I've been meaning to post an enjoyable experience I had at the public outdoor range this past summer. Things are slow at work this week, so...
I had brought my younger brother to the range to shoot a Korean-era Garand I had picked last Fall. Among the dozen or so shooters at the range was an elderly man and his middle-aged son, zeroing a bolt-action rifle. The older man was wearing a WWII Veteran ballcap, with his unit listed, etc, and a few pins attached. Anyway, they finished with their gun and packed up, then came back and looked over our shoulder as we shot.
At the next all clear, I looked towards the older man and said something like "I bet you know your way around one of these," while pointing towards the Garand. He kind of smiled, nodded, and said "You could say that." We made introductions, etc, and by that time firing had resumed. I asked him "Do you care to show us how to work this thing?" again, pointing at the rifle. He nodded again and then picked it up, but didn't sit down at the bench. It was already cleared and locked open. I indicated a clip sitting on the bench and told him to help himself, but he shook his head, and said he didn't care to fire the gun. I figured he may have had sore joints or some other limitation (he hadn't fired the rifle they were zeroing) so I didn't ask him a second time.
But he started explaining the operating principles behind the Garand, from the design of the clip to the motion of the action, etc... It was a pretty general overview, and I couldn't really tell if he had taken my question to "show us how it works" literally, or maybe was just eager to share his knowledge of the rifle. There wasn't any "new" information in his description, but we listened attentively until he finished, nodding as he went along.
Then something neat happened. He asked if he could adjust the sling. I said sure. He moved it out a bit, and showed us how he used to wrap it around his forearm to "solid-up" (as he put it) the connection between himself and the gun. He brought the gun from slung on his shoulder to firing position a couple of times, to demonstrate the transition. That was neat in and of itself, but then he tightened up the sling, and put the gun at "order arms," (I think it's called that) standing the gun at his side. Then, facing off toward the woods alongside the range, he showed us some close-quarters combat moves with the gun. He did a thrust or two, a couple of sweeping motions with the muzzle (with imagined bayonet), and then a move wherein he swung the gun upwards, butt-first, as if to strike under the jaw of an opponent, then quickly brought the "bayonet" back down in a stabbing action.
The moves weren't parade ground razor-sharp, but it was obvious that he was recalling training that had been drilled into him through heavy repetition. His actions were also very convincing, and it wasn't hard to imagine how this man would have appeared 40 years ago. He recited the names of the "moves," and went through them all in quick procession, 2 or 3 times. You could really picture this guy in combat gear, fighting for your freedom. It was almost eerie, and the feeling was apparently shared by my brother, who gave me a sideways glance of "Wow."
They left pretty soon after that, but as we shook hands good bye, we said we were glad to have met him, and also thanked him for his service to our country and the impromptu demonstration.
To be honest, I found it to be somewhat of a moving experience, and one my brother and I will not soon forget.
I had brought my younger brother to the range to shoot a Korean-era Garand I had picked last Fall. Among the dozen or so shooters at the range was an elderly man and his middle-aged son, zeroing a bolt-action rifle. The older man was wearing a WWII Veteran ballcap, with his unit listed, etc, and a few pins attached. Anyway, they finished with their gun and packed up, then came back and looked over our shoulder as we shot.
At the next all clear, I looked towards the older man and said something like "I bet you know your way around one of these," while pointing towards the Garand. He kind of smiled, nodded, and said "You could say that." We made introductions, etc, and by that time firing had resumed. I asked him "Do you care to show us how to work this thing?" again, pointing at the rifle. He nodded again and then picked it up, but didn't sit down at the bench. It was already cleared and locked open. I indicated a clip sitting on the bench and told him to help himself, but he shook his head, and said he didn't care to fire the gun. I figured he may have had sore joints or some other limitation (he hadn't fired the rifle they were zeroing) so I didn't ask him a second time.
But he started explaining the operating principles behind the Garand, from the design of the clip to the motion of the action, etc... It was a pretty general overview, and I couldn't really tell if he had taken my question to "show us how it works" literally, or maybe was just eager to share his knowledge of the rifle. There wasn't any "new" information in his description, but we listened attentively until he finished, nodding as he went along.
Then something neat happened. He asked if he could adjust the sling. I said sure. He moved it out a bit, and showed us how he used to wrap it around his forearm to "solid-up" (as he put it) the connection between himself and the gun. He brought the gun from slung on his shoulder to firing position a couple of times, to demonstrate the transition. That was neat in and of itself, but then he tightened up the sling, and put the gun at "order arms," (I think it's called that) standing the gun at his side. Then, facing off toward the woods alongside the range, he showed us some close-quarters combat moves with the gun. He did a thrust or two, a couple of sweeping motions with the muzzle (with imagined bayonet), and then a move wherein he swung the gun upwards, butt-first, as if to strike under the jaw of an opponent, then quickly brought the "bayonet" back down in a stabbing action.
The moves weren't parade ground razor-sharp, but it was obvious that he was recalling training that had been drilled into him through heavy repetition. His actions were also very convincing, and it wasn't hard to imagine how this man would have appeared 40 years ago. He recited the names of the "moves," and went through them all in quick procession, 2 or 3 times. You could really picture this guy in combat gear, fighting for your freedom. It was almost eerie, and the feeling was apparently shared by my brother, who gave me a sideways glance of "Wow."
They left pretty soon after that, but as we shook hands good bye, we said we were glad to have met him, and also thanked him for his service to our country and the impromptu demonstration.
To be honest, I found it to be somewhat of a moving experience, and one my brother and I will not soon forget.
Last edited:
That must have been priceless to see someone hit a steel gong at 800 yards open with open sights !
