Want to know what the US infantryman carried in 1974, or the color of the cockade on the infantry hats of 1803? Well the incredibly detailed 133-page PDF file for free download on the US Army’s History website
“Survey of US Army Uniforms Weapons and Accoutrements by David Cole”
Back in the late 19th century, brass knuckles and small pocket revolvers were popular for personal defense. One Catskills gun maker decided to combine these two concepts in the form of a compact protection tool that could be used as both. His name was James Reid, and his little knuckleduster revolvers were simply referred to as the “My Friend” series.
The 1860s were a dangerous time and, in a vastly more rural America, police forces were few and far between. Towns were usually well patrolled, but if you traveled often, the odds of coming in contact with the criminal element were much higher than running into a member of law enforcement community, which was officially non-existent on a national level and often ‘impromptu’ on the local. This led to individuals carrying small impact weapons such as blackjacks and brass knuckles or small guns like derringers that could fit in a vest pocket, hidden until needed. Inevitably, demand fueled innovation in the concealed weapons market, often in surprising ways.
James Reid, an Irish immigrant who learned gunsmithing in Scotland, heard this call and gave the people what they wanted: a compact little revolver that could also be used as an impact weapon.
Read the rest in my column at GUNS.com
Great Vice Documentary on Defense Distributed,
The Pussy Galore was a short lived but legendary F-105D marking. Originally conceived as a joke on KC-135 tanker crews who had trouble hooking up their fueling booms, it became a welcome morale booster for tanker crews. The original Pussy Galore was painted over and later shot down in 1967. The Pussy Galore II marking was used between Oct 1966 and Dec 1966 by Capt. Victor Vizcarra till an uptight USAF senior officer decided that putting naked women markings on his unit aircraft was a no-no.
In a gunfight, you never want to stand out in the open, like high noon in an Old Western movie, and shoot it out in a fair fight. There is no such thing. You had better believe that if a bad person is shooting at you, they are going to strive to make it as unfair to you as possible and you should return the favor. One of the best guides in your tactical toolbox is the proper use of cover and concealment.
Read the rest in my column at Firearms Talk.com
Incoming fire always has the right of way…
Today when you say speak of a ‘thirty-eight,’ most people think first of the near universal .38 Special round, used since 1898. Well lets set that aside and speak of the ‘special’s granddaddy– the .38 S&W. This 140-year old mild-recoiling round was a favorite of yesteryear and is still a viable shooter today.
Back in the 1870s Smith and Wesson was introducing a new revolver, what later became known as their First Model series and they needed a new, reliable round for it. They produced the 38S&W just for this reason. They mounted a 140-grain .361-inch bullet on a 0.78-inch long brass case with a .433-inch rim diameter over a charge of black powder to produce a 1.20-inch long cartridge. It was very successful and soon almost cornered the handgun market, being one of the most powerful and hard-hitting rounds of the day. After about 1900 it was updated with smokeless powder and bullets up to 200-grains (the British Army .38/200 load), but overall is still the same round.
Read the rest in my column at Firearms Talk.com
The Webley MkIV is an example of a 38SW caliber revolver that is still very, very shootable
One of the largest personal collections of fully automatic machine guns in the world is up for grabs. The collection, that of well-known firearms buff Richard Wray, consists of some 191 lots and includes some of the rarest machineguns in the world. The good news is, if you have the scratch, everything is transferrable.
Richard ‘Dick’ Wray was a former soldier (82nd Airborne in Korea) and successful Ohio businessperson. He was the president of Wray Electric, a company that filled several lucrative construction projects that included wiring Nike Missile sites during the Cold War. Over a fifty-year period, he scratched this itch for military firearms often and at one point, his collection had over 400 machineguns. This is more than the US Army entered WWI with!
This one auction is like a kid in a candy store
Read the rest in my column at Firearms Talk.com
Ted Gundy, 86 year old sniper, awarded the “black hat” one of the highest awards of the marksmanship unit, the black hat awarded to 86 year old ww2 sniper, Ted Gundy, The veteran is given the opportunity to hit a target at 1,000 yards with modern day equipment.
In 1944, Ted Gundy was an army sniper fighting World War II in Europe with the famous 99th “Checkerboard” Divison. The 99th played a strategic role in the Battle of the Bulge when its inexperienced troops held fast on the northern shoulder of the German advance, refusing them access to the vital northern road network that led into Belgium.
Today, Gundy’s gait might be uncertain, his hands shaky and his hearing electronically enhanced (but not always quite enough), but when he settled behind “his” 03 Springfield A4 sniper rifle, none of that mattered.
When Ltc. Daniel Hodne presented Gundy with his own black cap – given only to AMU elite shooters – he and his unit gave a heartfelt thank you to the generation of warriors that came before them
Training an impact tool (baton) class today. Lots of sore people tonight LOL
There has always been an urban legend passed around internet message boards and wherever Glock enthusiasts meet– that of the gun being designed to fire underwater.
Can it be done?
The short answer to this question is: Yes*. The asterisk is in the all-important details of this. While the Glock itself was not specifically designed from the ground-up to be an underwater firearms (unlike the Soviet SPP-1 or the HKP11 ) it can be modified to do so with special internal parts and ammunition.
Is it safe to do? Is it advisable to do? Well, read the rest at my column at Glock Forum
(photo by Vuurwapen)