Department store firearms? What ya got?...

[El Mariachi]

Finally picked up my Sears/JC Higgins Model 45 today (actually a Marlin 336C in 30-30, built in '57) and my four JC Higgins Model 10 12 gauge shotguns---all made in the early 50's. Pretty cool bit of Americana, especially for those of us olde enough to remember the days when you could actually walk into a Sears store, or a Montgomery Wards, a JC Penny's, a Western Auto store....or any one of the other myriad of retailers back in the 40's-50's-60's-70's where this kind of stuff was s.o.p.---and no one batted an eye. Better yet? You could just order whatever they had from the catalogue and have it delivered right to your front porch---by the friendly Post Man...




'Honey? I'll be over in the appliance department if you need me.'

'Alright, Dear, I'm gonna go to the tool aisle and buy some screwdrivers, then over to Sporting Goods and buy little Johnny that .410 shotgun that he's been dreaming about all month. He's going to absolutely love that thing when he sees it under the tree.'

'Sounds good, Honey----meet you in an hour by the Lawn Darts?

'You betcha'.......


Anyways, I'm curious as to what y'all may have. Me personally? I was just about a minute away from buying DSG number 6 last week, (a JC Higgins .22 bolt rifle) to add to my Sears collection.....but found that '49 Husqvarna rifle instead. Next month though, I'm going back on a buying spree. Can anyone say Western Field? White Front? Gemco? Grants? Coast To Coast? .....

 

[MarkDozier]

the marlin is beautiful

 

[SouthronBoy]

I've got a Western Field 12 ga, that's really a Mossberg 500. It came with some funky adjustable choke that I can't figure out.

 

[MedWheeler]

I had a Winchester M190, my first firearm, which I got from my stepdad in early 1986. This was an accomplishment, as my mom was vehemently gun-shy. When he died in June of that year, his son came 'round looking for that rifle, and I let him have it. I then ran out to a place called "Best" (no relation to "Best Buy", I'm pretty sure.) It was kind of like a smallish Sears or Zayre (who remembers those!?). There, I picked up my Ruger 10/22, which I still own.
Later that year, I bought a FIE single-shot 20 gauge from a Woolworth's store in the mall. Both stores were in West Palm Beach, Florida, near where I was living at the time. They had Ruger Mini-14s there, too, and I still wish I'd picked one up..

 

[CajunBass]

My Sears-Roebuck/Mossburg 500 12 ga pump gun. I paid $99.00 for it back about 1976 or thereabouts. It came with both 28" modified barrels, and a 24" smoothbore slug barrel. I did the camo job myself. Every deer I've ever killed, save one, hit the ground in front of this one.



The one a Sears 200, (by Winchester) was my Dad's turkey shoot gun. I don't know how many turkeys, hams, and bacon slabs he won with it, but I'll bet you could fill a pickup truck with them. It's a 12 ga, 30" full choke. The gun shot so well, people used to rent it from him to shoot the round. $5.00 a shot. I guess he got it in the late 70's, early '80's or so.



This one isn't rebranded, but it is a Wal-Mart exclusive. The "Wally World" special, Ruger 10/22. With it's DSP style birch stock and 22" SS barrel it was the first 10/22 I ever wanted.



My first gun came from Sears, an Ithaca M-66, "Supersingle" 20 ga. I got it for Christmas about 1965-66, I forget which. No pictures, it's in my son's gun safe now. My second one, the first one I ever paid for myself, also came from Sears. A Sears double 12, (Stevens 311) with 30", Mod and Full chokes. I foolishly sold it years ago.

I did have one other Sears gun. A 20 ga SXS double made by AYA of Spain for Sears. They only had them a couple of years. At the time they said they were made by apprentices to keep the price down. At least to my standards they were very nice guns. Nice checkering, a little engraving...good shooter. Alas, I also sold/traded that one too. :banghead:

For a long time I didn't know there was any other gun store but Sears.

 

[Ian Sean]

My friend jumped on a Western Field (maybe Western Auto? can't remember) for $100 at an auction, turned out to be a Mauser in .30-06, a real beauty of a rifle.

 

[content]

Hello friends and neighbors // Those Marlin bolt actions came out looking nice, my Dad has one from the 50s.

I have a 1958, J.C. Penny, Foremost aka Stevens 67 pump action 12ga. cut down to 18 3/4". ( Former Rock Hill S.C. P.D. riot gun.)

I also have a Double Barrel, Savage 311, stamped as a Sears Model 101.7, it to is 12ga. and cut to 18 3/4".
101.7 what a name/designation for a shotgun

Without the internet to help matching names with manuf. finding parts would be interesting.

