In my callow youth I had two Toronto firearms destinations I wouldn't miss during stopovers in the old days, one was the gun counter at Simpson's department store and the other was the Skinners store not far across the street where there would occasionally be pre-owned English side by sides for sale. Skinners wasn't exactly a bargain store, but being presently engaged in a book about the London and Manchester guns, I find myself wondering how many greats I missed out on in my infrequent visits through the 1980s. Does anyone remember the place and what sort of guns went through there in the way of SXSs?
The old Skinners gun shop off Yonge Street
- Thread starter Big Bad
- Start date
madtrapper143
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Steep Rock Lake NWO
I remember the store well. I used to frequent it any time I was downtown. (Simpson's gun counter was awesome they had everything) That would have been in the early 1980's. Maybe late 1970's. I bought a book at Skinner's about John Browning and his inventions. It was all I could afford in that store. Still I loved that place and the folks who worked there were great.. I suspect they knew I had no money but they let me look at stuff as if I did. I remember some side by sides but I was into pumps and semis then and paid little attention to them. Trigger tags with 4 and 5 digit pricing did not help.
Darryl
Darryl
- Location
- Kawartha Lakes area of Ont
I also remember Skinners in the 60's. One of the good things to do in the big city.
Although I’m from Winnipeg I went to boarding school in Port Hope, ON in the 1970s. Occasionally, usually after an away game in hockey or football, we’d be allowed to wander downtown Toronto, free of supervision. They’d let us off the team bus at Yonge and Bloor usually around 4 pm and we’d have to be back at the bus by 10:30. Seems crazy, I know.
Always hit Skinners. Although back then I didn’t know from vintage SxS so I hate to think what deals I passed by.
The first place I knowingly looked at high quality SxS was in Giovanni’s Gun Shop on Wilson in the early 1990s. These were not the kind of guns stocked by SIR in Winnipeg at the time. Lol.
Always hit Skinners. Although back then I didn’t know from vintage SxS so I hate to think what deals I passed by.
The first place I knowingly looked at high quality SxS was in Giovanni’s Gun Shop on Wilson in the early 1990s. These were not the kind of guns stocked by SIR in Winnipeg at the time. Lol.
There was one double gun at Skinners in the early 80s that might have been made for me but blessed if I can remember the maker (not one of the famous London guns though); it was about the only such gun I've ever found in Canada that would have shot well for me. The gun had no spectacular engraving but nice wood and the price was such that I could have just pulled it off by combining what I had on credit cards and in my checking account, with zero funds left over for 2 1/2 inch shells, lol. It would have been a lot of extra debt for those days so I passed on it. I do wonder what my correct level of regret should be now, but then again although I know I'd heard of the maker (which was something because I didn't know many) I had no idea if the asking price was fair, plus at that point I was dedicated to the idea of getting a bespoke gun made by the Ontario custom fitting gunmaker of later ill repute. Goodness knows what I would have ended up with if his reputation hadn't collapsed before I could put in the funds.
You might have ended up with a hell of a gun. Or a very expensive lesson about putting down money in advance of receiving product. Lol.
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It was in fact an American SxS fancier that warned me that there were troubled accusations here in our northern paradise, and then maybe a year later it was all in the papers. From what I've learned since joining CGN, if I'd proceeded against the US advice I have to doubt I'd have gotten anything at all, never mind a great gun.
I hear only great things about the early guns produced by that venture. He got in over his head on the business side and and made some poor choices on how to resolve the looming disaster. Different but similar to John Delorean. Guys with dreams can get a little blinded.
Was Skinners the shop on Young just South of Bloor? There was also a Hercules store on Young that sold REAL WW1 & 2 surplus gear & 303 ammo was in a 55 gal drum. You got a heavy brown paper bag and counted what you wanted, I think it was 5 cents each. 14 years old, not a problem. And yes I recall WW on the Queensway, as well as Giovanni’s on Wilson. Great stores………all gone.
When I was going there, it was further down Yonge across from the S end of the Eaton Centre, ie, across from where Simpsons used to be. I seem to remember they moved once, but only a block or so east. I do remember a really good surplus store further up Yonge, presumably the one you're referring to.
Edit: doing a google search for Skinners brings up a flash reference to 50 King St, which strikes me as about right.
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We lived in North Toronto in my teens and I would sometimes hit up my dad, who worked at Eaton's College St store, for lunch if he was working on a Saturday. Skinner's, Hallam's, Hercules and Coles (for the fishing tackle, not books) were my never-miss destinations and only a short walk apart. My first rifle was a Marlin 22 from Skinner's and I was in awe of those guys who talked about going to James Bay for snow geese, moose hunting around Hearst and more. Bought my first big rifle from Hercules: a sporterized 8 mm Mauser. I don't recall seeing really high-end doubles at Skinner's....just good hunting guns. Slightly off topic but I would give a lot to know what happened to the 8' long fiberglass musky that hung over the entrance to the Cole's store all those years....
One time I was in there they had a big rack of US Army fatigue jackets that had been radically vandalized by the troops wearing them in-country, where you could get away with a lot of such stuff. Peace signs, 'make love not war,' 'the wind doesn't blow here, it sucks,' 'LIFER' with the letters spelled out two different ways, one of them not family friendly, art work, that sort of thing. It was actually a treasure trove of the US Army's late history in Nam, wish I'd considered that at the time. And had had a big pile of money.
