Some of you older folks will recognize the title. But this isn't going to be about Virginia Slims or any other sort of cigarette. It's about how things have changed in the firearms community (was going to say fraturnity, but with the rapid increase of Ladies joing our ranks I chose the non gender binding term).
20 years ago, I was still fresh out of the Jarheads and although I knew many people that shot, in fact most of the people I grew up with had and still have firearms, I knew of not one single person that owned anything close to resembling a modern military style gun. Revolvers, shotguns, bolt rifles, .22s, muzzleloaders and the occational military bolt action would be seen. IF there were a semi-auto to be seen it would have been an M1 Garand or carbine, but those were very rare.
In 1992 I was visting my mom and dropped by a gun store near her house and they had a whole rack of Chinese SKSs against the wall, at just over $70 I took one home, along with 150 surplus rounds and all my buddies thought it was the oddest thing they had ever seen, but we all had a good time shooting it. It wasn't long after I moved to this area that I found Knob Creek range. It was much smaller and lots less formal back in them days, and still most people there were shooting the "Fudd" guns. Everyone hated AKs and ARs with about even temperment.
Fast forward to now. Just about everyone owns some sort of military styled semi-auto be it AK or AR or M1A or FAL, y'all get the picture. Those "Fudd" guns are now the small minority at most ranges I've been too lately. It seems to me that modern day shooting is as exciting as the period between 1865-1890 must have been for those shooters living back then.
20 years ago, I was still fresh out of the Jarheads and although I knew many people that shot, in fact most of the people I grew up with had and still have firearms, I knew of not one single person that owned anything close to resembling a modern military style gun. Revolvers, shotguns, bolt rifles, .22s, muzzleloaders and the occational military bolt action would be seen. IF there were a semi-auto to be seen it would have been an M1 Garand or carbine, but those were very rare.
In 1992 I was visting my mom and dropped by a gun store near her house and they had a whole rack of Chinese SKSs against the wall, at just over $70 I took one home, along with 150 surplus rounds and all my buddies thought it was the oddest thing they had ever seen, but we all had a good time shooting it. It wasn't long after I moved to this area that I found Knob Creek range. It was much smaller and lots less formal back in them days, and still most people there were shooting the "Fudd" guns. Everyone hated AKs and ARs with about even temperment.
Fast forward to now. Just about everyone owns some sort of military styled semi-auto be it AK or AR or M1A or FAL, y'all get the picture. Those "Fudd" guns are now the small minority at most ranges I've been too lately. It seems to me that modern day shooting is as exciting as the period between 1865-1890 must have been for those shooters living back then.
