SmeeAgain
Member
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2022
- Messages
- 257
Back in the early 1960s I attended a Hunter Safety Class at a Sears store.
I really thought that was a big deal.
After that I had standing permission to use my father's bolt action .22 without asking each time... with certain provisions.
Like cleaning it if I shot it or not. Making a mistake OF ANY KIND, or the slightest scratch and I'd be visiting the doctor to have it surgically removed from my backside.
The fear of the slightest thing happening to it took all the fun out of it and it just wasn't worth the risk.
So... a friend just got a new rifle and offered to sell me his old one for $5.
That was all the money I had in the world but I broke the land speed record running home to get it.
It was a Savage, single shot .22 bolt action.
That evening I proudly showed it to my dad. He told me it was junk & I paid too much for it etc. I didn't care... it was mine. If I somehow scratched it, it wouldn't be the end of the world.
I saved up for what seemed like an eternity until I had almost enough money to go back to Sears & buy an Ithaca Model 49 Saddlegun.
It looked like a 94 Winchester but was another single shot .22.
It was $49.95 plus tax.
I ended up selling my Savage for $10! So I had merely pennies left over but I had a brand new rifle, that was 100% mine!
Of course being a kid, my dad had to do the actual buying.
Then the guy at Sears tried to sign me up for the Hunter Safety Class lol & I instantly whipped out my card to show off. I remember my dad saying "God no! We aren't going through that again! Last time he didn't shut up for weeks about it!"
Then the guy asked if I needed bullets for it. I said I didn't have enough money left and I'd get them later.
To my surprise my dad said "Give him a box of shorts, I'll cover that."
Then even more amazing, the Sears guy put a box of .22lr in the box with the rifle when my dad wasn't looking & stuck his finger over his lips like "shhhh". So a new rifle and two boxes of ammo! I was set for life!
For years I rarely left the house without it!
Then days after I graduated high school I left for Vietnam.
By the time I came home, my parents had sold the ranch and moved into a condo in town. One of the first things I asked was... Where is my rifle?"
My dad said "We didn't expect you to come back so I threw it away with the rest of your junk when we moved."
I was devastated! Just a few years ago I finally found another... seriously beaten on & worn out, but the same model.
I paid $250.00 for it. In reality it's not worth $50 but I had to have it. I'll never shoot it, I'm not even sure if it works... I just had to have it.
I did find a model 49R which is the repeater version, in excellent shape, for the same price and I have used it. But... it's not the same. Some will get it, some won't.
So... what was your first?
I really thought that was a big deal.
After that I had standing permission to use my father's bolt action .22 without asking each time... with certain provisions.
Like cleaning it if I shot it or not. Making a mistake OF ANY KIND, or the slightest scratch and I'd be visiting the doctor to have it surgically removed from my backside.
The fear of the slightest thing happening to it took all the fun out of it and it just wasn't worth the risk.
So... a friend just got a new rifle and offered to sell me his old one for $5.
That was all the money I had in the world but I broke the land speed record running home to get it.
It was a Savage, single shot .22 bolt action.
That evening I proudly showed it to my dad. He told me it was junk & I paid too much for it etc. I didn't care... it was mine. If I somehow scratched it, it wouldn't be the end of the world.
I saved up for what seemed like an eternity until I had almost enough money to go back to Sears & buy an Ithaca Model 49 Saddlegun.
It looked like a 94 Winchester but was another single shot .22.
It was $49.95 plus tax.
I ended up selling my Savage for $10! So I had merely pennies left over but I had a brand new rifle, that was 100% mine!
Of course being a kid, my dad had to do the actual buying.
Then the guy at Sears tried to sign me up for the Hunter Safety Class lol & I instantly whipped out my card to show off. I remember my dad saying "God no! We aren't going through that again! Last time he didn't shut up for weeks about it!"
Then the guy asked if I needed bullets for it. I said I didn't have enough money left and I'd get them later.
To my surprise my dad said "Give him a box of shorts, I'll cover that."
Then even more amazing, the Sears guy put a box of .22lr in the box with the rifle when my dad wasn't looking & stuck his finger over his lips like "shhhh". So a new rifle and two boxes of ammo! I was set for life!
For years I rarely left the house without it!
Then days after I graduated high school I left for Vietnam.
By the time I came home, my parents had sold the ranch and moved into a condo in town. One of the first things I asked was... Where is my rifle?"
My dad said "We didn't expect you to come back so I threw it away with the rest of your junk when we moved."
I was devastated! Just a few years ago I finally found another... seriously beaten on & worn out, but the same model.
I paid $250.00 for it. In reality it's not worth $50 but I had to have it. I'll never shoot it, I'm not even sure if it works... I just had to have it.
I did find a model 49R which is the repeater version, in excellent shape, for the same price and I have used it. But... it's not the same. Some will get it, some won't.
So... what was your first?