Thread: Guns Guns and MORE Guns

[QUOTE=BobH;1960693I have been out of shooting for a long time now. I'm just an old man who like to reminisce about the old days. [/QUOTE]

Ha , you and me both Bob, I haven't even seen a gun since i left the army in 1985 that wasn't stuck to a Canadian cops hip.

Originally Posted by STF

There were 4 crew in a Chieftain Tank, 3 in the turret and each had a personal weapon in there with them, can you imagine tryiing to get 3 full size Rifles in the turret and find somewhere to put them without getting them stuck in the turret race.

You are a young pup then. The real tankers were in Centurions. The old joke was that he was in the army when centurion was a rank not a tank.

Bob

Originally Posted by BobH

You are a young pup then. The real tankers were in Centurions. The old joke was that he was in the army when centurion was a rank not a tank.

Bob

Yeah we had a few cents in storage, that was the days when drivers were big guys and the tanks had a clutch and a crash box.

I drove Cheiftains with no clutch and a foot operated gcp like a motorbike, except I had 6 forward and 2 reverse gears.

I had the best seat for sleeping in too because when we were shut down, I used to lay down like in a dentist chair and look up through the periscope. I had the only reclining seat

Originally Posted by BobH

Yes, the CIA did supply ammo to clandestine operations using ammo with foreign head stamps.

Yup. Some mountain villagers being issued/trained. They seem bewildered..

Kind of reminds me of the situation in Southeast Asia years ago.....

Originally Posted by Johntoad57

Kind of reminds me of the situation in Southeast Asia years ago.....

Pretty sure that is what it is?

Originally Posted by sharptonn

Pretty sure that is what it is?

Yes, possibly Montagnards?

Bob

Vietnamese, Bob...
"Vietnam War Members of the 'Rhades' hill tribe who are of short stature and their tall American military instructor - 1962"

Most all the tank crews I dealt with had grease guns. Plenty of room for the old tin gun

Sticking up another 1911 here, still hoping to generate some interest in 1911-guns generally. This one is a "real" 1911, a term which has come to mean a entire genre of handguns, some of which stray pretty far from the original.

I love 1911s. Grew up around them. Shot several different relatives' 1911s when I was a kid. Back then if one admired the design he acquired a commercial Colt Government Model or else a surplus U.S. contract 1911 or 1911A1. That's all there was and was what my extended family owned and shot. For my own 21st birthday I purchased this Colt Model 1911 in Fort Worth, Texas at Weber's Jewelry & Loan in 1978 for $140. Couldn't afford a new Colt Government Model which was $279 at the time if I recall correctly. Didn't matter as I wanted a 1911 and wanted to work on a budding U. S. military small arms collection so this one suited. The price wasn't that great of a deal at that time.


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It's a mongrel Augusta Arsenal rebuild of a 1918 Colt. It was shabby and worn out when I got it. I shot the livin' hooey out of it for many years, subjected it to copious quantities of handloaded .45 ammunition, both mild and wild (when I was young and dumb), and toted it, both for personal protection and afield when hiking. I changed out recoil springs infrequently when the whim struck me and kept it cleaned and lubricated. That's all. It's never bobbled, not with weird bullet shapes and weights, powder puff handloads, nuclear-powered handloads or filthy cheap-o Russian Wolf steel cased ammo. It's always fed and functioned with everything. Perhaps loosy-goosey has some value. The pistol groups decently, will put a magazine full inside one of the old 2 lb. coffee can lids at 25 yards if I'm in a shooting humor.

It's said that the early Colt and U. S. contract 1911s ought not be fired as their metallurgy and heat treatment was primitive compared with post World War II Colts. I never heard of any of that until the rise of the internet firearms forum, a source that frequently is inhabited by timorous ditherers. Claims are now made that the old slides can crack. It was too late for this one for I subjected it to hard use and didn't honor it with a well earned "semi-retirement" until 2008 when its front sight went AWOL during a range trip. It never cracked, but was 90 years old that year so the "warranty had expired." I replaced the front sight and gave it an opportunity to "slow down" due to its advanced age.

It still goes to the range for "exercise" on occasion, cracking be hanged.



The first holster with which I equipped myself for use with this pistol is an original World War I M1916 leather holster manufactured by Warren Leather Goods Co. and dated 1918. This stuff was once cheap at gun shows and I got this holster for $5 not long after acquiring the pistol. I'd march about our old family place on hunts and hikes wearing the holstered pistol. Soon got some better holsters, but have kept this holster long enough to become "collectible in its own right.