Sure Was Easy To Buy A Gun 100 Years Ago, Sears Just Mailed It...

[Ingomike]

"Here we have weapons ranging from the Daisy Air Rifle to “Our $1.55 Revolver,” from shotguns for $7.95 to Marlin Repeating Rifles. Sears, Roebuck & Company also sold ammunition, pistol holders, reloading tools, and cleaners for these weapons.


No one was monitoring these sales. The government had no part in regulation. No one conducted background checks on the buyers. Indeed, Sears brags that it is “the headquarter for everything in guns,” that their prices are below all others, and that “we will send any revolver to any address.”





https://www.intellectualtakeout.org...oebuck-catalogue-teaches-us-about-gun-control

 

[BigRed]

"Here we have weapons ranging from the Daisy Air Rifle to “Our $1.55 Revolver,” from shotguns for $7.95 to Marlin Repeating Rifles. Sears, Roebuck & Company also sold ammunition, pistol holders, reloading tools, and cleaners for these weapons.


No one was monitoring these sales. The government had no part in regulation. No one conducted background checks on the buyers. Indeed, Sears brags that it is “the headquarter for everything in guns,” that their prices are below all others, and that “we will send any revolver to any address.”





https://www.intellectualtakeout.org...oebuck-catalogue-teaches-us-about-gun-control

As it should be.

 

[indykid]

And funny, back then there were no school shootings, no constant news media ranting about "mass shootings".

I well remember going into Sears (and other stores) with my father and spending time drooling over the "hardware" section.

 

[flightsimmer]

As a kid in grade school, I sold all occasion and holiday greeting cards all one summer to earn enough points to purchase a new 22lr bolt acton rifle, marlin I believe.
One day I came home from grade school and there on the front porch was a big long box laying up against the front door and sure enough it was my new rifle.
Oh yes, how times have changed.

 

[CPT Nervous]

Fast forward a couple decades, and Sears would ship a fully-automatic Thompson submachine gun to your door for $125. No background check, no tax stamps.

Surely there are endless stories of high school students bringing a Thompson into their school and murdering their classmates.

We all know full well that easy access to "weapons of war" causes violence.

 

[alabasterjar]

And funny, back then there were no school shootings...

Not entirely true...List of School Shootings in the United States.

 

[Ingomike]

Not entirely true...List of School Shootings in the United States.

But, not entirely untrue either. Most of the entries are not about shooting up the school, most sound like typical disputes settled at schools.

 

[2A_Tom]

Actually, you could mail order a rifle until 68. I remember rifles being advertised in magazines when I was a kid.

 

[Thor]

First rifle I bought was a Win. 94 in .30-30 from...Sears. My son's first rifle was a Mauser in 7.62 NATO with Boy Scout money. Keep the fire alive folks.

 

[KellyinAvon]

There were a bunch of brands sold by Sears under names like Eastern Arms (made by Stevens), Sears (I have a Winchester Model 1200 that says Sears on it), and Ted Williams.

 

[Mongo59]

Born here, live here, obey the laws, pay taxes and you still get to have others decide if you are worthy of your constitutional rights.

How is it everyone else in the world seems somehow deserving of these same rights just by showing up on the doorstep illegally? Hmmmm...

 

[Tanfodude]

Video games and movies are to blame? Right.

 

[blue2golf]

There were a bunch of brands sold by Sears under names like Eastern Arms (made by Stevens), Sears (I have a Winchester Model 1200 that says Sears on it), and Ted Williams.

Don't forget JC Higgins. (I have my grandfather's Model 25 tube fed .22 semi-auto)

 

[Bennettjh]

As it should be.

Yep. Now the .gov can decide if we're moral enough.

 

[cosermann]

100 years? You could mail order a firearm until the GCA of '68. That was only 50 yrs ago (51 in October).

 

[Mark 1911]

I have a Sears Ranger Model 103, bolt action 22 with tubular magazine. It's made by Marlin, same as a Marlin Model 81, but sold by Sears with the Ranger name.