Yeah, those "boomers" had it easy.
They lived through the constant daily stress/threat of Communism and imminent nuclear war for decades. Worked in dangerous manual labor jobs, when safety standards were very low, often exposed to hazards and hazardous substances that most members here would not be willing to do. And, a lot of those folks who relied on their pensions lost out when companies folded or defaulted on those pensions.
I'm willing to bet the average person on this forum has more $ wrapped up in toys and junk than our grandfathers did. Look around your home and see all the surplus stuff you have that grandpa didn't need, want, or have access to. He was fine fixing the lawn mower for many generations, yet we buy a new one rather than change the oil! (sarcasm, but you get the point).
The only traveling grandpa did was when he was drafted to fight in Korea or Vietnam. Many WWII vets had never even been to D.C. to see their monument! Willing to bet most members here have been on at least one, perhaps multiple international vacations, and/or seen most of the United States. Grandpa probably never experienced or spent money on skydiving, SCUBA diving, jet skies, snow skiing trips, expensive golf clubs, Rolex watches, foreign sports cars, Vegas gambling trips, nor did he have a movie collection with 10,000 titles, etc. Most meals were home-cooked, and rarely did they eat out (which is much more expensive, perhaps twice as expensive). Today we don't blink at spending $5 on a coffee, $10 on a cocktail, and $100 on a meal for two, or $50 for two movie tickets and popcorn. And 3,000 calorie/day diets are not uncommon today but would have been unheard of for grandma and grandpa. How many people today don't blink at spending $30,000 on a single wedding? I doubt our grandparents poured money down the sink like that!
While it may appear that boomers had it easy, or were flush with money, I don't think that's the case. They were thrifty and saved every penny. Ever notice how grandparents had the same car, furniture, carpet, phone, TV, lawn mower, tools, etc. for decades? How many new TVs, couches, cars, motorcycles, cameras, phones, etc. have you had in the last 10 years?
I know people who have had insurance pay for medical treatments of well over $200,000. This is treatment that didn't exist a few decades ago, and I'm not even sure that medical insurance would have covered such treatments a few decades ago. Consider prosthetic limbs - science fiction means reality. If grandpa lost a leg, he was doomed to a wheelchair. If you lose a leg, if you have insurance, you'll be walking in a year.
Sit down and look at your monthly bills. I'm willing to bet you spend hundreds, perhaps thousands every year on garbage you don't need. If you merely trim $1,000 per year in cutting bills, it adds up very quickly.
For instance, I had unnecessary cable TV ($70/month) and unnecessary data plan on my cell phone ($50/month). I replaced the cable with Roku and Netflix for $8/month. Simply by dropping those two items, I'm saving around $1400 per year, that was otherwise being totally wasted. That was a simple change. You can see that in a decade, that simple change will save the cost of a nice used car. I know people (non-business use) who have $200-$300 monthly phone/cable/internet bills!!!! That's up to $4,000 annually just for connectivity. That is insane!
Let's get this conversation back on OP. Guns and ammo and shooting.
In nearly every category we have it much better than folks in the last 200 years.
As for guns, I bet most members here own 20 guns, and 10,000 rounds of ammo on average. We're more educated, have access to much better training and shooting methods, excellent shooting schools available for little cost. We have ballistic materials/vests available for self defense. The average quality of a handgun is much greater than in the past, and they will last much longer than most guns of yesteryear. We can carry concealed nearly everywhere (something that was not common in the past). We have won huge court victories preserving our rights. Most folks here shoot more than folks in the past. You can order nearly any part for any gun and research it in mere minutes or hours thanks to the internet. Quality and types of ammunition are much better today than previously.
Consider the advances in the quality and design of guns and ammo. Why did most police forces carry the .357 revolver? Reliable stopping power, because no semi-auto apparently could fill the role. But today, there are many choices in reliable semi-autos with ample stopping power, due to design and ballistic improvements.
Sure, we have sacrificed hand polished and fitted parts that were common in prior generations. But the selection of guns has never been better, and you can still get custom guns at a premium, probably not much more than they cost at the time, adjusted for inflation. Sure, some cool surplus guns have become scarce, but they are still obtainable.
I'm not immune to the fact that it is an expensive world. Seems every time I leave the house, there's some $100, $500, or $1000 bill awaiting me. Can't leave the grocery store without spending $100. Can't leave the veterinarian without spending $500. Or the auto repair shop. Parking tickets cost what my daily salary was 10 years ago. Last minute airfare in the CONUS is always reaching $800-$1000.
I recall being annoyed with former bosses who hit their college educations at the exact right moment when they were a relative novelty and still quite affordable in the 1970s and 1980s. Now, college educations are expected, and the prices are staggering. And having two degrees, I can appreciate how hard it is to assume those costs and still stay afloat after college.
Back to guns again. If we are totally honest, for the non-collector - just the average middle class hunter and/or person interested in self defense and carrying a gun, here's the breakdown.
Average rifle and scope: $800-1000. Ammo for the year: $100
Average shotgun, ammo, and annual proficiency training: $500 + training money of $500 annually
Average handgun, ammo, and annual training budget: $500 handgun, + $1000/year for accessories, training, ammo.
You can see that for the average person, earning say $100-200 per day, these costs are extraordinarily low and equate to about 1 weeks salary (per category) for the equipment and yearly training. I'd call that a bargain.
Folks here, on an internet forum, using computers/Iphones, internet, etc. - most don't have the first clue about poverty. Another member stated he grew up in total poverty, and I can attest to that as well. Grew up in the 70s and 80s in total poverty, in a rundown old house that needed tens of thousands of dollars in basic renovation/upkeep that my single parent simply could not manage on her $5,000-$10,000 annual income. House had moss growing on the ancient roof, broken down chimney, 30 year old flaking paint, a near useless wooden door, busted windows on the house, and nearly zero insulation. Furnace was ancient and probably worked less often than not, and the pilot was always going out due to the drafty basement. Temp in that house was always in the high 50s or low 60s in the winter. The home, inside and out, was an embarrassment so we rarely had company. Drafty old home, with no 2nd floor heat vents, so we kids were very cold in those mid-western winters. For us, a working car was a miracle. I think back to heading off to college. My most valuable possession was probably the clothes on my back. I had nothing. No money. No valuables. No inheritance. Zero. I worked since I was 15 and saved as much as I could. Without loans, scholarships, and grant money, there's no way I could have gone to college. Now that is poverty. No way could my family have afforded an extra dime for guns in the 1980s. Oh, and in the 1980s, the interest rate on a home loan was in the mid-teens!!!! It wasn't this cush 4% that we have now. If you borrowed money for a home, you were paying credit-card type interest rates.
