is it true?

Question

my grandfather tells me that when he was a kid (hes 83 now) that you could go and purchase a single shot remington or winchester .22 for "five and a quarter" i asked him if he meant $525 and not $5.25 and he meant five dollars and twenty five cents. he also said that for even less you could purchase a mossberg .22, but its accuracy wasnt as good.

is this really true, were they really this inexpensive?

Answer 1

In 1901 you could buy a Winchester single shot 22 rifle thru the Sears & Roebuck catalog that cost $6.22 delivered to your door thru regular mail.Before that you could buy what is referred to as a "No Name" Cat & Rat Short barreled 22 rifle (About 18" long total length for $3.95) A 5ounce bottle of Coca-Cola cost 5 cents then too.....

So YES, Your Grandfather was not only correct but serious..


*To find one of these even in just "Good" condition are worth hundreds of dollars to Collectors these days and are HIGHLY prized Collectors items....

Answer 2

Yup. Those days too you could get Coca Cola out of the machine for a nickel. Gasoline was less than 20 cents a gallon and you could buy a box of .22 shells for less than 50 cents. The only thing the clerk would ask you was: "Want the yellow box, or the green box?" Yellow was Winchester brand & green was Remington.

It is also true that things cost more then than now. The dollar had more buying power then because everyone got paid less and worked harder. Also, the dollar was backed by silver and in your grandfather's time it was probably backed by gold. In 1974 I bought a new, in-the-box, Remington 700 ADL in that newfangled caliber, the .25-06 for less than $120. It is one of the best gun buys I have every made.

Best.

H

Answer 3

In the 1880's you could buy a very fine Colt revolver for a $20 Gold Piece - Today you can still get a fine Colt revolver with that same $20 Gold Piece - the only thing that has changed is the "paper money"

My Dad who is 75 purchased a pump action** Winchester Model 62(.22 S. L. LR.) when he was a kid. I think he said he paid $13 for it. I still have that little Winchester.

** >Yes, you know and I know, but maybe everyone does not :))

Answer 4

They were a bit more expensive when I was a kid but I'm only 67. I think the first .22 single shot that my grandpa bought for me cost around $12. You could buy a box of .22s for about 25 cents back then. If your grandpa says that guns were that inexpensive when he was a kid, I'd believe it. Things were a lot less expensive back then but people had a lot less money back then, also. He grew up in the Great Depression and a gun store was glad to make any sale that they could just to stay in business. Prices had to be low back then or people just couldn't afford to buy things. Yep, I'd believe it.

Spend some time, in fact spend a LOT of time with your grandpa and let him tell you stories of his childhood. He has a lot of things he could tell you and it won't be many years before he won't be around to tell them to you. I sure wish now that I had spent a lot more time listening to my grandpa tell of his experiences growing up.

Answer 5

You could also buy a good house for $4000 and a loaf of bread for a nickel, and people would fight for a job that paid a dollar a day. They weren't that inexpensive. A dollar was worth a heck of a lot more.

Answer 6

Yes those were the GOOD OLD DAYS when a Dollar was a Dollar & worth every penny.* Today we have the Bad Old Days.* The good old days are gone & we will never see them again. Sad, very Sad.**

Answer 7

I don't know about that exact price but they were cheap (by today's standards). My Grandfather use too hunt deer and moose with a .22 (killed many with it), it was the only rifle he could afford

Answer 8

guns are actually cheaper now! your grandpa could buy a single shot 22 with his 5or6 days pay, now you can buy a deer rifle with a scope for an average weeks pay.
his days were probably 10 hours long, yours are only 8 hours long.
these are the good old days!

Answer 9

I believe it, my father in law who is 65 bought a shot gun for $11 when he was a teen and still has it, a double barrel side by side, works great..... 11 bucks what a steal!!

Answer 10

Yes, it was a diffrent life. they would work hard for that five and a quarter. yes its is definatly true. i wish it was still like that.