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Old September 28, 2012, 11:11 PM   #26
Sure Shot Mc Gee
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I fixed it for you,,,
Thanks aarondhgraham. I guess after having parents like we did. "It toughen us up some."
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Old September 29, 2012, 12:47 AM   #27
Water-Man
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Walked about thirty yards from the house into the woods.
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Old September 29, 2012, 01:07 AM   #28
4runnerman
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Where i grew up,we were 2 blocks from what was city limits. Once you crossed that street the guns came out. Now those city limits have been pushed about 20 miles in all directions.
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Old September 29, 2012, 02:48 AM   #29
Peptobismol9
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I'm 19. Only places for me to shoot are at an expensive range often packed full or morons 30 minutes one way, or an indoor one 35-40 minutes the other way. Aside from that, occasionally I get offered to shoot at 2 of my friends houses outside city limits. But It's not far enough outside city limits in my opinion. There are house everywhere. When we are in hunting clubs, we usually have a few weeks to shoot when deer season ends. Doesn't happen much though because it's equally far away and a lot of other people get the same idea. Except theirs usually involves firing down roads, shooting signs, and driving recklessly.
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Old September 29, 2012, 07:57 AM   #30
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Nearby woods and corn fields in Illinois.
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Old September 29, 2012, 09:13 AM   #31
Chuckusaret
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I grew up in Mississippi in the 1950's and shot in my back yard under the watchful eye of my father who was an avid shooter and hunter.
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Old September 29, 2012, 09:20 AM   #32
Mike Irwin
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We had a very nice Sportsmen's Club that was actually in town.

When it was founded in the 1920s it was originally it was outside the town limits and in a pretty secluded spot, but the town grew up around it.

It was within walking distance of my house, but unless you were carrying only a .22 and a few boxes of shells, it was easier to drive or bike.

I could also shoot at any number of friends houses "out the valley."

Until 2010, when his Mother died, my friend Dave and I would shoot on his family's farm. There was a little hollow that pitched down towards a stream with a fairly high hill on the back side of it and with nothing but open pasture all the way to the mountain about a half mile past that.

Unfortunately, the farm has been sold, and Dave and his family no longer come East, so other than the NRA range, I'm not really sure where I'm going to be shooting regularly from now on.
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Old September 29, 2012, 12:48 PM   #33
shortwave
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Traveled all over with dad when he shot competitively. Got the opportunity to shoot at a lot of places.
At home, we would go to the farm or to the abandoned strip mines in Southern Ohio where us kids mastered() the art of skipping 22's across the strip mine ponds at targets set on the other side. Also, we all belonged to the Columbus Muzzle Loading Assoc. and would shoot bp/shotguns at the club.

Man, though's were the days.
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Old September 29, 2012, 01:04 PM   #34
johnjohn
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When we were kids (late 50's) we went to a dump behind the local airport. Probably long cleaned up.
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Old September 29, 2012, 03:41 PM   #35
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When I was 8 or 9, just walked out the back door with a pocket full of .22 shorts and pretty much any direction after that. I wasn't able to see anybody else's house or barn from there. My aunt had similar rules to Uncle Kid's concerning her Winchester 62a although rattlesnakes and cidadas were always okay game.

Would somtimes be able to bring home a rabbit, dove, or quail.

Tramped around the countryside with friends as a teen and we'd go into the (very) small town for a "cold-drink" and shoot a game of pool with our .22 rifles leaning by the door.

Will
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Old September 29, 2012, 04:17 PM   #36
tekarra
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We lived one block from the edge of town and used to walk to a little used horse pasture a couple of miles down the road carrying our .22s or BB guns. As long as we shot away from the house and barn and not towards the road we were allowed to shoot all the gophers we wanted.
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Old September 30, 2012, 07:00 AM   #37
Husqvarna
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me and my mate were up to no good out at his farm and were recruited by his gramps to do some chores and were promised something fun when we were done.

Something fun was a brick of .22 for his rifle and a bag of .38 (or could have been something smaller) and his snubnose revolver without a cylinder, basically the gun he used to put down animals for slaughter

We posted up behind some bailes of hay and gramps used the tractor to lift the bailes at the other wall, swarms of rats came out. Shoot some, collect them and throw them on the manure pile outside. When we ran out of bullets we fetched the jackrussel terrier and he chased the few remaining rats and we hit them with shovels and pitchforks, in my memory it was hundreds but that is probably just nostalgia.

We also got to borrow his shotguns and used to ski around the fields and shot rabbits, spent a couple of nights "guarding the hen house".

We also pulled geese duty, they didn't have a labrador or something to fetch the downed birds so we did. those suckers have tough necks and can bite!

Often accompanied my dad to the range and us kids had our own small little area for .22, airguns and so on.

At some family friend we often went to dinner at we got to shot a small cannon, if I recall correctly we just butchered 12 g shells for the gun powder and the primer (which went on top) loaded with marbles and whatnot,
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Old September 30, 2012, 07:15 AM   #38
Sparks1957
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his snubnose revolver without a cylinder
How did that work? I'm curious.
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Old September 30, 2012, 09:24 AM   #39
Hawg
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The railroad tracks ran about 75 yards behind the house with nothing on the other side but woods. A half mile or so down the tracks was the city dump full of rats, bottles, cans and junked cars. Another half mile down the tracks was the rr trestle over the river. I'd go out and sit on the cross beams under the tracks and shoot sticks floating down stream or snakes. Sometimes I'd take a bag full of bottles and cans from the dump and throw them in or walk the river bank hunting water mocassins.
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Old September 30, 2012, 04:09 PM   #40
Conn. Trooper
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My grandfather would take my brother and I into an old strip mine area just outside of Carbondale, PA.

