I am old enough to remember buying dynamite at the feed store. Anyone could buy dynamite if they had the cash (hardly any credit cards back then). My dad told the story of him and his brothers, 8-13 years old, buying 1/2 a case of dynamite to make a swimming hole...yep...young 'uns could buy it too way back when. And yes...they made a swimming hole and scared my great aunt to death when they did it...she broke glass and threw it in their new pool to keep them out of it.
Used to be you could order a rifle from Sears, Montgomery Wards or whoever and have it delivered by the US Post Office....and pay for it with a check. You had to wait 2-3 weeks for the check to clear and then they would send the gun.
And to fly on an airplane with your gun as a carryon...it had to be in a case and fit over your head otherwise you had to check it without all the hoopla. Later you had to check it. Then there came the dreaded cavity search days we now enjly ( NOT! ).