A little sad sitting here reminiscing.....

[CharlieDeltaJuliet]

I am not that old but I remember 20-25 years ago when schoools had firearm safety courses. They even had a mandatory hunters education class. Maybe growing up in rural NC was the key, but man things sure have changed a lot. We were even allowed by the faculty to leave our rifles in our vehicles(on school property). There were many of us who hunted before and directly after school. Back then they had no problem with the firearms being on grounds. By the time I gratuated the policies were up for review. Then pretty soon no weapons at all were allowed on school grounds.

What has changed in our society that has stigmatized firearms and their legitimate uses. Where I grew up they were simply a part of life, Democrat or republican, no matter which side of the fence your hat landed on. Now we have schools that are more violent, no weapons on campus laws, and schools have never been more dangerous.

Is this the fate of our society or our nation? It saddens me to think how bad it will get inthe next 20 years.

I am sorry for the rant, but too many young people will never understand that until the past two decades, firearms were still very integrated into Americans ways of life. We didn't have CCW, but they were accepted more for their legitimate uses.

 

[bigdaa]

Take heart my friend. I come from a long line of Californians who had and used guns in the same manner as those in your past in NC.
Hunting here was a priority, too!
My relatives spent hours on buckboards rolling north along the coast above Santa Barbara north of L.A. to the coastal canyons to bag game.


Well, it's my turn to raise maybe the last of our line in California and believe me, guns are a big part of their lives. I have two boys, 13 and 15 to carry on and they will get all that I have including as much knowledge as I can dump into their heads and hearts.

I taught them and I help with any of their friends who are interested in coming along (with their dad's permission)

It's an uphill battle and we have to fight until we lay down for the last time.
It is the best of the "good" fights.

 

[ID-shooting]

Life was different, young years in the 70's, teen years in the 80's. Opening day of deer season was a school holiday due to so many kids being gone. The principal kept a gun cabinet in his office. We would stash our rifles there and pick them up after class to hunt on the way home.

I grew up in rual Idaho, that is to say our town had a population of 300 with most of us living out in the county. I miss those days. One I miss the most was teaming up friday after class and knocking out the weekend chores, grabing a field pack, fishing pole, and the Marlin 60 then hiking up the moutain with a couple of friends for the weekend to shoot/eat rabbits and grouse and catch some fish. We even had campfires. Age? 12. Do that today and someone is going to prison.

Sad state of affairs.

 

[beatledog7]

The elementary school firearm safety manual has been replaced by "Jane has Two Mommies."

 

[bhk]

As far as I know, our middle school still teaches hunter safety. Our high school also has a trap club that shoots on it's own NRA financed range on school property.

Our secondary schools sit on a hundred+ acres just south of our town. Much of the property is in crops. This fall I was dove hunting with not too far from the school property line (safe, legal distance away). We could hear the football teams doing their after school practice and felt a little bad about shooting so close to the school until I heard gunfire coming FROM the school. It took me a second to realize the trap team had just begun it's practice. Things are still good in some places.

 

[Sam Cade]

Our local schools still offer firearm safety/hunter education classes required to get the Ky "orange card" and legally hunt.

 

[22-rimfire]

We could stash our firearms inside cars in the school parking lot to use after school and hunter education programs were common at high schools usually taught by one or two of the teachers. Nobody would dream of using a firearm inside the school. The worst elements in our society drive school policy.

Now I guess they think life is all a video game. Nothing is real and nothing is permanent.

 

[Skillet]

I grew up in rual Idaho, that is to say our town had a population of 300 with most of us living out in the county. I miss those days. One I miss the most was teaming up friday after class and knocking out the weekend chores, grabing a field pack, fishing pole, and the Marlin 60 then hiking up the moutain with a couple of friends for the weekend to shoot/eat rabbits and grouse and catch some fish. We even had campfires. Age? 12. Do that today and someone is going to prison.

I went to Skyview HS in Nampa, and things have changed, but if it is enforced is another matter entirely based off of the area. Maybe in Cali they have crazy security at school, but the security at my school was negligent. People had guns in their cars, and everybody knew it, nobody said anything about it though. but at the same time, I don't know how many times we have been put on lockdown because someone was toting their rifle around within X distance of the building (there are fields like 500 yards away). It's ridiculous. But I still think it is very dependant on the area. Maybe we dont have gun cabinets in the principles office, but I never saw it as much of a detriment. It all depends on the area.

 

[CharlieDeltaJuliet]

I want to thank everyone for sharing your stories with us and for not being quick to criticize me for thinking of "the days gone by". I just cannot help but think that in some ways our world is a better place (medical treatments, some modern inventions)? But also to think there is so much lost that I, along with many of you, found enjoyable. I guess that is the part of this world, things change..... Thanks again for sharing... Keep the stories coming..

