Good "Depression" guns?

[Cards81fan]

From the early 1900s to his untimely death in the 1920s, my great-grandfather had a Nitro Hunter break-action 12ga that was used for hunting to feed the 7 children, as well as keep the house safe.

It was not yet the "bust" (Depression), but soon after my grandfather (the youngest) was born in 1919, the family sold the small farm in AR and moved to the Bartlesville, OK area (Dewey, to be precise) to seek work in the "boom" (oil indusry). Apparently many others did as well, some less savory than other. Apparently hardware store shotguns were good insurance to keep around. This single-shot 12 ga. was nothing more than the family's tool during the 1930s, serving any purpose one would need for a firearm at the time. One of the older children put a heavy rubber recoil pad on it as some point. The stock is loose, the barrel is clean and cared-for but looks almost "polished" from decades of use.

My dad (an only child) now has this gun and will probably leave it to my older brother, which is okay with me. So I bought a used but cherry H&R Topper 12 ga. to start my own heirloom. Blued barrel, case-hardened receiver and hardwood (maybe walnut?)stock. Thought at $50 the price was right. It's my own honest-to-goodness "Depression" gun

 

[Cards81fan]

Poachers suck.

Perhaps, but at the time I think I'd done the same thing if I was in their shoes.

 

[Leanwolf]

My father was born on Dec. 31, 1899. He was already a working adult when the Depression began. At that time he was a "wildcatter" down in the oil fields of n.e. Texas and s.w. Arkansas. He owned a Remington 11 semi-auto shotgun in 12 Ga., and a Winchester .22 LR single shot rifle. He also owned a Colt's Police Positive Special in .32-20 WCF.

As he was working his tail off during the Depression, he had little time for hunting but when he could go, it was with either of those two long guns.

During the Depression and afterward, any time my father was out-of-town, that .32-20 was on the bed stand beside my mother's side of the bed.

She knew how to use it, too... but never had to.

Today, realistically and not indulging in the fantasy world of "TEOTAWKI," if one were planning on hunting to survive (a poor plan in my opinion), any of the hundreds of models of "hunting" long guns would be more than sufficient.

If you hunt, just use whatever you ordinarily would use for whatever game animals you hunt.

L.W.

 

[Fred Fuller]

My dad was born in 1917, my mom in 1927. The Depression wasn't history to them, or to their parents. It was life. It was hard.

For example, I have a receipt for a bale of cotton my grandmother sold in the early 1930s. That 700- 800 pounds of cotton sold for less than $5. It was planted by hand, plowed with a mule, chopped and hoed by hand, picked by hand, and hauled the 15 miles to the gin in a wagon pulled by the same mule that pulled the plow. As a kid I had experience with all those things (a different mule, though 8^). That was an unimaginable amount of grueling physical work in today's terms for three or four dollars in cash.

If you're thinking in terms of the Great Depression, IMHO that's what you need to think about. The operative word is inexpensive- to obtain, to shoot, to repair (but so durable, repair isn't likely to be needed). I grew up working in the little country store my dad owned. Even in the late 1950s and through most of the 1960s, we still sold shotgun shells one at the time, and .22 cartridges the same way. Very few people could afford to buy a whole box of shotgun shells at one time even then. More could manage to buy 50 .22 cartridges at the time- but some couldn't.

My paternal grandfather had an old Winchester bolt action single shot .22 rifle, and a double barrel 12 gauge Remington hammer gun. That was it. Those were the same two guns he'd had most of his adult life. They were tools, just like anything else on the farm. Whatever required a gun to do, one of the two had to take care of it. When it was hog killin' time, the little .22 was called on to dispatch the winter's meat for the smokehouse. When there was a rabid fox out by the barn, the big double barrel got brought out.

If you're serious about your question, think inexpensive. For the small chores- pest control and limited small game- consider a good air rifle. Pellets don't cost a lot, and a good air rifle with a few spare parts and good care will last many years. You can do without a rimfire .22 rifle in many cases, if you have a good air rifle.

One step up from that might be something like a .22 Hornet. Those can be pretty inexpensive to reload for, since they don't use vast amounts of powder, and you can even swage your own bullets using spent .22 cases for jackets. ( http://www.shootingtimes.com/ammunition/22hornet_082306/ , http://www.corbins.com/rfjm.htm ) There are several choices for a good .22 Hornet rifle available today. Ask some of the old timers in Alaska what the locals would take on- and take home- with a .22 Hornet.

Things were tough in my part of the country (Alabama) during those times, so tough that deer were hunted/poached practically into extinction. I can't really see any reason to count on needing anything much bigger than the Hornet as far as hunting is concerned, not for long anyway.

