Thread: NZDA booklets through the ages

I was flipping through some old NZDA booklets today, when it struck me about prices of things compared to 30 40 and fifty years ago.
Couldnt really decide what forum category they fell into, so as they are magazine related..........

Here they will go.
Talking to a mate that was an apprentice in 1974 earning $27 a week, a tasco scope of that era fixed power retailed for $70 to $85 depending on objective and power. A varipower went for $90 to $123

So a top end vari power Tasco of the era cost a young keen hunter 5 times their weekly salary. In todays terms that would be $2500.
Then we got on to petrol being 50c a gallon and beer about the same, milk of course was 4c

Anyway i digress here are pics of a NZDA mag from 1964 1971 and 1980 and the prices from the back page.
Of note is that while advertising featured extensively in the earlier books by the mid '80's not so much. I am talking here about the inside ads not the back cover stuff




1964



1971



1980

Do apprentices these days earn more than $27 per week? I thought it wasn't far off that

I dont think we have many in the true sense of what an apprentice is, or was and i dont know any that will get up and do a days work for that much.

I bought my first new centrefire in about 1980. It was a Ruger M77 in .270. I was an apprentice butcher earning about $50 per week and the rifle cost me $434. My mum hit the roof when she found out how much it cost me! About 8x my weekly wage.

Funny; I bought it from Sutherland Sports in New Plymouth and put down about $50 on it; and took it away promising to pay it off weekly! Don't think that would happen now! Every week when we went through to NP I'd drop into the shop and pay something off in it and have a receipt stapled into a little booklet!

My first centrefire was an ex military Mauser 8x57; it cost me $78 in 1979. I nearly crapped myself getting ready to take the first shot out of it as I'd only used a .22 up until then. I could only get 200grain Norma ammo for it; they sure dropped billy goats!

They were good to deal with, (Sutherlands) would fix ejectors and similar little problems, for bugger all. I blew the ejector off of a Savage Stevens one time, walked in there with the rifle ( no bag needed ) they had a look, "oh I've got one of those out the back " wandered back with the fixed item. "that'll be $5 thanks"

Im old enough to remember those era of nzda mags,was cleaning out stuff for an old boss and found really early mags one had the origonal account of the moose taken in fiordland. the adds were different too. really peeved Ive lost the photocopy of the one that appealed the most....cartoon was two maori fellas with double barrel shotties one holding a cartridge... the caption... a maori who lived in kaikoura said my shooting gets poorer and poorer,his friend from waihi said use CAC that fix it py curry kia ora......