We all grew up in a different time – a time when playing with toy guns was accepted by the majority of people. From toy guns that shot water or foam darts to toy guns that just made noise, I remember there was a huge variety to choose from. Today, that isn’t necessarily the case in many places.
I don’t remember any rules.
What I do remember is that our toy guns were meant to look as realistic as possible. Today, that’s a big no-no. That’s a change that makes sense, in retrospect. But now we have the opposite problem: real guns that look like colorful toys.
Once made a “toy” gun using copper pipe, wood carved for the handle, rubber bands, penny nails, leftover caps and powder from New Year’s Eve. Shot 3” nails halfway though a wooden backboard from 10 feet.
Surprisingly, nobody had their eyes shot out or got hurt. Looking back, I was very lucky the pipe did not blow up in my hand.
My dad was amused. My mom would probably have freaked out if she knew.
We were poor. I would cut out M16 shapes from old 2x6 boards that were from an old torn down barn. Those and the dart guns I’d get every Christmas from my grandparents were the best. Rules? Stop inserting pins into the rubber dart tips to try to get them to stick into trees and other non-smooth surfaces.
Bicycle spoke gun, scrape some of the red part of a matchstick into the spoke cup, shove a short piece of matchstick in, light a match under the cup and wait for it to get to firing temperature.
Any other bicycle spoke gun shooters out there?
I grew up with cap guns, the ones that took a paper strip of almost endless “ammunition” loaded into a flip-open compartment in the faux cylinder. They had real hammers, and I’m pretty sure were DA/SA.
After firing several shots, there’d be this blackened and torn curl coming up from between the hammer and cylinder. Oh, and that sweet smell of burned gunpowder.
I had a double rig that went along with my cowboy hat, vest, and chaps.
Old, good times…
Rules? What rules?
The only I was asked by my Parents was to comeback home for a dinner…
EDIT:
I remember as we were playing this scene after school for a several days… all the bystanders were watching us and we were so proud to be a good actors…
1981
Cap guns. I watched a lot of John Wayne movies, Gunsmoke, and Bonanza with my dad. The “BANG” and the sulfate smelling smoke made it feel real to a kid. Those were my favorites. The rules were “no pistol whippin your younger brother with that.”
I grew up watching Combat! reruns.
Long before woodworking in school, I learned how to use the hammer, saw, etc. as a necessity because I didn’t have money to buy toy guns.
I would raid my dad’s scrap wood pile and make myself a Thompson and also help my friends make their own.
Nice set of guns there!
As you can see, I have never been long guns fan.
I was the machine gunner in my day.
And don’t forget the bow and arrows and spears, we could make them quick.
The sad thing is that if a child uses one of these on the playground today, they’ll likely run afoul of zero tolerance rules and be suspended or expelled.
A spud gun, and a cap gun. I shined shoes for money. My family didn’t have much including central heat or hot water so I was on my own. Maybe that’s why little things ment so much- love that spud gun. Later things we’re looking better. I got a job on a dairy Farm and horse stable so I didn’t have to play with cap guns anymore. PS I ALMOST FOFGOT, WE USED TO TAKE A BOX OF CAP ROLES AND SMASH THE HEAD OF A BASEBALL BAT DOWN ON THEM AND VERY BIG BOOM. Come to think of it maybe my hearing loss started from that. The basic rule was if you want something work for it.
Gary no spoke guns but calcium carbide Tin can mortars, Ever hear of those ?
Calcium carbide Big Bang Cannons. I still have one to annoy overly sensitive neighbors and other whiners on Independence Day and New Years Eve. BOOM!!!
Nothing will ever beat finger guns, but I will always remember the wooden toy gun that my dad had…unfortunately, I broke it and was always too afraid to tell him!