This is how it was in the 80s and 90s where I lived. But we were poor folk and surely didn't know anyone with a gun of every caliber, and usually not more than 2 centerfire calibers. But you also couldn't shoot deer with rifles in my area then either... just shotguns. Most people had 4-6 guns (unless they were young, and then less), usually one or 2 .22s, 1-3 shotguns, and sometimes a pistol or a centerfire rifle.

As far as aesthetics go, if you're talking about the sexiness of a walnut stocked, blued gun hangin in a back window gun rack of a beat up truck, I'm with ya cos there's nothing much sexier than that, but if you're talking about whatever is in that picture, well, "They ain't from 'round here" and likely wouldn't have been welcomed if they showed up, lol.

Yes that is a culture. For most of y'all growing up, a gun was just a tool. That being said y'all did general seem to favor certain stuff. Wood stocks , dependable , , stuff that worked. And as you said eveyone just had a gun wasn't anything special. That in it's self is a culture.

Ok so put it to you like this. You know how as trappers as a whole we have our own culture right. It's fairly different from other outdoors folk. It's not really a good or bad thing just we are kinda our own little deal . Trappers from North east south and west all have general base line . However take a few trappers from the deep south and a few from our west a few from the UP and some from the east coast and get them all talking and they all have slightly different cultures to them that's shaped for a number of reasons. Different styles to sets, different ways of interacting, different thought processes. And of course everyone knows trappers from different eras have a different culture onto themselves. Fur boom trappers vs 2000's trappers is one brought up all the time .
Gun culture is no different whatsoever. Again not good or bad just different
Personally I think the ears I'm talking about was cool because it was like this middle ground where people weren't all on the tactical AR-15 and stuff wagon but at the same time it wasn't 100% traditional just straight up model 94 Winchesters and maybe a garand or M1 in the mix. There was a lot of wacky stuff coming out . Idk it just seemed like a super cool time to be in the firearms community

The only synthetic stocked bolt gun I own is a ruger markII with a zytell stock. I ordered it in 300 win mag with iron sights. The rear sight folds down so a scope can be mounted. I wanted the iron sights in case of a scope catastrophe. I bought it in the early 90's. All stainless steel. Trigger was horrible. A timney fixed that problem. Was a shooter the day I bought it. Factory or reloads its not picky. At the time my buddies thought it was ugly and poor quality. For some reason that opinion has changed. People really like them. I liked it from jump.

If you want to talk about "gun culture" you can't forget pickup rear window gun racks. People didn't carry concealed as often as they do now it was illegal. Everyone that owned guns and a pickup had a window rack though.

What you call gun culture to many of us is just a way of life. What we need and use. As Danny stated when many of us were growing up guns in back windows of pickups was common. Every farm kid had a rifle in truck for ghogs etc For many yrs i carried a .44 and a .22-250 in my vehicle because I was in and out of wild places all the time...lions etc. Now im older i have no need.Today if you did that they probably would be stolen.

If you get the American Rifleman you’re a gun nut, the American Hunter what are you? I guessing both are a part of the modern gun culture. What I remember the folks that bought and sold guns all the time and set up at gun shows were gun nuts. But a lot of them were hunters also. Then the folks that hunted every chance they got, bought what guns they needed and hunted. I would have fell in between because I hunted and trapped but could never pass up a good deal on a gun, if I had the money.

I turned 16 in 1983, and like most kids managed to save up enough to buy my first truck. And of course the back window gun rack was the first and mandatory accessory. Everybody had one so you had to do it too!

Don't know what's with everyone and the term gun culture on this post

Heck I still do. Sometimes harder to fit gun racks in the windows of these new rigs though. Had to remove the rear seat headrests in my 09 Tacoma. Stupid design anyways, seriously in the way to look out the back window, and they could be folded down, but they didn't fold straight down, but out at an angle so they stuck way out in the way of any cargo you were putting in the back seat.

We used roof racks in our state trucks in s.d. inside top of cab then when needed release the hooks and drop in your lap.

There were two cultures back in the day. One like my father who saw guns as tools. Didn't matter to him that his shotgun was a Belgium Browning lightweight. It was just a tool for putting meat on the table.

But there were nuts like his son who bought every gun rag on the magazine rack, read the greats like Keith, Skelton, Seyfried, Cooper, Jordan, Askins (now there was a real character), and many others. Never missed a gun show, knew every gun and pawn shop in Central Alabama and horse traded more guns than was economically smart.

Yep!I can still see my dad giving me that look every time I went to a gun show or brought home my latest buy.He had a .32 special,a old hand me down 97 Winchester pump and a 1890 .22 WRF.They weren't antiques to him,they were what he used to bring home the game.He never did understand my fascination with firearms.

yes culture is absolutely a way of life and everyone has one , everyone participates in at least one culture often many , you can't see what it is till you step out of it and look at from afar or look at it compared to someone else.

like the term Culture shock. about 2002 my cousin brought his step son deer hunting , the kid was about 22-23 and thought he had done all sorts of hunting back in California.

well he got to WI and it was culture shock , the way we hunted , the way we cut them up in the garage , my great aunt coming into the garage while we were cutting deer and saying save me some good soup bones.

for that kid soup came in a can with a red and white label

I think carrying an M1 carbine on yer belt is a great way to get to the modern pants half way down the a$$ look of today.

Geez when I was in high school in 80s (small town SE Nebraska) every kid in my class had a gun in the car or truck. If we didn’t have practice after school we would hit a few fields on way home for pheasants and rabbits. In winter it was coyotes too. Never thought anything different about it. Some kids had gun racks in back window of their pickups. Vehicles sat in school parking lot all through a school day and never an incident.
I remember for speech class even had one buddy do a speech on gun safety and he brought in several different models to show everyone how they worked and the safety features as well as safe handling. Kid got a good grade for it too and it was a great speech.
I remember for my birthday I used to have a couple buddy’s over and we would hunt rabbits next day.
It was as normal as anything else we did at the time.
Jim

Several reasons you don't see racks in the back window. One being the metal that the cabs are made of is so thin they won't support the weight or vibration of guns in them. Like mentioned above, head rests and the seat up tight to the back large window with no storage space behind to gain leg room in smaller cabs.

The reason we now call it gun culture is the old way of guns in every truck as tools has given way to guns are to be locked up as dangerous. The kids have moved to town and gunowners both tool user and nut have had to unite.

Oh and the left gave us a title in culture in an effort to demonize us.

But I thought in their world that all cultures mattered. I guess not.

and most trucks have a back seat now definitely >50%

theft also being an issue , I don't leave my gun in the truck any more lost one that way , no thanks I just bring it in the back door now

The world has definitely changed. I still think school shootings would be a non issue if kids and teachers still took guns to school.

A quick application of violence would cure this run amok looting as well.

Danny they are not looters. They are " alternative shoppers "

You sound like a racist

......what ?.....the left .. demonize.......I'm honestly at a lost for words with that one