# Firearms in school, did you ever......?



## Sourdough (Dec 28, 2011)

Question........?


Sourdough said:


> Did you ever take firearms to school......??? I sometimes ponder how the world has changed. Being born in the 40's and raised in the 50's in rural PA. things were far different than today. Back then there was a special bus for farm boys, it came by later so farm boys could finish milking. And it departed early from school so farm boys could get home for the afternoon/evening milking.
> 
> We took our firearms to school, and had the bus driver drop us off on the otherside of the mountain, so we could hunt deer on the way home. In Jr. High school you just put your firearm in the cloak room. In High School we had our own lockers, for our books and firearms. It did not matter if deer season was open, as you could shoot deer on your own farm, any time of the year..........


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## Crowbar (Dec 29, 2009)

In the 50s my brother made a gun in shop class. It shows how our country has changed and not for the better.


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## OkieDavid (Jan 15, 2007)

In the late 1970's through 1980 I remember a couple of kids riding the bus to school with firearms. As they got off the bus in the parking lot the bus driver would hand them their guns. I guess the driver had to keep them up front during transit. As you weren't allowed to have them IN the school, the kids would carry them across the parking lot and put them in whoever's car they were going hunting withnafter school. It was very common for pickup trucks to have gun racks in the back window with firearms readily displayed in the school parking lot.


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## Laura Zone 5 (Jan 13, 2010)

The boys had their shotguns, in the rack, in their pick up trucks in the parking lot of the school ALL THE TIME when I was a kid.
No biggie.
Especially in hunting season.....
No one batted an eye.


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## Micheal (Jan 28, 2009)

Growing up and living in the village I always walked to school - never carried a weapon of any sort - never had a need nor desire to. Besides the area I hunted, fished and trapped in was in the opposite direction; school toward the west, hunting etc to the east and I lived in between........ 
Although for those that drove cars/trucks during hunting season you'd see a gun or two hanging in the back window with no concern to anyone's safety.


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## ace admirer (Oct 5, 2005)

Laura Zone 5 said:


> The boys had their shotguns, in the rack, in their pick up trucks in the parking lot of the school ALL THE TIME when I was a kid.
> No biggie.
> Especially in hunting season.....
> No one batted an eye.



same here


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## Saffron (May 24, 2006)

Even into the 80s and 90s where I grew up, there were gun racks in the trucks and rifles in them - in the school parking lot. And no one thought anything about it and no one attempted to steal them.

I've really wondered when and how that changed? I wonder if the auto companies had anything to do with it? At some point they quit selling trucks with gun racks in the window.

I know it became a "movement" and now it is a rarity of to see a gun rack in a truck. There are a lot of people who would look at you in horror if you even mentioned it, too.


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## tkrabec (Mar 12, 2003)

Its stupid people thinking its the gun that is the problem. PEOPLE are the problem NOT GUNS. there are people who should not be allowed to own them because they are a danger to them selves and to others. 

Also the School Boards are another huge part of the problem with 0 tolerance. What they define as weapons is getting "better" as they now define a pen/pencil as a weapon, that you are required to have, & can be held against you. 

I carried a pocket knife thru most of my school years (80's & 90's) I do not consider knives to be a "weapon" they are tools, unless used as a weapon, much like a shovel or hammer... At the same point I don't really consider Guns to be "weapons" unless used as such, however its much more common for someone to use a gun as a weapon than a hammer.


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## OkieDavid (Jan 15, 2007)

Something else that is considerably different today is theft.... Most of the kids I ran with never even had to bother locking their car/truck doors. You would see expensive chainsaws in the back and guns in the rack with the windows open and the doors unlocked.... Heck, today there are folks that will bash out a window just to see what's under a coat sitting in the back seat. If a person has a chainsaw stolen out of the bed of their truck today the common response is "why did you have a saw sitting in the open like that"... We went terribly wrong somewhere down the line and I find it sad.


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## mekasmom (Jan 19, 2010)

Guns and knives were common back when I was in school. The boys would keep their hunting guns in a rack in their pick up trucks. In fact, back then, it was pretty normal for some kids to "skip" school on the opening day of deer season or other popular hunting days. Pocket knives were just a normal part of boy attire from early grades on.
But, back in the day, nobody ever would have considered using any type of weapon to hurt another kid at school either. When the kids had a disagreement that got too intense they used their fists, not a weapon.


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## big rockpile (Feb 24, 2003)

I know of couple Schools it is still common practice to bring Firearms to School during Hunting Season.Teacher just puts them in closet.The kids also bring Skates to School so they can go Skating on the Pond on School property. :shrug:

big rockpile


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## KarmaK (Nov 27, 2011)

I started teaching in an upper-class suburban school, and it was about federal case when a couple of kids wanted to do a research paper on guns. Then I moved to the country, and kids regularly came to school from hunting, and complained that they had to hide their guns in their trucks because they couldn't have them on school property. The admin never searched the cars or anything. It was kind of a "don't ask, don't tell" policy where, as long as the guns weren't in plain sight, they didn't worry about it.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

I remember firearms safety class back in 1965, I was 12yo. On the last day of class, the instructor let us do a "show and tell" of our firearms. I carried my Model 12 shotgun - uncased - through a major Minnepolis suburb for five blocks. The firearms class was conducted in the city library, consequently I carried the uncased shotgun into the library to the meeting room. Not only did I do this, but so did about a dozen other guys.


