Vintage Ventilation

[ScionPI2005]

.



WORST-looking vintage ventilation EVER: http://cgi.ebay.com/1927-CARADINE-V...08190473?pt=Vintage_Men_s_Women_s_Accessories


.

That one is no better looking than a car body riddled with bullet holes...:eusa_doh:

I've often wondered about perforated hats, and whether they would work for me since I get really warm in the summer.

 

[DOUGLAS]

For purposes of vintage ventilation reference, here is the classic diamond pattern, used by Stetson in the Playboy and Shore Club, respectively...

Cheers,
JtL

here is a Playboy with the diamond side vents.

And a Week-Ender as well.

 

[The Elizans]

.


From the February 1935 issue of Men's Wear magazine:

.

Check out this Dunn & Co "The Stadium" model; looks like the hat described in the bottom left picture above.

 

[AlterEgo]

That one is no better looking than a car body riddled with bullet holes...:eusa_doh:

I've often wondered about perforated hats, and whether they would work for me since I get really warm in the summer.

Speaking of bullet holes...

I collect handguns and enjoy shooting them. Though I can score high on paper targets, I find that incredibly BORING. Instead, I like to shoot at stuff that goes ka-blewie, like bottles or anything that changes dramatically when the bullet hits it.

Sunday, I went down to Hurricane Creek to blast the bottles and jars I've been collecting. I like a creek bed because stray bullets lodge safely in the opposite bank, and the fast-running stream provides the challenge of hitting a moving target.

The thing is, people dump all kinds of stuff off the bridge into this creek, and it's often fun stuff to plink. This weekend I found a hat someone had pitched. Though in near-perfect condition, it was one of those god-awful sombreros made for south-of-the-border tourists: A yard wide, adorned with garish gold roping over a hideous maroon color, weighing at least five pounds.

You know type of sombrero I'm talking about, and, well, I trust you'll agree they should all be shot. Now I had one to execute.

I made a tripod out of some long sticks so that I could set the hat on top about head-high on the sandbar across the creek. I even found a piece of tarp to wrap around the sticks as the "poncho." With the brim sloping down, from a distance, it looked just like a dozing Chicano.

Now one of my best friends is Hispanic, so don't get me wrong, but I imagined this hombre to be a bandito waiting to ambush me. "Senor, dinero or your life!" I hollered, playing his part. Then, I turned, drew, and emptied my H & K P7-M8 into the brute.

I was shooting 9mm full metal jacket ammo, so the bullets barely disturbed the heavy sombrero, yet the holes in the crown showed up distinctly against the sickening dark red hat--a highly rewarding result.

This semi-auto holds eight in the clip plus one in the chamber, and, not having shot in a long while, I was pleasantly surprised that I'd put all but one through the crown at about 15 yards.

I'd brought several hundred rounds of 9mm, and before the afternoon was done, I put a goodly number of them through that sombrero.

So if anyone wants an ugly but superbly ventilated hat, it's still down in Hurricane Creek!

 

[hatophile]

Really, Alter,

I think you should go back, collect that sombrero and mount it as a trophy, and as a warning to all would be bad hombres not to mess with you!

 

[Picard1138]

So if anyone wants an ugly but superbly ventilated hat, it's still down in Hurricane Creek!

Take a look at the bottom left hand corner of the ad photograph:

VENTILATED Hat ad on eBay.

Someone beat you to it!

-Max

 

[AlterEgo]

Max, you have an incredibly keen eye to spot the tiny drawing of that ventilated sombrero. Do you think the manufacturer used my "express" method of making the holes?

Back to Hurricane Creek: I did not mention that a couple of teenage boys were watching me and my firearms antics. They were on the bridge, up high and behind me, and I was wearing hearing protection, so I had no idea they were there until a ball cap fell down onto the sandbar next to Pancho Villa.

It startled me because I was in the middle of nowhere, where you'll only see half a dozen pick-up trucks pass by all afternoon. However, curiously, Jerry Lee Lewis' home is near there; yes, THE Jerry Lee, but I have no clue why. Anyway, goofing off, one kid snatched the other's cap off and tossed it down for me to, presumably, "aerate."

