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Old December 22, 2005, 03:22 PM   #1
Doug.38PR
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Old school (elementary that is...literally) lost art tactics and training

This is....somewhat involved in tactics and training, but when was the last time you saw boys plaing "guns" or "army" or "cowboys and indians" outside in front yards, back yards and in the woods down the street?

In fact, I rarely see kids playing outside at all (riding bikes, baseball, guns or anything else) in my neighborhood.

I haven't seen any kids "play guns" since....since I was a kid probably around 10 or 12 years ago as a Freshman in High school. ......that is UNTIL yesterday. I (ahem) drove through some crossfire as my car went by a boy laying down in a ditch on the left side of the road with a submachine gun (toy of course ...at least I hope ) aiming at a group of trees on the other side of the road where about 4 other boys armed with uzzies and 1911 looking guns. Very refreshing to see.

When we were younger we always used to consider any physical object as cover. "I got you!" "Nu uhh, I got behind the bushs"
Be careful not to make these old boyhood practices in a real gunfight. Jumping behind bushes, wooden sheds, doors, sheetrock walls. Remember playing "raid" once with two other friends where two would charge into the third friend's (the bad guy) apartment (my bedroom) with guns ready as though we were cops. The third friend, on one point hid in the closet and hid behind a sheetrock corner of the closet and fired at us as we sprayed the wall and closet with toy 9mm and .38 spl and shotgun. The third friend maintained that he had survived and killed us. The other (his brother) simply said, "Okay right. Go got a real shotgun, real Berretta, real .38 and let's do that again. See if we don't kill you."

Anyway, Merry Christmas. Parents get your boys some toy guns for Christmas (snip off those ridiculous looking red things toy manufacterors are required to put on them) and get them away video games and get them outside so they can use all four limbs outside instead of their fingers and thumbs on control pad. And tell them to keep their thumb and indexamatic handguns (you know, the gun where you literally make a HAND GUN with your thumb and index finger and go "phssew!") concealed while in school or they might get in BIG trouble these days for being UnPC.
I remember I couldn't stop shooting my HAND GUN in the first grade and my teacher told me to put it in my pocket.....AND KEEP IT THERE. Meaning I had to keep my actual hand (gun) in my pocket for the rest of the day)
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Old December 22, 2005, 03:58 PM   #2
balzaK
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Would it really be safe to let some kids "pay guns" outside with their guns lacking the red tips?
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Old December 22, 2005, 04:00 PM   #3
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I am sure that LEO's are skilled enough in their profession to identify 5-10 Year olds and not open fire.
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Old December 22, 2005, 04:07 PM   #4
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This thread brings back memories and reminds me of such comments by other who had much more interesting and distinguished lives (I'm actually thinking of Admiral Byrd here) who described their own childhood wargames. I even had a neighbor who sometimes let the kids play with his Japanese rifle war trophy. Imagine that today.

Even more interesting is Elmer Keith's believe that kids should NOT play with toy guns, though I don't think he ever mentioned BB guns. He did, however, atually mention toy guns in one story he told.He was also against bowhunting.
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Old December 22, 2005, 04:25 PM   #5
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I was out in the yard yesterday playing army men with the boy (5) - and after we set up fort on a big dirt hill - the dog was the designated monster sent in to attack us - then I betrayed the Boy by mutating and being friends with the dog monster - and he said (It's on Now) LOL

So after he kicked my A$$ - we ate honey buns then it was time to sword fight these are the best years.

Merry Christmas all

~Urkslaven~
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Old December 22, 2005, 04:31 PM   #6
Doug.38PR
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Quote:
Would it really be safe to let some kids "pay guns" outside with their guns lacking the red tips?
We would do it all the time up as would other kids in America from 1609 up until I guess 5 years ago with no problems. So I wouls say, yes it would be safe.

