726146 ; it sold, but the pictures are still available (not much detail, though).

Some more info at: http://www.gunforums.com/forums/showtopic.php?tid/3764/post/last/
 
Thanks, SDC. I just checked the '64 H&R cover you mentioned. I vaguely recall that gun from years ago. At the time I was not interested in such, BUT, I've alway had a soft spot the full-wood rifles. Love the looks of 'em!

I've bought a few that really go against my single-shot parameter of collecting. But they are full wood .22s... Got a nice Mossberg 151M(b) and couple of nice old Savage NRA Model 19s.

Only REAL single-shot in the collection however, is a real gem. It's an 85 Winchester Low-Wall Winder Musket made for govt. contract in 1918 PRIOR to the Armistice signing. I'm hanging on to that one. Full-wood, of course, and in excellent condition with original sights, Ordnance Bomb, etc..

Unfortunately my .22 Ross 1912 straight-pull is the Commercial model instead of the Cadet. Maybe one of these days I'll replace it.

Now you've got me on a search for the Sahara. Sounds interesting from Fishcake's description.

Best regards ~ ~ ~ 45Broomhandle
 
SDC,

Thank you for catching my mistake. The 755 Sahara is intriguing to me, in that it may copy the Wamo action, and also, like 45Broomhandle, I'm a sucker for Mannlicher stocks.

The start date you gave for the Sahara lines up with the probable ending date for the Wamo Powermaster pistol (or perhaps a few years later than the date the Powermaster was cancelled). This is important to me because Floyd Hyde Engineering of Alhambra, California (one of the towns Wamo operated from) apparently took over the rights to the Powermaster in the late 1950s or early 1960s and converted the gun from .22 rimfire to a BB repeater running on CO2. I have the 1958 patent application on this one, plus several photos of Hyde's gun, including one in the box.

Daisy then bought the plans for the BB repeater (apparently from Hyde) and brought it out as their model 100 pistol in 1962. It would be interesting to discover whether H&R might have acquired the rights for the Sahara action from Hyde or from Wamo.

Fishcake
 
45 Broomhandle,

I just received 10 1956 American Rifleman magazines, including the July issue, and I've been through all of them. There's an ad for the Wamo Powermaster in July, but I'm darned if I can find a writeup anywhere.

Could the date be wrong?

Fishcake
 
Fishcake, once you've read and digested that article, let me know what you thought of it. I was favorably impressed.

Best regards ~ ~ ~ 45Broomhandle
V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V

An armed man will kill an UNARMED man with monotonous regularity. ~Twain
 
Sahara 755

THAT WAS QUICK! Found a Sahara a couple of days ago. Beautiful old timer. Could find nothing in the reference guides about it. Once it's in hand I'll try to get some close-ups of the action on it.

Thanks for the heads-up on this one.

Best regards ~ ~ ~ 45Broomhandle
 
45Broomhandle,

Lucky duck! Now you can tell me how much similarity you see between your new rifle and the Wamo.

After reading the Dope Bag writeup several times I learned a lot about the functioning of the mechanism, but not much about the company or how long the gun was selling before the writeup. The NRA was impressed with the accuracy of the gun and with the trigger, if not the lack of a safety. I'm guessing the gun was made using a barrel liner for the barrel, as that would be the cheapest. The molds for the Zymak castings would have cost something, but the rest of the gun would have been cheap to manufacture. The hardened sear and trigger are no doubt case-hardened parts.

It was nice that they confirmed the retardation of the bolt by the ejector spring - something that I only recently discovered. It's also nice to see the disassembled bolt that I can compare to the one in my Tommygun. I'm betting they will be the same, except for the cocking indicator.

I will be careful not to disassemble the lower frame, per their warning.

Enjoy your new rifle. I'm hoping to snag an excellent one for around $100. That seems to be the going price these days.

Fishcake
 
Sahara 755 Arrived Yesterday

The Sahara is now in hand, and I'm quite satisfied with it. I'm really stuck on these full-wood .22s! The gun is complete and in VG+ condition. Wood has only a couple of handling marks on it. Metal finish is like new.

Trigger guard, front barrel band, and forend band cap with front sight, are all black plastic. See full-view photo below.

Although the action is somewhat reminiscent of the WAMO, that ends with the appearance. The action is different in several ways, especially in the hammer action, extraction, and safety. I've not taken the gun apart but that much is obvious when working the action. See bottom photo for action comparison.

Again, very satisfied with it, it's a nice addition and I appreciate your leading me onto it. Will continue looking for that WAMO "pirate" pistol and Tommy. WHOA! Is the Tommy a single-shot, or semi-auto?

Thanks again, best regards ~ ~ ~ 45Broomhandle

SAHARAANDWAMOCOMPARED001_edited.jpg

SAHARAANDWAMOCOMPARED002_edited.gif
 
45Broomhandle,

I see some of the differences, like the extractor on the 755.

The Wamo Tommygun is a single-shot, just like the pistol. It resembles a Thompson.

Maybe I'll do a little preview post about the Tommygun for you.

Thank you for showing me your rifle. I want to get one.

Fishcake
 
Comparisons

Fishcake, one of the bigger differences too is the hammer. On the Sahara it's more conventional, in that it pivots up from below to strike the firing pin.

Though I don't fire my collectibles, the Sahara looks to me like it would be a real blast to shoot. I cannot fathom what the designers were thinking, unless it was to simply furnish a very inexpensive single-shot as a "first gun" for youngsters and might have the added appeal of the military look of full wood.

I know if the Sahara had been available when I was a teen-ager I would certainly have been wanting one. My Mom bought me my "first gun" when I was about 12. She was an antique dealer and we were in an antique shop where I spotted a fascinating old .32 nickle-plated revolver in a neat little fitted leather holster built like a change purse with the snap-top. I told her how much I liked it and she bought it for me. I believer the price was $5.

We lived in Indianapolis so there was no place for me as a kid to get out and do any shooting. That opportunity didn't come about until my high school days.

By the way, there's a Daisy Buck Rogers up at auction. I bid up to $20 and quit. It sells on the 14th. It looks near new.

Best regards ~ ~ ~ 45Broomhandle
 
45Broomhandle,

A hammer, you say? Interesting.

So your mom was an antique dealer? My grandmother was one, too, and her shop was located in our house for a few years. I used to go to the antique shows with her in the 1960s. I lived in Ohio, south of Cleveland.

If I get a Sahara I plan to shoot it a little. Probably like I shoot my Wamo Tommygun - just to know that it works.

So, you're interested in the Buck Rogers? I'm not a noisemaker guy, but a nice Buck Jones BB gun is another story! Right now, though, I'm working up loads for a .458 big bore air rifle that I'll use on deer and goats. It's quite a change from the smallbores.

Fishcake
 
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