Of course I didn't shoot it but was happy someone--anyone--was there to share the experience with. I mean, half the joy of doing anything is the interpersonal component, and I'd been unable to round up a single buddy at the last minute to go with me. I say "single" buddy, but the problem is they are all married, and their wives have their "free" time filled with honey-dos.

Virtually all country folk are comfortable with guns, but these two would have nothing to do with my "weird" German pistol, though I repeatedly offered to show them how to safely handle and fire this unusual gas-action squeeze-cocker. Accordingly, that made me the performer and they the audience, so I proceeded to entertain them and myself much more than had I been alone.

Though the sombrero was extremely heavy, the kids had strong enough arms to frisbee it a good distance, giving me sufficient time to punch a round or two through it before the butt-ugly behemoth bit the turf.

Once, while it was spinning through the air, I somehow shot the hat so that it took a full 360-degree flip before landing perfectly parallel to the ground over an enormous glass apple cider jug. I'd filled it with water earlier and tightly capped it in anticipation of the certain spectacle that would result from blasting it with my Winchester 12-guage cylinder-bore pump. So the huge jug just happened to be there on the sandbar awaiting its turn with the shotgun, which actually never made it out of the trunk of my car.

Mag empty, I slapped a clip of Federal Hydra-Shok hollow points into Heckie and squeezed the trigger. Like an old Loony Tunes cartoon, that sent water streaming comically out of the numerous hat holes in all directions. The kids cracked up, and so did I. To get the full impact, you really had to be there, but trust me when I say that it was truly hilarious.

In just a few hours, I put five new boxes of factory ammo plus some leftover strays of various kinds for a total of about 300 rounds of 9mm through my beloved Heckler & Koch P7 Model 8.

I'd estimate that one-third of them pierced that sombrero. Keep in mind that when a bullet hit the crown, it usually made two holes, one on the near side and another on the far side. Sure, I missed a few times, and I was having too much fun punching holes to stop and count them, but I'd say that barf-worthy sombrero had approximately 200 holes in it by the time I was done.

Talk about a well-ventilated hat!!!

Now back to your regularly scheduled vintage ventilation discussion thread.

 

[ScionPI2005]

AlterEgo, that's a pretty cool story. You should have taken pictures of the hideous sombrero to post here!

 

[Picard1138]

fftopic: I am a fan of the H&K P7, incredibly accurate and well made pistol, and worth every penny. Last I saw they were going for something like $1100 used. I've never fired one personally, one of the few firearms that I like that I don't own. I collect firearms and have pretty much every gun that I like, unfortunately not a P7...yet.

 

[alanfgag]

Under the pugaree... open weave ventilation in milan straw.

 

[randooch]

Extreme ventilation. (Not mine.)



Click thumbnail for a close-up of this marvel! It was owned by the founder of a local Wildlife Safari park.

 

[Ordinary Guy]

Extreme ventilation. (Not mine.)



Click thumbnail for a close-up of this marvel! It was owned by the founder of a local Wildlife Safari park.

Isn't it amazing the things you can do with a can opener these days....

 

[fedoralover]

Extreme ventilation. (Not mine.)



Click thumbnail for a close-up of this marvel! It was owned by the founder of a local Wildlife Safari park.

I've been in that shop and seen that hat. It is a creative marvel. Whenever I drive down to Roseburg to visit my parents I try to drive down to Winston (where I grew up) and go through that shop and visit some old friends.

fedoralover

 

[navarre]

Here's one that matches Alan's. I have been hoping to find one of these for a while, as I wanted to see its construction. Sadly this one is a little small for me but I am pretty excited to have found it. It is in great shape and has all it's original parts


Also posted this in the Milan and Knox forums.

 

[navarre]

Here is an ad for Dobb's version. My Knox lacks ventilation in the sweatband which I feel will cut down on its effectiveness, but still interesting.