Anybody remember the days when you took your gun to school?

[tchammer]

Stupid post but thought it might be fun. With all the hysteria about everything these days, I just started to reminisce about the good old days. I remember in high school I would spend a lot of weekends at a friend's farm which was north of town while I lived east of town. So I would often breakdown my 22, or 308, depending on if we were going after gophers or deer, and take it on the bus to school. Then I would put it in my locker for the day and then take it on his bus to the farm. Also during hunting season the guns were always in the trucks in the parking lot so we could go hunting at noon, more often than not in the back window. My bus driver knew about it and on at least one occasion a teacher asked about it when he saw it in my locker. "No worries" he said "just don't take it out of the locker until hometime." And as for the good old days I graduated in '92 which does not seem that long ago in the whole scale of things. Can't imagine the snit storm that would hit if a kid was even caught with a rifle in his truck parked off school property now.

[Slash8]

I took a pellet gun to school on the bus so i could go to a friends house and shoot gophers after school. It was in a felt gun sock. No one said a word. I kept it in my locker and that was that. I think it helped that I went to a rural school. Not sure how that would have panned out in the city.

[Bigdad013]

Took the hunter training course in Junior high, brought my shotty to class, was about a 4 block walk, not a word from anyone.

[stirfry1]

Yup I remember hunting pheasants during lunch time while at school, believe it or not buddy brought his gun on the bus (left it with driver while in transit)

[Bjay]

Used to hike with my rifle over my shoulder from 19 street and 5th ave. north in Lethbridge, through town ( several miles) to the High Level bridge, cross over the bridge and go hunting where the University sits now, then cross over the bridge again to go home. No one gave me a glance including the cops. Now the cops would get a pile of calls before I ever got to the bridge and there would be all hell to pay when I crossed the bridge. Had several friends that made the crossing with me several times. some are still living in Lethbridge.
Made this trek several times a year from the late 50's to the early 60's. I was 14 when I crossed the bridge the first time. Pretty exciting for a 14 year old. My mother just about had a bird when she found out I was crossing the bridge but I found out later from my dad that both my mom and dad did the same thing when they were kids.
Columbia old guy

[silverdoctor]

Stupid post but thought it might be fun. With all the hysteria about everything these days, I just started to reminisce about the good old days. I remember in high school I would spend a lot of weekends at a friend's farm which was north of town while I lived east of town. So I would often breakdown my 22, or 308, depending on if we were going after gophers or deer, and take it on the bus to school. Then I would put it in my locker for the day and then take it on his bus to the farm. Also during hunting season the guns were always in the trucks in the parking lot so we could go hunting at noon, more often than not in the back window. My bus driver knew about it and on at least one occasion a teacher asked about it when he saw it in my locker. "No worries" he said "just don't take it out of the locker until hometime." And as for the good old days I graduated in '92 which does not seem that long ago in the whole scale of things. Can't imagine the snit storm that would hit if a kid was even caught with a rifle in his truck parked off school property now.


How did things change so fast...

I graduated in '90, (25 years, wow) and brought a BB gun to school and shot it on school grounds, some kids never had the chance to shoot anything so they enjoyed it. I always had a pocket knife on me, nobody seemed to care. I know others that brought hunting gear - firearm included so they could go hunting after school. It was no big deal.

[fish gunner]

Back when folks were just folks, no ones mommy dropped them off every morning , that would end up with a fight . No ones daddy gave them the keys to whatever , so we all drove junkers . One kid got a car for grad , yep another fight. Clean runners got ya picked on new anything was geeky. A fight after school didn't end in gun fire or a stabbing or an assault charge. It ended with a black eye or a bloody nose. The Jones's were a Welsh family with a 1200sq bungalow and they drove a 1500 class pick up on occasion dragging a tent trailer.
Look around see whats changed .people are "special" now, go to a mall look at the people . Dad is I credit card holder ,mom is a fashion consultant. The 14 yr old makes the tough choices for families now.... we are the problem. pellet rifle and fishin rod in locker for at least three of my buddies and my self back in the day. Beater 74 charger, good ole days, gone but not forgotten.

[huntsfurfish]

Early 70s, walked from one end of my high school to the other with a Lee Enfield on my back. No issues at all. Couple of "cool gun" comments is all.

[roger]

usta pack a 12guage defender with dual pistol grips and heat shroud and side saddle carrier in back window of 4x4.

only in Bashaw you can park in front of the bank pull out your rifle and walk across the street to see Pud and Randy

[saddleup]

Back in the 60s growing up on the 49th, we kids would go gopher and rock chuck hunting near Sweetgrass Mt, so would cross the border at Coutts/Sweetgrass crossing. We would binder twine our 22s to the frame of our bikes... no tarp straps then and could not afford a sling ..lol and off we would go to the good ole USA for a hunt. US Customs used to tease us that a gopher export count was required when returning to Canada... remember,. we were only 12 and 13 years old. Canada Customs would give us sshmidt for being at the Customs Port with bicycles , and in traffic and were continually told to go cross the border up the street where there was nobody to bother. Those were the good ole days... common sense prevailed, a rare commodity these days.

