I'm a handgun guy for the most part and can count the number of times I've fired a rifle with less than all my fingers. When I was given an opportunity to try out some weapons from the annals of history, I just had to jump at the chance.
My father has owned an M1 Garand for longer than I've been alive, but I had never been too interested in shooting it until my brother absconded off with it to the north. While it isn't a vintage piece, it is still in great shape and, from my recent experience, a tack-driving monster.
I just recently returned from a trip from my brother's place, and one of my missions while there was to finally shoot this rifle, so we loaded it up (along with other goodies) and off we went to the local PD range. Finally, being the brother of a firearms instructor pays off! All I can say on the performance is "wow!"...I'm firmly convinced that it is nearly impossible to miss with this thing. And the first time I heard the "ching" of the clip being ejected? Goose-bumps, pure goose-bumps.
<-- This is the closest I can come to explaining the look on my face after finally shooting not only a piece of history, but also a piece of family.
As if the Garand wasn't enough, I also got to shoot an M-14. Not a castrated, semi-auto M-14, but a true select-fire M-14. It was freshly mooched from the coffers of the local SO armory and placed greedily into my mits. This was my first experience with a full-auto weapon and after receiving some instruction on the operation of it I was turned loose on the unsuspecting target down-range. After firing a couple of rounds in semi-auto to gauge the recoil, I flipped the "happy switch" and commenced to enter nirvana...
...and hit jack-crap with it. I swear I heard the target snicker a bit.
As my brother told me, "it does tend to push you back a bit." Thank you, Master of the Understatement. It was like a boxer had confused my shoulder for a speed bag. There was no pain, but the bruising that showed up later might make you think otherwise.
Further guidance was given to me for the next few magazines and I did indeed get better with practice (limited practice, as I could only afford about 200 rounds). Enough to stop the target from laughing, at least.
Shooting a piece of full-auto machinery is something everyone should experience. When people realize that this much happiness can be achieved, then world peace can be found. I gather this is the ultimate agenda of the Knob Creek organizers.
Peace through superior firepower, indeed.
So that's it, my brief brush with pieces of the past. With luck (and plenty of ammo) on my side, it won't be my last.
My father has owned an M1 Garand for longer than I've been alive, but I had never been too interested in shooting it until my brother absconded off with it to the north. While it isn't a vintage piece, it is still in great shape and, from my recent experience, a tack-driving monster.
I just recently returned from a trip from my brother's place, and one of my missions while there was to finally shoot this rifle, so we loaded it up (along with other goodies) and off we went to the local PD range. Finally, being the brother of a firearms instructor pays off! All I can say on the performance is "wow!"...I'm firmly convinced that it is nearly impossible to miss with this thing. And the first time I heard the "ching" of the clip being ejected? Goose-bumps, pure goose-bumps.
<-- This is the closest I can come to explaining the look on my face after finally shooting not only a piece of history, but also a piece of family.As if the Garand wasn't enough, I also got to shoot an M-14. Not a castrated, semi-auto M-14, but a true select-fire M-14. It was freshly mooched from the coffers of the local SO armory and placed greedily into my mits. This was my first experience with a full-auto weapon and after receiving some instruction on the operation of it I was turned loose on the unsuspecting target down-range. After firing a couple of rounds in semi-auto to gauge the recoil, I flipped the "happy switch" and commenced to enter nirvana...
...and hit jack-crap with it. I swear I heard the target snicker a bit.
As my brother told me, "it does tend to push you back a bit." Thank you, Master of the Understatement. It was like a boxer had confused my shoulder for a speed bag. There was no pain, but the bruising that showed up later might make you think otherwise.
Further guidance was given to me for the next few magazines and I did indeed get better with practice (limited practice, as I could only afford about 200 rounds). Enough to stop the target from laughing, at least.
Shooting a piece of full-auto machinery is something everyone should experience. When people realize that this much happiness can be achieved, then world peace can be found. I gather this is the ultimate agenda of the Knob Creek organizers.
Peace through superior firepower, indeed.
So that's it, my brief brush with pieces of the past. With luck (and plenty of ammo) on my side, it won't be my last.