 

[Carl N. Brown]

I remember when Dad and I could count on stopping at any general store or service station on the way to the mountain and buy a box of .22 or 12ga, Between the 1968 GCA and the 1986 FOPA, you had to buy at an FFL.

You bought guns at Wards, Sears, Western Auto, who had house brands like Foremost, Ted Williams and Revelation actually made by major makers including Parker-Hale, Fabrique Nationale, Winchester, Marlin, Savage, etc.

Every large chain store had a sporting goods department and even when malls started, the chains in the Mall--J.C.Penneys and Sears, carried guns and hunting gear. The ATF regs got so difficult, gun sales went more and more to dedicated gun stores. J.C. Penneys and Sears at the mall do not carry guns or hunting gear now, which I suppose pleases Dick's and Cabela's.

Compare the original 1978 "Dawn of the Dead" (zombies go to the mall movie) to the remake: in the original the gun shop was inside the mall; in the 2004 remake, the gunstore is a seperate shop across the street from the mall and kinda skid-row. Guns used to be mainstream; 45 years after the 1968 gun control act, guns are pushed to the fringe and ghettoized.

 

[Deltaboy1984]

I am not that old but I remember 20-25 years ago when schoools had firearm safety courses. They even had a mandatory hunters education class. Maybe growing up in rural NC was the key, but man things sure have changed a lot. We were even allowed by the faculty to leave our rifles in our vehicles(on school property). There were many of us who hunted before and directly after school. Back then they had no problem with the firearms being on grounds. By the time I gratuated the policies were up for review. Then pretty soon no weapons at all were allowed on school grounds.

What has changed in our society that has stigmatized firearms and their legitimate uses. Where I grew up they were simply a part of life, Democrat or republican, no matter which side of the fence your hat landed on. Now we have schools that are more violent, no weapons on campus laws, and schools have never been more dangerous.

Is this the fate of our society or our nation? It saddens me to think how bad it will get inthe next 20 years.

I am sorry for the rant, but too many young people will never understand that until the past two decades, firearms were still very integrated into Americans ways of life. We didn't have CCW, but they were accepted more for their legitimate uses.

We had the same things in Eastern Arkansas back in the 70-80's. I remember bringing a 22 to school on the bus cause I was spending the night with a cousin . We also had a post Christmas Show n Tell with our HS Principal the first day back to school out in the parking lot. A former staffer said we had FFA skeet until the Colinbine school shooting, when he came back in the following Fall the Gun safe and guns were gone.

 

[mnrivrat]

The main changes I believe that have attributed to the changes come with extremely biased media , and the population growths of large cities while rural population has declined.

On one hand the media scoff at the idea they infuence persons atitudes, and on the other hand, they sell just that very influence in the form of commercials.

The larger the city, the more anti gun they become. They see the gun only as a tool of violence because that is what they face both on their streets and on their TV.

 

[CharlieDeltaJuliet]

mnrivrat, you hit the nail right on the head. I am afraid that the damage done is irreversible and will only get worse (as far as the stigma toward firearm owners. I try to introduce as many people to shooting sports as possible.

 

[wgp]

I graduated from high school in Wichita Kansas in 1970. We had a rifle club at the school, there was a range in a basement under the boys gymnasium. We had a collection of pretty decent .22 target rifles and the police dept sent an officer out for a safety lecture. I took my own .22 rifle to school to use at that range. And NOBODY got shot or even talked about doing such a thing. I wonder whether anyone would believe this these days. The only thing that I guess has not changed is that I still have the Remington 514 (but of course I can't get ammo for it....)

 

[BullfrogKen]

I dunno fellas.

The gun control push isn't working on kids too well . . .

This should give you hope -

Poll: Majority of Young People Considering Gun Ownership


http://www.american.edu/media/news/20120114_Gun_Poll_High_School_College_Students.cfm

January 14, 2013

Despite experiencing a post-Columbine world, 60 percent of high school and college students are considering owning a gun in the future, according to a national poll.


One-third of young people reported growing up with a gun in the household and 36 percent reported being “very worried” about gun violence. However, nearly 40 percent of participants planned to own a gun when they have their own household, and an additional 20 percent were contemplating it.

read more . . .

And American University is not a conservative college -

The results are based on a national sample of 2,100 college students (ages 18 through 25) and 2,166 high school students (ages 13 through 17). The poll, conducted by American University / Gfk Custom Research LLC, was in the field from September 27—October 16, 2012, and has a margin of error of +/- 2.2 percentage points.

So, this push to turn the "young skulls full of mush" against owning guns is failing pretty badly. The anti-gunners own the schools, but over half of young people plan on owning a gun as an adult.

Part of this is the standard rebellion that young people have towards establishment mores and thought. Whatever it is, the harder they push it, the more these kids are rejecting it.

 

[CharlieDeltaJuliet]

I had no idea, Ken. This hopeful. Thank you sir, this just made my day.