Happiness is.........................

............... looking for something completely unrelated to what I was doing--and finding TWO boxes of Winchester 9mm ammo I forgot I had.

Quote from Sterling Price

OK, I'll bite ~ So what was it that you were doing that was so completely unrelated before finding that 9mm "forgotten" ammo ~ and then made you so "Happy"?

In a similar way, my weapon of choice during my early deer hunting years (1950's) was a 1898 Springfield 30-40 bolt action Krag carbine. Never saw any reason to want to upgrade since all of my 'deer kills' back then were made one bolt action shot at a time. For me, anything semi-auto was "un-sportsman" like (plus as I recall ~ except for my old Army M-1 Garand ~ commerically produced semi auto sporting rifles weren't even available yet). As "luck" would have it, in 1960 my trusty Krag was stolen and as "fate" would have it, that was also the last year I ever went deer hunting.

Fifty one years later in 2011 I too found an old box of Winchester .30-40 cartridges that I had completely forgotten I still had. It brought back a hell of lot of fond memories for me. Maybe not the same kind of "happiness" you felt over your 'lost' ammo ~ but it still put a "warm glow" over these tired old bones of mine when I think back on those early days. Thanks for the reminder Ringo.

Heh heh, I was looking for images of Pork Chop Hill stills that Bill kindly gave to me. I looked in a closet in another room, just happened to see an M-60 MG-ammo can I forgot I had-so I opened it and wallah--found the two boxes of 9 mil. It also made me happy in that for those two boxes-the total price was about $10 bucks. For the exact same kind out now-thanks to all the anti-gun garbage going on--would cost me about $43-for 100 rounds vs $10 bucks for 100. Also, just last night-I was looking in another box-and found two boxes of Remington .22 cal LR ammo ;-))

I too own a 30-40 Krag Carbine. Mine also still has and is still in very good condition-its original 1898 leather sling. I also still have two boxes of vintage 30-40 Krag ammo. Sorry to hear some jerk stole your Krag--one of my Walther P-38s was stolen from me on Jan 6th 2000-and still not found by the police yet. But your story fo finding that box of Krag ammo-and the memories--is how I felt when finding mine ;-)) I hate asking but--if you decide to sell it? please let me know.

Also, im a huge fan of Garands. I had had one once and been kicking myself for selling it. One summer when I had no money coming in-my AC unit died and I needed a new one-so I had to sell mine off. Mine was one of those so-called ""Tanker Garands"" that were used in the Korean War. And your very welcome ;-)) I sure wish your Krag be back in your hands sometime soon. I HATE thieves.

Quote from The Irish Duke

A good old fashioned Western and an ice cold beer.

And finding boxes of ammo ;-)) Im only 650 rounds shy of .22 cal ammo needed-for me to finally get to go to a rifle range and try out my STG-44 .22.

Quote from The Irish Duke

Iv'e never fired a gun, it's definitely something i'd like to try in a controlled environment, just to see if there's a rush or whatever.

If you ever make it my way? ill be glad to let you put a grin on your face bigger than the one that piers morgan had when he fired two versions of an AR-15, as well as a .50 Cal "Ma Deuce" Machine gun.

All I can offer for now is firing my STG-44 .22-my Walther P-38 and my Krag Carbine. By the time you make it over-I SHOULD have added to the small collection-a WWII G.I. Mil Spec Colt .45 and possibly a .357 cal Mares Leg.

Quote from The Irish Duke

Haha if I ever am i'll take you up on that Ringo, think something like a shooting range is out of the question here given our countries past but it sure could be a fun day out.

Heh heh, there are several in my area we can use. At least two are LEOs and former LEOS, another is the Starry Range, another is currently bbing built by the Gent who owns Nichols Pharmacy--who is also selling guns from his Pharmacy as well. ;-)) I forgot-we also have another indoor range called: The Sharpshooter.

