When something was really hot (temperature-wise), my Dad would say "it's hotter than a two-bit pistol on the Fourth of July"
So here's a pistol, on the Fourth of July, with quite an interesting story behind it.
I have mentioned elsewhere on the Forum that both of my parents passed away recently, my Mom first then my Dad about six weeks later. While I was at their home helping my siblings organize and remove my parents' belongings before putting the house up for sale, I found a cardboard box that was sealed with packing tape and labelled "Fishing". What was strange is that the box had a mailing label filled out in my own handwriting, addressed for delivery to my parents' home. When I opened the box I found a fishing vest, a hat, some lures and spools of leader line, and the firearm (& related stuff) pictured above. It looked as though the box had never been opened after it was delivered.
It took me a few moments to figure out how this came to be. My Dad and I went on a fishing trip to Alaska in about 1985 and we spent a lot of time in remote locations along different rivers in the Talkeetna area. My Dad purchased what I recall was a .44 Magnum (or some similar high-power cartridge) pistol for this trip, to use as a defence in case of a bear attack.
For whatever reason, my Dad brought the pictured pistol along as well. Of course, this would be of little use in a bear attack. It's a Colt Frontier Scout, with a cylinder chambered for .22 Magnum cartridges. I believe this was purchased around 1968 or 1969 and was something we'd bring with us on camping and hunting trips. It was a lot of fun to shoot. I believe I mailed this pistol to my parents' home in order to avoid taking it on my flight back from Alaska. My Dad returned from our fishing trip about a week after I did (I had a work commitment that I couldn't get out of) so I assume he shipped the big pistol home in a similar manner.
The Frontier Scout was an inexpensive gun in its time, retailing for about $50 (equivalent to about $300 today). I'm a bit surprised that they seem to be selling for $700-$800 these days, so I guess there is some "vintage" value there. Some retail packages came with cylinders for both .22 LR and .22 Magnum cartridges. My recollection is that we had a .22 LR cylinder as well, and this recollection is backed up by the presence of three .22 LR cartridges in the pistol belt pictured above. I have no idea where the .22 LR cylinder is today.
A few years ago I got to thinking about what possessions of my parents I'd be interested in having when they passed away. What came to my mind first was my Dad's firearms. He grew up in a hunting family, and when he was very young, during the Great Depression, hunting was really their only option for putting meat on the table. He eventually ended up owning a Winchester Model 88 lever-action hunting rifle (with 4x Weaver scope) chambered in .308 Win., a Korean War era M1 Garrand rifle (maybe obtained through the Civilian Marksmanship Program), a lever-action .22 rifle (can't remember the maker or model), a Winchester "Golden Spike" commemorative Model 1894 .30-30 purchased in 1969 which was never fired and was still "new in box", an Ithaca Featherweight pump-action shotgun in 12 Ga., the big pistol described above, and the Colt Frontier Scout. When I asked my Dad about five years ago if I could take a look at his guns, he said he'd sold them all at my Mom's request. She had become uncomfortable having them in the house, and in retrospect that was probably a good call since my Dad eventually succumbed to an Alzheimer-like illness that gradually took away his cognitive ability. But it was a disappointment to learn that this fun little collection was no longer in our family. I was really looking forward to taking the .30-30 out of the box and firing with open sights at a 100 yard target (it has never really appreciated in value as a collector item).
So it's the fact that my Dad sold all his guns that makes the Frontier Scout find so cool. At least I have that as a way of remembering all the times we enjoyed hunting and shooting together.
Of course, after finding this pistol the first thing I wanted to do was buy some ammo and take it shooting. But .22 Magnum seems to be as scarce as many other calibres are these days and I have yet to find any locally. I definitely don't want to shoot any of the rounds found in pistol belt. There is a lot of corrosion visible, which is not surprising after being boxed away for 35+ years.
So, that's my Fourth of July pistol story
😀
