You know you're too young when you read these ads:

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4V50 Gary

Staff
Virginia, the wife of the late editor of Guns Magazine, William Edwards, gave me his scrapbooks of magazine articles that he kept. Here's some mouth watering ads:

From page 52 of Sept. 1962's Guns Magazine is the M-84 Sniper Scope

U.S. Sniper Scopes
Shooters--Collectors here's a top quality orig. G. I. SNIPER SCOPE for sptg. or military rifles. 2 1/2 X coated optics, 5 1/2" eye relief post & cross hairs. hydrogen filled. 7/8" tube. $18.50 ppd.

SANTA ANA GUNROOM
P.O. Box 1777, Santa Ana, Calif.
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August 1960 Guns Magazine

Potomac Arms Co. P.O. Box 35 - 200 S. Strand St. Alexandria 2, VA

Genuine Remington Rolling Block, Cal. 11 mm

The perfect shooter and den decorator. Complete as shown. All have been reconditioned to look almost new. Limited Supply Only $14.95

11MM Ammo. Misfires to be expected
Loose, per 100 rounds $6.00
Boxed, per 100 rounds $7.50
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From the same ad:
Last of the Dewats
Chauchat. Good $19.95
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From Feb. 1960 Guns Magazine

RARE! GUN BARGAINS

.22 L.R. SHORT LEE ENFIELD (S.M.L.E.)

The Bisley Marksman Favorite. Only a small quantity originally manufactured in the popular .22 caliber for military training and competition. A counterpart of its bigger military brothers the 30-06, '03 Springfield and 303 S.M.L.E. Complete your ENFIELD collection with this rarest of all Enfields. (V.G. to excel.) Only $24.50. 2 for $45.00 3 for $60. 5 for $87.50

International Firearms Co.
22 Kingman, St. Albans, Vermont
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Also from the Feb. 1960 issue of Guns Magazine is something all sniper enthusiasts would love today:

BRAND NEW ZF-41 SCOPES
  • Long eye relief
  • Light weight
  • Internal Adjustments - 2 1/2X
  • Fine German Craftsmanship
  • compact and Rugged
ZF-41 Sniper Scope Complete with Standard Mounts.... $19.95 ea.
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Of course, dollars were worth a lot more back then than it is today. :rolleyes:
 
Old age - when I was a kid, living in Brooklyn, NY - the local Macy's had a sporting goods section selling racks of surplus Springfields, Mausers, Enfields, M-1 carbines and Garands.

Today - in NYC - you wouldn't see such and Macy's is just a clothing store. Just like Abercrombie and Fitch is :barf: as compared to its past.
 
You should see my Sears 1908 catalog. It's pretty wild to see some of the stuff and the prices from a 100 plus years ago.
 
Old age - when I was a kid, living in Brooklyn, NY - the local Macy's had a sporting goods section selling racks of surplus Springfields, Mausers, Enfields, M-1 carbines and Garands.
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I can remember my dad telling me how, back in brooklyn in the late 40s, who he used to buy surplus rifles and decosmoline them in the back yard...her would ride the bus home with his aquired prizes :)

I remember Bannermans and Navy Arms. I remember laying on the grass on hot summer days reading NRA magazine ads for cut down S&W Victories....

WildirememberthemetsatthepologroundsAlaska ™©2002-2011
 
Old age - when I was a kid, living in Brooklyn, NY - the local Macy's had a sporting goods section selling racks of surplus Springfields, Mausers, Enfields, M-1 carbines and Garands.

Today - in NYC - you wouldn't see such and Macy's is just a clothing store. Just like Abercrombie and Fitch is as compared to its past.
Click to expand...

I didn't know Macy's sold guns. I knew about Abercrombie and Fitch and they had two or three gunsmiths in their store in San Francisco. Before they became a fashion clothes merchant, Eddie Bauer used to sell guns too.
 
I miss getting the old, over-hyped Herter's catalogs. Their exaggerated descriptions always made for interesting reading and most of the stuff I ordered through them was of decent quality-and at bargain prices.
 
Atleast Eddie Baur still makes *decent* clothes...even if the Lady Friend refers to them as my "old man" store.

Our Ace Hardware sold guns for awhile...now they are relegated to a limited amount of ammo
 
I remember when T.G. & Y., 5&10 store, sold firearms. It was always one of the first things that we, youngsters, would go and look at and it was right next to the model kits.
 
Perspective.

The federal minimum wage increased from $1.00 to $1.15 on October 15, 1962.

Prior to 1962, state minimum wage rates varied from industry to industry.
 
There was a mail order company called Alden's,,,

They had page after page of mil-surp rifles,,,
You could even order a French 20mm anti-aircraft gun for your yard.

I ordered a .303 British for 14.95,,,
It came in the mail direct to my front door.

Aarond
 
i remember shopping at k-mart in the mid to late 60's. they used to have a couple of barrels of mil-surp guns in the sporting goods dept. these guns were standing up in barrels like you might see a display of brooms or fishing poles. they were out in the open for anyone to handle placed near the check out stand. i'm not sure of all the prices but it seems they usually sold from 19.99 to 39.99 at the time.
 
An online inflation calculator says that 22 short Lee Enfield for $24.50 would be like $175 in today's money.

What would that gun actually sell for today?
 
As another who grew up in Brooklyn, I remember the Sear having guns, and going with my dad into John Jovino's so he could get his NYPD discount. There was also Triangle Army-Navy surplus store where everything available from WWII was in stock
 
The thing that was NOT available in the late 50s-did start on into the 60s-is CAMO clothing. Now available in 16 different patterns-scent blocking or not.

I bought a dozen suits, 2 piece, from a maker in FL, in 1959 or so. I sold em to archery club members for $6 for jacket or pant. I nade about $2 on each piece.

Cabalas now sells several million $$/fall, of camo, plus all the other supopliers.
 
Ah yes also another Brooklynite. The times where the Army and Navy store actually sold genuine military surplus items. The 5 & dime soda fountain. A simpler way of life (even in the big city)
 
Remembering the old days huh? I remember buying a 6.5 Manlicher Carcano at Koufmans Army/Navy on 42nd street... Took it home to the bronx on the subway... no one gave it a second glance.

Speaking of Triangle ... Isnt that where some mopes tried to rob the store, and ended up killing a NY Cop. A several day long hostage stand off.
 
heres my question to those of you who were around back then - when these guns were $15-30 and the like back then...was it actually cheap? or was it the same as paying $700 - $1500 for an average rifle now?
 
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