My Dad took up to a place in the Bronx. Indoors for handguns.
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Old September 30, 2012, 04:23 PM   #41
Skans
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Camp. Indoor gun range for pistols.
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Old September 30, 2012, 05:05 PM   #42
JWT
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Stepped out the back door and walked about 100 yards to the cow lane. From there on we could hunt and shoot.
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Old September 30, 2012, 07:41 PM   #43
egor20
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Same place I still do, the last 5 acres of land next to my neighbors corn field. My dad and grand dad set up a range there about 60 years ago, just for family and friends.
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Old September 30, 2012, 08:05 PM   #44
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I grew up in a large metropolitan area that was densely populated. We had to go"up north" to our family's property in northern Michigan to shoot rifles at cans and bottles, and shotguns at clay pigeons. A special treat would be trip to the area dump to pick off rats. Ahhh...good times.
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Old September 30, 2012, 08:33 PM   #45
Gary L. Griffiths
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I shot off the back porch of my house. Had a wooden fence at 25 yds, so could set targets on top of it, hill out to 100 yds before the nearest cornfield. Shot .22, .30 Carbine, .30-06, .45ACP. Used to light matches on the fence with my Nylon 66 w/ 4X scope.
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Old September 30, 2012, 10:01 PM   #46
KMAX
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I grew up out on a farm with the nearest neghbor about 1/3 mile away. Mostly, I just had to walk away from the house, but sometimes I would sit on the back doorstep and shoot birds out of the peach trees. Sometimes Mom and Dad would come and stand and watch. I used a bolt action Revelation 22 s,l,lr. 1969-1971 I had two main friends, Bob and Bobby. Bobbby usually had a single shot Remington, but later got a Winchester semi 22. Bob had a Nylon 66 and thought he was the best shot. Mostly he just fired the most ammo. We could traipse any direction for 3 miles across the neighbors pastures and nobody complained. If we found a cow or goat out of place we would either get them back where they belonged or tell the owner or anything else that didn't look right we would report. So the land owners kind of liked us roaming their land. General rule was don't mess up anything or get hurt. About 1971 they both moved so our "hunting" expeditions were less frequent. Then we got cars and got interested in girls and hunted even less frequently.


Oh yes, back in those days when I was twelve and thirteen, I could walk into any store in town and buy 22 or 12 guage ammo, no problem. AND we never shot anybody.
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Old October 1, 2012, 04:21 PM   #47
Peptobismol9
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Not that long ago, two family members, my uncle and nephew, had bought a single shot .410. They wanted me to show them how to shoot. They took my to a large clay quarry. I took my M91/30 and they were so impressed with it that they went and got one. The only reason he got away with shooting there is because he used to work there and everyone knew him. I wish I could go back. Sitting in the bottom of a massive crater seems like the safest place I ever shot. And there was an abundance of chunks or orange clay on the sides that make good targets.
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Old October 1, 2012, 04:42 PM   #48
aarondhgraham
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For a very short time,,,

For a very short time,,,
We lived out in the country in Indiana.

It was so nice to go on the back porch in the evening,,,
And shoot the walnut sized things off of the trees,,,
A brick of .22 shorts was less than $5.00 then,,,
With a single-shot that was a month of fun.

Things really changed when we moved back to Ok City,,,
We weren't on the outskirts of civilization any more.

It was a 6 mile bicycle ride to another dump you could shoot at,,,
A policeman stopped me with my rifle slung on my back,,,
He put my bike in the trunk and drove me home,,,
My dad almost got arrested cussing the cop out.

After that the only time I could shoot was when I could talk someone into driving me to that old south-side dump.

I was so happy when they sold that place,,,
We moved back to our original house.

BTW, I'm really enjoying reading your experiences.

Aarond

.
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Old October 1, 2012, 04:55 PM   #49
langenc
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Can you imagine the actions noted in post #1 happening today?? WOW...

When I was about 6th grade, very early 50s, I somehow came intoan old bolt action, probably 30 cal. Wish I had it today. It was rusted etc etc... I carried that up and down the road, we lived 'in the country'. Finally one day I was hanging out at the barbershop and some fish cop[ had to check us (me and the gun) out.

We shot (not the 30 cal) around the fields (truck gardens). Best pheasant/rabbit hunting around. Then in the late 50s, I75 went thru and screwed everything up. This was the N side of Toledo, 3 mi S of the MI state line.
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Old October 1, 2012, 07:21 PM   #50
frankgh
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Early 80's in SW Florida. I was 15-16 and would sling my Smith Corona 03-A3 across my back, get on my motorcycle and ride out near the county dump towards Myakka Park. My buddy and I would hunt Armadillo. I never really thought that a 30-06 was to much gun for armadillo. We would kill, clean, cook and have a little snack all in one spot. One day we came across the local dealers weed farm out in that palmetto scrub. We decided it would be best to leave the area and not come back...

The dump has been filled and is now a park and the entire area surrounding it has been subdivided and developed.
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