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

[carebear]

That's a pretty little pistol von.

Thanks for the pic. I'm no expert, but the closer you get the more key lighting becomes, ambient light usually isn't enough when I take photos of guns.

 

[Maj.Nick Danger]

I really like the Colt 1903 in either .32 or .380, the trick is to find a modern round it will cycle reliably and practice with that tiny safety. My other pocket gun is a Taurus 85 Titanium, but any Airweight Smith .38 is the functional equivilent (or, yes, superior Smith guys )

Here is my, (was my grandfather's) Colt .32.
Still works, that is, it still fires a modern bullet with no trouble at all.
Looks like the typical gangster gun from the roaring 20s and not in bad shape for it's age.
I went to their website and determined by the serial# that this one was made in 1923.
Granpa said he used it to shoot rats in his basement!

 

[Twitch]

Acme you might consider a Colt Officers' Model 1911 or one of several non-Colt offerings in the same more compact size and caliber. I have a Star PD clone. Nothing stops like a .45 but any concealed carry of smaller caliber beats a knife at a gunfight.

 

[ramblinBOB]

I carry a gun 99% of the time, wether I'm dressed vintage or not.

It's not much more then a cap gun (.25), and I have the luxury of lugging it in a purse instead of a holster.

I DO have a garter holster, although it's almost too large for it, and those haven't changed since...like ever.

pistol packin mama better watch out my dream weapon to carry has gotta be a tompson 1927 model a2 short barried removable stock tommy gun i know guys a bit extreme but i dont care:rage:

 

[thunderw21]

Here's my grandpappy's Win. 1897.

I don't ever shoot it, it's just a nice piece of family history. I also have an M-1 Garand, M48A Yugo Mauser and recently picked up an Ariska type 99. As you can see I'm a collector of mostly vintage military firearms. No handguns yet, though I've been wanting a 1911 for a while, preferably original U.S.G.I. but a new good quality reproduction would also work.
Cheers,
Billy

 

[Fatdutchman]

Vintage?....

Currently my oldest gun. A German bird/small game gun, ca. 1700-1730.

 

[Rooster]

Nice spanish styled stock on that one. I've been tempted to do one of those.....

 

[Fatdutchman]

The gun is about .50 cal. Octagon all the way. Weighs six pounds at the most! Handles beautifully. My only "fully original" old gun.

 

[Feng_Li]

You know, there are plenty of American folks here with nothing to contribute to this thread. Not all Americans have a history of armed ancestors...

Not all Americans have ancestors that lived in America, either. My grandparents spent the Golden Era in Nazi Germany, Civil-War, Occupied, and Communist China, and in hiding in Istanbul, Turkey.

Needless to say, their personal protection options were rather limited.

 

[carebear]

Good point Feng.

Some of the most ardent advocates for personal ownership are more recent immigrants from places with far tighter controls. They know the reality of living under such tyranny.

One of the better spokesmen for US gunowners is Oleg Volk, a young artist who grew up in the USSR.

http://www.a-human-right.com/faq.html

 

[vonwotan]

In answer to the original question, after serving in WWI my granfather preferred the M1911 and the S&W Model 1917 revolver in .45 Caliber , but also had an older Browning model M1900. But for serious home protection the short barrelled 12-gauge Winchester 97.

 

[Mike1939]

Both of my grandfathers were born and died in the UK. So as far as firearms go besides their time in the army, one in the Blackwatch during WW1 and the other in India during the 1920's, they used their fists for protection......Or perhaps a stout walking stick when outnumbered.

Even my father who was born in the Scotland but eventually moved to the States prefered to rely on his hand to hand skills learned in the commandos to carrying a firearm. What do I prefer? Thats a secret.

 

[funneman]

Packing heat

My Dad was a cop and an ex-navy ordinance officer.

He slept every night of his life with his trusty ol' 45 automatic stuck between the mattress and the box spring.

He had two or three Smith and Wesson Police Special 38s in the safe and quite a collection of hunting rifles and shotguns.

I remember them well, because I was the one who had to clean them all after hunting or target practice.

After he died, I took his guitars, my sister got the guns.

 

[MagistrateChris]

Both grandfathers carried a weapon on occassion. One grandfather served in the Navy during WWII, in the Pacific, crewed an LST (landing craft). He was issued a Smith Victory Model .38 revolver. No surprise that he got a Model 10 after the war. Grandma still has it at the house, in her nightstand, just in case. Other grandfather was in Army Air Corps, a dentist/dental surgeon. Never left CONUS. He carried a 1911 in .38 super that he bought before the war and kept to this day. Used it twice...once when a guy tried to rob his office with a knife. Seond when my mother was a teen, and they caught a guy peeping in her bedroom window while...ahem...enjoying himself. the first ran at the sight of the gun, the second after grandpa fired the second round into the dirt.

A lot friendlier than THR around here Carebear, and no insults on caliber or barrel length.

 

[Dickie]

My grandad used to collect old weaponry and he had a few vintage guns as well. These were'nt really golden era guns as they were much older and made of wood and steel and weiged a ton. Even today you need two hands to pull back the trigger thing at the top! They also would have fired balls I think rather than bullets. He had a rather nice pair of duelling pistols as well which must have been ancient, and a vast collection of swords and spears and helmets which hung on the walls of his house... (he was significantly more well of than I am!). I remember playing with them all as a kid! I don't think you could have realistically done anyone much harm with any of them as the swords were blunt and the guns devoid of ammo/powder. The best weapon he had was a beautiful walking stick made of polished wood with ivory inlay and an ivory handle. The handle unscrewed and became the handle of a rather visious sword! Pretty cool.

 

[Milu]

My paternal grandfather had a small 32 revolver, marked "Young American". My uncle has it now. My maternal grandfather had a .455 Webley revolver. I don't know which of his heirs swiped it.

 

[Fletch]

Couldn't find a sound clip but I think this actually says it all-
Shane: A gun is a tool, Marian; no better or no worse than any other tool: an axe, a shovel or anything.

Except that there's a lot less angry blowharding handed out by the tool collecting community, and toolmakers don't have much of an influence on lawmakers.

 

[carebear]

Except that there's a lot less angry blowharding handed out by the tool collecting community, and toolmakers don't have much of an influence on lawmakers.

On the flip side, there are a lot fewer people who, quite illogically and contrary to the actual research, view shovels and hammers as inherently evil in and of themselves and feel that, since they are afraid of them, no one else should be able to own one.

 

[RondoHatton]

Brawley Pioneer

On the ranch, Grandpa had a Remmington 12 ga. pump shotgun as well as a hammerless, owls-head, break-top Iver Johnson in 38 S&W. Workingman's gun. With a mysterious bulge in the barrel behind the front sight. Vague memories of other family with lever action 32-20-ish rifles mounted on the wall.

 

[Diamondback]

On the flip side, there are a lot fewer people who, quite illogically and contrary to the actual research, view shovels and hammers as inherently evil in and of themselves and feel that, since they are afraid of them, no one else should be able to own one.

lol and :arated:, Marine!