Farmers, guns, and the "old days"

[JenellYB]

I got to remembering when I was a little kid (I'm 63 now) we had relatives that were farmers and ranchers, real ones, not us little homestead folk, but also not rich fine fancy farms and ranches, pretty 'hardscrabble' kinds of operations. But good sized, anyway. Some out in south Texas and the Texas hill country, some up in oklahoma and arkansas....
But what I remember is how the men checked their guns over after breakfast, over coffee, before heading out with gun in hand, to whatever work they were going to do that day. Whether close aorund the house or way out, always, they toted that gun with them. I think usually a shot-gun maybe some 22's. Working around the place, that gun would always be laying or leaning somewhere nearby, handy. Evenings, the gun got dusted off, put up on a high shelf or top of a tall cabinet, ready for next morning. Lots of wives whose men were off in the fields, having chickens to watch over near the house and stuff, usually had another gun standing somewhere near the back door or on the backporch.

Ie, when they saw a predator, they were READY.

Got to thinking how most people, me too, have got about guns around a country place. In a closet somewhere, maybe on the top of akitchen cabinet...but we go outside and work around the place, and if we happen to spot a predator, then what? A silly scramble inside to find a key and unlock a closet and get the gun and run back out after whatever it was is long gone?

I don't know, do that today, you might have neighbors calling ATF and the FBI out on you, but seems a lot of posts here are about somebody spotting a predator and having to go get the gun and of course the predators gone by the time they get back...

 

[duckinnut]

You are a few years older than me but I get your point. Guns are demonized in the press today and by he liberal left. I live in one of the toughest states for that but stay true to my redneck up bringing. This state if your gun gets stolen and the person who steals it commits a crime you go to jail. I keep a gun in the safe loaded ready to go and one click to get it open. I live in a rural suburban town and would not think twice about killing a predator on my property. DENY,DENY,DENY.

 

[JenellYB]

I'm a very definite left-leaning Democrat.

And I don't demonize guns.

And I don't think someone should go to jail because whomever stole their gun committed a crime...UNLESS you were careless and negligent and let some child get to your gun.

I do not keep a gun in my home now because I am a supplemental care-giver for children under foster care, and firearms are prohibited by CPS and court regulations for that.

I'm a pretty redneck country girl myself. Not all conservative are rednecks and not all rednecks are conservatives.

Try not to assume silly sterotypes of me, and I'll try real real hard not to tell you what I think of conservative Republicans right now.

You are a few years older than me but I get your point. Guns are demonized in the press today and by he liberal left. I live in one of the toughest states for that but stay true to my redneck up bringing. This state if your gun gets stolen and the person who steals it commits a crime you go to jail. I keep a gun in the safe loaded ready to go and one click to get it open. I live in a rural suburban town and would not think twice about killing a predator on my property. DENY,DENY,DENY.

 

[JenellYB]

Btw, it is my understanding the the registered gun owner is accountable in any way for what is done with a stolen gun only if he/she has failed to report it stolen. Makes sense ot me...to prevent....go commit a crime, throw the gun away, when it's found and traced back to you, just say oh, it was stolen months ago! If one's gun is stolen, can't see any good reason for not reporting it.

 

[ivan3]

JenellYB wrote: Got to thinking how most people, me too, have got about guns around a country place. In a closet somewhere, maybe on the top of akitchen cabinet...but we go outside and work around the place, and if we happen to spot a predator, then what? A silly scramble inside to find a key and unlock a closet and get the gun and run back out after whatever it was is long gone? I don't know, do that today, you might have neighbors calling ATF and the FBI out on you, but seems a lot of posts here are about somebody spotting a predator and having to go get the gun and of course the predators gone by the time they get back...

Au contraire mon ami.

Wouldn't leave the house without one. The `old days'. Like when my mother's family was living through the Great Depression in rural TN? Nothing much to shoot, that hadn't already been shot, i.e., all potential preds had already been served up on the dinner table. Only chicken preds remaining were hawks (I won't go there so as not to fluster those of delicate sensibilities), thieving neighbors (not more than once) and other folks' dogs (lot of flat sheets of scaly limestone in the area to use as dead falls - why waste bullets?). Used to be a yearly ritual, around here, when the locals who breed sheep and goats would get together and burn out Red Fox dens. This was suppressed by those who cannot be named in this forum. Result? My neighbors and I get to harvest the excess and take care of the local dens ourselves. Maybe everyone needs to get considerably more hungry... (can the coons and opossums and sell the jars as `boutique meat product'...).

 

[Bullitt]

Is that a .22-caliber Remington Nylon 66 leaning against that stump?

By the way, what breed of turkeys are those?

 

[ivan3]

Bullitt wrote: Is that a .22-caliber Remington Nylon 66 leaning against that stump?

By the way, what breed of turkeys are those?

Good eye. Yep, a very well used Nylon (bought it in `82). Still handy, but I finally found a light weight replacement (not as light as the R66) synthetic Ruger semi.22 to use as the primary varmint harvester.

A Royal Palm and a pair of Slates (from Cackle Hatchery breeders).

 

[jeepguy982001]

i always carry a gun. I do have the proper concealed carry and such but i'd rather have it and not need it then need it and not have it. And i was taught in basic its better to be judged by 12 then carried by 6.

 

[bnjrob]

That's one thing about TX though, even though firearms aren't as big a part of everyone's everday life like they used to be, you can still carry them here and people don't think as much about it. Back in the 70s and even the 80s, you still saw lots of pickups with loaded gunracks in the window. We do have some pretty decent "castle" laws that allow Texans to shoot human predators on their property (which extends to vehicles as well) if life is threatened.

Hubby and I have wanted to get our concealed carry permits but it will cost quite a bit to get decent sidearms and I have had other places I needed that cash to go. May have to go ahead and spend the money on a shotgun though. We are expecting our first chicks in a month and unfortunately we have coyotes that are not afraid of our large dogs - even while our dogs are snarling and trying to break down the fence to get to the coyotes. I am not running a coyote restaurant!

 

[7L Farm]

Well, Times have changed but I'm always packing a gun just not like the old days. Back in the day guns were carried on the back of horses, here's my horse a golf cart.