 

[RevDerb]

I bought this Sears .22lr bolt when I separated from the Navy in 1970. From the mod. # it shows to be Marlin 81.

 

[mbopp]

Back in the '70's sometime I picked up a Browning BL-22 lever .22 (actually for my lefty wife) from the local J.C. Penny store. I paid all of $100 for it. And I paid $139.95 for my Ithaca M37 at Woolworths.

 

[BaltimoreBoy]

We were an urban family of comparatively recent immigrants, so we never had a tradition of FA ownership. In the early 60's my father bought his first gun - a little Marlin Glenfield from Monkey Wards.

Does anyone know when serial numbers became required on little guns of this sort?

 

[Rembrandt]

Second one down.....Wards Westernfield 12 ga.

 

[V1ROT8]

Fascinating history here. Thank you all for sharing.

 

[Kaeto]

My father has a Sears Ted Williams 12 guage pump. I don't know the actual manufacturer, but it has a rectangular block shaped forearm.

 

[speedway]

"We were an urban family of comparatively recent immigrants, so we never had a tradition of FA ownership. In the early 60's my father bought his first gun - a little Marlin Glenfield from Monkey Wards.

Does anyone know when serial numbers became required on little guns of this sort?"


1968

 

[Trader Ray]

I have a very nice rare rifle, it is a Daisy Legacy 22 LR. They made them from 1988-1991. There were 2 different models like mine, model 2201 and 2202, the 01 was a single shot bolt and the 02 that I have uses a 10 round rotary mag. A model 2212 was the same only with walnut stock and forend. The barrel is 19 inches and is removable and it only weights 5 pounds. I read some where that Ivers Johnson made parts for it. I may be mistaken about that part of it. Mine is very true and looks great. It was sold at most hardware stores. I found one place that just sold one for $250.00 and it looked better than mine, and had extra mags, which are hard to find these days without spending to much. It has a octagon barrel and a extendable stock. I dont know what they went for new but I know it is a good conversation piece.

 

[Furncliff]

I was given a J.C. Higgins (Marlin 80) .22 rifle for my 16th birthday in 1960. I still have it.

 

[thunder173]

Sears,...Ted Williams Model 100 30/30 Lever action,..bought in in 1973,....many a whitetail downed with this gun,....still in use.

 

[Furncliff]

Quote from a web search...

..In 1968 serial numbering became mandatory in the US; prior to that date they were just used by some manufacturers for internal controls and yada. They were phased in over a three year period beginning in 1968; so, you can even find firearms made as late as 1971 that bear no number

 

[montanaoffroader]

Western Field Model 742 .30-30 lever action rifle. Sold by Montgomery Ward around 1967-68.

Manufactured by Marlin in 1967, basically a Model 336. I purchased it from the son of the original owner for $75 about 20 years ago.

Most of my deer for the last 20 years have been shot with this rifle.

 

[Fat Boy]

Family history-

JC Higgins (Penney's I think? - a long, long time ago).410 bolt-action shot-gun

Ted Williams (Sears) 12 gauge pump

Wards "Hercules" single barrel 12ga-

I keep trying to find an old Marlin bolt-action "goose gun" that is inexpensively priced to add into the collection-

 

[El Mariachi]

Four Sears/JC Higgins Model 10's in 12 gauge....and my Model 45 lever/336C by Marlin in 30-30 (which as of last Sunday just became my favorite rifle). And all of these are older than my wife. Nice......

 

[nblanton]

Do C.A.I. surplus guns purchased at Rose's count? If so, I have picked up two Westinghouse Nagants (at $39.95 a piece in 1991!), a Maadi MAK-90 (AK kit gun), 7.62 Ishapore sporter, and a L1A1.

I've got several old Sears pieces as well. A Glenfield (Marlin) 60, a Stevens 12ga single, and a Stevens 12ga side-by-side. My first gun was a Walmart purchase in Lancaster, SC, a Marlin 60.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

My first gun was a J.C. Higgins 12ga. bolt gun. I paid $12.50 (used) and got about half a box of shells. Dad took it apart, sanded the stock put about 5 coats of tru oil and reblued it. It looked better than new. I never did like that backwards safety.

 

[USAF_Vet]

I have a Stevens (marked Everbest) 20 gauge single shot I grabbed for $79.50 at my LGS. Not a bad little shotgun. Light recoil, 28" bbl.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

Dad still used his Western Auto 112 / Glenfield 60 22 rifle. He bought it the year I was born 1965.