FYI - WAMO PISTOL IS NOT A WHAM-O

[45Broomhandle]

WAMO and WHAM-O are NOT the same company! I read not long ago in a forum where the writer was completely bent out of shape because he claimed to have questioned Wham-O about the .22rf pistol they produced several decades ago. He was tiffed because they claimed no knowledge of such a weapon, and flat-out claimed to have NEVER produced a firearm.

Well, this guy knew better! He had heard and read about the WAMO pistol for years. Wham-O just didn't want to soil their reputation as a highly popular toy manufacturer.

To set the story straight, they are two DIFFERENT corporations. WAMO was just a small outfit in San Gabriel, CA which had a short-lived production run of an inexpensive "tacklebox gun." The only thing the two companies had in common was that they were BOTH located in California cities - DIFFERENT cities.

The WAMO pistol will look familiar to a lot of folks because its sleek, modern frame was first used by Daisy on their Model 100 air pistols. They bought the rights from the original designer who also made air pistols. How WAMO ended up with it, I've not discovered. (And not really worth the bother, to ME that is.)

Below is a pic of this controversial critter. It's a nice looking little gun and I'm happy to have it my collection of .22rf single-shots. Thanks to a fellow collector in TX who read about my wants in an online gun forum and offered one of his Powermasters to me. That's what I love about these forums.

Best regards, ---45Broomhandle

 

[zoom6zoom]

Neat looking - I'll have to keep my eyes open, would look good alongside my Wolverine.

What do they go for these days?

 

[Fly320s]

Reminds me of a High Standard.

 

[zinj]

Reminds me of a High Standard.

It looks like the offspring of a High Standard and a Browning Buckmark.

 

[BigRed]

I will be glad to take it off your hands for the advertised price of $19.95!!

 

[45Broomhandle]

FOLLOW UP...

As to what they go for these days - FIRST you have to find one! Then you have to talk the owner out of it. How many have YOU seen - at ANY price??? I'm over 70 and this one was the FIRST one I ever laid eyes on. And it was only a year or so ago that I first HEARD of them.

I didn't wait around to see how cheaply I might obtain one. This one was offered to me for $150 and I grabbed it. Saw one come up at one of the online auctions several months ago. I watched it momentarily and lost interest when it quickly rose above $100.

Two weeks ago there was one at an out-of-the-way, small auction house up north, offered as "not working", completely taken apart, selling "as is." and placed a bid of $25 just to have it for parts. On top of that would be auction house fee, shipping and insurance, and a $30 fee to my FFL dealer for transfer since it's not on the ATF list of Curios & Relics. It all adds up to a hundred or more and not even working. Someone else bid $30 on it and I lost interest.

Below is a photo of the WAMO with three buddies. One is a High Standard, a Model B semi-auto .22rf. Another is a Hartford .22rf Model 1925 semi-auto. The third is a Fiala .22rf Model 1920 mag-fed single-shot which must be recycled by hand. The HS is related to the Hartford because HS bought the company and changed over to the Mdl. B. The Hartford single-shot was designed by the same guy who designed the Fiala. Which one does the WAMO look like the most???

From left to right they are: Fiala, WAMO, High Standard, and Hartford.

Personally, I don't think it looks like any of 'em. Best regards, ---45Broomhandle