50 years forward...

used to have 3 US Border Patrol, now 90 some, Blackhawk helicopter flies regularly plus planes and drones not to mention border cameras, sensors etc.
Do ya thunk the sky is fallin...................... :sHa_sarcasticlol:

[avb3]

Yup, used to take .22 to school in Jr. High to go gopher hunting after school in St. Albert.

Teachers rule was locked in the locker, and then wished us good luck and be careful.

If any of you know where Fountain Tire is on the Trail, that used to be the field we shot in. Right beside the highway. Part of the property still is vacant.

Every once in a while the RCMP would stop and see how we were doing.
Always asked if we made sure to not shoot towards the road... and of course we knew not to do that. Always wished us luck and to remember to turn the tails in.

Can you imagine if someone even carried a gun case without anything in it in St. Albert today, never mind taking that gun case to school?

Can you imagine the RCMP reaction if you were shooting gophers beside a field in town today?

[Jimmyly]

I got expelled in 2007 grade 10 for having a knife in my keychain...

[Speckler]

This is what happens when you can't beat your kids, be intolerant, or expect excellence. Instead we have disrespect, self-indulgence, and entitlement.

[Jimmyly]

This is what happens when you can't beat your kids, be intolerant, or expect excellence. Instead we have disrespect, self-indulgence, and entitlement.

I agree with this, my mom used to smack me all the time and it would make me terrified to **** up. But my friends would do whatever they wanted knowing they would just be "grounded" and while they were grounded they would still do whatever they wanted because they would just get grounded again.

I'm gonna go smack my kids right now so they can bring guns to school :)

[Speckler]

See this is how thing finally revert to good times! B-)

[Speckler]

My mom used to tell me and my 2 brothers to bend over with my dad standing there to make sure we did so mom could break wooden spoons over our arses!

[Speckler]

One day I chuckled... Dad opened the drawer and pulled out a steel spoon.... No more Mr. Chuckles!

[Matt L.]

One day I chuckled... Dad opened the drawer and pulled out a steel spoon.... No more Mr. Chuckles!

Haha, I'll bet!
Got my hide tanned more than a few times myself. Soon learned to think "is this something that would get me a spanking?" before doing something. Funny thing too, I'm not violent and have never been in a fight, even though I've had more than a few opportunities.

[Mulehahn]

I never brought a gun to school, but mostly because I grew up in the city. My high-school had archery in gym class, and I can remember in grade 12 we had to choose a sport, teach theory one class, and then coach it another. I chose shooting, taught a mini Pal course then went to the range the next class. I didn't even have to argue for it, it was just accepted. That was in 1997, in a school just outside Vancouver. Would never happen today, and you would probably be sent to counseling. What's even worse is how ingrained it is in adults. I have a friend who works in a small theater office. He is in charge of promotion, design etc. As such he gets a lot of packages. He used to carry a knife on his belt to open boxes, cut straps etc until some knew woman came into the office and freaked out that he had a knife on him. Now it has to stay in his desk. I work in a trade and have just gotten used to wearing a knife, and often forget I am. I walk have walked into restaurants, offices, malls, and every once in a while people will stare and I will wonder why. Then I will realize that I am wearing it.

[Lornce]

In the early 60's we took our rifles to school for a show and tell in Social Studies and discussed pests and farming. There was a variety of .22's a lot of BB guns a couple of shotguns including my little .20 gauge and a few 30/30's. But firearms at that time where on the same footing as any other tool like a hammer, axe or power tools. Our parents all had instilled safety in using all tools that you could hurt yourself or others with. The thought of pointing a gun was totally foreign to us in those days.

It wasn't till years later that guns seemed to become vilified, it seemed to really start in large centers, where people lost touch with their rural roots adn started slipping off the deep end.

[Red Bullets]

I never took a gun to school, but I remember walking down the main street of the hometown with my 22. I was 9 or 10 years old. Stopped at the hardware store to buy a box of Whiz Bang 22 shells for 20 cents. Then I met up with my 10 year old buddy with his 22 on main street and we both walked half a mile out of town to the creek to shoot magpies. Everyone that saw us wished us a good "hunting" trip.

[Redfrog]

Kids still bring guns to school today. the difference is they bring them to shoot other kids. The guns aren't the issue, it's the value system taught to kids today..

[tchammer]

On a similar note, magpies and crows were a heck of a lot more scarce in town limits back then as well.:)

[Sushi]

In 1988, a classmate brought a WWI .303 rifle to class at the teacher's request for use in the Remembrance Day display cabinet. I had an old soldier's canteen so I took that in as well.

[Strix]

I grew up living next to an elementary school. I would walk past the schoolyard, carrying my .22 or shotgun, to get to the main road where I could thumb a ride out into the country. I never had a problem getting a ride when hitchhiking while carrying a gun. The guns were never in a case.

