What's your shooting like?

[marcus69x]

Originally Posted by jacobtowne

I discovered this Smith & Wesson Model 625 under the tree last Christmas.

As you can see, I missed the target comlpletely.

JT

That's a nice gun that like mate. Is it airsoft? Is so how do you load it?

[von Poop]

Marcus, check JT's past posts. I think we can very safely say it isn't airsoft.
(and that's a nice 'shot' in photographic terms JT.)
Cheers,
Adam.

[marcus69x]

Ah! I see. Actually looking again, I can see they're real rounds. Soz for saying it looked plastic.

[Ron Goldstein]

Hi

It's me again, this time with a postscript to my fairground stories and a confession regarding my actual lack of shooting experience whilst serving in the wartime Army.

Yes, I certainly did all the preliminary infantry training which included lots of rifle practice and yes I subsequently trained on Sherman tanks that used 75 mm canon but my main job between 1942 and 1945 was always that of a wireless operator and so I was not having to actually fire live ammo at anybody, particularly the Wermacht.

When my Ack Ack Regiment was disbanded at the end of 1944 and I was transferred into the Armoured Corps things altered drastically but I still never had to use small arms as a means of either attack or defence.

That was the situation until one particular Friday the thirteenth when, as my diary reminds me, I nearly killed Hewie.

Friday 13th. April 1945
Moved over Santerno. Some M.G. nuisance and one H.E. about twenty yards away. Bags of prisoners, Kiss from Signora. "Liberatoris !". Chasing after tedeschis with 30 browning blazing!

The Browning machine gun referred to was rarely fired in anger, the exception being on this one occasion when I nearly killed Hewie our Stuart Tank driver.

We had been on the move all day and the Germans were surrendering left, right and centre. To our left, about two hundred yards away, German infantry were climbing out of slit trenches with their hands high and we were gesturing to them to get behind us and to make their way to the rear.

Suddenly someone to our right opened light rifle fire at us and Busty (SSM ‘Busty’ Thomas) lost patience and yelled at me "Let the bastards have it!" Hewie swung the tank to the right so we could face the new threat and I started firing non-stop, without giving Hewie a chance to drop his adjustable seat down below the level of fire belching from the Browning. A horrified Busty yelled: "Get down you stupid bastard!" and to my immediate relief Hewie disappeared from view before I could hit him.

Within seconds the rifle fire was replaced by more hand-raising, and we were able to proceed without further incident.

So there you are, that was the only time I ever got to fire the Browning in anger and, with a little bit of luck, Hewie is still around to tell the tale to his grandchildren.

[Cpl Rootes]

last time I went shooting I had 20 rounds. 10 were (literally) bulls-eyes the other 10 missed the target or hit the edges.

[morse1001]

had RAF marksman badge

[jacobtowne]

Ron:

Fine account. Thank you. It certainly underscores how easily accidents can happen in combat. They happen all too easily off the field of battle as well. A young serviceman from my home state of Massachusetts was killed recently (shot accidently) during a training exercise with the 101st Airborne at Fort Campbell.

JT

Originally Posted by Owen D

The only safe place to be when you have a gun is right in front of you

[kfz]

Thanks for that Ron.

Kev

[kfz]

Originally Posted by sapper

Hi Ron
With me bundook? OK, but not to sniper standard. With my Bren? A good shot. always a pattern of five, with one in the centre. carrying that blasted Bren across France Belgium and Holland stunted my growth....Well that's my excuse mate. So! my fifteen and half stone is packed into a frame rather like a little tank. Folk bounce off me, rather like those lead botom dolls that were around years ago.
Sapper

Allways kept meaning to ask you Sapper about the Bren is it true that it was 'too' accurate for a machine gun?

I cant imagine how you even shot one, I ve picked (an unloaded) onw up once it was a ton, hard work. Ive heard cases where the accuracy was loreded and it was used as a sniper rifle on single shot? IS this true or even possable??

Kev