in 1975

[bob in the woods]

I owned a 1973 Datsun, which was a great car for learning "body work" .  The floor was a mix of coffee cans , scrap galvanized sheet tin and self tapping screws. Also learned to fill rocker panels with steel wool, cover with duct tape and paint     If you parked on uneven ground, the doors might not open . I screwed a couple of 4x4's under the floor to "strengthen " the body.   Cleaned up the brake rotors with an electric fan motor, a fan belt and a brick !   Money was tight, and I needed wheels, so had to make do.

[Mike Brooks]

In 1975 I was still 5 years away from my first gun. In 1975 I was trying to figure out how to graduate from High School with out actually being there....spent most of my time fishing and hunting. A M1906 Winchester and a fly rod were in hand more often than school work.

[Keithbatt]

I was born in 1976.

[DutchGramps]

In 1975 I was living and working in Senegal; before moving there I had acquired a Dixie pre-fab Kentucky to fill my free hours. Unfortunately, there were hardly free hours, and after 3 years I moved to another country, and the unfinished rifle stayed in a container at home.
Much later, I gave it to a friend who finally finished it; in the mean time I moved to other countries and collected all kinds of old locks and other gun parts, among them several Turkish matchlock rifles with beautiful twist steel rifled barrels, and two of those barrels have to go in a Jaeger and a Lancaster, with thanks to Taylor for his help and encouragement. But at 82, age is taking its toll....

[Tony N]

I was living on Custer Hill at Ft. Riley, Ks.    Playing with the big guns!  A 155 Howitzer!

~Tony

[Bob Roller]

In 1975 I was still 5 years away from my first gun. In 1975 I was trying to figure out how to graduate from High School with out actually being there....spent most of my time fishing and hunting. A M1906 Winchester and a fly rod were in hand more often than school work.

In 1975 I was 20 years out of High School. School taught me to read and write
but education came later incrementally which is like the cat ate the grindstone,
a little at a time.

Bob Roller

[tuffy]

I was living on Custer Hill at Ft. Riley, Ks.    Playing with the big guns!  A 155 Howitzer!

~Tony

Were those 109's? I was in HHB 1st Bn. 5th FA. I was the radar section chief.
My early gun making days were relegated to an iron pipe, some M80's and some ball bearings we picked up down by the railroad tracks. Shot them by holding the pipe up against a tree and aiming at an old aluminum boat on the other side of the Sioux River. When the owner of the boat contacted my dad, it took me many months to pay him back. Almost as long as it did to get his boot out of my....well, you know.

                CW

[J. Talbert]

In 1975 I had two CVA Pistol kits under my belt.  Not nearly as ambitious as Taylor or Dave C., but I was bitten none the less.

Jeff

[Tony N]

I was living on Custer Hill at Ft. Riley, Ks.    Playing with the big guns!  A 155 Howitzer!

~Tony

Were those 109's? I was in HHB 1st Bn. 5th FA. I was the radar section chief.
My early gun making days were relegated to an iron pipe, some M80's and some ball bearings we picked up down by the railroad tracks. Shot them by holding the pipe up against a tree and aiming at an old aluminum boat on the other side of the Sioux River. When the owner of the boat contacted my dad, it took me many months to pay him back. Almost as long as it did to get his boot out of my....well, you know.

                CW

sure was!  I was also in 1/5 FA from Aug. 75 to Mar. 77 sent to the DMZ in Korea

~Tony

[Daryl]

In 1975 I was still experimenting on loads for my .458 for moose and deer. Over 15,000 rounds (& 2 decades) later, I had torn cartilage in my right shoulder - wonder why?)  In '75, Taylor and I were shooting weekly and winning many of the prizes at rendezvous. Taylor was shooting a .62 Hawken with a 10 lines per inch fiddle-back maple stock - exquisite it was, with a .615" ball and around 150gr. to 200gr. of 2F C&H. I was shooting a Bauska .50 bl. with 38" twist that I'd choked by lapping (aka Ned Roberts) with replaceable .36 bl. I picked up from Hal Sharon's shop in Kalispell - not far from Less Bauska's diggins.

[T*O*F]

In 1971, I got home from VietNam and with no job prospects in the biology field, I went back to my old job as a mechanic.  It had paid my way thru college with no loans or scholarships.  In May of 1972, my boss offered to sell the business to me.  I had two kids, ages 1 and 3, lived in a rental house, and had $1200 in the bank from savings bonds I had purchased while in the Army.  The local bank gave me a 5 year loan secured only by the assets of the business and my boss held the check for 6 months, after which I was on my own.

In 1975, I paid the loan off and put $10,000 down on my first house.

Try doing that today.  Our great land of opportunity no longer exists.

[Kermit]

Through my early teens I was building and crashing freeflight balsa/tissue scale models. All that glue and dope probably explains a lot. Wish I had back a 72" span Taylorcraft I traded off for something useless. I was shooting a Martini Cadet I bought at the local surplus store for $12. Ammo was about the same as 22lr, as I recall. Didn't discover muzzleloaders until the late '60's.

[Natureboy]

  In 1975 I was a "bush vet," living deep in the woods on the Oregon coast.  I occasionally shot my great-grandfather's Mississippi Rifle that he carried on Uncle Billy Sherman's Goodwill Tour of the South. 
  But I must say, Mr. Crisalli, that I've admired your exquisite work in these pages and on the Blogspot.  You made that beautiful lock etc when you were 16?  I felt lucky to make firewood at that age.  When I win the lottery, I'll give you a call.  Your work is truly an inspiration.

[P.W.Berkuta]

The one picture is me practicing fly fishing in a stream back of our house in 1963, My 1967 Chevelle SS 396 4 speed I bought in 1968, and me fishing in Connecticut & goofing around in the back yard in NJ 1978 & 1982.