Gold & Silver Forum - Winchester single shot bolt action 22 and my dad

The post about bolt action 22's reminded me of this.

I grew up with a Winchester single shot bolt action 22, it was my dad's, a gift from his father on or around the early 1930's. My house was burglarized in the late 70's and it was stolen, may the burglar rot in hell.

At my dad's funeral, his cousin Frank, who was a couple of years younger, told me about a day shortly after my dad got his rifle. This was in depression era Tennessee, probably around 1932, my dad would have been about 12.

On a hot summer day Frank and my dad had hiked a few miles out of town (Greenville, Tennessee) to wander around in the woods and do a little shooting. My dad had gotten the rifle the previous Christmas, a very exorbitant present considering the times and a major monetary sacrifice for the family. As afternoon came, they were walking back along a dusty unpaved road where they came upon two well known local toughs lounging on a bridge. As Frank and my dad approached, one of the toughs announced that it was a nice looking rifle but my dad didn't say anything, just kept walking. The tough walked over and announced that my dad was going to have to hand him the rifle because he was gonna look it over. My dad looked at him for a few seconds and said "Sir, I'll have to kill you". Nothing was said for a short while, then the tough walked away allowing the kids to go.

Twelve years later, my dad had graduated from West Point and had been through the battles of Normandy, Arnheim and the Bulge with the 101st Airborne and had been shot to shit with a German MG-42, resulting in a 4-year hospital stay. His right leg was paralyzed for life but he got a masters degree in Chemical Engineering after the war and (I hope) taught me his values, including the love of shooting.

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