When I was a 12 year old kid...

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CajunBass

CajunBass

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When I was a 12 year old kid, and the world was a lot different, this would have been a dream come true for a kid raised on Roy and Gene, Sky King, Rawhide, Gunsmoke, Have Gun Will Travel and Bonanza...(and a few dozen others).

Back then, growing up "in the country" like I did, nobody would have thought a thing of seeing a kid with this combo.

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The Rifle is an Ithaca M-49 Single Shot 22, the revolver is a Ruger Bearcat.

Now all I need is a fancy holster and belt for the Bearcat. :D
 
Glad to see other folks with those little Ithacas. My first gun and I still have it of course. It is still the one I am most accurate with, I doubt I even need the sights on it anymore. Thats a great pic
 
Actually, when I was 12 I had no interest in shooting at all. Then I was required to build a bow & arrow -starting from the tree to finished device - then kill a deer with it. I was then allowed to learn to shoot a .22 rimfire. (a 39A Marlin for your detail junkies.)

Ten years later I still have the bow and can discuss the relative merits of bone arrowhead v. (handmade) metal arrowheads. I have a few years before I decide to commit that particular atrocity on my daughter.
 
When I was 12, my older brother was killed in 'Nam. We were shocked because he had been in country less than 6 months. But he had been drafted right out of HS and left us to serve our nation. He never even considered Canada or Sweden as a destination to evade the draft. It hurt me badly when Pres. Carter signed an Ex. Order giving pardon to all the draft dodgers. So it goes.

When I was 12, I killed my first elk hunting with my Grandad who was 79 at the time. He was born in 1889 and was an outstanding Christian gentleman, cattleman, generous to his friends and family,kind to children and strangers, and enthusiastic big game hunter. His main hunting rifle was a 99 Savage in 300 but he also favored a 95 Winchester in 30-40 and a 94 Winchester long octagon barreled rifle in 30-30. These antique rifles fed a lot of folks over the decades! I shot that young bull elk with his 30-30 twice and it it toppled. Why anyone thinks he needs a big magnum to kill a 650 lb bull elk is beyond my comprehension.

This photo was taken on Elk Mt., S. Dakota near the Wyoming line.

TR

elkinforestsized.jpg
 
When I was 12 years old.........I already had a Winchester model 67 and Ruger 10/22. Grampa still had the Ithaca.
 
Tried and true is tried and true for a reason. There is good products and good marketing. I hope to pay cash for the former.
 
When I was 12 I bought my first rifle from my dad for 112.50$. Lots of farm chores and alowence for year. Ruger M77 30-06 cheap 3x9 scope that was stuck on 3. Killed my first buck and doe that year.
 
I did my first shooting with a Ruger Bearcat. I still own it, still take it to the range from time to time, still enjoy shooting it. I've even added a couple of Bearcat companions, seeing as how the original is the Old Model without the safety transfer bar (and I don't want to modify it, despite Ruger's free offer and a return of the original parts). I still think that the Bearcat is a perfect gun for youngsters to learn to shoot.
 
When I was 12 in 1974 Dad got me an Ithaca M-49 too. I spent a lot of Saturdays roaming the woods with it away from camp as Dad was waiting on the hounds to come in from running coyotes all night.
I was proud of the Ithaca and showed it to several of my friends. One day while we were gone it turned up missing from under my bed.
 
When I was 12, kids were bringing shotguns to school so we could ride the bus home with friends and hunt at their house. No one cared. It was a common thing in the early '80s in southern Indiana. It wasn't that long ago either. Based on how far things have changed in such a short time, I'm afraid 20-30 years from now no one will even believe it could have been possible to do such a thing. They will probably even assume this is why events like Columbine occurred, even though the practice ended years before.
 
When I was twelve, WWII ended. I was sorely disappointed that it was over before I could get into it. However, Uncle Sam provided me an opportunity and sent me an invitation six years later to a war that nobody remembers.

I had at 11 a sweet little Remington Bolt action repeater, probably made in the 1920's. I've never seen another one like it. Because ammo was unavailable, used guns were cheap. I got mine on a trade for a ball glove and a Louisville Slugger bat. Didn't get to shoot it until 1946 when ammo became available again.
 
When I was 12, I'd spend my days wandering the hills around my house carrying a single shot .22 or a BB pistol. Nothing smaller than a groundhog was safe. My oldest is currently 12...
 
When I was 12, I was just learning to trap 'possums and hunt squirrels with a 12 guage single shot shotgun. That was 1965.
 
When I was 12 yars old, I couldn't wait for school to end, so that I could go home, grab a rifle, and explore the hills behind our house. I was lucky in that I grew up on a ranch, and had miles and miles to roam. My "usual" companions on such trips were my mutt Smokey and my trusted 881 Marlin (which I still own today), though a 336 Marlin 30-30, or my dad's BL-22 accompanied occasionally. I think I explored just about every square inch of our ranch during my afternoon jaunts. I'd leave as soonas I got home,which would usually giove me (depending on the season) anywhere between 2-4 hours of hunting and exploring. This was a daily ritual for me, and I had lots of "once in a lifetime" moments roaming those hills alone.
 
I received my first personal firearm for my 12th BD, a Mossberg BA .410 from my father.

My buddies and I used to ride our bikes through town out past the city limits to plink and hunt with our firearms slung across our backs. A couple of 12-13 year-olds trying that now would probably end up on the national news surrounded by a SWAT team and a swarm of TV helicopters.
 
When I was 12, in 1962, my Dad bought me my first gun, a Winchester Model 250 lever action .22 rifle. I can't even begin to count how many rounds I have fired from that rifle. That rifle was my most prized possession back then and I was always cleaning and taking care of it. My Dad is gone but his loving memory and that Winchester 250 is still with me.
 
Just days before my 12th birthday I killed (NO, NO, harvested!!!) my first black bear with a borrowed 94 Winchester .25-35. THAT was a story to take to school the same day, 1954.

That summer's wages covered half the cost of a $125 '99 Savage .250-3000; dear Dad couldn't afford it, but covered the other half ---- Thanks to him, and RIP Dad.
 
When I was 12 I lived on a little ranch in the desert. I already had a 410 a 20ga and a .22lr. We had cows at the time and they would often break out of the fence. Most of the time it seemed they headed for this canyon that required horseback for transportation. I remember saddling up with either my dad or my great uncle and going to try and find them. We always had a gun with us and when I was lucky I could throw my .22lr in the scabbard and have one also. Often times we would have to spend the night down in that canyon. So we would take enough food to get through a couple of days. Sometimes we would just shoot a cottontail or two and throw them on the campfire to go along with moms sandwiches that she had made for us. When I was I kid I thought it was pretty neat, but looking back I wish I would have taken more in and also that I could provide the same expierence for my kids. I still have that .22lr and the .410 although my kid seems to think that they are hers.
 
When I was 12, I was gunless. :) Had my first 22 when I was 13 years old; may have been 14 as I was in 9th grade.

After I got my first 22, my older brother bought himself a 22. Later my other younger brothers bought 22's. We lived in the country and carrying 22 rifles was as natural as it gets. With the exception of me (although I paid half), we all bought our own 22 rifles. Shooting 22's is a memory that I cherish with my brothers. Just does not happen anymore. We're all caught up with life in different parts of the country. My older brother recently asked my suggestion on a new 22 rifle. What goes around comes around. Time to go shootin!!
 
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