M3A1 "Grease Gun"

[Macgille]

I caried one of these things from 1960 to 1963 as my primary personal weapon. I was a Tank commander in the 9th Cavalry. I have fired about a gazillion rounds through it and never had a stoppage. It was a hoot to shoot, you never aimed it, you just hosed down the area. I tried to write my name with it, but the durn thing rocked backward and forward so much that one bullet never followed another. I originally had an M3 but was issued an M3a1 later. I preferred the M3.

By the way, the maximum effective range of the M3 was 25 yards.(official) At that range you don't want to be in front of one. Getting hit by 10 or 20 rounds of .45ACP will simply spoil your day.

I also qualified with the Thompson, a totally different type of weapon. Very accurate, Semi and auto. you could aim it and know you would hit the target.

Ah! those were the good old days, I could still hear, and run.

 

[Franksterm1]

We had to qualify with them in basic in '85. I'm left handed and started to fire that way. One of the Drill's told me it was a right handed weapon so I couldn't fire it lefty. I told him I always shoot left handed. I quickly saw the error of my ways and shot righty (yes sir, yes sir, three bags full).

Some pinhead was loading mags with the wire stock (it had a little tab on it to push the loaded rounds down to make room for the next), anyway he puts a round in backwards and somehow jams it in the mag. He starts trying to pry it out with the wire stock. The round goes off and gives the recruit next to him powder burns on the face and the bullet goes past his face, hits the tip of his helmet and flips it off his head. We though the round went through his chin. He ended up w/ an article 15 and did push-ups until the Drill Sergeant was tired.

You didn't happen to call veal patties track pads too?

 

[12Bravo20]

I also carried a grease gun along with a M60 during Desert Storm. We had the grease guns and 1911's up until early 1993 in the unit that I was with in Germany. They took both away when we were issued the M9. It's hard to hit the broad side of a barn with one if you "spray and pray" but can be quite accurate when the shoulder stock is used. I had an old timer show me how to properly shoot the grease gun and got pretty good with it. I would take a grease gun over a M4 any day when I was part of a M88 crew.

 

[Griff]

Veal patties were meat cookies, and S.O.S. wasn't a call for help (until about 30 minutes later...)

To tell the truth, I sometimes wonder if our REMFs would be better served with Grease Guns than ARs. Too easy to use, too hard to break, and still make as much racket. That'll prolly have to wait until I'm made god-emperor of Dune, though.

Cheers, Y'all