An old gun trader.................

[Bob Wright]

I stated in another post that handguns could not be sold by dealers in Tennessee prior to about 1959.  That applied strictly to FFL dealers.  I had an uncle who lived in Lafayette, Tennessee, up in Macon County.  On the square was Trapp's Jewelers, as I recall, who did a good business.  He sold watches, ladies jewelry, pocket knives, and guns.  As I recall, his wife had a Pennyrich Foundation shop also in back of the store.

My uncle was Mr. Buford Prowell, a WW I veteran, avid squirrel hunter and gun buff.  Uncle Buford's thing was for guns that fit into his shirt pocket, Colt and Browning .25 autos, mostly.  He did have a couple of .38 of various makes.

All of his trading was with Trapp's Jewelers, and he often would keep a gun only a month of so before trading.

Uncle Buford's squirrel rifle was a Savage 340 in .22 Hornet, and he usually accounted for a squirrel for each round fired.  And he remembered each squirrel and shot.  He served with the 30th Infantry Division, 118th Machine Gun battalion, as a sharpshooter, protecting the gun.  He was wounded by German artillery fire and received a pension the rest of his life, the squirrels augmenting table fare.

 

Bob Wright

Edited September 27, 2017 by Bob Wright

[KahrMan]

Cool story.  Thanks for sharing.

[gregintenn]

Welcome aboard. I did not have the pleasure of knowing your uncle, but a good friend of mine now runs the jewelry store.

Edited September 27, 2017 by gregintenn

[Bob Wright]

3 hours ago, gregintenn said:

Welcome aboard. I did not have the pleasure of knowing your uncle, but a good friend of mine now runs the jewelry store.

It's still there?

 

Bob Wright

[gregintenn]

10 hours ago, Bob Wright said:

It's still there?

 

Bob Wright

Yeah....It's Johnson Jewelers now instead of Trapp's, but still on the square.