Driftwood Johnson
Member
Howdy
I can't believe I have not answered this one yet.
One day when I was around 15 years old or so, I was poking around in our basement. I came across a big box I had never noticed before. I reached inside, and my hand fastened around a piece of wood. I pulled it out, and found a 22 caliber rifle. I went upstairs with it and asked my Dad what it was. I will never forget, he said,'Well, I guess that's yours now'.
Winchester Model '06, 22 Short, Long, or Long Rifle.
Apparently when my Dad was around 15 or so, he told his father he would like a 22 target rifle. Although my Grandfather was an expert fisherman, he did not know anything about guns. They lived in a suburb just north of New York City, and my Grandfather commuted into the city every day. So one day Pop went to the big Abercrombie and Fitch store on Madison Avenue. This was long before Abercrombie and Fitch became a yuppie clothing store. In those days Abercrombie and Fitch was a major sporting goods retailer. They had a store right on the corner of Madison Avenue and 45th Street. One entire floor was devoted to guns, and there was a shooting range in the basement. Anyway, Pop came home that day with the little Winchester Model '06, a classic gallery rifle.
I set up a secret shooting gallery in our basement, and used to shoot 22 Shorts when my parents were not home. (My Dad found out and laughed, because he had done the same thing)
The bittersweet part of the story is my Dad wanted a target rifle, a bolt action. He never had the heart to tell his father that the little gallery rifle was not what he wanted.
Here is a photo of my Dad shooting it on the shore of Lake Kahtadin in Maine. The photo is dated 1931. Dig the knickers. You can see how even at 15 years old, the little rifle is too small for him.
Yes, I still have it, and it is still a tack driver, just as accurate as the day Pop brought it home.
I can't believe I have not answered this one yet.
One day when I was around 15 years old or so, I was poking around in our basement. I came across a big box I had never noticed before. I reached inside, and my hand fastened around a piece of wood. I pulled it out, and found a 22 caliber rifle. I went upstairs with it and asked my Dad what it was. I will never forget, he said,'Well, I guess that's yours now'.
Winchester Model '06, 22 Short, Long, or Long Rifle.
Apparently when my Dad was around 15 or so, he told his father he would like a 22 target rifle. Although my Grandfather was an expert fisherman, he did not know anything about guns. They lived in a suburb just north of New York City, and my Grandfather commuted into the city every day. So one day Pop went to the big Abercrombie and Fitch store on Madison Avenue. This was long before Abercrombie and Fitch became a yuppie clothing store. In those days Abercrombie and Fitch was a major sporting goods retailer. They had a store right on the corner of Madison Avenue and 45th Street. One entire floor was devoted to guns, and there was a shooting range in the basement. Anyway, Pop came home that day with the little Winchester Model '06, a classic gallery rifle.
I set up a secret shooting gallery in our basement, and used to shoot 22 Shorts when my parents were not home. (My Dad found out and laughed, because he had done the same thing)
The bittersweet part of the story is my Dad wanted a target rifle, a bolt action. He never had the heart to tell his father that the little gallery rifle was not what he wanted.
Here is a photo of my Dad shooting it on the shore of Lake Kahtadin in Maine. The photo is dated 1931. Dig the knickers. You can see how even at 15 years old, the little rifle is too small for him.
Yes, I still have it, and it is still a tack driver, just as accurate as the day Pop brought it home.
