Only in Montana

[STS]

I had a 10 year old boy ring the door bell earlier today. He gave his name and said he was from the school in the little town of Gallatin Gateway. He was selling raffle tickets for some school function that I didn't quite catch the details of. What he seemed most excited about was the grand prize. It was a rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor (he dang sure knew what that was) with a Leupold scope. It's a great part of the country where a kid can feel safe enough to come into a strangers home and try to sell him a rifle. I'd rather have second place which was a half of beef. As he was leaving I asked if he would do me a favor. He agreed. I asked if he would mow my lawn. He got a funny look on his face when he turned and looked at about 2 feet of snow on the ground. Great kid and a great place to be a kid.

 

[6.5 forever]

I had a 10 year old boy ring the door bell earlier today. He gave his name and said he was from the school in the little town of Gallatin Gateway. He was selling raffle tickets for some school function that I didn't quite catch the details of. What he seemed most excited about was the grand prize. It was a rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor (he dang sure knew what that was) with a Leupold scope. It's a great part of the country where a kid can feel safe enough to come into a strangers home and try to sell him a rifle. I'd rather have second place which was a half of beef. As he was leaving I asked if he would do me a favor. He agreed. I asked if he would mow my lawn. He got a funny look on his face when he turned and looked at about 2 feet of snow on the ground. Great kid and a great place to be a kid.

Thanks for the smile!

 

[JB10]

Tonight was a concert at my youngets daughters jr high school. My dad wad there, he turned to my oldest daughter and said did you know i went to school here. She said no. He said this used to be the high school. He pointed to a walkway and said a kids name. He remembered seeing him cary his 12ga shotgun through there on his way to wood shop class to refinish the wood stock. He laughed and said can you imagine seeing that here now? Let alone all the shotguns that used to be in our trucks in the parking lot during dove season. Im from what used to be a small farming town, now we are a major city. That kid is lucky for sure to have a raffle opportunity like that. Hope him the best for sure!

 

[Old Navy]

Tonight was a concert at my youngets daughters jr high school. My dad wad there, he turned to my oldest daughter and said did you know i went to school here. She said no. He said this used to be the high school. He pointed to a walkway and said a kids name. He remembered seeing him cary his 12ga shotgun through there on his way to wood shop class to refinish the wood stock. He laughed and said can you imagine seeing that here now? Let alone all the shotguns that used to be in our trucks in the parking lot during dove season. Im from what used to be a small farming town, now we are a major city. That kid is lucky for sure to have a raffle opportunity like that. Hope him the best for sure!

I remember that also.

 

[ELR LVR]

Great story man,
I live in a rural county where our towns High School has a Trap and Skeet Shotgun club for the kids grades 6th - 12th
Interestingly many girls are in that club and they know how to shoot
(The more women that like to shoot the better it is for everyone in my opinion, especially for guys that like guns and like to buy guns, considering our future and all)
I've shot with many of my friends who have on occasion brought their daughters to hang out with us and their foundational marksmanship skills are top notch.
I was once shooting at 600 yds at my friends ranch with 2 buddies there and one of his teen daughter's walked up and was like
"whatcha doin?"
I said hey come here, (I wanted to prove something to myself)
One buddy was missing more than I thought was acceptable and taking a teenage girl to show him how its done I thought would be fun.
And said I bet 5 bucks you can hit that steel plate with my rifle, you got 3 shots to do it in.
...a 5x5 plate
She was like "Ummm ok, went prone, and nailed it on the second shot" then got up and looked at me as if to suggest
"That was suppose to be hard?"
I was like YES, heres 5 bucks you made my day.

And that's in California.
Not all hope is lost,

 

[1K6BRA]

Montana….. the last great place!
I need to revisit ASAP!

 

[Coonman300]

That is a great story…glad to hear it! When I was in High School (1980-82) we often had guns in our trucks during hunting season. It wasn’t unusual for the principal to come check it out if someone had a new or unusual gun. He came from a farming family and no one thought anything about it. We would have carnivals at school a couple times a year and there was a shooting gallery…BB and pellet guns… and a motorcycle ride. You could haul butt all thru the back property on a dirt bike. Good times

 

[Schandler]

I don’t feel that old but i remember putting my rifle behind the truck seat after parking it in the high school parking lot because as soon as bell rang i was on my way to deer stand. Did it to hide so someone might steal it and not because of having rifle viewed by a resource officer !! Same with shotgun during dove season. Makes me wonder what the heck has changed since i was in school. Most fun i remember was dove hunting with a bunch of buddies - miss a bird close and they rag you for a week but miss a deer and you get your shirt tail cut. Those were good ole days and gone forever I’m afraid.
.

