Nostalgia and Magazine Blogging

I've never tried to hide my age here. I'm almost fifty, in fact I turn that age next week. Such fun. Unlike Michael Bane, I won't be buying a gun for my birthday although that's been my custom too for a number of recent birthdays. I can't do it this year because I blew my gun budget on my Broomhandle Mauser. Gonna have to let my gun fund build itself back up again.

I wrote a long post written about a War on Guns post that linked a .pdf version of Guns Magazine from May 1955. But Blogger ate about two-thirds of it and I don't have time to reconstruct it. Here are a few highlights that Blogger left me and which I can remember.

First, I need to explain that the magazine came out the month and year I was born and needless to say it caused more than a little nostalgia. Its very first page (p2--all page numbers refer to its .pdf page number), shows a photograph of Bat Masterson. I used to love the Bat Masterson TV show with Gene Barry. It went off the air in 1961. Since I was six when it was canceled I may have seen it in syndication or I have a very good memory.

Page 9 gives us an article on "Belly Guns, written by Colonel Charles Askins, an almost legendary gun writer. The article discusses self-defense with easily concealed revolvers. Askins comes out strongly in favor of revolvers over semi-autos, at least for purposes these guns fulfill. There is nothing new under the sun and in gunnie world, there will be no resolution to the revolver vs. semi-auto self-defense arguments. Askins' article is interesting also because very few states had legal carry--methinks a lot of people carried anyway.

We also learn on page 13 that Jean Yates was Queen of the Cougar Hunters with 23 cats to her credit. Who says women in shooting sports is new? We've always shot guns and hunted, but never admitted it. Similarly, Cowboy Action Shooting is not as new as you think. TV westerns caused a high demand for single-action revolvers and companies jumped in to satisfy demands (p18).

There is also a review (p 40) of the first gun I ever owned, Remington's Model 572 Fieldmaster. My parents gave it to me on my thirteenth birthday. I still own it today and it's one pampered gun because it was the first one that actually belonged to me.

Finally check out the Hy Hunter ad on page 51 for a blast from the past.

I wanted to thank War on Guns for posting it and Guns Magazine for making its archives available. It's nice to remember good times. Now I really have to run.