The good old days

[87th PVI]

What has happened to modern society? Let's visit the good old days before the mainstream media gave guns a bad rep shall we?

One old timer I spoke to not long ago told me that he used to take his .22 rifle to school (York City school district) & keep it in his locker so he could do some small game hunting on the way home from school (there was then a meadow & wooded lot where a dollar store and district justice office now stands) He wasn't interested in getting home quick so he could play some video game... he was hunting rabbit & squirrel for mom to make dinner. Of course, this was in the days of first run episodes of The Lone Ranger so as Tonto would say, many moons have past since then.

At any rate, he was not the only kid who did this & no one even blinked an eye at that kind of thing back then.

More recently, but still some time ago... about 18 years ago, I found myself pointing a revolver towards a busy Rt 83 from the top of the bleachers at the football field of Central York High School (now the old CYHS). What was I doing? Taking part in the physical agility test portion of the hiring process for Northern York County Regional PD. We had to run up the bleachers with a shotgun, then swap that for a 4 inch bbl revolver which we were to hold steady, pointed at the highway (w.bbl protruding thru a small ring w/out touching the sides of the ring) for like 30 seconds or a minute. The cop administering the test was not in uniform, and was sitting, so not visible to the highway anyway. All the commuters would have seen was the applicants (about 90 of us, one at a time) standing there with a gun pointed at the passing vehicles.

Back then, if anyone even looked over & noticed, (to my knowledge) noone thought twice about it.
Just think what would happen if people were driving past there nowadays & that test were going on!

Ok I'm done reminiscing bout the good old days for now.


Anyone else have any gun related good old days stories?

[Ten*K]

heh... never experience those days. I was part of an unmarked bus load of Marines heading from Thurmont MD to Quantico VA for a week of field training. we got pulled over (on the outer Beltway) by about 50 MD state police with 2 heli's after someone reported a bus full of terrorists en route to D.C.

all because the person saw a rifle barrel through the back window of the bus. never mind that each and every one of us were Presidential Security...

and that was 4 years before 9/11!

btw, we had no less than 20 M16A2's, at least 5 of those with 203 launchers, flash-bangs, CS grenades, smoke grenades, a dozen pistols, 2 S.A.W.s, and my 240-Golf.

[1861]

in 1959 , my cousin & I rode a greyhound bus from TUPELO , MISSISSIPPI TO MEMPHIS TENNESSEE with our 22 rifles , then walked across MEMPHIS to our house . we were 13 & 14 at the time

[WVBob]

In the early 60's I'ed carry a .22 to the dump to shoot rats. It was about a mile walk through the city. I could stop at three stores and get a box of shells. I did get stopped a few times by the police and asked where I was going, but never what I was doing. The only time an officer got out of his car it was the Chief of police and he just wanted to get out of his car and stand. The Chief did ask that I keep the .22 open or take the bolt out while walking through town. Every once in a while the police would buy us a box of .22 while we shot rats. Try doing that now.

[PennsyPlinker]

As I read the OP in this thread, I realized I am now in the category of "old timer". I went to high school in the early 70s, Pocono Mt when it was still relatively small. My little brother was on the rifle team, and used to take his .22 rifle to school on the school bus. All that was said to him was by the bus driver - "Make sure it is unloaded before you get on the bus."

My friends and I used to go shooting at the state game range in Gouldsboro, so there were many times we would have guns at school in various cars or trucks out in the parking lot. I never had my own rifle there, since we had to go past my house on the way to the range anyway.

But then in college, I kept my .30-06 03A3 in my dorm closet for hunting season. Plenty of people knew that I had it, but no one turned me in for anything, and this went on for several years.

Yeah, I guess they were the good old days. And I am an old timer.

[LorDiego01]

To be honest with ya, I'm kinda glad that kids in school don't have to go out hunting after their studies to put food on the table.

The wonder's of modern technology has provided us with insignificantly cheap meat that's available fresh every day from the corner store. So that we may spend more time with leisure activities such as playing video games. This I call progress.

Granted though, it is a shame that people freak out with anything that has do with guns nowadays. Its HILARIOUS when people will debate me that, NO is it NOT legal to own any sort of machine-gun, and that again, it is illegal to purchase a long arm face to face....

[Exbiker]

We played war, had guns with rubber bayonets, killed Nazi`s and owned BB guns and 22`s. Sometimes we shot birds and squirrels. Even watched Combat in the 60`s on TV with Vic Morrow. I guess psychiatrists would say we`re messed up now.


Me in `58 heading to Ulm Germany.

[phill]

Played war with a Jap 6.5(filed firing pin), Mdl. 1873 trap door. My friend used 1903 and nothing was ever said.

[PennsyPlinker]

To be honest with ya, I'm kinda glad that kids in school don't have to go out hunting after their studies to put food on the table.

The wonder's of modern technology has provided us with insignificantly cheap meat that's available fresh every day from the corner store. So that we may spend more time with leisure activities such as playing video games. This I call progress.

This would be nice it if were true, but I have personally known a number of people over the years that did not have enough money for food all the time. I know of a family right now that lives next to my daughter and son-in-law in Fl. who are just barely keeping it together since the father lost his job. Leisure time and video games ain't in it for them.

[david1]

WOW those seemed like the days. Too bad society is so F***ED up that this will never happen again. To many gangsters or football players carrying guns in there waist bands for good people to enjoy there own rights.