dfariswheel
Member
- Joined
- Dec 26, 2002
- Messages
- 6,658
I've been watching the news from Iraq since the start of the war, and I've noticed, that to paraphrase Fritz Hollings "There's an awful lot of that shotgunnin' goin' on".
During the war, I saw plenty of US troops carrying a variety of pump shotguns.
Now that we're engaged in a minor guerrilla war, I've been seeing shotguns on BOTH sides.
Just the other night I saw a US soldier using an apparent 870 to blow the lock off a fence, and when they arrested some Iraqi suspects, among the guns seized were.... two pump shotguns.
It seems that the shotgun has been re-discovered as a viable combat weapon, and not in a close range jungle war either.
Astoundingly, here in the 21st Century, the military shotgun rides again.
We're using a shell that hasn't changed much since 1870, a gun that's functionally about the same as models dating to 1897, and troops clamoring for 1911 pistols.
What's next, M1 Garand rifle assaults on Iraqi positions?
So, it looks like "what's old is new again".
During the war, I saw plenty of US troops carrying a variety of pump shotguns.
Now that we're engaged in a minor guerrilla war, I've been seeing shotguns on BOTH sides.
Just the other night I saw a US soldier using an apparent 870 to blow the lock off a fence, and when they arrested some Iraqi suspects, among the guns seized were.... two pump shotguns.
It seems that the shotgun has been re-discovered as a viable combat weapon, and not in a close range jungle war either.
Astoundingly, here in the 21st Century, the military shotgun rides again.
We're using a shell that hasn't changed much since 1870, a gun that's functionally about the same as models dating to 1897, and troops clamoring for 1911 pistols.
What's next, M1 Garand rifle assaults on Iraqi positions?
So, it looks like "what's old is new again".