This Will Make You Sick

[ColColt]

I had been looking over some old books like Sixguns by Keith, Hell, I was There, Shooter's Bibles and Handloader's Digest I had back in the late 60's and early 70's just for nostalgia purposes and saw in the 61st Edition(1970) of Shooter's Bible where a new, at the time, Colt Government Model 45 ACP could be had for $135 and the Commander was $115!!! I bought one a couple years later for $159.95. A box of 20 rounds for the 30-06 was $5.30, a set of RCBS dies were $13.50 and the Lyman 450 was $22.50. Precious memories.

In the 5th Edition of Handloader's Digest there were two good articles on the 44 Magnum and Special(P. 111 and P.167). I ran across names in these two books I hadn't thought of in years-Col. Charles Askins, Jack O'connor, John T. Amber, George C. Nonte, Warren Page and Pete Brown.

It was a good trip down memory lane and the prices made you drool. It's good to get away sometimes and remember better times.

[bowfin]

I get the same way with an old Herter's catalog.

I do some quick math with what my father earned and what some of those guns sold for and then compare them to what a blue collar worker makes now and how much the same guns now bring...

...disheartening, to say the least.

[Frank46]

June 1964 issue of guns & ammo, whole bunch of lugers and not one over $90, garands for $89.95. Kinda makes one wish for the old days. Frank

[mongo]

I bought my first rifle for $75. It was an International Harvester M-1 Garand. That was a lot of coin back then, lol

[Beagler]

My Dads first rifle was a bolt action Husqvarna 30-06. It went through a flood and had to have it re-barreled and has never been scoped or shot in over 30 years now. It just sits in the corner of his bedroom with rest of his guns collecting dust.

[SciFiJim]

I check an inflation calculator. $135 in 1970 is worth $750 now. Still a good price.

[NickSS]

My first rifle was a sporterized Enfield no 4 mk 1 I bought in 1964. By the way I have an M1 garand in my safe that cost me $89.95 from the DCM in the early 80s of course then you could only buy one at that price and it went up to $160 a year later when my wife got hers. Oh just for Jollies I bought in 1965 and entire case of No 4 Mk 1 Enfields brand new in cosmoline for $100 or $10 per rifle.

[btroj]

Yes, guns were cheaper in the past. So were cars, houses, and about anything else. But stop for a second and consider how much you were making.
As for bullet moulds- in many ways these are the good old days. With NOE, Mihec, and Accurate we have some makers of darn fine custom moulds. We have many good bullet lubes available.

Sorry, I just don't like living in the past. Change isn't always good, isn't always bad, but it is always going to happen.

[bcp477]

Here, here btroj. I couldn't agree more.

[Silver Jack Hammer]

I paid $570.00 for a Colt SAA in 1983. My co-workers scoffed at my spending that much. My house cost $39,000.00 and my new pick up was $8,500.00 back then. I still have that Colt and it has caused me great joy. Wages have gone up, gun prices have gone up.

Any way you slice it, the time to buy a gun is now.

[Bret4207]

In 1972 I bought a Buck Stockman knife. It cost $22.00. I worked 2 months to earn $22 dollars. I worked 3 months to earn the $28.00 for my first decent sleeping bag that year too. OTH, this past summer I paid my SIL $40.00 to stack hay on a wagon and them throw it off for 2 hours, and word got back to me he thought that wasn't quite enough.

The times change.

[ColColt]

Yes, guns were cheaper in the past. So were cars, houses, and about anything else. But stop for a second and consider how much you were making.
As for bullet moulds- in many ways these are the good old days. With NOE, Mihec, and Accurate we have some makers of darn fine custom moulds. We have many good bullet lubes available.

Sorry, I just don't like living in the past. Change isn't always good, isn't always bad, but it is always going to happen.

You're right about some of this. When I was overseas in the late 60's you could get a carton of cigarettes...any brand for $1.50 at the PX. I remember getting huffy when I got back to the states because I was now having to pay $2.50 a carton. You can't buy a pack for that now. As an SP-4 at the time, I made about $140 or so a month. A beer was 50 pfennigs which was the equivalent of about 60 cents then. I mean a LARGE beer-not a small 12 ounce glass full.

When you get to be an old timer you think on the past quite often...be it good or bad. That's what I was doing the other night when I dug out all those old books just to reminisce. TV sucks anymore. You can't find anything decent most of the time and if you're lucky to, you have to pretend you don't see all the commercials flashing or jumping up and down at the lower left or right of the screen letting you know what's coming on three days away and there's three minutes of the actual show and five minutes of stupid commercials. That didn't use to be and there was good programs on besides, "16 and Pregnant" or "Knocked Up". Come on-how stupid does it get?

