Who here remembers......

JoeRinMD · Mar 10, 2021

The NRA at 16th St and Rhode Island Ave NW

walt54th said:
I used to park a few blocks away and walk over with my cased Mossberg .22 and shoot until closing time. No one batted eye. How about Memco Stores (or was it Gemco?). Bought a BP 1860 Colt there (early ‘70’s) for $40 and they had racks of Moisin Nagants for the same price. Heck, I took 2 semesters of rifle in college. And mass shootings were rare. It’s not the access to hardware, which has been increasingly restricted over the years. More restrictions won’t make people respect each other and choose to avoid conflict to solve differences but I’m afraid that’s where we are headed.

I was raised in PG County, less than about 300 yds from Southern Avenue, near Naylor Rd. I used to beg my father to drive me down to the old NRA Headquarters bldg at 16th and RI to visit the National Firearms Museum in the basement. It was huge, just one glass display case after another with no one around. For me, it seemed like a trip to Gun Nivranna! For him, it was just a way to shut me up for a few days.

Both Memco and GEM operated in the DC area, but I think GEM started earler, and went out of business earlier than Memco. My father bought my first gun, a Spanish '93 Mauser, at the Memco in Clinton as a Christmas present.

JoeR

Rockzilla · Mar 10, 2021

I remember Shipley's in Frederick forgot all about them
Whitehall Guns off of Rt40 heading to Hagerstown
There Was a Bow Shop mainly just out side Waynesboro Pa. had
Colt's and Smith's cases full. Then Raplh Brown Trading Post
in Jefferson. Maryland Gun Exchange on Rt 40, Richard Poole
(Dick) built me some rifles way back then.

-Rock

bargains9311 · Mar 11, 2021

Remembering

Yes, Hechigers in Adelphi, Md, rolling out racks of Brit Enfields on Saturdays , choice 14.95, and talking my ever patient Father into letting me spend my grass cutting money on "just one more, please, please"!

jt2100r · Mar 11, 2021

I bought my first rifle Winchester (64A)at Super Giant in Lanham.

IronDuck · Mar 11, 2021

In the 70's my father had a general store in Pa, he sold everything including bullets, he had shelves of them, boxes of black powder, and black powder supplies.
Locals could/would bring their guns in and put them on a rack he provided in one area of the store. There was a small box of cut string, slips of paper and a few pencils. They would write there name, phone number, gun type, caliber and price on one piece and the price on the other, use the string to hang the price only on the barrel and give the other to my dad. He didn't charge anything for it, said if he could help someone out and maybe sell some bullets, and a sling, a new scope, it worked for him. If he knew the potential buyer and seller, he aloud them to take the gun out back and fire a few rounds across the field. I still have a Remington 20 gauge pump, he received in a promotion, for placing a large order of EverReady batteries.

Huck Hound · Mar 12, 2021

bargains9311 said:
Yes, Hechigers in Adelphi, Md, rolling out racks of Brit Enfields on Saturdays , choice 14.95, and talking my ever patient Father into letting me spend my grass cutting money on "just one more, please, please"!

I remember the Hechingers in Adelphi/Langley Park, also remember the one on upper Ga. Ave. in DC. They always smelled like fresh cut wood and Mulch when you walked in the door.;

Huck Hound · Mar 12, 2021

walt54th said:
I used to park a few blocks away and walk over with my cased Mossberg .22 and shoot until closing time. No one batted eye. How about Memco Stores (or was it Gemco?). Bought a BP 1860 Colt there (early ‘70’s) for $40 and they had racks of Moisin Nagants for the same price. Heck, I took 2 semesters of rifle in college. And mass shootings were rare. It’s not the access to hardware, which has been increasingly restricted over the years. More restrictions won’t make people respect each other and choose to avoid conflict to solve differences but I’m afraid that’s where we are headed.

In the early/mid 70s I was a member of the Jr NRA. My mother drove me down there to sign up. :party29:

Huck Hound · Mar 12, 2021

jt2100r said:
I bought my first rifle Winchester (64A)at Super Giant in Lanham.

I forgot all about that store. That was near Capital Plaza if I remember correctly.