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## InvalidID (Feb 18, 2011)

Took metal shop in a NJ middle school and made myself a really cool butterfly knife. Brass handles, engraved em and everything. My teacher was a bit 'red' but he agreed I did a fine job and never said a word about me making a knife. One of the kids in class told the principal on me and I got suspended for 5 days for bringing a weapon to school. Well, 3 for the weapon and another 2 for not turning it over to her. Still have that knife today.

Few years later I was in high school up in Maine. We'd bring guns to school during hunting season and no one batted an eye about it. Being from NJ I never asked the officials about it... afraid of the answer I suppose. Different place though as we'd get 2 weeks off during potato harvest so the kids could help.


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## ace admirer (Oct 5, 2005)

tkrabec said:


> Its stupid people thinking its the gun that is the problem. PEOPLE are the problem NOT GUNS. there are people who should not be allowed to own them because they are a danger to them selves and to others.
> 
> Also the School Boards are another huge part of the problem with 0 tolerance. What they define as weapons is getting "better" as they now define a pen/pencil as a weapon, that you are required to have, & can be held against you.
> 
> I carried a pocket knife thru most of my school years (80's & 90's) I do not consider knives to be a "weapon" they are tools, unless used as a weapon, much like a shovel or hammer... At the same point I don't really consider Guns to be "weapons" unless used as such, however its much more common for someone to use a gun as a weapon than a hammer.


i'm fat because of my fork.....


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## SmokeEater2 (Jan 11, 2010)

I was in school in the mid 60's through '79 and like a lot of others here, it was common to see guns in window racks in the school parking lot.

I grew up on a ranch and my first vehicle was a beat to heck Chevy pick up that my Dad had used for hauling hay and feed,barb wire and fence posts. Boy what a babe magnet that was! :umno: Anyway, I always had at least a .22 in the gun rack and a pistol laying on the seat and nobody batted an eye about it. 

As far as I know,every boy in school carried a pocket knife and that was absolutely normal too. One year we got a new pretty young teacher that all of us were completely smitten with, and one day she asked if someone would loan her a knife to open a box with. Every guy in the class jumped up trying to be the first to her desk so she could use their knife. 

Fist fights were pretty common but there was not a single incident of a kid making a threat with a gun or knife the whole time I was in school. Times have not changed for the better in my opinion.


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## tyusclan (Jan 1, 2005)

I graduated in 79, and my experience is pretty much like everyone else's. All the boys had gun racks in the trucks with shotguns and rifles hanging in them. The principal and asst. principal were always up for looking at a new gun when we got one.

The principal used to look me up in class to borrow my pocket knife. We all had pocket knives and belt knives, and no one thought a thing about it.


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## Stephen in SOKY (Jun 6, 2006)

We not only carried them to school, we obtained them there. FFA sold magazine subscriptions and the reward was a brand new gun or two. The more you sold the better the gun. I recall lots of Marlin model 60's, I picked up a Rem 552 BDL and a Browning A-5 light twenty among others.


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## braggscowboy (Jan 6, 2004)

I was a teacher for 30 years and a lot of the boys knew I hunted and they did not get to hunt for various reasons and I would take my guns and bows to class and show them how they operated and let them handle them and never a problem until people who were in charge and knew nothing about weapons along with political views that were paid for saw a need to change everything. I always carried a weapon in my truck, not to shoot someone, but something if the need would arise. Stephen do you still have that 552 BDL?


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## oakridgewi (Dec 12, 2006)

I have to agree things have certainly deteriated. When I was in HS, the school had a trap league. Deer season was an excused absence. (though I was just as often picking corn instead) The farm boys all carried a pocket knife out of habit. Guns in the gun rack of your truck in the school lot.

Like another said, fist-fights occured, but NEVER, EVER was anyone injured or threatened with a knife or gun.

Boy, I miss those days.

sy


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## braggscowboy (Jan 6, 2004)

oakridgewi said:


> I have to agree things have certainly deteriated. When I was in HS, the school had a trap league. Deer season was an excused absence. (though I was just as often picking corn instead) The farm boys all carried a pocket knife out of habit. Guns in the gun rack of your truck in the school lot.
> 
> Like another said, fist-fights occured, but NEVER, EVER was anyone injured or threatened with a knife or gun.
> 
> ...


Bad to say, but you will never see those days again I am afraid. It will be hard to convince the younger ones that we could do this and there was nothing wrong with it. Kind of like what is going on in the middle east, let the leaders fight it out and get it over with. Ego's hurt, no blood or hurt from anyone else.


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## woodsrunner (Nov 28, 2003)

I graduated in 1981. Went to school here in western NY. My friends and I took firearms to school on a regular basis. We always kept them in my buddies Suburban. A few of my friends even had pistol permits at 16. Back then it was possible to get a pistol permit to carry your fathers gun at 16. I had a job feeding horses before and after school. Carried a big Buck knife on my hip all day. Nobody said anything about that either. Alot of us worked on farms guns and knives were a part of everyday life and no big deal.