In other words, don't pay any attention to PC, just have fun and enjoy life
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Old December 22, 2005, 04:42 PM   #7
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Ahhh yes,

Quote:
In other words, don't pay any attention to PC, just have fun and enjoy life
The meaning of true happiness....that & a warm gun
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Old December 22, 2005, 04:53 PM   #8
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Oh h##!ll yes! Your thread brings back memories. I have to admit, I was either terrorizing the neighborhood on my bigwheel, trying to strike out a buddy with a whiffle ball throw against a taped strike zone on a garage door, or planning a spectacular single man assault on a fortified position! It's a shame that it's so un PC now that people actually try to keep their kids from playing that way. It's also a shame that most kids in this generation won't know what a good western movie is all about. That makes me sad. Soon as my son is old enough I'm gonna sit him down and watch Silverado with him.

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Old December 22, 2005, 04:53 PM   #9
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Man, if the kids had what I had in my youth, they would be awed!

All steel 1911 cap gun, engraved even . And a real BP (not loaded of course) revolver. No red/orange/yellow/etc.. tip on them, no plastic.

And I have (or haven't that is) seen the same as Doug, no kids out and playing. It could be that with the molestations and murders of many children their parents won't let them out or it could be that they come home from school and hit the X-Box for the next 4 hours.

Urkslaven, that's cool. I bet you had as much (or more) fun then he did. Many parents won't (or don't) make time to play with their children when that is what they (both) need.

Wayne
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Old December 22, 2005, 05:04 PM   #10
Doug.38PR
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Quote:
It's a shame that it's so un PC now that people actually try to keep their kids from playing that way. It's also a shame that most kids in this generation won't know what a good western movie is all about. That makes me sad. Soon as my son is old enough I'm gonna sit him down and watch Silverado with him.
I'm 28 and grew up in the 1980s. I was probably the last kid in America to wear real metal toy cowboy cap guns (without those stupid red things on the tip), a hat, a vest, and a Texas Ranger star...and even had the broomstick red horse

Furthurmore, I grew up on old movies, King Kong (the original not the Jeff Bridges happylovetheapesgarbage), Gunga Din, all the John Wayne, James Stewart, Henry Fonda, et al Westerns and even Roy Rogers and his B Western friends movies.

Not that I missed out on the kids entertainment of the times (G.I. Joe, Transformers, Thundercats, etc.)

Within 30 minutes of my creating this thread, I was driving around running errands and saw about 2 or 3 groups of kids riding bikes outside. Christmas time kids I guess.

I guess kids are spraying and praying on Halo on XBox rather than spraying and praying imagination outside today.
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Old December 22, 2005, 05:14 PM   #11
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I spent a lot of Sundays in the 70's and 80's as a kid sitting and watching Westerns with my dad. James Stewart, John Wayne, all the oldies. He loved 'em. We'd watch for hours, then I'd break out the Red Ryder and go berserk in the backyard and beg for a run to the store to get more BB's after I ran out of ammo. I shot so much, I could judge distance and the drop of that BB, and hit anything, and I mean anything, within 40 yds if it was quarter sized or larger. I still have that gun, and I hope to pass the love of shooting on to my 3yr old son one day, PC be damned!
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Old December 22, 2005, 05:26 PM   #12
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Quote:
snip off those ridiculous looking red things toy manufacterors are required to put on them
Not to be a kill joy, I agree with the post, but check local laws first. This can be a felony in CA.
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Old December 23, 2005, 11:30 AM   #13
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Arsenal in toybox

I grew-up during the '50's when Westerns on TV were at their peak. For birthdays and Christmas I always asked for toy guns.

I remember sleeping with a Winchester lever action that came with a bandolier. I also remember a bolt-action rifle, many six-shooters, and a Colt Detective Special with shoulder holster. My favorite was a Thompson Sub-machine gun. The Indians never stood a chance against that.

Of course, I also had an air-rifle and a BB gun.

My friends and I acted-out every conflict we could think of: cowboys and indians, cops and robbers, WW II, Civil War.

We were ALWAYS outside playing. Computer games don't come close to the kind of fun we had.

Chuck
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Old December 23, 2005, 01:02 PM   #14
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I got my first cap gun when Dad noticed my 1917 was just too heavy for me to play shoot 'em ups with the other kids. This was in the late 40s and I was still a skinny kid. Now, I'm a skinny old man and still like to play with guns. The days of enjoying shoot 'em ups died, however, when I partook of my first one with live ammo.

My first "horse" was a Hawthorne dual frame bicycle. Has anyone here ever seen one, much les know what I'm talking about?

Pops
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