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The Good Old Days

2K views 15 replies 8 participants last post by  Steve M1911A1 
#1 ·
A friend in Pennsylvania answered an ad in the news paper about old gun magazines. Seems a lady's husband had died and had kept all his old Gun magazines since the 40's. My friend was the only one to answer the ad and purchased many boxes filled with literature many have forgotten. As my friend reads them he sends them my way.

I find myself out of place with all the tactical stuff we read about today and am really enjoying visits with authors I grew up with. Read an ad. for Remington Rolling Block actions for $0.98 a pound. Another ad. for bending stocks, more or less pitch, off-set right or left.

I enjoy articles that really make sense by Phil Sharp, Frank de Haas, George Nonte, Bob Hagel , Neal Knox and many other pioneers. Even an article by some guy named Petty about the 221 fireball, which is one of my favorite cartridges.

Does anybody but me miss those old days?
 
#3 ·
The use of Lil'Gun in the fireball was something of a breakthrough... 200 fps more velocity than any previously published data and well within pressure limits.

They would only be "good old days" if we had known then what we do now and had the same money. Yes, I remember Lugers for $25 but I couldn't afford one then either.
 
#5 ·
guntotin_fool said:
I miss guns mailed directly to your house . . .
GCA '68 came in just a few short years before I would have begun placing orders from places like Klein's, Hunter's Lodge, and others . . . :censored:

And I do remember reading that a good place to pick up a double rifle was Abercrombie & Fitch in Chicago! :shocked: (That's long before A&F began using softcore kiddie porn in their advertising.)

On the other hand, I remember visiting "The Gun Room" at their downtown store as a kid with my Dad . . . one salesman talking to one customer, and the glaring hostility was palpable when we walked in. On reflection, I think there was something funny going on, and they didn't want witnesses. (They closed the gun room very shortly afterwards.)
 
#6 ·
HankB said:
GCA '68 came in just a few short years before I would have begun placing orders from places like Klein's, Hunter's Lodge, and others . . . :censored:
Me too. Wasn't 18 until 1972. :(
 
#7 ·
HankB said:
...[A] good place to pick up a double rifle was Abercrombie & Fitch in Chicago!...On the other hand, I remember visiting "The Gun Room" at their downtown store as a kid with my Dad . . . one salesman talking to one customer, and the glaring hostility was palpable when we walked in. On reflection, I think there was something funny going on, and they didn't want witnesses. (They closed the gun room very shortly afterwards.)
I remember the A&F gun room in the New York City store. As a 'teenager, I went there a few times, just to drool. The salesmen were very nice, actually, and would let me handle anything I wanted to see up close, including terribly expensive, fully-engraved guns.
One salesman kept trying, during several of my visits, to get me to appreciate the high quality and easy-handling virtues of a Mannlicher-Schoenauer full-stock carbine. I remained unimpressed because of the strange positioning of its butter-knife bolt handle, which made manipulating it for second shots seem slow and awkward. I also didn't like the fact that it was ill suited to a peep receiver sight. Ah, the prejudices of youth! 'Teenagers know it all, and will not be swayed.

(Back then, I much preferred visiting Griffin & Howe, because the elevator left you off right in the workroom, and you could talk to the gunsmiths.)
 
#9 ·
Naval Lugers, $25.00 each in the cosmoline wrapped in heavily greased paper, a wooden case of 6 of them for $125. I spent my summers lawn mowing profits to buy a case. I hauled them home in my wagon as they were too heavy for me to carry, my dear mother made me take them back!! Chewed out the owner of the sporting goods store for taking advantage of me. Those were definately the good old days, if you had $0.40 you could buy 50 rounds of 22 ammo. That is when I started running away from home. I try not to think of the event more than once a week.
 
#11 ·
guntotin_fool said:
Snake. I was twelve when I bought the gun. All they cared about was the proper $ in postage stamps. I saved two weeks of paper route money. I used tp play cops and robbers with the gun. I think I was 15 when I finally shot it.
Good Lord. When I was 12, I was trying to save up the five bucks to send off for the cardboard "two-man" tank advertised on the back of the Sgt. Rock comic books! :shocked:
 
#12 ·
Joe Forte said:
Griffin & Howe, I think they went to New Jersey didn't they? I still have an advertisement from them somewhere here. I remember the beautiful guns they produced. WOW!
By the time they closed in NYC, I was living in Los Angeles, so I don't know what happened to the company.
Sorry.
 
#14 ·
Snake45 said:
HankB said:
GCA '68 came in just a few short years before I would have begun placing orders from places like Klein's, Hunter's Lodge, and others . . . :censored:
Me too. Wasn't 18 until 1972. :(
I'm just a little bit younger than you, but I don't think - no, I know - I wouldn't have waited until I turned 18.

Ed Fowler said:
Naval Lugers, $25.00 each in the cosmoline wrapped in heavily greased paper, a wooden case of 6 of them for $125 . . . my dear mother made me take them back!! .
Mothers are like that . . .
 
#15 ·
Griffen and Howe are still in business, a couple of years ago they were advertising scope mount installion on M1 rifles, just like the M1C. the only difference was the ring diameter which was 1 inch instead of 7/8". I believe the cost was around $400.00 to drill and mount the scope base. Here's a link to them.
http://www.griffinhowe.com/store/
 
#16 ·
With respect, that isn't the Griffin & Howe that used to be.
G&H was the finest gunsmithing shop in the US, equal to some of England's best.
The current iteration seems to be only a retail outlet for other makers' goods.
 
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