Old Gun Stores in Downtown Portland...

[Cigarlvr313]

If you remember M&F selling guns you should also remember that J C Pennys sold them too.........my favorite store as a kid though was Caplans Sporting Goods..........

 

[Cigarlvr313]

Or the Portland Outdoor Store..........back when men were actually men........

 

[PDX1953]

Oh yes! That was as cool as the tree houses in Swiss Family Robinson.

We went there on school field trips & my dad took us there a couple of times. He shopped at Monkey Wards a lot & I remember smelling popcorn the second you walked in because there was a popcorn stand in the lobby. Funny - my son works in the Treasury Dept. at OnPointe in "Montgomery Park" & the main entrance is now where the loading docks used to be.

 

[Oathkeeper1775]

Curt's and Northwest Armory is the closest thing I've ever been to a big city store; I do not feel like I'm missing anything.

The "inner city" seem to accept just about everything that happens to them; money changing hands in suburbia must be one of them.

 

[PDX1953]

Or the Portland Outdoor Store..........back when men were actually men........

When I was in HS ('68 - '71) my buddy & I used to buy military surplus 30-06 ammo for my Dad's '03A3 sporterized Springfield. We used it for target practice & one time I shot a chipmunk from about 20 feet away. My buddy said, "You killed him, cleaned him & buried him with one shot."

 

[partsed]

Not that they sold guns but I remember the Norm Thompson store in NW Portland. As a kid I thought that was a cool store-like something 007 would shop at.

 

[Certaindeaf]

If you remember M&F selling guns you should also remember that J C Pennys sold them too.........my favorite store as a kid though was Caplans Sporting Goods..........

I'm still shooting some .22lr from Pennys. A super markdown on the actual last day. I was glad I had a pickup and was allowed to use their dolly. It's still marked.. I forget the brand but it's good stuff.. 27 cents per pack a fifty.

 

[orygun]

Guns may be more evil the closer you get to down town Portland.

And the closer you get to downtown Portland, the more you're gonna want your gun!

 

[orygun]

I was in high school thru the end of the 70s and remember many of the places mentioned and agree with some of the sentiment here in regard to Portland in general. If there were more stores that catered to the things I like in downtown Portland, I'd likely go there much more often. Instead I avoid it.

 

[WAYNO]

I was in high school thru the end of the 70s and remember many of the places mentioned and agree with some of the sentiment here in regard to Portland in general. If there were more stores that catered to the things I like in downtown Portland, I'd likely go there much more often. Instead I avoid it.

Ya know, I think it's too late. I was born and schooled in Portland in the 50's and 60's, but unless I'm forced there on business, I stay away. And it's sad. Portland was a great place to grow up, right after the war. It was mostly all families with Dad's that served in the war, and everybody looked out for everybody elses kids. I remember taking guns to school for show and tell.

WAYNO.

 

[etrain16]

I'm old enough to remember some of those stores, Meier and Frank, Montgomery Ward, and even when Sears, JC Penney and others were destination stores for just about anything you need. I even remember Jafco, they had a great catalog at Christmas time. I also remember when going to the Lloyd Center was a fun time, especially at Christmas - now, I don't go anywhere near that mall - far too dangerous in that part of town now.

It is a bit sad to see things chance, and old, good stores going away. But the economy of the world is changing and folks are focusing on doing everything online - shopping, news, communication, etc. I do wonder if we're losing something in the process, while gaining some others? I do enjoy doing Christmas shopping online because it means keeping out of the mess of psychopaths in the stores.

 

[jbett98]

The WigWam store ruled in my neck of the woods when I was a kid in East Portland.

 

[JeremyK]

So basically I'm getting that lots of department stores used to be AWESOME, before the pussification of the American citizenry started to kick in and PC cancer quickly spread. It really brings my piss to a boil

 

[Certaindeaf]

So basically I'm getting that lots of department stores used to be AWESOME, before the pussification of the American citizenry started to kick in and PC cancer quickly spread. It really brings my piss to a boil

Portland proper is more like it.. Multnomah co voted D I think 4/1 here this last go round.

 

[Captain O]

Not quite in downtown, but does anyone remember Combat Corner? The owners name was Augie if I remember correctly.

E

I knew Augie.

 

[Captain O]

Does anyone know the story about the B'wana Junction's owner, in particular the nasty scar on his cheek/jaw? Here's what he told me one day. After I had done business with him a few times we established a comfortable relationship, to the point where I felt comfortable asking about the rather obvious scar. He said, one day a guy walks in and puts a pistol to his head and demanded the contents of the register. He told him to get fU#$&*. The guy said he would shoot. The owner said go ahead and the guy shot creating the nasty scar. The owner, however, after being shot in the face pulled his pistol out and shot the bad guy. It's been some time ago and I think his name was George. If anyone can enhance or add to this it would be interesting.

I remember Bwana Junction very well. It is so sad to see the "little gun shops" in downtown Portland go "the way of the wind".

 

[Cigarlvr313]

I'm still shooting some .22lr from Pennys. A super markdown on the actual last day. I was glad I had a pickup and was allowed to use their dolly. It's still marked.. I forget the brand but it's good stuff.. 27 cents per pack a fifty.

I bought 2 Remington 1100's from Pennys in Lloyd Center in those "last days", a 12 and a 20. Still have them both and the boxes they came in.

 

[Gaucho Gringo]

The old Hollywood Fred Meyers had guns in the basement sporting goods section in the 50's-60's. Down the stairs and to the left. The old Coast to Coast store across the street which is now Sam's Billiards had guns and ammo also. So did the old Pay N Save drug store in Lloyd Center

 

[Koda]

It is a bit sad to see things chance, and old, good stores going away. But the economy of the world is changing and folks are focusing on doing everything online - shopping, news, communication, etc. I do wonder if we're losing something in the process, while gaining some others? I do enjoy doing Christmas shopping online because it means keeping out of the mess of psychopaths in the stores.

It can be sad to see some things change but what Ive gained is now I get exactly what I want from anywhere in the world and often for the lowest price, thank you Internet. I find most storefront, then and now are always limited in their selections....

At the same time the mom-n-pop burger joint I used to go to after school over 25 yrs ago is still there, same owners. I take my kids there now and then to get them a real malt shake... The only place around I know that still makes them. Its refreshing to see them still in buisness. The burger joint has a Facebook page now....

 

[WAYNO]

Oh I'm sure there's more to be found online than in a brick and mortar store. But I still prefer to shop in a real store, talk to real people, and actually inspect the product before I buy it. And if I choose, I can actually pay cash, and not worry about financial accounts being hacked. But it's a generational thing. When my generation is gone, then I suppose there will be no need for stores anywhere. Nobody has to leave the comfort of their computer. Heck they wont even have to go to the woods or to the range to shoot. They can do that on their computer, too.

I lament the passing of old-fashioned burger joints. I really know of none remaining. But there's a McDonalds on every corner, selling modified beef products and artificial milk shakes, and now ya don't even have to talk to a person. Just order it up on your touch screen phone. And there are so many more choices on their menu than we had when I was young.

Time marches on. Youngsters like the impersonalization of life, where the previous generations will continue to appreciate interacting with real people. And I cannot see that society has improved in any way, anywhere. In fact, across the board, society is going down the toilet.

Before ya know it, kids will be able to go to school on a computer, and never have to learn how to live in society, and their parents don't have to get up early to make sure the kids make it to school. What? That's already happening?

WAYNO.