A Dinosaur at the Range Today

[BlackAgnes]

I never anticipated the curiosity and befuddlement I experienced at the range today.

The other shooters present had apparently never seen or even HEARD OF the guns I was shooting!

I mean, who doesn't know what an M2 Springfield .22 is?

Or a Winchester 52C?

Even the pretty mundane Winchester 61 pump gun drew confused glances!

And the handguns!

"Well, son, this is a Colt Officer's Model Target, a .22 revolver, and yes, it will hit the bull at 50 yards if I can see that far!"

"That? Just a garden variety Walther Olympia, made in 1936. Shoots pretty well, too!"

"Oh, that's my favorite! It's a Smith & Wesson Combat Masterpiece--one of the first .22s, made in 1950. The grips? Um, they're Ropers, like the ones on the Officer's Model Target I showed you. Yes, they are quite nice. Thanks!"

"This big one here? It's a .44. No, not a Magnum. It's a .44 Special, made back in the fifties. The nineteen fifties! You, know, when Truman was President? Truman! Harry S!

"So, tell me, son--do your guns come in any colors besides black? No? Pity."

 

[Roadtrash]

Yep, there's a lot of us dinosaurs out here and like the original dinos we're a dying breed sorry to say.

 

[GatorFarmer]

For even more fun, get a gun where you pour in "yay" much powder and then hammer down a bullet on top of it.

 

[walnutred]

Know what you mean. A couple months back my son and I went to a fund raiser shoot at a club an hour or so away. They only had a 100 yd range with metal gongs the size of a shoe box lid. We watched as an assortment of scoped AR variants were unpacked then we unpacked a Garand and a couple Mosins. I was actually asked if rifles that old were safe to shoot and did we really expect to hit a target that far away without a scope. I though they were good naturedly pulling my leg until I saw the sincere look on their faces.

 

[DWalt]

At one time or another, I have owned all of the guns mentioned in the initial posting. My most recent similar experience involved a young engineer who was in town on a temporary assignment, and showed up at the range while I was there. Of course, he had some kind of plastic autopistol. That day, I had with me a Colt OP in .32-20, one of the nicest revolvers I presently own. Not only had he never heard of an OP, but he also had never heard of the .32-20 cartridge. I let him shoot 20 or 30 rounds through it, and he thought it was great fun.

 

[CAJUNLAWYER]

Know what you mean. A couple months back my son and I went to a fund raiser shoot at a club an hour or so away. They only had a 100 yd range with metal gongs the size of a shoe box lid. We watched an an assortment of scoped AR variants were unpacked then we unpacked a Garand and a couple Mosins. I was actually asked if rifles that old were safe to shoot and did we really expect to hit a target that far away without a scope. I though they were good naturedly pulling my leg until I saw the sincere look on their faces.

That happened to me with my kit gun. There was a gong at 100 yards and the first cylinder was used to walk it up to the gong. After that it was fairly easy to hit it with subsequent rounds as it was a very calm day. It was a pretty nice sized gong too! After two cylinders with no miss-I called it a day with the .22-didn't want to push my luck

 

[Chuck24]

The dinosaur at the range is usually me.

 

[sheepdawg]

This is what's going to the range with me Saturday, a 1937 J.P. Sauer & Sohn K98k German Mauser. It always gets the "Black Plastic Boys" attention.

 

[STCM(SW)]

The dinosaur at the range is usually me.

Same here........

 

[BC38]

Same here........

LOL! Exactly what I was thinking...

 

[RSBH44]

Yep, there's a lot of us dinosaurs out here and like the original dinos we're a dying breed sorry to say.

Not if you've raised your little dinos to love the old school firearms. My son and two daughters all love to and prefer shooting my revolvers in various calibers. As do their many friends that I taught to shoot. As a matter of fact most ( not all) of my friends raised their kids the same way. Have faith, There may not be as many of us but we aren't dying off just yet !!

 

[mauser9]

This is what's going to the range with me Saturday, a 1937 J.P. Sauer & Sohn K98k German Mauser. It always gets the "Black Plastic Boys" attention.

Simply awesome sheepdawg!! No Black Rifle there!! Got fathers 1940 243 code and it is an all matcher. Is your stock a laminate? I know they used walnut for a while but switched to the laminates. Prices on these 98ks keep going up. Thanks for showing.

