What did your grandparents pack for personal protection in the Golden Era?

[Lincsong]

Well, my Dad's father was a prize fighter in the teens so his bare hands were protection enough.lol I remember one time I was staying with my Uncle in Pearl City, HI and we went to one of his friends house and the old guy tells me; "boy kid, your grandfather was one hell of boxer inside and outside of the ring. With him it was hit first and don't bother about asking questions."lol

My Mom's dad always kept a tire iron on the side of the cars drivers seat.

When I got my drivers license at age 16 my Dad cut four 2x2 pieces of wood to put each corner of the pick-up bed and told me if someone jumps you reach over the side of the truck and grab the stick.lol

 

[carebear]

Anyway, I have no clue who got that old Colt, but it's supposedly still in the possession of one of the distant cousins in the family. I'm also not sure why the big old Colts were the popular gun of my area, but they sure were, and I've heard more stories of the old union strikes and rough labor times of the 30's where everyone had one in their coat or back overall pocket!

Regards! Michaelson

Cold crime scene... lol

If I remember my Skeeter Skelton and Bill Jordan correctly, the big revolvers allowed you to "persuade" those you didn't want to shoot. Who needs a baton when you've got a Connecticut billy club.

 

[Tmac]

My maternal grandfather carried a Colt 1908 Vest Pocket .25 or his H&R Premier .32 for daily carry. A Remington Rand 1911-A1 for home protection and a S&W 3rd Model Hand Ejector .44 Spl in the field. He also brought the S&W with him when he was sent to Japan and Korea after the war for occupation duty.
My father carrier a S&W Model 1905 Hand Ejector 4th Change snub nose .38spl. or a Colt Detective Special.
Luckily I was given all my grandfather's except the Colt and I inherited my father's.

 

[Marc Chevalier]

In his older years, my Austrian great-grandfather took a stiletto cane with him whenever he went out.


.

 

[Havana]

One of my grandfathers carried a S&W 44 special with a custom 3" barrel. The other carried a 2nd gen 45 Colt Peacemaker in his youth and a 357 Ruger Blackhawk today.

 

[newspapercowboy]

Fists

My French Canadian Grandfather packed a devastating punch feared throughout his New England tenement neighborhood. He believed it was cowardly to fight with weapons.

 

[Twitch]

My Grandfather had a .32-20 Colt revolver. It's a long cartridge .32. I still have it. My Dad was in law enforcement most of his life and ended his days with a Colt Python .357. I acquired one just like it a few years ago.

I have always been in the habit of carrying firearms. My favorite carry when clothing permits is a Star .45 compact. It's like the Colt 1911 Officers model with a 7 shot capacity. If something a bit slimmer is required my .380 Walther PPK will do. In summer when you can't conceal anything even that large I have a .25 CZ that can fit in any pocket. It's better than a pocket knife at least

Nothing stops like a .45 either, nothing.

 

[HeadHunter]

My grandfather had a .25 auto and a .32 revolver but no holsters. He just stuck one of them in his pocket. My dad carried a .22 auto on a string around his neck.

 

[Fletch]

In Iowa in the forties it would have been unusual for anyone but lawmen or bank guards to carry handguns, but every small-town and farm boy wanted (and usually got) a .22 rifle. In 1947 the town landfill had a bumper crop of rats, and my dad (age 12) and his cohorts were encouraged by the sanitation official to peg all the little buggers they could. Hard to imagine such a situation today.

The .22 was also handy for rabbit and even squirrel, which Grandma was happy to get for the table. Dad went on to a 20 gauge bolt-action shotgun in his late 'teens, but Iowa was home to few deer and no other big game, so it went into the closet.

Decades later the 20 gauge went to my cousin in upstate NY, whose property has been host to black bears and other varmint, including something that's quite fond of eating her cats.

 

[carebear]

In Iowa in the forties it would have been unusual for anyone but lawmen or bank guards to carry handguns, but every small-town and farm boy wanted (and usually got) a .22 rifle. In 1947 the town landfill had a bumper crop of rats, and my dad (age 12) and his cohorts were encouraged by the sanitation official to peg all the little buggers they could. Hard to imagine such a situation today.

The .22 was also handy for rabbit and even squirrel, which Grandma was happy to get for the table. Dad went on to a 20 gauge bolt-action shotgun in his late 'teens, but Iowa was home to few deer and no other big game, so it went into the closet.

Decades later the 20 gauge went to my cousin in upstate NY, whose property has been host to black bears and other varmint, including something that's quite fond of eating her cats.

Up through the '60's (and even later) in many places it would not have been odd at all for those .22's to go to school with the boys, to be left in the coatroom so they could stop off to shoot on the way home.

Upstate New York? Ya got coyotes, some wolf packs coming back and mountain lions. Hope some slugs went with that 20 ga. For that matter, hang onto that thing. In my experience anyway those bolt action shtguns aren't that common.

 

[Tomasso]

My fraternal grandfather was a railroad builder and he always carried a sidearm while on site, but mostly for critters (though when outside the U.S. armed Pinkerton agents were employed for security). I heard that he killed a lot of gators working on the Florida East Coast Railway. My maternal grandfather was a merchant who traveled the Middle East, so he probably was armed but I don't know for sure.

