I was 6 yrs. old when I was handed my first Daisy BB gun. First thing that happened to it was the plastic butt stock broke . Dear old Dad was working three jobs , since the coal mines were shut down , so we didn't loose our house , and wasn't interested in helping me fix a plastic stock. I was on my own. I looked around Dad's auto garage , and in a dusty corner found a disgarded walnut butt stock from a Winchester lever action rifle. Asked Dad if I could have it , and he said , ok. Asked him how to marry the walnut stock to the sheet metal sides of the BB rifle. He said file the wood down until the stock could be inserted into the BB gun's action , and put a bolt through it , and he left for work again. So , I had never filed anything in my life , but had watched him file something , and knew what a file was. In the garage there was a "four in hand" wood rasp , and rasped the Winchester stock until it could be inserted in the BB gun stock. Drilled a hole through the wood using the existing matching holes in the BB rifle's action , and found a 3/16 th inch stove bolt with a square nut that fit. I couldn't believe I fixed it myself. I showed it to Dad between him going to work , and he laughed , and shook his head. That was the first gunstock I worked on. The gun's internal mechanism was completely destroyed from shooting it in about two yrs.. My neighbor kid I grew up with had a Daisy rifle too , so all we did was shoot all day for entertainment. When we were out of ammo , we jumped on our bikes and went a mile to town to the candy store , where the lady sold us BB's. We never shot any windows , other people or anything besides snakes. We were told what we could do , and had enough respect for our family , we obeyed the rules. In those days , Greene Co. , Pa. had one constable , and two State Policemen , and one Game Warden. Every body knew everybody , and their business as well. Rules were rules.