 

[Grayfox]

Another dino here.
About a year ago I won an auction for a nice 696. I was at my LGS waiting for NICS to clear and take it home. Another guy, probably mid-30s, was also waiting for NICS on his new piece of plastic. He saw the 696 sitting on the counter and asked to take a look. I told him to go right ahead. He looked it over like it was something completely foreign to him and then asked what caliber is this? I told him its a .44 Special. he replied "44 SPECIAL? I never heard of that one."

 

[nutsforsmiths]

I have gotten a few lookers when I shoot my Mauser Broomhandle, which is not very often.

Same when I shoot a Luger. But the last time was when I took an H&R Sportsman to the range and even one of the employees was shocked to see it. A top break 22? What a great idea!

Of course, people are always interested when I shoot the 4" barrel 22 Jet Model 53. Not that it looks odd or anything, but it is very loud and leaves very small holes in the paper. One person in the booth next to me thought I was shooting a .357, but was stumped by the size of the holes. I let him shoot a few reloads and he had a great time.

Like RSBH44 said, if you raise little ones on these old school firearms I think they will come to like them more than the current ones. I know my son currently enjoys shooting my 1959 Model 27 and a 1936 Winchester Model 63. The Winchester was my dads and it is what I started on as well. It's nice to now have 3 generations learn to shoot with the same rifle.

 

[sheepdawg]

Simply awesome sheepdawg!! No Black Rifle there!! Got fathers 1940 243 code and it is an all matcher. Is your stock a laminate? I know they used walnut for a while but switched to the laminates. Prices on these 98ks keep going up. Thanks for showing.

Walnut indeed. It's a rare 37 K98k with a laminate stock. 1938 is where the laminates really started to be seen.

 

[BaldEagle1313]

Another dino here.
About a year ago I won an auction for a nice 696. I was at my LGS waiting for NICS to clear and take it home. Another guy, probably mid-30s, was also waiting for NICS on his new piece of plastic. He saw the 696 sitting on the counter and asked to take a look. I told him to go right ahead. He looked it over like it was something completely foreign to him and then asked what caliber is this? I told him its a .44 Special. he replied "44 SPECIAL? I never heard of that one."

I have a feeling that scenario has played out in some variation or another for many of us that frequent this forum. I know it has for me - two or three years ago I was picking up a 24-3 3" and the kid who was looking at a G***k at the next counter looked over and said "what's that?" Told him. He thought it looked nice but that it wasn't for him. Oh well, his loss. From a strictly mercenary point of view, let's see what his plastic-fantastic is worth 5 years from now and we'll compare...

 

[Arik]

I have a feeling that scenario has played out in some variation or another for many of us that frequent this forum. I know it has for me - two or three years ago I was picking up a 24-3 3" and the kid who was looking at a G***k at the next counter looked over and said "what's that?" Told him. He thought it looked nice but that it wasn't for him. Oh well, his loss. From a strictly mercenary point of view, let's see what his plastic-fantastic is worth 5 years from now and we'll compare...

Depends on how you view firearms

 

[Frizzman]

When I go to the indoor public range, I rarely see anyone shooting a double action revolver. When I do, its usually a small frame. I haven't seen anyone shooting something like my M28 or 19 or M58, etc...On the rare occasion that I see someone with a larger DA revolver, they usually shoot it single action...I'm over sixty so I guess I am a dinosaur myself.

 

[Tracer_Bullet]

Tracersaurus checking in... always amazed that I seem to be the only one not shooting an AR of some kind on the range. Fun to fire a round or two of .30-06 from the Garand or M1917 and see all the faces peering around the backs of the dividers and hearing "holy -expletive- what was that!?!" Also love my revolvers, both SA and DA

 

[Shorty 45 MK2]

While I guess I qualify as a little dino I have had one or two puzzled looks at ranges with my wheel guns, lever action and all metal pistols.

The most recent was at a indoor range and the loud boom of the warmer .45 Colt rounds I was shooting got the attention of a 20 something two bays down. He came over when I was getting some ammo out of my range bag and asked what I was shooting, showed him the Blackhawk and thought it was neat as "You don't see many cowboy guns." and asked what it was chambered in. He never had heard of the .45 Colt!!! Think I might have won him over after letting him shoot it.