 

[Fatdutchman]

I have no idea what my grandfather might have carried back in the '30's, but during my lifetime, he NEVER left the house without a Colt .25 auto in his pocket. I have that pistol now, it's one of the pre-68 guns with no Spanish markings on it. I was told once "don't tell your grandmother, but I had to use this once...".

He always had pistols, and I do too. I don't carry one with me though, generally, but then, I hardly leave the house!

He did tell me that during the war, he carried a big .455 Webley break open pistol. (and YES, a revolver IS a pistol!!! ) He was a BAR man, and was wounded in Italy when his gun was hit, and the shrapnel tore up his right arm.

 

[carebear]

I have no idea what my grandfather might have carried back in the '30's, but during my lifetime, he NEVER left the house without a Colt .25 auto in his pocket. I have that pistol now, it's one of the pre-68 guns with no Spanish markings on it. I was told once "don't tell your grandmother, but I had to use this once...".

He always had pistols, and I do too. I don't carry one with me though, generally, but then, I hardly leave the house!

He did tell me that during the war, he carried a big .455 Webley break open pistol. (and YES, a revolver IS a pistol!!! ) He was a BAR man, and was wounded in Italy when his gun was hit, and the shrapnel tore up his right arm.

All revolvers are pistols; but all pistols are not revolvers...

 

[The Outlaw Kyle]

My maternal Grandfather was a rural route carrier for the USPS in the 40's, 50's and 60's. He carried, or at least owned, a .32 Iver Johnson revolver. The gun is much older than that time period, so I can only assume that he had it from further back. I believe that he purchased it from his brother in law. My father has this gun today. I have my grandfathers Winchester model 12 pump. Made in 1926!

Also, he was a B26 pilot/co-pilot during WWII, and I would assume carried a M1911 or M1911A1, though I have no proof off this.

My paternal Grandfather, to my knowledge, never had a CCW permit as these were not easy to get prior to 2001. Though he was a experienced hunter and had many, many firearms. I know that he had a .38 special, though I was to young to know the make or model. His primary hunting rifle was a M1903A1 that he (or someone else, but I would guess he) sporterized. My uncle has this. I have his LeFever Nitro 12 ga.

I would guess that you would find many, many more .32's then larger guns from this time period. Just based on what I see at guns shows, the ratio of .22's/.32's to .44's/.45's is about 75:1. Prices would bare this out also, as a decent smith .32 revolver is about $150 or less, and a .44 special hand ejector is $1500 or more. .38's (S&W model 10 for example) fall right about in the middle with $250 being a nice average for a 80% condition, post-war gun. Pre-war, you can add $100-$150 more.


fftopic: I think in MI, you really have to go farther back than the 1920's to find people that would just stick a revolver in the coat pocket and go, on a general basis. We have had a concealed carry law and Pistol Registration (or what the state likes to call "Safety Inspection) since 1926. This is mostly due to a famous case involving Ossian Sweet. After that happend, the good people of MI figured they couldn't have just "anyone" running around with handguns, and living where ever they wanted, so they passed the Saftey Inspeciton law. The plan being that when a white guy came in to get a permit to buy a handgun, of course they would issue it, but if a black guy came in...well, it might take a little longer to do the paper work. Of course this was never explictly stated in the law, but I'm sure largely the plan.

 

[John in Covina]

Pilots

I seem to recall that for many pilots in WWII thru Korea and later, would carry their own personal pistol, often revolvers and 38 special was used a lot.

In some areas for a long time 1911's were hard to come by and that is why some many brought their own.

 

[neon_martini64]

Knives, Guns and switchblades, Oh My!

My paternal grandfather used to carry a S & W .38 and a small bowie style knife. In his real estate business. His wife carried a derringer with a pearl handle.

My maternal Grandpa used to drive a cab and carried a 1911 in a holster, a .38 in the glove box and an Italian switchblade in his sock. All of them ended up with my dad. After he died my mom gave them to my brother-in-law to 'sell'. It's something I to this day take an issue with.

I really, really wanted the switchblade.

 

[Spitfire]

A big smile, their sense of humor and - if it really became serious - some fast feet.
But then again - we live in the old country.

 

[carebear]

A big smile, their sense of humor and - if it really became serious - some fast feet.
But then again - we live in the old country.

Maybe not your grandparents, but probably their neighbors.

After all, Beretta, FN, Mauser, Star, Walther and a dozen other manufacturers weren't selling all those civilian .25 and .32 vest pocket pistols overseas prior to the 40's.

 

[green papaya]

DWM model 1923 commecial Luger

my grandfather gave me his Luger before he died

he used it for protecting his Cafe back in the 1930's

it's made by DWM in Germany

model 1923 caliber .30 Luger

 

[carebear]

my grandfather gave me his Luger before he died

he used it for protecting his Cafe back in the 1930's

it's made by DWM in Germany

model 1923 caliber .30 Luger

Where was his cafe?