Published: July 03, 2008 10:22 am            

Fascinating Firearms

NEWTON — When I was growing up, we often visited in the home of our neighbors Mr. and Mrs. Charles Kibbie Brown. Mr. Brown’s father had fought in the Civil War, and when he came home after Appomattox, he placed his rifle across the exposed rafters in the detached kitchen. Whenever I was in this kitchen, I had a great desire to stand in a chair, lift the rifle down, and inspect it. This was not possible because, even though it was in the late 1930s, the rifle had not been moved since Mr. Brown’s father placed it there in 1865. The rifle had rested on the rafters for almost three-quarters of a century not even being touched by members of the Brown family.

You can imagine my delight when I came home from college and my father presented me with a Springfield rifle which carried the date 1823 imprinted on the side of the firing chamber. He had found the rifle in a most unusual way.

There was a tenant house on our place which had been built around a one-room log house of undetermined age. Papa decided to demolish the house because it had fallen into great disrepair. When the rived boards of the ceiling were removed, the rifle was found lying across the rafters.

This rifle is one of my prized possession because of its age and also because it was a gift from my father. The rifle is intact except for the leather sling and the ram rod. I often wonder about its original owner and whether the rifle was ever used by someone in the military.

There is an interesting story connected to a double-barreled breach-loading shotgun which I recently gave to my son. This shotgun had belonged to my father, and he loaned it to my uncle who wanted to use it to hunt rabbits. Papa told my uncle to keep the gun as long as he needed it. My uncle never returned the gun, but when his wife’s will was read at her death, she had willed the gun to me. The ironic thing is that the gun was mine to begin with because it actually belonged to my father.

Since we live in such affluent times, guns have become quite commonplace. It is not unusual to see gun cabinets in homes where a collection of rifles and shotguns are displayed. Today the possession of these firing pieces is taken for granted, and they do not attract a great deal of attention.

There was a time when pistols, rifles and shotguns were considered prized possessions. Young men could not wait to reach an age when they could take a shotgun and go rabbit or squirrel hunting alone. Men would often remark that one of the first things they bought after taking a job was a 410 guage shotgun.

It is interesting to notice pictures of guns in old family photographs. In the early part of the last century, itinerate photographers traveled through the countryside and took photographs of families. Today these pictures are a great study in what was considered important and valuable in rural families. The picture of the gathered family is usually taken in the front yard or on the front porch of the family home. The men are always dressed in their best clothes, and if they are seated, their hat will be placed on the ground beside them. The boys are in knickers, and the girls are in jumpers with white stockings.

Whatever is considered valuable to the family can often be found in these photographs. A horse and buggy might be in the picture or a pump organ will have been moved from the front hall or sitting room to the front porch for the photograph. It is quite common to find the father and older son of the family sitting with a shotgun or rifle across their lap. This was to show that the men had the means to own firearms and that they were prepared to protect the family.

In 1952, I was drafted and began basic training at Fort Rucker, Alabama. An M-1 rifle was pressed into my hands, and I began instruction on how to disassemble and assemble the weapon. At that time, I had little experience with a rifle of any kind, but I managed to qualify on the firing range. To this day, if I listen closely I can hear a voice on a loudspeaker at the firing range saying, “Ready on the right, ready on the left, ready on the firing line. Commence firing!”

Over the past fifty years, great improvements have been made in weapons issued to United Sates soldiers. Modifications have been made in the carbine, the Browning automatic, and the M-1 which now has a completely different designation. I really feel my age whenever I visit a military museum and see M-1 rifles in display cases representing military firearms from the past.

One wonders what the future holds. Perhaps there will be weapons that are fired by voice command. Perhaps there will be rifles which are not aimed, but through some attached device simply lock onto the target. A Revolutionary War soldier had to ram powder, shot and wadding down the barrel of his weapon each time he fired. Just think how amazing these soldiers would be at the accuracy, rapidity, weight, and efficiency of today’s weapons.



Ovid Vickers, a retired East Central Community College professor, writes a weekly column for The Newton Record.

        

• Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.