Strix

[Fisherpeak]

I used to take my rifle on the bus and keep it in my locker so I could hunt at a buddies farm in moose season.Never a problem.

[Battle Rat]

We used to take our 22s to high school.
Crescent Heights, in Calgary had a shooting range in the basement.
I graduated there in 79.

[amosfella]

Grew up rural. in the early 90s kids still took guns to school, and getting an FAC was accepted for school credits. More than a few times, there would be 6-10 rifles at the front of the bus next to the driver. Nobody batted an eye. Only rule for the bus was bolts open...

[dodger]

Pellet guns and slingshots during elementary school. .22's during junior high, all brought to school. Then high school was shotguns in the back window of our trucks so we could head out goose hunting when we got out of classes.

No issues during the 60's and early 70's.

Dodger.

[guywiththemule]

Isn`t social engineering wonderful ??:sHa_shakeshout:

[Mistagin]

Yup, I did.

My Mom gave me her old single shot cooey. The stock was in poor shape so I asked if I could make a new one for it in wood shop. My teacher thought it was a great project because of the different wood working techniques required. I got a great mark for it :). It's still got that stock on it - cherry wood.

Somebody mentioned about carrying knives, when I worked construction and floor covering I always had a carpet utility knife in a sheath on my belt; it had all of a half inch blade. We never even thought twice about carrying them. One day at a local 'watering hole' I was advised to please leave my tools in the truck because 'certain customers' were uncomfortable with an 'armed man' in the place :rolleye2: :rolleye :rolleye2:2:.

[boonedocks]

I had my .303 enfield in my school locker many times, Eastglen comp in Edmonton, late 80s.My attendance in class hit an all time low during November as my friends and I would all meet up in the "auto wing" and skip class to chase deer!

[Dik]

Best ever!


I'm gonna go smack my kids right now so they can bring guns to school :)

After school (grade 5, ~1968 ...) I would walk across Mayfield Road (city limits) by the Algonquin Motel with my .22, onto 170 street (dirt road) to shoot with my buddy who had a farm there. No problems, nothing said, be home for supper ....

Pop and I sometimes would shoot gophers in front of the CFRN station while sitting on the shoulder of what is now highway 16A. Back then it was the Yellowhead and was a two-lane road.

Yep. Seems like for ever. :(

Dick

[Tactical Lever]

Yup, used to take .22 to school in Jr. High to go gopher hunting after school in St. Albert.

Teachers rule was locked in the locker, and then wished us good luck and be careful.

If any of you know where Fountain Tire is on the Trail, that used to be the field we shot in. Right beside the highway. Part of the property still is vacant.

Every once in a while the RCMP would stop and see how we were doing.
Always asked if we made sure to not shoot towards the road... and of course we knew not to do that. Always wished us luck and to remember to turn the tails in.

Can you imagine if someone even carried a gun case without anything in it in St. Albert today, never mind taking that gun case to school?

Can you imagine the RCMP reaction if you were shooting gophers beside a field in town today?

Yeah, I could imagine! A guy I worked with a few years ago, had guns pulled on him by the cops when he was thinning a few out with a pellet rifle.

I never brought a gun to school, but mostly because I grew up in the city. My high-school had archery in gym class, and I can remember in grade 12 we had to choose a sport, teach theory one class, and then coach it another. I chose shooting, taught a mini Pal course then went to the range the next class. I didn't even have to argue for it, it was just accepted. That was in 1997, in a school just outside Vancouver. Would never happen today, and you would probably be sent to counseling. What's even worse is how ingrained it is in adults. I have a friend who works in a small theater office. He is in charge of promotion, design etc. As such he gets a lot of packages. He used to carry a knife on his belt to open boxes, cut straps etc until some knew woman came into the office and freaked out that he had a knife on him. Now it has to stay in his desk. I work in a trade and have just gotten used to wearing a knife, and often forget I am. I walk have walked into restaurants, offices, malls, and every once in a while people will stare and I will wonder why. Then I will realize that I am wearing it.

I'm not dressed unless I have a knife on me. Had one in my pocket through elementary and high school. When I wasn't in school, I usually had one on my hip. I remember a cop wanting to take a look at my knife when I was about 7 (?), waiting around for my kung-fu instructor to show up.

I still have a knife on my hip most days. Usually on my hip, sometimes a small fixed blade, sometimes a medium folder, rarely hidden in my pocket.

Got my CORE when I was 14, and it was not unusual for the older kids in school to have rifles in the car or truck in the parking lot.

[Ruger1022]

Isn`t social engineering wonderful ??:sHa_shakeshout:

This post reminds me of a few comics, my wife is a teacher and and has to deal with parents on a daily basis on how thier child is the best and it must be the teachers fault that the child is lazy!!..

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-WdPd0SSeEiQ/Unrsjd-A9sI/AAAAAAAAKXg/c-OwHx_ryYQ/s640/comic+then+now.jpg

http://static.fjcdn.com/pictures/School_43b3dd_2913073.jpg
.

.
Can't say I ever have taken a firearm to school.