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The Mustang 500 has been called by some
aficionados as the most beautiful Nichols Cap Gun ever made. And many people
would agree. The Mustang 500 was made in 1959 and though it was one of "The Big
Guns," it was still only priced at $1.98.
This was one of the guns that was plated
with the newer vacuum plating process. In this process, then guns were hung on
racks, which were then rolled into large vacuum chambers and little pieces of
metal were hung on electrical wires. After a "near-perfect" vacuum was pulled
on this chamber, the voltage was pumped through the little pieces of metal and
POW (!) the little pieces of metal disappeared and the guns were coated with
them. When I saw this I couldn't believe it! Amazing! Well, seeing was
believing and when the guns were wheeled out, sure enough, they were
shiny.
Uncle Talley was very proud of the looks of this
gun.
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| DON'T FORGET TO SEE
THE OTHER CAP GUN BRANDS! |
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We see a Mustang 500
box. Could there possibly a Mustang 500 INSIDE???
(***
CLICK ON BOX TO FIND OUT ***)
Courtesy of Phyllis Nichols |
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The Mustang 500 was a very unusual gun in
that it was BOTH single action and double action. You could pull the hammer a
little way back and it would click about 1/8" from the "home" position. Or you
could pull the hammer all of the way back and it was ready to fire. Just like
the original Colt 45. Or you could just pull the trigger with the hammer down
and the gun would fire. OR (!) You could hold the trigger down and "fan fire"
the gun as fast as you might want. I never had a problem with accuracy when fan
firing it, for the Bad Guys seemed to get hit just as often, however with
lesser cowboys their aim was impaired considerably.
You might also
notice that this gun has the famous Stallion 45 MK-II type "Circle N" insets.
And nice staghorn grips. This gun was also made in blued versions and used the
Fury 500 roll caps.
The factory in Jacksonville became known as "The Circle N Ranch"
and was quite large. Eventually the plant had over 600 employees. The slogan of
the company was "Gunsmith To Millions Of Cowboys." Since Nichols Industries
moved to Jacksonville in 1955, it has become a city that probably has the
highest ratio of "medium-tech" manufacturing in Texas. A few years ago Talley
Nichols was honored as "The Industrial Founding Father of
Jacksonville.
Very nice Mustang 500.
This gun was really one of Uncle Talley's favorites. It was, however, very
complicated from an engineering point of view.
Great photo
contributions by Bob Garvey!
One of Uncle Talley's mottos was, "Keep Your Powder Dry!"
Millions of young cowboys won't ever forget him. (or that phrase!) |
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This photo
shows how it "breaks down." This gun has been fired before by some young
desperado.
It may be a "tall order"
at today's grocery store, but here is a tall order from yesteryear's grocery
store.
A
BIG BAG OF CAPS! These were standard roll caps of the 1950's by Nichols. These
particular roll caps are actually quite rare.
Another nice
photo contribution
by Robert Nichols |
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These fine photos
are from Scott McCollum |
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Steel Blu
Mustang 500 Set
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Boxed Set |
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Twin Cap Guns |
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Please
Click On Each Thumbnail For An Enlarged View!
Many thanks to Ron
Joyner for these photos! |
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And here is another good
photo of a steel blue Mustang 500.
Thanks to Dan Morphy of Morphy Auctions
for this photo. |
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Similar gun, but from the left side
Thanks to Bob Garvey for
this photo. |
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Black Mustang
500
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Please
Click On Each Thumbnail For An Enlarged View!
Many thanks to Martin
Simpson for these photos! |
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Here's
a final piece of advice on this particular Cap Gun. Since this is a rather
large "break-down" gun, then you will notice that it has very large "flaps"
that come down towards the trigger when it is closed. These flaps tend to flare
out with time and on a nice model, they should fit rather tightly. There should
be a minimal gap between them and the main body of the cap area. Also...the
locking mechanism (on the left side) should fit closely. It is very easy for an
example to have a mechanism that you have to, sort of, be careful when you
close the gun to make sure that the latch engages properly. If you are looking
at a Mustang 500, be sure to investigate these 2 features and make sure that
everything is quite tight. Find a tight one and you have a
winner.
Here is a really nice photo of the "cylinder area" (okay, so
it doesn't have a revolving cylinder) of the Mustang 500. The flash could
interfere a little less though and my usual recommendation is not to use a
standard flash. Have your light reflected indirectly so it doesn't just reflect
directly back into the camera. However, this is still a nice photo.
This nice photo by Ronnie
Orlowski.
Here's an even better view of the box. Though there
apparently were Mustang 500's with a little gold on them (hammer, trigger and
breakdown release), AND without, I haven't seen a box that shows them without
the gold.
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PRICES
(These prices are merely guidelines to help beginners. Experts
don't need help!)
See PRICES for more info on
guidelines. |
| DESCRIPTION |
MINT VALUES |
AVG. VALUES |
| Mustang 500 w/o Box |
$255-295 |
$165-215 |
| Mustang 500 w/ Box |
$415-495 |
$240-265 |
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| Visit the
Dealers &
Collectors from whom you can get these fine Nichols Cap Guns!
(and other FINE TOYS!) |
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| We will be
happy to list toy shows and the like (free), if you will please send them to me
at: . |
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| Should you
have some nice photos and/or some text, please send them to me at:
. |
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