The Way We Were

Once upon a time in America, it was not unusual to buy a firearm for a loved one for Christmas.

I am sure you have seen the movie A Christmas Story, A story about a nine-year old boy living in northern Indiana in the late 1940's. The main character, Ralphie Parker, wanted just one thing for Christmas..... a Red Ryder, Carbine-Action, 200-shot, Range Model, Air Rifle, with a Compass in the stock and "this thing which tells time".

The story, while partly fictional, could very well be the story of millions of young boys growing up during that era.

Back in those days guns were sold in hardware stores, auto parts stores and all the major department stores. They all  had a gun section with their sporting goods. 

Shoppers back then were not offended nor surprised to see guns on a rack in Macys,  J.C. Penny's, Montgomery Wards or Sears & Roebuck, it was as natural as a crescent wrench or a bottle of Burma Shave.
Gun advertisements were posted in most magazines and not  just the sporting ones.

There are a few other things that were different back then....we had fewer single parent families, political correctness had not yet been invented, people had shame and school shootings were virtually unheard of, but that is a topic for another day. 

This is the season of good will and good cheer.


I would like to call on all gun owners to keep the tradition alive....buy your loved one a firearm for Christmas!

Take a look at this collection of Christmas gun ads from long ago....

and just to show you guns for Christmas is not a completely lost idea, here is an email I got from Henry Repeating Arms

and a couple of billboards from Palmetto State Armory

Merry Christmas to all and may there be Peace on Earth!

The pictures above were found freely on the world wide web and are used under the guidelines of Fair Use, per Title 17 of the U.S. Code. Where possible the source has been credited.
If you own the copyright to any of these images and wish them to be credited or removed, please contact me immediately.