Scared, ... Spitless!

[bluealtered]

We had just moved to a new town and as a little boy i was going crazy wanting to get out and look around and see what was there. We only lived a couple of blocks from the main street and when i got the chance to go look in all the store windows i was off and looking.

Like most main street stores the buildings were so close together that you went from one store window to the next one with maybe only a two brick break in between. Like most small kids i looked at every single thing on each display leaving nose prints on the glass as i went. This went on for a couple of blocks and as i moved on from the western auto store display to the next stores display i looked up and there was a twelve foot tall polar bear staring down at me with it's paws reaching for me and a giant snarl on it's lips!!!

It scared me so bad that i jumped back bumping into a person walking down the street who kept me from falling and then laughed when he saw what i was looking at. The store was a sporting goods store and the polar bear, who was the biggest thing i had ever seen was the store owners trophy.

I stood there looking at it scared to death for a few minutes then walked home and changed my pants.

 

[Geronimo Jim]

Great story. Thanks for sharing. I walked into a gun store in South Dakota once and had
the same feeling.

 

[Mike Casselton]

Great story. Thanks for sharing. I walked into a gun store in South Dakota once and had
the same feeling.

Sounds like the big bear in the entrance to First Stop Guns right on Main Street in Rapid City

 

[Geronimo Jim]

That's it Mike.

 

[jds holler]

I was fortunate to have a barber during my childhood who was an avid hunter, shooter, angler, -- shop full of outdoor mags -- great place to hang when I was in town.

He also had some pretty nice mounted critters in the shop window, and one was a pretty fierce and impressive badger mount.

One day, I was in the chair, and a lady popped her head in the door saying, "I just love your badger mount. Where did you get him?".

My barber Ron, looked her in the eye and said, "Right in the ass."

I learned that that wasn't the first or last time he'd used that line. jd

 

[IdahoSharpshooter]

Goodmans for Guns in downtown St Louis was like that. Walk in, take three steps, and turn 90-degrees left or right. Left, Monster Polar Bear. Right, biggest Brown Bear I have ever seen. Both were Top Ten in the record book at the time. Two brothers, they rotated between running the store, and hunting all over the world. They had a rack with over 40 1886 Winchesters in it.

thanks for tickling my memory...

Rich

 

[perry42]

The two or three biggest upright bears I've seen were in the museum in Cody WY. This museum is a must see for anyone interested in firearms and firearm history. One omg after another, bring a good camera.

perry42

 

[ClassCat]

Nailed a 58 pound Stripped Bass , and sent her to the taxidermist. Got her back one day and the Wife said what do you think you're gonna do with that ? I said it's going over the fireplace. She said you have a better chance of MOUNTING ME ! HMMMM

 

[akajiggs]

When you go to the museum in Cody,you better have 5 days to kill.It will take about that long to cover it all.Wish I lived back in the 1800's.
Jim

 

[bigfish28]

The local gun shop had a moose head. Some young, around 10, guys were admiring it. A young store clerk told the remainder of the moose was on the other side of the wall. The kids went tearing out of the shop. A couple minutes later the clerk looked outside to see the kids giving him the finger.

 

[msinc]

That happened to me once in El Salvador...it was a hooker that scared me, but I got over it.

 

[Martin52]

Never forgot the first time I saw the polar bear in Ole's Big Game bar, Nebraska.