When I was in school the worse thing that you could do was to shoot the teacher in the butt with a rubber band or get caught smoking behind the gym or in the bathroom during lunch. You and someone had a disagreement you duked it out behind the school and that was that. Now days, kids bring guns to school and shoot half a dozen people and the teacher/principal because he didn't get a good grade. Violence of all sorts has increased ten fold or more in the past 40 years in homes and schools/college campuses. I don't call all that good change.

I'll quit preaching.

[fatelk]

Here's a good one. Guess the date.

[Sonnypie]

You're right about some of this. When I was overseas in the late 60's you could get a carton of cigarettes...any brand for $1.50 at the PX. I remember getting huffy when I got back to the states because I was now having to pay $2.50 a carton. You can't buy a pack for that now. As an SP-4 at the time, I made about $140 or so a month. A beer was 50 pfennigs which was the equivalent of about 60 cents then. I mean a LARGE beer-not a small 12 ounce glass full.

When you get to be an old timer you think on the past quite often...be it good or bad. That's what I was doing the other night when I dug out all those old books just to reminisce. TV sucks anymore. You can't find anything decent most of the time and if you're lucky to, you have to pretend you don't see all the commercials flashing or jumping up and down at the lower left or right of the screen letting you know what's coming on three days away and there's three minutes of the actual show and five minutes of stupid commercials. That didn't use to be and there was good programs on besides, "16 and Pregnant" or "Knocked Up". Come on-how stupid does it get?

When I was in school the worse thing that you could do was to shoot the teacher in the butt with a rubber band or get caught smoking behind the gym or in the bathroom during lunch. You and someone had a disagreement you duked it out behind the school and that was that. Now days, kids bring guns to school and shoot half a dozen people and the teacher/principal because he didn't get a good grade. Violence of all sorts has increased ten fold or more in the past 40 years in homes and schools/college campuses. I don't call all that good change.

I'll quit preaching.


And... it is only going to get worse. :coffee:

So try and enjoy what you do have. :lovebooli

Took a year to convince the wife a DVR was a good thing. Now she won't watch any commercials. :lol:

[lead-1]

I have a car on its last leg and a friend told me I should sell a couple guns and fix the car. No way, been there done that, I sold six rifles and bought a new motorcycle once and ten years later I have nothing but pictures to show for it, the other guns that I had are still here and the bike is gone.
I have a Gun Digest from 1968 and I look at it from time to time just to see what I missed by being 4 years old, lol.

[Jim]

..... I sold six rifles..... and ten years later I have nothing..... to show for it.....

I just sold a rifle because I need to put tires on my truck and have no money to do it. I hated having to do that, but when the ox is in the ditch, ya' gotta' get 'im out.

[David LaPell]

Yep, guns were cheaper then (not old enough to remember) but then again, you could buy a musclecar like a RoadRunner in 1969 for about $4000 or so. They are a wee bit steeper now.

[Baron von Trollwhack]

It gets worse.

Herters sent me a short Sako action in the mail, I chatted up the 17/223 AI with Mr. Ackley and sent him the action . He barrelled and sent the works to Mr. Huntington for custom dies, and the Californian mailed the completed work and barrelled action back to me.

The plane pilot rode the metalwork and dies in the cabin after I gave it to him at the top of the ramp when I flew to Millington for training, and a Navy Chief custom stocked it in the Special Services woodshop.


Just think what the "ell" the goobermint has done to honest citizens and AMERICAN businessmen ! It isn't the money change that is important .


Bv T

[Ed K]

It is important to keep in mind that the shrinking dollar has had a similar effect on just about everything except consumer electronics and maybe one or two other categories. I do not want to ignore the original posters' point that guns have become much more expensive - they have. However houses cost 10x, cars cost 10x, and food costs 10x what it cost in the 50's-60's. Even lead which is what this forum is all about has gone up more than guns in the past 50 years.

The point is don't keep the bulk of your worth in US dollars. I've been liking this picture lately...

http://i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee153/mvesk/Flat-Washer.jpg

[Jim]

Twelve cents a piece for quarter inch washers ? !!!

[old turtle]

The Fed. thinks that by printing money and thereby paying off today's debit with inflated dollars tomorrow is good policy. The trouble is that type of thinking helped bring Hitler to power in Germany in the 30's. It makes our money worthless.

[BruceB]

Personally, I DON"T think guns have become much more expensive.

I remember well what prices were in 1961, and what my wages were at that time.

When the price is expressed as HOURS OF WORK needed to pay the price, there's really not much change.

A Browning 9mm High Power cost me the standard Browning-network price of $74.50 (US or Canadian, in those days). That was 37 hours' labor at a copper mine in an entry-level job. 37 hours of work at a similar-level job at the mine where I now work yields ...surprise!..... $740, which will come rather close to buying a 9mm High Power today.

My wife's Browning Safari Mauser cost $265 in '68....an inflation calculator says that represents $1734 in 2011. That's enough to buy a very fine commercial sporter today, just as the Browning was among the best-available rifles in its day.

Yep, those as-new COLLECTOR Lugers for $39.95 (Portuguese and Bulgarian issue), and Lahti 20mm anti-tank rifles (WITH 100 rounds of ammo) for $100 are fun to look back on....but $100 was about two weeks' work after payroll deductions. It might as well have been $10,000, as far as MY income was concerned.

Just a bit of perspective...

[462]

I can remember when a Hershey bar cost a nickel and a Saturday double-feature matinee cost a dime. My first job paid $1.25 an hour, my first car cost $100, and gas was 29-cents a gallon. Prices reflect the current economic times. Nothing more, nothing less.

[3006guns]

Yeah, and I can remember drooling over Colt and Smith and Wesson catalogs back in the late fifties. Man, $79.95 was a LOT of money for a new revolver!

[wallenba]

Remodeling my kitchen some years ago, I pulled a wadded up old newspaper out of the wall. It was put there to back up some plastering. It was October 31, 1955. Gordie Howe was a new up and comer in the hockey leagues. An ad for a new exhaust system at Midas was $12.95 installed. And a .22 Marlin was, if IIRC, also $12.00.

[Freightman]

You bet and I was making $0.75 per hour and taking home a whopping $47 in 1960 and the house payment was $55 a month and car was $38 and the rest we had to pay gas lights and water out of. Then we could eat. You can have them "GOOD OLD DAYS" I am not strong enough to do them again. I didn't have a gun couldn't find any money in that budget for one.

[dagger dog]

Check out this flyer a pre 1968 GCA,

S&W 1917's for 34$
Colt's for 37$
The Webleys and Enfields for under 20$

Shipped to your door!!!!

[fecmech]

Just a bit of perspective...
Licensed A&P Mechanic at American Airlines in 1971 was $6.30 per hour for the top rate. Started at American in 1966 at $3.25/hr and I believe the top rate then was Just under $4.

[ColColt]

Took a year to convince the wife a DVR was a good thing. Now she won't watch any commercials.

I don't have either of those in the house. I still have three VCR's and one of the first DVD recorders-a Panasonic that would read/write DVD RAM!! That thing was $1000 back when it was new...around 2000 or so.

I guess you guys are right about prices verses income. I still like the old prices but at today's salary.:D I guess I'd have to win a trip to Fantasy Island for that wish.

[btroj]

Don't sweat it. I too would love old prices with current income. Don't know anyone who wouldn't.

I don't mind a good look back at the past, I just don't want to be stuck in it.

At least we can say that in a way we live in the good old days of casting. Lead is harder to find but the custom mould makers we have now, WOW. Who can deny that NOE, Accurate moulds, and Mihec are not about as good as we ever had?

[TCFAN]

In 1967 I ordered from the local gun shop a Savage Anschutz model 54 sporter 22 rim fire.It took the dealer 9 months to get that rifle in.A good thing it took that long because that gave me the chance to save every penny to pay the 125.00 dollars that it cost back then.
Every one thought I was crazy for spending a hundred dollars for a 22.Wish I had bought a truck load at that price....course I was only making 1.35 per hour back then...Terry

[MtGun44]

In those days an engineer made $8000 per year, too.

Bill

[BWelch47]

I had been looking over some old books like Sixguns by Keith, Hell, I was There, Shooter's Bibles and Handloader's Digest I had back in the late 60's and early 70's just for nostalgia purposes and saw in the 61st Edition(1970) of Shooter's Bible where a new, at the time, Colt Government Model 45 ACP could be had for $135 and the Commander was $115!!! I bought one a couple years later for $159.95. A box of 20 rounds for the 30-06 was $5.30, a set of RCBS dies were $13.50 and the Lyman 450 was $22.50. Precious memories.

In the 5th Edition of Handloader's Digest there were two good articles on the 44 Magnum and Special(P. 111 and P.167). I ran across names in these two books I hadn't thought of in years-Col. Charles Askins, Jack O'connor, John T. Amber, George C. Nonte, Warren Page and Pete Brown.

It was a good trip down memory lane and the prices made you drool. It's good to get away sometimes and remember better times.

Gosh, I didn't realize theat Colt Government 45ACP were that expensive. I paid $110 for mine which included a box of ammo.:p

[Denver]

Here's a good one. Guess the date.

Can't say what year that ad is for sure, but my Dad and I went together on a new Woodsman just like the one at the bottom of the page. That was 1956 and I believe the price was $69.00. I was working for him at the time on a survey crew for $1.00/hr.

[Four Fingers of Death]

Things were cheap, when I started work a can of beer was 25c! Trouble is I was only earning about $20!

[ColColt]

I remember when I was in high school I would work in one of the many local cotton mills in the spooler room during the summer months making somewhere between $.90 and 1.00/hr. That was '62-'63. I bought a 60 Impala(with a little help from my Dad)-white with red/white interior, fender skirts, dodge lancer "hub caps" and a pair of red/white checkered pillows thrown in the back and a matching pair of dice over the rear view mirror. Of course it was lowered in the back so when you sat in the drivers seat, you looked like you were headed for the moon. That car was about $2800 then and I thought I was the coolest thing ever. Fonzi would have loved it.

Cigarettes were $.25/pack then out of a machine which you don't see anymore. I guess they're antiques by now. My granny use to send me to the store as a kid to pick up a six pack of those small cokes. They were a nickel each or a carton for $.30 plus a penny tax. Movies were $.50-.75 depending on what was showing. If Elvis was on it was more but, you could go to the drive in with your honey and watch four horror movies for about a buck. Of course, who watched movies at the drive in?:-P Yep, precious memories.

[Ziptar]

Price of a gallon of gasoline in 1964 was about .25 cents a gallon. A 1964 Quarter with a 25¢ face value was made 90% Silver. In 1964 a quarter bought a gallon of gas.

Today a gallon of Gas is $3.25 near me. Today's Quarter has a 25¢ face value same a s a 1964 quarter. The melt value of a 1964 Quarter is $5.41, the melt value of today's quarter is $0.18.

A 1964 Quarter still buys a gallon of gas today and then some, todays quarter won't buy fumes.

It's called debasing the currency.

[Four Fingers of Death]

Cool avitar Ziptar!

One area I don't want to go back to in the 'good old days' is medicine. My father started wearing glasses about the time I became a teenager I suppose. The glasses slowly got heavier and heavier. I asked him about them when I was a young man, early 20s I suppose. He said he had cataracts and that his vision was getting gradually worse. He went on to say that they could only operate on cateracts twice as a rule, so he had to wait until it was almost impossible to see to spread out the 'I can see' time.

Many years later something made me think of his condition and I asked if he had the second operation done yet. It took him a moment to realise what I was saying, but then he said that they had made so many advances in medicine, they could operate as many times as they wanted to. I think that was 15-20 years ago. We thought that he would be virtually blind in his 50s-60s, but he is 90 now and only wears glasses to read.

With all the pills I take, I reckon I would have been pushing up daisies long ago, if it was 'the good old days!'

[ColColt]

With all the pills I take, I reckon I would have been pushing up daisies long ago, if it was 'the good old days!'

I would as well. There was no Plavix and Warfarin for my vascular problems then. I'd have lost my left leg for sure. Nor was there Pravachol, Tricor or fenobibrate for high cholesterol-I'd be dead of a stroke or heart attack by the time I was 50. I have a total of about seven pills a day to take just to keep myself alive.

[Four Fingers of Death]

We used to joke about some of our elders, saying that they took so many pills they rattled when they walked, lol.

[ColColt]

I don't think many of us really thought about being an old timer...I sure didn't. I thought I'd feel/look 25-30 forever. What a revelation! I bought a new winter coat from LL Bean last year made of goose down that was rated at 20 or 40 degrees below, can't recall which. When they rated that coat, it' must have been on someone in their 20's. Taking two blood thinners(Plavis and Warfarin) I get cold in it at 35 degrees unless I wear a T-shirt and flannel shirt at a minimum. I couldn't make it up north.