In 1986 when I was 19, I visited one of the first official gun shows in Holland. It was in the Olympic Stadium in Amsterdam and I think it it was called the "Schietsport Informatie Weekend" ("shooting information weekend"). Visitors of that trade show where allowed to go to the nearby shooting range at the Amstelveenseweg 1. There I was allowed to shoot a .357 Desert Eagle. Anyone who knows the Desert Eagle, knows that you need giant hands to hold and shoot it. Not to mention it's weight! But my interest in big guns was definitely sparked there. I became a member of a shooting club together with my dad as soon as I was allowed to (18 in the Netherlands).
Well, today I had a bit of a flashback to that moment, when I visited the new "SIW" (Schietsport Informatie Weekend) in Papendal, Arnhem together with a friend of mine. We both became member of a shooting club here in Almere this year and we both hope to buy a gun sometime next year. So for us both it was a good opportunity to see what the current gun manufacturers have to offer. Which is a lot.
I'm more of a handgun man myself, but my friend is more of a rifle/carbine aficionado. I do have to say that I like the Steyr AUG guns and surely the different Heckler & Koch carbines (in 9mm or .45acp) but I like to stick to the more common guns like the 9mm H&K P30L.
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But I like the more exotic guns too. So when I came across a stand where they had a real life .475 Wildey Magnum, I knew I had to hold it in my hands! For those who have no clue what I'm talking about: the Wildey .475 Magnum is a movie icon. It was used in the 1985 in the movie Death Wish 3 by Charles Bronson. It is about as famous as the Smith & Wesson 29 that Clint "Dirty Harry" Eastwood wielded in his famous "Dirty Harry" movies. In fact it resembles the .44 AutoMag that Clint Eastwood uses in his fourth Dirty Harry movie "Sudden Impact". But unlike that gun, the .475 Wildey pistol has a unique patented gas system that makes it possible to regulate the gas pressure so that it can accommodate different cartridge loadings.
It has a nice stainless steel finish and is big. I mean: real big. As you can see by the photos it really put a smile on my face. Except when I heard about the price tag: about € 1200,-. Anyway: in Holland this sort of gun is unpractical and pretty much useless. But just to show you a bit of the fun you can have with it, it looked up some YouTube videos. Enjoy!
