I remember the 70s.

[jules]

[pworley1]

Those prices were harder for me to come up with then than today's prices are.

[stubshaft]

Yup, J. C. Pennys used to sell Belgium FN bolt rifles under their "Musketeer" brand and Sears had a large selection of Winchesters.

[dverna]

Better values today IMO. Factor in 50+ years of inflation.

[jules]

Those prices were harder for me to come up with then than today's prices are.

Not me. I was able to save a few bucks before I got married in 73. All I had was a car payment $64. plus gas and groceries.

[Hannibal]

Back then, $100 was a LOT of money to spend on anything.

[hoodat]

Early seventies, I was making 2.50 an hour. Minimum wage was 1.60. End of at the seventies I was making $7 per hour and that was a union job. I bought a lot of guns back at those prices even at those wages. I did learn to not waste even fifty eight cents on those crappy game bags they sold. People who bought those, never really shot a deer. jd

[Mk42gunner]

And Walmart flyers usually had Marlin and Winchester 30-30's in them for $68.88. Still a lot of money when you were making a nickel a bale.

Robert

[rancher1913]

for me it was the "coast to coast" chain store, it was our hardware/gun store for the area

[cwtebay]

That 1970 dollar is worth $7.93 in December 2022.

Sent from my Pixel 5 using Tapatalk

[TNsailorman]

In 1962 I had just got out of the Navy and wanted a rifle to hunt deer. My Uncle had a Funiture store and I was buying some things that me and my wife needed to et up house keeping. I happened to mention that I needed a deer rifle to put some meat on the table but did not have the cash to buy one. All our family were hunters and he understood perfectly. He helped my wife pick out the things she needed and then came around to where I was standing watching. He said "I can order you a new rifle and you can pay when you get some money later on, right now you need a rifle". I only replied that that sounded good and let it go at that. 2 weeks later he called and told me to come to the store and pick up my new rifle. I went and he had one of the brand new just introduced Remington 700's in 30-06 with a serial number of xxx. He said "I put it on the books, pay me a when you can, but there is no hurry". I looked at the price--$90.00, shipping and tax included.
But think about that, in 1962 $90.00 was about the same as $900.00 or a little better today. The good old days were not necessarily all that great at times, james

[Hickok]

In the mid 60's, dad let me pick out a 98 Mauser 8mm from a Sears catalog,... I bought a box of Sierra 8mm 175 gr bullets and a pound of IMR 3031 powder and a box of primers from grass cutting money I earned doing people's yards.

All loaded on a RCBS Junior press, (Dad later bought a Rockchucker, and I still have his old Junior press).

Having a box of 100 bullets to reload and shoot, I felt like I had more ammo than U.S. Army!

[Gtek]

Being a 61' model, I remember you walk into Sears, Monkey Wards, Jacque Penney (Dad called them that) and you could touch them in the isle. Eye level to me, between that and also being able to smell them along with the continuous flow of week old yellow Shotgun News Dad brought home from work I was done for. The one that stuck the most I think was Original German Mauser for $29.99, I can still smell those yellow Shotgun News. Sunday paper always had the sales on or loose, one Sunday dad reading at breakfast table. stands up, bottoms coffee cup and looks at me and says "get dressed, we gotta go". Penney's or printer screwed up and had Marlin 336's for $69.99 starting that day. We always went in by automotive area and the sporting goods area was right there also. Well, the line was out the door and a few down the wall. Two hours for a rain check, Dad said he didn't need a Marlin that bad.

[Tripplebeards]

I just bought a Sears T3 and coast to coast 22 from the neighbors that needed some restoring for $25 each. 1970’s pricing! I wish I could get some of those over under combos for $57! My 7600 chambered in 30-06 came from Kmart in 84’ for a price of $298 if I remember.

[Bigslug]

Online inflation calculators are fun to play with. . .

A few years back, a friend gave me a gun magazine from 1959 with an ad for surplus guns. They were selling 1911-A1's for $40, which equates to about $422 today. I figure I'd bite for that, but the same ad had 2-man inflatable life rafts for $42, so who knows how to figure it.

The same magazine ad had Garands for a hundred bucks - equal to a little over a thousand dollars today. The M1 seems to have held its value pretty well.

[Hannibal]

Meanwhile today's kids can't figure out what XX and XY chromosomes mean and this same group of idiots is sympathetic towards Hammas.

And employers don't want to deal with that. Who'd a thunk it?

[FergusonTO35]

Strangely, Glock pistols have always averaged $500.00 around here even back to the late 80's. Definitely a better deal today than back then!

[old turtle]

I was only making about $100 a week in the middle 60s. This was when you could mail order rifles. I Could not pass up a model 64 Savage-Anschutz new $89 complete with a set of Redfield Olympic sights. I still have and it and shoots like a dream.

[jules]

I was working at a feed supply at 12 making 5 bucks a day in the summer months. At 15 I did home remodeling....much better money plus I learned a trade. After I got out of school in 71 I was hired at USS Irvin Works but I continued doing home remodeling as side work on weekends. The pay was ok in the Steel mill but I didn't care for shift work so I quit the mill in late 73 and went full time construction. The pay was better and I worked as many hours as I wanted. I never turned down a chance to make some cash.

[schutzen-jager]

got this .308 Remington 788 in 12/74 from Woolworths - total complete with UE4X scope - total with tax $67.99 - still have it with original receipt + packaging - still shoots less than 1" at 100 yards with my cast reloads - got me a 396lb. boar back than - only one i have ever seen with the blond stock -