That article put me in mind of a time now largely gone here (in the land of Oz). When I was a teenager I could catch the train into Sydney, get out at one end of George St (the main street of the CBD), and make a day of walking along, visiting the half-dozen or so gunshops along and near that street. There were racks and racks of rifles and shotguns of all descriptions, from large numbers of cheap ex-military rifles to all sorts of fancy stuff, and you could walk into each store and have a chinwag and fondle whatever you wanted.
Before I was 18 I had bought several rifles and shotguns in those shops, and for a while I worked for a gunsmith who operated a small shop at the end of the route, in a bit of a back-alley. My job there included making coffee and conversation with the people who'd drop in, so that the boss could go to his workshop and get the work done. He also let me do the odd bit of gunsmithing, which culminated in me building a sporter on a No. 4 action.
You could buy any long-arm bar one capable of full auto (tho' even those could be had in Tasmania), and you just had to say "I'll have that one please, wrap it up, I'll take it now". Handguns were also available, though you needed a licence for those, and where I worked we'd sell these for personal protection, farmers, and target shooters. There was no particular fuss about firearms. People would even step out onto the footpath to check out the view through a scope by taking aim up at the Central Station clocktower, and no-one would turn a hair. School cadets would also take their SMLEs to and from high school on the bus or train, and my high school in the suburbs had an armoury with SMLEs, Brens etc and a miniature rifle range down the back behind the football fleld. I used to take the train to the range with my rifle too, and no-one was bothered.
Firearms were even sold in places like Kmart, and even in the small town near my parents' farm there were three gunshops. Even the little village stores sold ammunition.
There's only one gunshop in George St now, and it specialises in older military firearms as well as various militaria (swords, badges, uniforms etc). All the others are long gone. There are several gunshops scattered around Sydney's suburbs, and the odd few regional ones, but nowhere near as many as there were.
There are still some nice ones. I'm lucky enough to have a good one within walking distance of home, where they have a good selection including some very nice double rifles, drillings etc. A friendly bunch too, though they can be too busy for a chat on a Saturday morning. There's rather more involved in buying a gun now though, and you can't just go in and say "yeah, that one please".