Quote from Sterling Price

Just to set the record straight Ringo ~ I never actually owned an M1 Garand. My Country only let me borrow one of "theirs" for a few years back in the 1950's but then told me that I would have to give it back to 'em if I ever wanted to be discharged from the Army. That was a no-brainer for me.

And I do also remember seeing those short barrelled 'Tanker Garands' you said you once owned but then you had to sell it for what ~~~ an air conditioner??? What in the hell were you thinking ~ a good ol' boy from Texas like you? That surely must have been one helluva damn HOT Summer to give up something as beautiful as a weapon like that. Although ~~ since you are considerably younger than all of my own grown children are now ~ then I'm willing to forgive you for that knowing that your own 'head' was probably where their heads were also at the time too ~ but thank God, they all got over it and eventually came to their senses.

As for my own trusty ol' .30-40 Krag/Jorgensen Carbine ~ I bought mine from a friend in the early 1950's about a year before I was drafted into the Army. $25.00 cash money including an almost full box of cartridges is all that it cost me back then. It too, also had the original leather shoulder strap which really came in handy 'cause it was not an "un-heavy" rifle to carry when fully loaded for long "deer stalking" periods of time. If I'm not mistaken, I also seem to recall a small "raised icon" of a gold colored anchor somewhere along the right hand side of the forestock grip. This always led me to believe back then that my rifle may once have been part of either US Navy or US Marine inventory.

They sure as hell don't make "lethal weapons" as beautiful as this anymore do they?

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Heh heh, I dont blame you for "giving up your Garand" my dad carried an M1 or M2 Carbine in both wars. I had an M-1 once--but was only partially a Military but mostly Civvy. I loved that rifle but sold or traded it off long ago for some unremembered reason? That tanker had import markings on it though--which I didnt know when I got it as I dont like marked guns. The markings were so small that I didnt realize what I had till way too late.

As for summers and temps--its already about 96 F here today and living in my climate is like living in a pit of molten lava. The house i was living in at the time was only wood-but the former tenants there decided to paint shut all the windows in the house. It was difficult to get them unstuck in the living room as well as back porch area-but the bedrooms--couldnt do it for fear of breaking windows. I tried more than one and each gained a crack in them for my efforts. It was absolute hot misery in there and I HAD to get rid of it. I had to sleep in the bathtub with cool water in ti for 3 days. The only good thing that came from it--is that to get the cash-thy guy threw in free (or as more of an incentive) a WWII German K-98 Bayonet w/ matching numbered scabbard-this thing is a beauty and can probably get about $400 for it now. However, im still kneeing myself in the groin for having to give up my Garand. They are beauts and mine had a beautiful stock with a great (for lack of proper terms) "pattern" in it. It was a "Tiger Stripe" pattern. I have seen only one like mine in 20 years-and that one was priced at $4,000.

The pictured Krag is a beaut. Mine is too-but wood is a bit darker I guess due to age?

PS, thank you for serving.

I forgot to mention, I bought mine back in 1997. The seller was asking $385.00 which I knew was high? and he threw in 40 rounds of Winchester ammo for it. Ive never fired it but when I can find some new Krag for it? it's going to the range. ;-)) The leather sling on it is the original one that came with the rifle-so is the same age. It has slight chipping but-the leather is strong and still supple.

On the Anchor markings--most likely your correct. I heard (but dont know if true or not? but heard those were the ones that were widely used in Haiti. Mine is supposedly a "Philippine Contract" rifle which is supposedly why it was priced as high as it was. The only reason why I ended up with that rifle-was because the seller I wanted to buy from--wouldnt let me make two payments for that German Mauser I now have. He was asking $800 and I said I can get it-but would have to make two payments as I just started a new job and had not made much money in those days. Well, he wouldnt sell w/ 2 payments--that is-until his (later) pregnant wife made him take the money as well as to drop the price by $200-so I could pay it in full. Also, I tried at least twice before to buy that rifle-same deal needed two payments--but he refused and I wound up buying two Walther P-38s from the dealer set up next to him. You should have seen the fire in his eyes when I bought those Walthers. :lol::lol::lol: