Random: I love hearing stories about "the good ole days"

[GSRswapandslow]

So my brother-in-law's father has a personal range behind his house. It's nothing spectacular but way more than you'd normally expect to see for a private range. But being a young 31 and just really getting more into shooting...i have a TON of stuff to learn. I have shot at the range for 2 years now...almost every weekend. In that time i've met some interesting characters...with ALL kinds of stories. A LOT are about fishing, of course, we're all fishermen down here in NC. But, the stories I really like are the ones with names I actually recognize in them! I hear stuff about Baitey, Kelby, Shehane, and a lot of others...from guys that have shot with them/against them and have utilized their individual services. For me, it's not just learning...but it's also "shopping" as I see what works for some folks and what works for others. But, I have to say....my favorite stores seem to constantly come from a guy i'd consider a buddy of mine now, Ed Hartman... He seems to ALWAYS have a cool toy at the range...from 6ppc pistols to sako quad..to his .222....and then all of the stores that go with the guns.. I don't think I've spent an afternoon with him that I didn't laugh till i hurt, got pissed off(we love talking economics and politics since we have the same thoughts on them), and then walked away learning something!

But, there's no real point to this thread...just kind of myself thinking outloud....but, what are some of the good stories you fellows have? I know there's got to be 1 or 2 that just ALWAYS stay on your mind!

 

[jonbearman]

My grampa hunted in the town of conesus which is 40 miles south of rochester new york. He hunted for many years with his cousins and one native american guy.Well this one morning they placed my father that day on watch in a small field and the native on the other side<The drivers drove out a mature doe. This fella shot it finally and my dad started to approach it as did the other guy.The other fella got to it first realizing it was still alive,so he straddled it to slit its throat,the doe stands up with him on her back and proceeded to drag him along for the ride. She went about 60 yds and collapsed. My dad just stood there in disbelief. The older native stood up and proclaimed it was a rough ride and field dressed the deer and I have somewhere a picture of about 15 deer hanging on opening day and that day my grandpa got his first buck and I have his antler mount in my shooting room. It sounds like bs but I assure you it really happened.

 

[jonbearman]

I cant believe no one will join in.

 

[GSRswapandslow]

I was really hoping to read some good stories too....

 

[StevenDzupin]

Summer of 1960. Local retail chain ( Two Guys ) had 55 gallon drums filled with 1903A3

Springfield rifles for $ 1.99 your pick.

I begged my Dad to buy some and no dice.

US GI .30-06 M2 Ball and M1 AP $ 10.oo per hundred all you could carry.

Again no dice.

Dad had been in 2 Armies Czechslovakian Mountain Artillery-Ski Troops and US Army Coast Artillery

( The Cosmoliners ) in the PTO, New Calidonia.

He told me he had enough of firearms & shooting to last his lifetime.


Regards,

Steve

 

[Bulseyetom]

The doe not being dead reminds me of an antelope hunt a few years back. My partner and I had filled our buck tags and I had filled my doe tag when we went out to fill his last doe tag. We parked the pickup and walked maybe 50 yards to the crest of a ridge when we spotted a herd about 350 yards out feeding. He picked out a bare doe off to the side and I ranged it while he laid down for a good prone shot off the bipod. I was spotting for him and when the gun went boom that antelope dropped and never moved. I patted him on the back and said lets go get her and drag her back. Since she was "obviously" dead, he left his rifle there and away we went. As you can guess, she wasn't obviously dead and still had some spunk in her when we got there. Now I have held many a buck deer down by the horns over the last 50 years to dispatch them with my knife (seems like my father must have been to poor to ever let us shoot one when we walked up on it) but this was the first time I ever had to try to dispatch an antlerless critter. What do you do to keep from getting kicked by those sharp front feet? After some close encounters we got the job done but I will never leave my rifle behind again! The Springfield story reminded me of my second deer rifle. I was 12 years old and had hunted the year before with my Grandpa's Model 93 Mauser. My father bought me a brand new in the cosmoline 1903A# for $12.50 through the DCM. I hunted with that rifle as issued except he put a Lyman 2.5x with a Lee Dot on it. I bet it was 3 years before it quit leaking cosmoline out of all the nicks and crannies! We hunted in August in Central California with temperatures often over 100 degrees. I remember my Dad's partner telling me once after I had climbed out of a deep canyon back up to the jeep that he couldn't figure out which was sweating more, me or that old Springfield! This will mark my 52nd year of hunting big game and there is never a season that goes by without some kind of a story to be told and re-told over the campfire! Enjoy your shooting sports! Tom

 

[KMart]

Back in the late 70's, I shot a 11 point buck. The deer went down right where he was shot, but still had some life in him when I got to there. In my attempt to dispatch the buck with a shot at the head/neck junction, I managed to shoot the left antler off his head. It looked like the horn was going up in slow motion and went up in the air about 8 foot.
The only saving grace was the fact the spread on the "rack" was only about 8 inches and only about 8 inches high. I still would have liked to kept the "rack" intact.

 

[MrMajestic]

Dad and Brother were hunting in PA's Anterless Season with Flintlocks years ago. Dad hits one but not well and sent my Brother to go find it. He comes across it bedded down just as a youngster passes by. He ask him if he wants a Deer and the kid says yeah! Brother points him out and states aim right for it's head with his Thurty Thurty! Boy drops the hammer and the Deer gets up and runs off. The Boy says "Look, that Deer is running with his head blowed off!". My Brother explains how he is pretty sure he missed. They relocate the Deer and he tells him just aim right for the middle! Young Lad does and gets his first Deer! I'm laughing as I write this! ;D

 

[markr]

I am 58 years old and will be 59 in January. I only tell my age so that some here might relate.
In late October of 1954, while I was a very young but impressionable lad, we were on the way home from my grandparents house where we had spent the weekend. We had to travel25 or so miles down US 31W and right past the gold depository at Ft. Knox Ky to get there, and past 15 or so miles of the reservation property.
On the way home that Sunday evening, and getting close the the north edge of the reservation, my Dad pulled off the road and pointed to several deer lounging around and grazing, not a concern in the world and said to me as he pulled out the binoculars that went with him everywhere (Swift 7X35)... look at those whitetail deer carefully because we rarely see them anymore, there aren't too many left. Little did he know that stocking operations were already in gear. Now there are enough for everybody.

 

[WyleWD]

Quite a few years back, I was spotting 'chucks for a buddy of mine. We saw one about 200yds out accross a ravine. He settles down on the rest and I'm watching from directly behind him. His 22-250 cracks and he turns and says.... How the HE?? did I miss that big SOB??!!! I said "Good shot bud!" Never seen anyone hit a grackle on the wing with a rifle before!!"

A grackle (blackbird) had flown just the perfect cross path between Rick and the chuck at just the right time and the 50gr HP caught him squarely and just made a black cloud of feathers from him. The look on Rick's face when I took him to where some of the feathers were was priceless. WD

 

[jonbearman]

Steve ,your story about two guys brings back memories as my Dad shopped there for everything and I always dragged him to sporting goods to look at the guns.He would never buy me one until I was 13 and he got me a crossman 760 powermaster pellet rifle.I was hooked now for sure.I loved that store and have many fond memories of shopping there.

 

[StevenDzupin]

Jon, I also got my fishin needs at 2 Guys.

Dad bought me my 1st shotgun at age 14 a Browning A5.

That long double shuffle recoil system was brutal.

Decades later I traded it in on a Beretta SS 12 Gauge which I still use till today.

He had no interest in firearms although he owned a few.

Regards,

Steve

 

[sscoyote]

Good stuff guys. Here's a pic and a story. Back in the early 90's i went up chuck shooting with my old buddy Ernie [XPhunter who hangs out here some]. I snapped this pic of him with his second custom XP-100, a "Youngblood-built" 284 Win. I got lucky and got the pic just right with Blanca Peak in the background. I had a subscription to Precision Shooting and was just starting to write a bit for Dave Brennan back then. I hung onto this pic for awhile before i decided to send it in. Just at that time though Dave had changed the covers from landscape to portrait and after a month or so he sent it back with a letter saying how much he wanted it, but couldn't anymore since he'd already made the change. Had i not sat on it for so long i'd have made 300$ and Ernie would've been "famous"--

 

[TonyR]

I have always enjoyed the Jim Corbett books such as Man-eaters of Kumeon. His hunts occured India just across the border from where a modern day version of the story is playing out in Nepal:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/03/world/asia/nepal-leopard-deaths/index.html?hpt=hp_t4

https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

If you zoom out a bit, you will see Nainital where he lived much of his life and Champawat where he killed one of his most famous man-eaters. Corbett believed that some of his man-eaters had wandered over from Nepal. Later in life, he only hunted known man-eaters.

After independence, India changed the names the British gave to most places but chose to name a National Park in the area after Corbett out of respect for the assistence he gave the local villagers in dealing with the man-eaters.

I have all of his stories and enjoy re-reading them from time to time. Double rifles and stalking man-eaters on the ground! Those were the good old days.

 

[cotntop]

We were raised up poor in eastern NC. Had only one bullet to try and get some deer meat. Walking down a path when I saw a nice buck step out and I took a shot. Saw blood on the road and knew the buck was down. Upon entering the woods I saw the buck running away so I chased him down and cut his throat. I started dragging the buck back to the road and found the deer I shot dead just off the path. Had to make that last round count.

 

[.260 james]

We were raised up poor in eastern NC. Had only one bullet to try and get some deer meat. Walking down a path when I saw a nice buck step out and I took a shot. Saw blood on the road and knew the buck was down. Upon entering the woods I saw the buck running away so I chased him down and cut his throat. I started dragging the buck back to the road and found the deer I shot dead just off the path. Had to make that last round count.

I believe this to be a Fictional Account of what really happened!!!!!!!!

 

[Calumet]

Not a personal experience, but very interesting. I guess in the old days you dressed for some of the photos with your trophys. The guns & vehicles they used in the photos that show them, danged sure remeniscent of the times.

Calumet


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UokZAsnZyWM