Carl Meares and Sons Hardware, Fertilizer, Appliances and Sporting Goods in Fair Bluff North Carolina was THE place to go with my dad when I was a kid. It is also where he took me on my 13th birthday to buy my first gun of my own. We got home with a Remington Sportsmen Semi Auto in 12 gauge and I was walking on air. That is, until my mom saw it and found that it had cost $100 and convinced my dad that they could not afford that much. So, my to my dismay, he took the auto back. I got the borrowed 20 gauge single barrel of my uncle's that I had used for the past 4 years of so down off the rack and told my mom I was going hunting. I was gone for quite a while and killed nothing and finally decided to go on back home. When I mother asked if I killed any birds and I said no she said for me to hang my gun on the rack and get ready to eat supper. When I went down the hall to my gun rack, there before my eyes was the most beautiful little Stevens 311 12 gauge with 26 inch barrels I had ever laid eyes on hanging where the borrowed 20 had normally hung. Well, I still have the memories of the visits to Meares and Sons and that day in my mind and think of it often. Also, I still have that little Stevens 311. It will be my sons when I am gone. Sweet memories.
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