Pinecone · Mar 13, 2021

Very strange. I was in MD through the 70s and 80s and don't ever recall seeing firearms for sale at many of the stores mentioned.

Maybe MoCo stores were different.

I do remember K-Mart selling firearms, including handguns, and ammo.

But not Hechingers or many of the others.

Huck Hound · Mar 13, 2021

Pinecone said:
Very strange. I was in MD through the 70s and 80s and don't ever recall seeing firearms for sale at many of the stores mentioned.

Maybe MoCo stores were different.

I do remember K-Mart selling firearms, including handguns, and ammo.

But not Hechingers or many of the others.

I remember Hechingers even in the 60s and never knew they sold guns. I think the poster is referring to a one time thing to just unload some surplus stuff they got a hold of. As far as other stores in Md. selling they were all over the place.

Mightydog · Mar 13, 2021

Rockzilla said:
I remember Shipley's in Frederick forgot all about them
Whitehall Guns off of Rt40 heading to Hagerstown
There Was a Bow Shop mainly just out side Waynesboro Pa. had
Colt's and Smith's cases full. Then Raplh Brown Trading Post
in Jefferson. Maryland Gun Exchange on Rt 40, Richard Poole
(Dick) built me some rifles way back then.

-Rock

Shipley’s is still around. Down the side of the strip mall next to Frederick Ford. I remember when they were in a storefront next to where Ollie’s is. Bought my original Directv receiver from them. Now it seems all they are doing is tv repair.

jmiller320 · Mar 13, 2021

Herter's Catalog sold hand guns mail order. Their catalog was about an inch thick. Kind of like the ols Sears Christmas catalog for the sportsmen. Woolworth's in the Harford Mall had barrels of old military bolt action rifles and my father wouldn't let us get one because they were full of cosmoline and he called them junk. Mauser's, Enfield's, Mosins. He was right, but for a 12 year old they would have been great to play army with. The Montgomery Wards in the Mall even sold handguns, but their prices were high.

303_enfield · Mar 13, 2021

HS had a rifle team an I rode the #19 an #44 Baltimore MTA bus to school with my rifle. In a case at the time.

Blacksmith101 · Mar 14, 2021

Huck Hound said:
I remember Hechingers even in the 60s and never knew they sold guns. I think the poster is referring to a one time thing to just unload some surplus stuff they got a hold of. As far as other stores in Md. selling they were all over the place.

Hechingers was anti gun and supported the gun grabbers which is why I stopped shopping there.
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...rman-of-washingtons-first-council-dies.60198/

Pinecone · Mar 14, 2021

Blacksmith101 said:
Hechingers was anti gun and supported the gun grabbers which is why I stopped shopping there.
https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...rman-of-washingtons-first-council-dies.60198/

In the 90s, we would only shop at Hechinger's for gun related projects.

Reloading benches, target stands, etc.

semiinc · Mar 14, 2021

Those days are long gone but much easier.

Tomcat · Mar 14, 2021

Bought a Ruger Single Six convertible from a Western Auto near Harrisburg PA in 1972. Still have it in the original box including the hang tag, I paid $89 for it. They're going for around $600 now :shrug:

Had a rifle range in our High School in Pittsburgh in the 60's.
Used to drive on the Navy base in the 70's with a shotgun and rifle in my Easy Rider rifle rack.

Huck Hound · Mar 14, 2021

hitwtom said:
Bought a Ruger Single Six convertible from a Western Auto near Harrisburg PA in 1972. Still have it in the original box including the hang tag, I paid $89 for it. They're going for around $600 now
Had a rifle range in our High School in Pittsburgh in the 60's.
Used to drive on the Navy base in the 70's with a shotgun and rifle in my Easy Rider rifle rack.

I had a Ruger Single Six Bisley in 32 Cal. Absolute beautiful western style gun. I sold it a few years ago because the ammo was almost impossible to get. Is your a .32?

Tomcat · Mar 15, 2021

Huck Hound said:
I had a Ruger Single Six Bisley in 32 Cal. Absolute beautiful western style gun. I sold it a few years ago because the ammo was almost impossible to get. Is your a .32?

22 with a 22mag cylinder also

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