Are you old enough to remember when firearms were proudly displayed?

Yes absolutely. One of my uncles displayed a .303 British Enfield above his fireplace, and my own father who passed away in 2015 was so enamored of the AK-47, I bought and gifted him a Romanian WASR with a 75 round detachable drum and he hung that above the mantle up until he passed, which was several years.

On my wife's side of the family (originally from greater Boston area), they displayed a .52 Smith Carbine above their fireplace through the 60's and 70's, and gave it to me as a wedding gift!

I have no place to display firearms and no one to whom to display them, so it's a non-issue for me.

Of course I imagine that a lot of people are concerned with theft.

Still display them. My fathers service weapon and her grandfathers first gun are proudly displayed on the wall. and remain fully functional for use. Grew up with a full wall glass gun case that served double duty as the TV stand and HiFi cabinet.

Solomonson said:

I'm curious, are any of you old enough to remember when firearms were proudly displayed?

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I'm old enough that one of the three approved "first projects" in wood shop,,,
Was a one-gun rifle rack.

Aarond

.

I still display certain of my guns.
Black powder guns, air guns, movie prop guns, relic guns, dummy guns, toy guns... .

I am, indeed that old.

I even emulated it for a bit, when I owned a house--I had a spot over the mantle for my Parris-Dunn rifle with plastic Mk I bayonet. Which would now be a pretty spendy combo to leave on the wall.

I too am old enough. I displayed a flintlock rifle (along with local Indian art) on my office wall until I retired in 2009.

One of my first non-gun purchases was a wood 10 gun cabinet with a glass door. I kept it in the basement because the missus didn't approve of such things upstairs and I thought it would be better protected down there, away from prying eyes. I had a little niche area with my book shelves on one end with the gun cabinet and my reloading bench on the other. I kept a few inexpensive guns in the cabinet and the rest were stored in several gun safes, neatly hidden from view. It was quite the Man Cave at the time, my sanctuary from the intrusions of the outside world!

Oh yeah, I'm old enough (72) to remember when firearms were proudly displayed. The fact is, my folk's friends gave me a "build it yourself" (actually it was just a "varnish it yourself") gun rack for my 16th birthday. And when it was finished, I hung it on the wall in my bedroom. My first .22LR rifle, my first deer rifle and my first shotgun all hung on that rack.
I also remember the fancy gun cabinet Dad and his friend, Bob built in the basement of Bob's house. The funny thing about that was, after weeks of work they discovered the gun cabinet was too long to make the corner in order to get it out of Bob's basement. So they had to cut one end off it - the end with the shelves where all of the ammunition and gun cleaning supplies were supposed to be stored. It was still a nice cabinet though, and both Dad and Mom kept their deer rifles, shotguns and Dad's .22 Colt revolvers and handmade holster set on display in it.
Not to change the subject, but I didn't have much interest in handling any of the guns on display in that cabinet when Mom and Dad weren't around. The gun that did interest me, and I did pick up and play with once in a while when my folks weren't around was the revolver (I think it was a .357) that Dad kept hidden in a the top drawer of the dresser in their bedroom.

Yup.
Also, the house was seldom locked.

Todd.

I had a nice glass front gun cabinet long ago. I enjoyed displaying and admiring my guns. Then all of a sudden society dictates you need to lock them up. I miss the good old days.

Yeah when I was about 7 I remember dad hanging a wooden gun rack in my bedroom at the foot of my bed, all his long guns went on that rack unloaded.

Now all those guns reside in the safe and the gun rack hangs on the wall of my gun room with a couple of old shotguns and a bow.

aarondhgraham said:

I'm old enough that one of the three approved "first projects" in wood shop,,,
Was a one-gun rifle rack.

Aarond

.

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Mine was a two gun rack. And yes I still have it but don't use it for guns anymore.

I don't have the room in my house, but whenever the subject comes up, I'm happy to bring out a muzzleloader or my Garand. Both my dad and uncle had gun displays in their homes. My dad was in 2nd Marine division, WW II. He held marksman status with M-1 Carbine and .45 ACP. My uncle, a pilot, flew B-24s and retired after 33 missions. They both appreciated and respected firearms for what they are. They had many stories to tell whenever company came to visit. I try to carry on their traditions.

yes. also in glass door cabinets with no lock. I was a kid and we knew never to touch those guns or the cabinet, and we didnt.

I even remember making ornate wooden gun racks in junior high school shop class.

Neighbor had a few displayed. Nice lever's. Grandpa always had his snub 38 sitting next to him on his table next to his lazy boy. Also a single 410 sitting in the corner.

Solomonson said:

I'm curious, are any of you old enough to remember when firearms were proudly displayed?

Click to expand...

I remember when firearms were displayed and nobody paid any attention because it was just too commonplace, so I think maybe that predates "proudly displayed" because they were just there and acceptable.

In the farm house I grew up in hung a 45/70 Government over the back door with a canvas surplus ammo belt. It was used to discourage critters that wanted to eat our livestock. The other firearms were in a glass cabinet in the Livingroom. When I was in Highschool, my pickup and most others in the parking lot had a rifle (center or rim fire) and a shotgun in a rack in the back window. Some hat a hand gun in the glove box. A lot of us would hunt birds after school.
My grandkids cannot even talk about guns at school now. I am afraid to display any firearms in my home because of thief, or offending someone.

Walkalong said:

Yep, and when they were still in truck windows unlocked in a rack at school.

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That would bring a SWAT team and make the national news nowadays. I remember it too though. I rode the school bus in high school, but during pheasant season a good many of my buddies that drove back and forth to school had a shotgun behind the seat in their cars, or in the rear windows of their pickup trucks.

Deanimator said:

I imagine that a lot of people are concerned with theft.

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Agreed. I don't think it has much to do with being PC or anything. Guns are high value, high demand items and thus are a prime target for theft. This will only increase as the government cracks down on private ownership. I remember my uncle had a glass front cabinet full of rifles and shotguns. I wouldn't dare do it today.

aarondhgraham said:

I'm old enough that one of the three approved "first projects" in wood shop,,,
Was a one-gun rifle rack.

Click to expand...

YUP!!! I made mine! Wish I still had it. lol It was a good project because it required the student to use layout skills, a table saw, a band saw, and a sander.

This thread got me thinking of those wooden gun cabinets with the glass doors that seemed pretty common years ago. Now I'm realizing that I haven't seen one in decades. Although I do have a gun rack in the rear window of my truck that pretty much just holds my snow brush / ice scraper. Wouldn't dare leave a gun there with the truck unattended.