 

[KMart]

I had a 10 year old boy ring the door bell earlier today. He gave his name and said he was from the school in the little town of Gallatin Gateway. He was selling raffle tickets for some school function that I didn't quite catch the details of. What he seemed most excited about was the grand prize. It was a rifle in 6.5 Creedmoor (he dang sure knew what that was) with a Leupold scope. It's a great part of the country where a kid can feel safe enough to come into a strangers home and try to sell him a rifle. I'd rather have second place which was a half of beef. As he was leaving I asked if he would do me a favor. He agreed. I asked if he would mow my lawn. He got a funny look on his face when he turned and looked at about 2 feet of snow on the ground. Great kid and a great place to be a kid.

That takes me back to the 50's/60's and growing up in small town Texas.

 

[JFrank]

@STS I’m pretty sure I’ve been to Gallatin Gateway, a tiny community along the Gallatin river on the road to west Yellowstone.

 

[J.d. Popkes]

Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, both Dakotas, western Nebraska. That whole region. Not surprising, thankfully. If the wrong people quit moving to this region we will keep it that way

 

[Shooter13]

Montana….. the last great place!
I need to revisit ASAP!

I’m in Kentucky but moving there sounds good!

 

[CaptainMal]

There was a hunting club at Central Catholic High School in the late 50's and early '60's. That is located in Oakland, Pa, close to near the center of Pittsburgh. In college, Slippery Rock had deer behind a dorm I stayed in. I and others kept guns to go hunt.

After graduation I got a job in the Penn Hills School District outside Pittsburgh. After a few years teaching I got the job as the rifle team coach of the high school. The kids brought their guns to school and either dropped them off at the downstairs range in the morning or left them in a principles office. At times I had guns in the classroom with me for demonstration/education.

Today there is no rifle team there and my guess is a student or teacher with a gun on campus would immediately have major legal problems. I retired in 1999, moved south and am just guessing. We NEVER had any kind of trouble during my time there from the late 50's and into the 90's. Times sure have changed and not for the better.

 

[Coyotefurharvester]

I was 12 in 1972. My "snow" family asked me to duck hunt with them(I rode bus to town). Friday before opener I got on the bus with my cased shotgun. Box of shells, cheap camo mom/dad had bought for me in a paper bag and NOTE for the school saying I was going hunting. I left everything in the school office. The next Friday morning the principal told me to keep it in my locker, the office didn't want to be RESPONSIBLE for my "stuff".

 

[STS]

@STS I’m pretty sure I’ve been to Gallatin Gateway, a tiny community along the Gallatin river on the road to west Yellowstone.

You are absolutely correct. Gallatin Gateway, just called "Gateway" by the locals, was a stage stop on the way from Bozeman to the west entrance to Yellowstone. There is an old photo of a log arch above the trail with the words "Gallatin Gateway to Yellowstone National Park." Which was nothing more than a stage track up the Gallatin River canyon. Over the years it became a funky little Montana town, and the name morphed into Gallatin Gateway. I'm about 3 miles north of Gateway.

 

[NCVarhtr]

When I was in Highschool, I rode the school bus six miles to school. In the fall, I would often get on the bus with my 12 Guage shotgun, a vest full of shells because I was going to hunt with a buddy that afternoon that rode another bus . When I got to school, I would go by the principals office and tell him that I was going to hunt with my friend Jim that afternoon. He would say, "just leave it in the corner and pick it up when you leave". no note, no questions. Believe it or not--No one thought anything about it.

 

[BobT]

I used to bring my shotgun to school and keep it in my locker. The high school was across the road from a farm I had permission to bird hunt on. After I got a drivers license I just kept it in my Jeep in the rack.

 

[Gun Smith]

Went hunting once with my teacher in Junior high! Lots of us kids had guns in our cars in High school.
Brught them to shop class to refinish the wood, or make a part from scratch. This was in Illinois in the late 60's! I imagine the "Liberal" idiots would have a stroke if a kid did that now! Ill. is a great place to "be from".

 

[L.Sherm]

If the wrong people quit moving to this region we will keep it that way

This is 100% correct, all you have to do is look at some of the transgender stuff thats getting voted on in Montana, Missoula is a good example.
Get involved dont set on your hands and think just because its Montana it won't happen here.

 

[TTE]

When I was in Highschool, I rode the school bus six miles to school. In the fall, I would often get on the bus with my 12 Guage shotgun, a vest full of shells because I was going to hunt with a buddy that afternoon that rode another bus . When I got to school, I would go by the principals office and tell him that I was going to hunt with my friend Jim that afternoon. He would say, "just leave it in the corner and pick it up when you leave". no note, no questions. Believe it or not--No one thought anything about it.

Good times, common sense and personal responsibility are fleeting.

I'm sure I am not the only one that remembers when flying to go hunting, you carried your cased rifle onto the plane and handed it to the stewardess who put it in the coat closet.