We did alot of things back then that wouldn't fly in todays culture. My friend that had the suburban and I ran a trapline together. We would drive the line in "The Burban" and skin pelts in the student parking lot before school and on our lunch hour. I can still remember the morning we caught a skunk and decided to save the essence as well as the pelt. Didn't get sprayed per say, but, we did have a decidedly different cologne that day. Sent us home shortly after first period. If I recall correctly we spent the rest of the day fishing. We couldn't smell each other so it really didn't bother us.

Pulled another friends camper behind that suburban too. Fridays it would sit in the parking lot all day guns and fishing poles locked inside. As soon as school let out we were off for adventure. Just seems like the kids today aren't interested in the kind of adventure my friends and I loved so well.


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

I graduated in Casper WY, in 1982, and remember the guys would have guns in their vehicles, never heard of any students bringing them inside the school, and there were no problems. I am also one who believes almost "anything" can be used as a weapon, but is simply an inanimate object until then (some more lethal than others, of course). In our family, we were raised in an environment where guns were loaded, accessible, and we were taught to the proper use and respect of of them. There were 6 children, including myself, and zero accidents.

Should add here, that I just remembered something... When I moved out, I was 16 years old. My boyfriend took me target practicing and since I was a better shot, he gave me his gun, and replaced it with another one. At this time, violence towards women was higher here, as there was a 7:1 ratio (men vs women). This was one of the reasons, I was informed, just believed what I was told. Due to the violence, I carried my loaded semi-auto 25mm in my purse (always on safety). I was still in school, so I brought my purse with me to every class. Funny, I hadn't remembered that. Oh, no one knew, and no problems, of course. I walked to school and also to work everyday, so that was the other reason for it (got off work after dark).


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

lorichristie said:


> I....Due to the violence, I carried my loaded semi-auto *25mm* in my purse (always on safety)....


 That's biggest handgun round I ever heard of!


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## Cornhusker (Mar 20, 2003)

Cabin Fever said:


> That's biggest handgun round I ever heard of!


me too :happy2:
A .25acp is better than a sharp stick or a harsh word though


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## Cornhusker (Mar 20, 2003)

I also grew up when guns were common tools and nobody freaked out if you had a rifle in the window.
The more they try to control guns the more violence seems to grow.
Of course, schools have gone downhill for the last 30 years, and society has suffered because of it.
Kids are "sheltered" and "protected" instead of being taught respect and responsibility.
Parents use the schools as babysitters, and the schools have the responsibility but not the authority to turn kids into productive adults.
This whole country is going south at an alarming rate.


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

Cornhusker said:


> me too :happy2:
> A .25acp is better than a sharp stick or a harsh word though


Exactly, but knew I'd get teased by posting it :cute: 

I didn't carry a large purse and it fit perfectly without detection.


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## Cabin Fever (May 10, 2002)

lorichristie said:


> Exactly, but knew I'd get teased by posting it :cute:
> 
> I didn't carry a large purse and it fit perfectly without detection.


Wait a minute. I'd never tease anyone who carries a 25 caliber pistol.

I would tease someone who claimed they had a 25mm pistol (25mm = 100 caliber!)


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

Cabin Fever said:


> Wait a minute. I'd never tease anyone who carries a 25 caliber pistol.
> 
> I would tease someone who claimed they had a 25mm pistol (25mm = 100 caliber!)


Oops, LOL :ashamed:


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## woodsrunner (Nov 28, 2003)

lorichristie said:


> Exactly, but knew I'd get teased by posting it :cute:
> 
> I didn't carry a large purse and it fit perfectly without detection.


when you need a gun a .25 on you is worth a thousand .45's left home because they were too big.


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## Bearfootfarm (Jul 13, 2006)

> As we used to teach in the spook business, carry a 25 if it makes you feel good, but do not ever load it.
> 
> If you load it you may shoot it.
> 
> ...


Jeff Cooper

http://blog.joehuffman.org/2006/10/07/DiscussionOnThe25Auto.aspx


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

woodsrunner said:


> when you need a gun a .25 on you is worth a thousand .45's left home because they were too big.


You are right. Case in point? One evening, I was on a WY two-lane Hwy, driving my car. Approaching, other direction, a pickup truck. As "he" passed, I get bad vibe, checked my rear-view, only to see that pickup make a u-turn... I saw him quickly gain on me, put my little Bauer 25 on my lap, and sped up. He turned out, getting alongside me, and tried to run me off the road. I rolled down my window, held out my gun, and he saw it. I didn't have to fire it, but it was a good enough deterrent. The guy sped off.


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## ChristieAcres (Apr 11, 2009)

Bearfootfarm said:


> Jeff Cooper
> 
> http://blog.joehuffman.org/2006/10/07/DiscussionOnThe25Auto.aspx


They can say whatever they want. This was only my first gun, but I didn't just load it, but I had a bullet in the chamber. The safety worked! I carried that gun for 3 years, with zero accidents. A gun that isn't loaded, is worthless.


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