So I went out shooting again last night with a machine-gun-owning friend. First I did the routine stuff...some practice with the CZ452, and sighting in the M1. Then came the cool part. Someone a few lanes down opened up with a full-auto something-or-other - BRAAAAAAAAP!
What's the proper response to that? Why, to whip out your own machine gun, of course! We had decided to bring a BAR (built on a 1929 Swedish receiver) and a 1945-manufacture PPS-43 this time. So I dove for the gun cases and dug out the PPS-43. Slap in a magazine of 7.62x25 Tok, pull the bolt back, and BRRRRP!
I was rather pleasantly surprised by how comfortable the 43 was to shoot. It has a folding stock much like the underfolding AK style, and I wasn't expecting much from it. Well, it's a bit narrower than an AK underfolder, and along with the light recoil from the Tokarev cartridge, it was actually pretty easy to shoot. Didn't hurt my cheek at all, like some folding stocks do. The sights were also pretty crude, but surprisingly effective. The gun rattled around, but didn't really try to climb on me.
At the next cease-fire, I walked down to where the other machine gun had been firing, and introduced myself to the two gentlemen there. It turned out they had brought an HK53 with da switch. I offered to trade magazines, and they happily accepted. I sadly didn't get a photo of it, but I was also surprisingly pleased shooting it. I really don't like the HK91, but the 53 made a really good impression on me. Recoil was much lighter than I expected, and it was nearly as controllable as the PPS43.
Oh, and they had also brought a suppressed G36 clone (built up form an SL8). Being typical gunnies, they forced my friend and I to put some round through that puppy as well.
The integrated optic on that rifle was pretty cool. It had a heavy "donut" for fast-n-close shooting (like the AUG), but also had a fine crosshair inside it, as well as a rangefinding element based (I think) on the size of a torso. The suppressor blew a little gas back in my face, but the coolness of shooting a .223 that went "phhhtt" more than made up for that.
So the next dilemma is, how do you say thank-you to someone who lets you shoot two rifle as cool as those? Well, one way is to bust out a 1929 BAR and force them to shoot it (and shoot it yourself too)!
Of everything I shot last night, I had the highest expectations for the BAR, and it was the biggest (ok, the only) letdown. I was hoping that the comparatively slow rate of fire and significant weight of the weapon would let me keep rounds on paper at 100 yards. No so much, though I'm sure lots of practice would help. It was undoubtedly fun to shoot, but between my shooting ability and the small 20-round mags (RATATATA...TATATATA...RATAclick) it wasn't as interesting as some other things I shot. No doubt the BAR is a sweet piece of machinery and a revolutionary design for its time, but it is definitely outdated now.
What's the proper response to that? Why, to whip out your own machine gun, of course! We had decided to bring a BAR (built on a 1929 Swedish receiver) and a 1945-manufacture PPS-43 this time. So I dove for the gun cases and dug out the PPS-43. Slap in a magazine of 7.62x25 Tok, pull the bolt back, and BRRRRP!
I was rather pleasantly surprised by how comfortable the 43 was to shoot. It has a folding stock much like the underfolding AK style, and I wasn't expecting much from it. Well, it's a bit narrower than an AK underfolder, and along with the light recoil from the Tokarev cartridge, it was actually pretty easy to shoot. Didn't hurt my cheek at all, like some folding stocks do. The sights were also pretty crude, but surprisingly effective. The gun rattled around, but didn't really try to climb on me.
At the next cease-fire, I walked down to where the other machine gun had been firing, and introduced myself to the two gentlemen there. It turned out they had brought an HK53 with da switch. I offered to trade magazines, and they happily accepted. I sadly didn't get a photo of it, but I was also surprisingly pleased shooting it. I really don't like the HK91, but the 53 made a really good impression on me. Recoil was much lighter than I expected, and it was nearly as controllable as the PPS43.
Oh, and they had also brought a suppressed G36 clone (built up form an SL8). Being typical gunnies, they forced my friend and I to put some round through that puppy as well.
The integrated optic on that rifle was pretty cool. It had a heavy "donut" for fast-n-close shooting (like the AUG), but also had a fine crosshair inside it, as well as a rangefinding element based (I think) on the size of a torso. The suppressor blew a little gas back in my face, but the coolness of shooting a .223 that went "phhhtt" more than made up for that.
So the next dilemma is, how do you say thank-you to someone who lets you shoot two rifle as cool as those? Well, one way is to bust out a 1929 BAR and force them to shoot it (and shoot it yourself too)!
Of everything I shot last night, I had the highest expectations for the BAR, and it was the biggest (ok, the only) letdown. I was hoping that the comparatively slow rate of fire and significant weight of the weapon would let me keep rounds on paper at 100 yards. No so much, though I'm sure lots of practice would help. It was undoubtedly fun to shoot, but between my shooting ability and the small 20-round mags (RATATATA...TATATATA...RATAclick) it wasn't as interesting as some other things I shot. No doubt the BAR is a sweet piece of machinery and a revolutionary design for its time, but it is definitely outdated now.
