I was just showing someone my grandfathers twist barrel entry grade Syracuse 12 gauge. His mother bought it for him around 1903-05 according to my dad and from some articles I read in DGJ it sold for about $32. Got to thinking that that was a lot of money at the time for a family of Pennsylvania hard coal miners and what might have transpired. I do believe that "Mart" , my grandfather, probably put a slew of rabbits on the table on a regular basis as there were stories of lots of rabbit hunts and plenty hares to go around maybe justifying the cost. At that time there were no child labor laws and the kids made money too. Gotta think that if I were a youngster in the mines I'd want to use any dough I had to buy a gun and.shoot cottontails.
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