The Glory Days of Princess Auto

mtallman

mtallman

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Hey everyone,

Up until I looked in an old Princess catalogue, I figured that they only sold Lee Enfields as a one time buy item. I have recently found out that they used to have a large line of milsurps.
Lee Enfields No1 , No4, and No5's (and No1 sporters), Arikasa type 38 & 39, K98k's, Johnsons, Garands, M1 Carbines, and Webley & Scott flare pistols ($12).

Incase you can't read it, the Johnsons are priced at $84, and the K98's at $27.50. The Garands and M1 Carbines are not on this page ($135 and $95).
I also see that they had boxes of 32 .303's for $3.95, complete P37 E-tools (with carriers) for $1.99, M1 helmets for $4 P37 binoculars w/case for $25, No1 sword bayonets for $2.49, and P40 BD jackets for $4.

Neat Stuff.

Does anyone remember shopping at the store when they had all this stuff (1969-76 or so)?

EDIT: Some info fixed.
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Yea, I remember going in there when I got back from 'nam in 1972. They used to keep the Johnsons in a barrel by the front door and most everything else was strewn about....ahhh those were the days.

Just kidding, I was around but wasn't old enough to know or remember. Too bad, because from stuff like that, my heart aches. Them's days is over for sure.

But I guess another 20 years from now we'll look back on some of the deals today and go "Wow, wouldn't that have been great!"
 
Bittermansbro said:
But I guess another 20 years from now we'll look back on some of the deals today and go "Wow, wouldn't that have been great!"
Click to expand...

20 years from now we will look back and go "wow...we could own guns back then"
 
highspeedlowdrag said:
Holy crap! Princess Auto used to sell guns???? And here I thought they were a fairly new franchise (maybe out here on the Wet Coast???)...

hsld.
Click to expand...

Nope...EST 1933
 
That would have been a great era!
I did notice the catalogue error though....Item A is advertised as a No 1 Mk? but the picture is a No 4. Oh well for the $$ who cares ;)

Cheers
 
Well...they don't sell guns anymore (unfortunately). They still have lots of stuff to fill the garage and the spare room though...enough to keep the wife nagging for a long time.
 
I know a couple of people here in Calgary that told me about Princess Auto having 45 gallon drums in the store full of milsurp rifles.

One guy still has several Enfields and a Johnson he bought there. They used to buy them to make hunting rifles.
 
I remember when they had all those old surplus vehicles in their Winnipeg yard, M38 jeeps ($500), halftracks, and 6x6 army trucks. I think that all got cleared out or scrapped in 1979 :( . Now all those things are collectors vehicles - but so are those rifles. Does your cataloge have a page with the vehicles listed? I remember catalogs in the late 70's did.
 
"...Them days is over for sure..." You're not kiddin'. In the olden days, pre-1978, lots of department stores sold firearms. I remember seeing military issue M-1 Carbines in Zeller's. Bought my 870, in the early 80's, for under $300, from Eaton's in downtown TO. Surplus joints sold Lee-Enfields by the pound and milsurp jeeps still in the crate.
 
Along with seeing old firearms and rifle stocks cut up, this has to rate up at the top for "heartache" with me. Nice to hear that there was a time when this was the case.

Its too bad the world got so silly
 
I remember being in their old Panet Rd. store with my Dad. I was looking at a "real .303 Army gun from the war" and my Dad was drooling all over this brand-new Rolls-Royce Merlin aircraft engine, complete with the little brass triangle saying that it was made in the United States of America by the Packard Motor Car Corp.

Dad always did have more class than me!

The Merlin, by the way, was $2,000, complete with two dozen new spark plugs and the twin magnetos just out of the shop.
 
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