If you disagree, a good .30-30 will do just fine with home-cast lead bullets loaded to moderate velocities. The old cartridge is pretty easy to reload, a Lee Loader will do fine for it, and it doesn't burn a lot of powder either. Somewhere in the back of the safe here is an older Ballard-rifled Marlin lever action .30-30 with a receiver sight, just for old times sake.

My maternal grandfather ran a little country store on the Cahaba River in Centreville, AL during the Depression. As a consequence, he had a little .32 S&W revolver in addition to the more usual utilitarian long guns. And I have his Winchester Model 94 today, which was made in 1929. I never thought to ask him when he got it, though, and he may not have had it that far back.

FWIW,

lpl

 

[huntsman]

I think practical and cheap were what counted most when buying, and way less ammo own by individuals.

It doesn't matter what gun was used just the fact that they could carry them about anywhere without citizens panicking, and they could order one from the Sears catalog and the postman would deliver it right to the door.

 

[Ala Dan]

A quick visit to any "old timer's" home(s) here in the Deep South, reveal
a tale of a single-barrel shotgun hanging above the fireplace. Gague did
not really matter too much; as it was all the family could afford~!

 

[rmmoore]

Hey Bryskee, while in modern times (ie "today") I would agree that poachers do indeed suck, when the world as you know it collapses around your ankles, you'll do WHATEVER it takes to feed your family. My family has a long heritage of "redneck", backwood activities, that extend for several generations. I'm the first generation that hasn't HAD TOO participate in order to live a half-way decent life. You do what you have to do.

If things go south (no pun intended to my Southern Brothers) and get as bad as they COULD be, Fish & Game is the LAST place I'll be standing in line to spend a few worthless dollars to get permission to eat. It's easy to sit back and criticize others when you haven't walked in their shoes, my friend.

As for the main topic of this thread, a good .22LR and 12ga (maybe a 20) are the barebones minimum to feed yourself and the kids. Here in Wyoming, if you like rabbit, Cottontails are plentiful and Jacks, albeit a bit tough without lots of salt, seem endless. But hey, if you're hungry enough, ANYTHING that walks, crawls, slides, flies, or swims is fair game (my daddy taught me that one). Growing up in rural South Alabama, I discovered many of nature's unpopular delicacies .

 

[NotSoFast]

Grandpa had a double barreled 12 gauge and my uncle had a 22 rifle. Not much was said about them so I take it they were tools.

For me it would be a .22lr rifle, pump shotgun and a .30-06 rifle, with a pistol on my hip. Life tended to be friendlier back then than nowadays, and money wasn't as free then as now. I'm sure my grandpa chose wisely for when and where he lived, just as I think I am doing for what I see in front of me.

 

[content]

Hello friends and neighbors// I forgot to mention, I have 2 "wrist rocket" sling shots with extra bands.// You never know // quiet and fun for all

 

[dom1104]

I strongly belive the end of the economy is near, and am hastily preparing for this scenario.


Its going to be a long hard road paying for our parents generations bass boats and florida condos.


I suggest you read a book from a guy who lived thru a "economic depression" in Argentina since 2001.

http://ferfal.blogspot.com/


Its a pretty good read.


Basically his advice, your pistols are your main armament, crime is the main problem, and, its not a mad max scenario, its just a very dangerous place to live. And all the laws still apply + even more, no you cant carry a rifle out in the street, or shoot people from 300 yards looting your house. Its just like it is now, + rape and pillage.

And you will be dirt poor.

so basically, what you have when the crash hits, is what you have period. inflation takes care of that. All the rest of the money you make will have to go for food and heat.

For me, its 2 9mm pistols, a conversion kit that works for both to change them to 22, a 12 guage pump shotgun, and a 22lr.

And lots and LOTs of ammo.

Better to buy 22lr at $15 per box than $80.



Also, thinking that a single shot anything is a good idea... its not. Mass gangs are the rule not the exception. Orginized home invasions 6+ attackers, orginized neighboorhood invasions, where they take over one house and use it as a base to loot the others, and "commando criminals" are the norm down there.

To think that criminals will be stupid enough to try to break in unarmed and alone, is silly.


And yes, we are a different, more selfish, more soft, and more diverse <read: illegal> generation than we had in the depression.

It wont go as well. We are not the greatest generation. We are the Playstation generation.

We have no hope.

 

[roscoe]

And yes, we are a different, more selfish, more soft, and more diverse <read: illegal> generation than we had in the depression.

It ain't the illegal ones that are soft.