In today’s complex world, it is increasingly difficult to remember a simpler time when toy guns were all the rage. Even more surprising is that realism wasn’t frowned upon - it was encouraged. After all, when you are engaged in a rousing game of cops and robbers, you certainly don’t want to be the poor sap running around with a purple gun – you want realism. For kids of this bygone era, Johnny Eagle was about as good as you could get. These remarkable replicas not only looked like the real thing, but with the ability to fire caps or plastic bullets, they were everything a little cowboy or law officer could ever hope for in a toy gun.

A complete arsenal was offered for any gun slinging occasion. If playtime brought you to the old west, the Red Ryder collection, compete with a horse on the stock was just the ticket. Future hunters could get the Magumba, perfect for big game hunting. To finely hone their skills, hunters could get the Skeet Shooting set and engage in some target practice. And for all the little soldiers out there, a complete collection of “US Army” issue guns were available to bring the battlefield to the backyard. All the guns in the Johnny Eagle collection were considerably well-crafted, durable, and a favorite among kids everywhere who longed to have a few firearms to play with.

Today, these guns reside solely in the hands of collectors, as parents decided that perhaps an exact replica of a gun wasn’t the safest thing for their kid to tote around the neighborhood. In fact, today you are unlikely to see kids play with toy guns of any sort, and probably for good reason. Still, there are many an adult, who although they might not admit it, fondly remember sneaking up behind their friends and yelling “got ya!” as they took aim at their adversary’s back - who now had the perfect opportunity to show off his thespian skills and play dead as dramatically as any Shakespearian actor. A simpler time indeed.