[2Late45]

After reading a few of the recent posts about old tv westerns,war movies and growing up in the 50/60's. I began to wonder how many of my forum friends ever recall thier boy-hood buddys and friendly .22 shootin' matches ???

Seems that there were a lot of baby boomers in my neighbor-hood. Never any problem finding enough kids to pick-up sides for full teams of foot-ball or sand-lot base-ball games. But trying to find 5 or 6 kids with .22's was always a chore.

Considering all of the veteran fathers,gran-dads/uncles and big brothers made it even harder to understand back then. I guess many of them had had more than enough to do with guns to want them in thier life anymore.

We lucky few could always cut grass/shovel snow, or return pop bottles to raise enough money for a brick of .22's and con one of our Moms into buying them for us. So long as we promised to be safe and stay out of trouble, and of course we had to be home in time for supper.

Our little band of brothers lived on a dead-end street, right next to the treeline of the woods and about 1/4 mile from the creek. Walk the rail-line 1 mile up-stream and you were out of the city limits. And smack-dab in the middle of my boy-hood heaven.

Cornfields and crows on one side of the creek, quarried lime-stone caves,(abandoned), on the other. In winter there would be 25'ice columns growing over the mouths of the four largest/deepest caves. And several thousand smaller,(1' > 2') icesicles hanging from the rock face cliffs. Our own personal shooting gallery.

Knock'm down all morning. Build a fire and have a hotdog and baked apple lunch before going home. Then come back in a day or so and do it all over again. Shooting yardstick sized targets off-hand with iron sights @ 30/40yds. was a real ego boost. I like to think that honing those skills gave my pals a bit more of chance when it was thier turn to serve our country. Two of them paid the ultimate price.

Well, that's enough remembering for now. Hope I was able to stir up some visions from your pasts. Remember to stay out of trouble, and be sure to get home in time for supper....

 

[Calvin Wiles]

We would gather at someones house about every weekend and do something. Sometimes horseback riding, sometimes hunting, sometimes shooting. Most of my childhood friends either had a .22 or could get one. Some or us had extras that we would lend if hunting. We had a lot of fun shooting and was always real competitive. That made all of us pretty good shots. Things like computers and TV's have sure changed the way kids spend their spare time. Kind of changed the way I spend mine too. I spend too much on the computer.

 

[snarski]

We always had abandoned slate piles to use until EPA covered them and turned them into pastures and socker fields a few years back. Unless a kids got access to a range now days he's almost out of luck around here. Getting to crowded now and its Ill. But back in the day we sure had a ball.

 

[deputy125]

We would get together and go hunting as our number one past time. From turtles to rabbits it was sure a good time. Still recall the guns the other kids brought over. An old winchester single shot, an ithaca lever action single shot, H&r 20 ga. Still have the 1st gun i ever shot/hunted with and here it is:

My daddy's old stevens 87T. Rough as all get out from riding behind the seat of a pickup. Back then 3-in-1 sewing machine oil was what we used on her. Not the orginal stock but that is another story. There are two guns that i own that are more valuable than all the gold in Ft. Knox. This is one of them.

 

[Ron Honner]

deputy, I've sold a few of those 25 to 30 years ago. I think they were a single shot/semi-auto. You could shoot them either way, if I am correct. My first .22 was a little Mossberg bolt action, 7 shot clip with the black folding fore-arm thingy.

Now sheepdog will give me hell again for calling it a thingy...right sheepdog, ol' buddy?

 

[sheepdog]

I hate to see an eddicated man referrin' to a whatzit as a thingy...

 

[deputy125]

Ron
Yep, will take short, long. or long rifle. Push the knob in and it becomes a bolt action sort of in operation with shorts and longs. Left pulled out she will function as a semi-auto with LR.
Trying to find an orginial stock like it use to wear has been a problem. Was one of those plastic "tennite"? brown woodish in color and lite-weight.

 

[Snuffy]

I was lucky, we had to hunt to have meat. So it was ore of a need than a sport to us to be a good shot. I still have my very first rifle its Sears bolt action 7 shot repeater. Later in life learned it was a Marlin. Its on its 3rd firing pin. I use to clean up back rooms at the local food store and picked up beer bottles at construction sites. I used my old beat up wagon for much more than palying. Of course my Mother saw to it that we washed them bottles. Worked a whole year to say up $40.00 to buy that rifle and sure was glad to pay the man at Sears $37.37 for the rifle and case. I don't have the case any more but I have the rifle. Still shoots too. I was 14 at the time.
2Late45, thanks for the post sure enjoyed remembering all the hard work that went into getting my very first rifle. It was worth it then and still worth it today.

 

[jimbo1096]

I was one of the unlucky ones. Family moved alot or Dad was gone in the USAF. I shot some but not much. Mostly when visiting out on one of the relatives farm in south OK. Did have a BB gun. I guess Dad had enough shooting in WWII and Korea, though he was never in any heavy combat. I had to buy my own guns when I was 16 and over. I remember shooting crows and squirrels where the big mall is today. My best shooting buddy died last month of a heart attack at age 58. Makes me remember all the stuff we use to do.

 

[Snuffy]

Dang jimbo sure hate that ya lost your friend, he was too young a man. As long as ya remember the good times ya had with each other then he still lives in your heart.

 

[Ron Honner]

Sorry for your loss, jimbo.

 

[sheepdog]

Sorry for your pain, Jimbo-just saw and spent the afternoon with an old La. pal I hadn't seen in 5 years...it was good...we'll keep in touch better now...friends are few...I thank God for all of mine here...