Photo Du Jour
You failed to mention that we were testing it when we spotted the first Dogface Army guys landing about 3 months after we had been there. So naturally, we wanted them to experience a Normandy-like landing…
Also we had discovered that two out of four M60’s malfunctioned in the field. The Skipper (ALSO CALLED THE “OLD MAN” {tho not so old as some}) was not pleased, & ordered us to test them regularly.
Posted by Oink
09/18/2005 at 01:48 PM
P.S. Thanks, Old Man, for posting it.
Posted by Oink
09/18/2005 at 01:50 PM
Now we know it wasn’t Max Cleland. Of course, you weren’t in the Signal Corps, were you, Oink?
Thanks for asking, SK, but I had a pair (NOT of these:
) so I was disqualified. 
Posted by Oink
09/18/2005 at 02:59 PM
You is welcome, Oink!
I have a new self-discipline: every time I go off-topic, I stand up, put my nuts in the desk drawer, and slam the drawer shut.
Re email: (since I bitched) my expert son tells me that it’s unquestionable that the problem is at my end, but damn if he knows how. NOT SPAM FILTER.
Reminds me of the patient who said that his doctor told him he was going to die, but didn’t know when. I could have told him the same—a lot cheaper.
UUUNNNNHHHHHRRRRRGGGGHHHH 
Posted by Oink
09/18/2005 at 05:14 PM
Ok. I’m back with a new avatar. Let’s see if this works.
Old Marines are sooo sexy!
Mike is an old Marine too-remember.
And I see you found me a smilie....it’s this one.
Posted by Annoying Little Twerp
09/18/2005 at 07:09 PM
http://www.navyseals.com/community/navyseals/weapons_m60.cfm
I’ve heard the SEALs use(d) it as described above—hand held. At 23 pounds, the user would have to be a monster, and I suspect would do better to set it down on the Bi-pod front. Even a rifle on full auto—the muzzle strongly wants to rise as it’s fired. Intimidating, sure! Accurate? I doubt it. One shot—one kill is very very intimidating. But I’ve been wrong before.
Regarding sexy OLD
Marines. A friend of Ruth’s was going on about the stupidity of some gal who fell for the ”Do it for me, baby, ‘cause I’m a Marine combat vet!” I gave her a “surreptitious” “Shhhh!” sign while wagging my finger toward my wife. 
Ruth thought it was funny. Anyhow, it was too late by then ...
Posted by Oink
09/18/2005 at 07:47 PM
"Do it FOR me” Oinkster? Was the poor guy disabled?
Well, there goes that racket, eh, Oink?
Hell, a 1911 wants to rise as it’s fired.
I had heard that the old Thompson had the same habit. I’m thinking that it also would move to one side. IIRC the Navy version had some porting at the muzzle to offset the effect.
Drew (sigh)
(sigh)
Ever heard the expression, “Going down for the troops” ?
Hey, somebody’s gotta do it ! And I’m not referring to educating Drew ...
Posted by Oink
09/18/2005 at 08:39 PM
SK: I only weighed about 160 and I was pointing at the zenith after firing a .45 pistol for the first time. I also put 8 shots into the deck—never injuring the nearby target. The kick and the roar severely rattled my dope as a young boot. But the .45 is a weapon of last resort—just barely before alley-apples and bayonette.
(alley-apple: solid object on ground, good for chuckin’ at foe—often found in alleys)
Posted by Oink
09/18/2005 at 08:50 PM
Similar to an alley biscuit (brick), no doubt.
Luckily I was firing off the fantail of a destroyer. Therefore there was no evidence of where my shots went. We were dragging an old lifejacket behind as a target but I doubt if I injured the lifejacket in any way. I ended up with my arm high in the air while still trying to point the heavy damn thing at the target. I’d have noticed sooner how goofy it must have looked but I just closed my eyes after the first noisy shot (steel deck, steel VDS hydraulic tank next to me) and squeezed off the rest just to get it over with. Hey, I was a sonar tech, I’ve got delicate ears.
Another time one of the Gunner’s Mates showed up with a Luger in a brown paper bag. All the weight seemed to be in your fist and it felt like a great weapon, just like pointing a finger. I’d liked to have fired that rascal. He put it in the ship’s armory, of course, for safe and legal storage until he could take it home.
SK—The roughest “hand held” military weapon I shot (once in 1965 in Infantry Training) was an M1 with a grenade launcher attachment—a real tossing grenade weighing a couple of pounds ~~ a WW2 leftover. You held it under your armpit and leaned waaay forward; smarter is to brace the butt against the ground and your boot. Did the Navy use the term “knock your dick stiff” ?
The most intimidating civilian weapon I’ve fired was a buffalo rifle. It kicked like a mule and ROARED like a quarter pound block of TNT. Useful for low-flying aircraft. Would stop a charging rhino, I bet.
Posted by Oink
09/18/2005 at 09:55 PM
- yep, I’ve heard that term more than once.
Other than the 1911, the only other weapon I ever fired in the Navy was a target rifle on the rifle range, once, in boot camp. I’m thinking it was some form of .22. We carried the damn M-1s around everywhere but never got to fire them. I’m not even sure if they were in a condition to fire.
I tried to stay away from the five inch guns when they were going off and learned to stay away from the forced air vents too (rust would break loose and shower any fool in front of the vent). I was impressed when, on my last ship, they broke out a .50 cal belt fed machine gun complete with tripod mount. There was a noisy bugger too. I didn’t know we even had any of those aboard.
SK: Ambivalence. One very early, very clear morning in autumn of 1965 a rich yellow rising sun behind my back was illuminating a green, almost vertical mountain wall miles and miles and miles away. Little Fantom Jets, the size of tiny wasps, were dropping napalm on the mountainside. They would dive, pull up, and a blossom of bright orange fire would appear, then change to black smoke. There was no sound.
I had two thoughts:
A. This is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
B. This is fucked up.Posted by Oink
09/18/2005 at 11:03 PM
Both valid thoughts, I’d say.
Nothing like an A-10 Warthog strafing an armored column in the morning..LOL
NOW that was a sight....
The largest weapon that I have ever fired was a Howitzer Field artillery piece at the NTC training center, largest firearm, 50 caliber on the TC hatch of an M-1 abrhams, and the largest handheld weapon, 50 caliber sniper rifle, if you want to call that handheld… Largest handgun, Desert eagle, just about knocked me on my ass…
