His Fascination With Guns....

Elvis found them useful no later than 1955. Was he a marksman? Probably not.

If u really think about it he's lucky that he or one of the Mafia boys never shot and killed someone!
SNG

We don't know when he bought his first gun, but the fascination became most obvious in late 1970. The Manson murders, his concern for his daughter's safety and the death threat in Vegas seemed to be contributing factors.

Uncle Fester - that bug thing had me quite confused !

Uncle Fester - that bug thing had me quite confused !

Me 2! I was trying to catch that fly on my screen... good one UF! lol

JEFF d
EP fan

...on George Kleins sirius Elvis radio show he was interviewing Jerry Chestnut(sp) the guy that wrote T-R-O-U-B-L-E somehow they got around to this very subject about when Gladys and Elvis went to Tupelo hardware and Elvis was wanting a gun but she wanted him to get the guitar.... Jerry Chestnut said that she was probably afraid he was gonna shoot the TV out(or something to that effect)... i thought that was pretty good!

JEFF d
EP fan

...on George Kleins sirius Elvis radio show he was interviewing Jerry Chestnut(sp) the guy that wrote T-R-O-U-B-L-E somehow they got around to this very subject about when Gladys and Elvis went to Tupelo hardware and Elvis was wanting a gun but she wanted him to get the guitar.... Jerry Chestnut said that she was probably afraid he was gonna shoot the TV out(or something to that effect)... i thought that was pretty good!

Also pretty fake -- they didn't own a TV in 1946, and Elvis didn't want a gun.

Elvis wanted a bike, but it cost too much, so Gladys purchased a guitar for $12.95 -- a LOT of money then, especially for people in their economic situation. Elvis did get his bike not too long after, too.

...on George Kleins sirius Elvis radio show he was interviewing Jerry Chestnut(sp) the guy that wrote T-R-O-U-B-L-E somehow they got around to this very subject about when Gladys and Elvis went to Tupelo hardware and Elvis was wanting a gun but she wanted him to get the guitar.... Jerry Chestnut said that she was probably afraid he was gonna shoot the TV out(or something to that effect)... i thought that was pretty good!

Also pretty fake -- they didn't own a TV in 1946, and Elvis didn't want a gun.

Elvis wanted a bike, but it cost too much, so Gladys purchased a guitar for $12.95 -- a LOT of money then, especially for people in their economic situation. Elvis did get his bike not too long after, too.

Oh wow... thanks for the info... don't you have some badly edited book to go work on? Yes I know they didn't have a TV in 1946... it ws still a funny line that Gladys wouldn't let him have a gun becuase she was afraid he would shoot it out....

JEFF d
EP fan

Oh wow... thanks for the rip... don't you have another ignorant post to go work on?

Gee thanks Doc what have I done without you all these years, and all your wealth of EP knowledge. I'm usually a collector of EP books, but I can think of one that I will be skipping now that the reviews have come in of how terrible the editing is, $199 saved!

JEFF d
EP fan

Gee thanks Doc what have I done without you all these years, and all your wealth of EP knowledge.

Evidently, all for naught.

This makes me wonder when Vernon made his remark about never hearing a guitar player that was worth a damn (spelling?).

I can sort of picture mother and son coming home after doing some birthday shopping. Elvis did not get what he originally wanted, but got an expensive gift anyway. A bike might have been more expensive but at least it fulfilled a practical task.
After learning how much Gladys spent, this might have been the point where Vernon made his remark.

Whatever the occasion for his remark was, it must have left a firm impression on Elvis as we can hear for the interviews that were done for 'On Tour'.

Did Elvis become enamored with guns during his army training or do you think being a shy humble country boy that he was exposed to guns from a very early age? And while on the subject=======>was he much of a marksman?=======>uf

When he left Brooklyn for Germany he's pictured wearing two Army Marksmanship badges, one is for Sharpshooter, the other is for Expert.

Perhaps she wanted him to have the guitar so they could spend more time together,as music was very much part of the Presley family.
If he had a bike he would want to go off on it and as for the rifle didn't it say in the latest Nash book that Vernon wanted to take him hunting but Elvis said he didn't want to kill anything.

When he left Brooklyn for Germany he's pictured wearing two Army Marksmanship badges, one is for Sharpshooter, the other is for Expert.

Nice spot, James.

Whatever he didn't know in 1955 he learned by summer 1958.

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