What's in your arsenal??

[Mid]

There are multiple threads over in political where you might get a little sympathy for your crying.

and leave you gun nuts in your safe space ?

pity the dead kids didn't have one .

 

[Mike in Seattle]

You should get off our lawn because,,

, it would be _moi_

, who will be quite happy to drop dead wolves iin _your_ lawn

 

[justsomeguy!]

Breathe, people.
Then, a half breath and hold it.

 

[billy backstay]

Breathe, people.
Then, a half breath and hold it.

Then, gently squeeze, don't pull!

 

[Mid]

You should get off our lawn because,,

, it would be _moi_

, who will be quite happy to drop dead wolves iin _your_ lawn

snowflake

 

[Mid]

Breathe, people.
Then, a half breath and hold it.

Then, gently squeeze, don't pull!

sad that you are able to find humor in guns

 

[billy backstay]

sad that you are able to find humor in guns

Don't take yourself so seriously, snowflake.

 

[Mike in Seattle]

There _is_ humor.

, take a buddy and let him go through the entire Ritual of loading a black powder Hawkins for the first time.

He aims and fires.

, and we both giggle about having to wait for the cloud of smoke to blow away before we can see the target again.

 

[boomer]

So I enlisted in the USN in 1971 in the UDT/Seal program. As a result it was a two year hitch and I was assigned to the BUDs company in boot camp. There were 9 of us. All you do is run, calisthenics and swim. Lots of the above. The whole purpose is to assess your suitability for the more rigorous training to come in Coronado. I had an old ankle injury from high school football (well actually not that old) and the sand running took me out. That rolled me into a regular boot camp company 1/2 way through basic and got me an appointment with the "career counselor".

So now I have to choose a "job". If I stay with two year hitch its out to the fleet as a E-1 seaman. If I extend for 2 years I can pick a rate, get E-2 and get an "A" School then out to the fleet. If I extend for 2 years with a mandatory reenlist for two more in my contract for 6 total I can get a "A" and "C school and a variable reenlistment bonus depending on my rate to be paid upon the end of my 4 when I ship over for the mandatory two more.

I picked extend for two and get a "A" school. The "career counselor" said your test scores show some aptitude for the technical rates and rattled off ET, EM, IC, FT and so on. So I said "what's an FT?" He said a Fire Control Technician. I thought....firefighting...cool, I pick that one. Next I know I have orders for a basic electronics "A" school. It wasn't until a few weeks later I figured out it meant Missile or Gunfire Control. Fortunately as soon as I graduated the "A" school and got to the fleet, they saw my history and sent me to a rescue swimmer school. It wasn't the full blown swimmer school it was a basic course meant to qualify you for swimmer aboard a ship.

Anyway........the point is that the guys who took the 6 year hitch expecting the promised $25,000 reenlistment bonus upon the 4 year mark and the reenlistment - which I did not choose - got royally screwed. The USN decided they were not going to pay the reenlistment bonus as promised AND those guys still had to ship over for the 6 anyway. Look up "Variable Reenlistment Bonus", I'm sure the ugly stuff is still in the inter webs. They formed a group and sued Uncle Sam and there were bumper stickers everywhere that said "VRB or Bust".

It was bust............

Glad I didn't pick the 6 year option.

I enlisted under the guaranteed automatic A school program, for those with a GCT/ARI of 125 or more, called the CASH program, though no cash was involved. With a score of 145 out of 150, they pushed hard to get me to sign up for either Nuclear School, which required signing up for six years, and automatic E4 rank after successfully completing A school, or sign up as a CT Communication Tech (Spook) which Innocent Bystander choose, then they found out how intelligent he really was, and the only sailor I knew of boosted to Annapolis from the fleet without a Congressional appointment.

I stuck to my original plan and held out for automatic A-School as a Builder in the Seabees, and crossed my fingers that I wouldn't have to go to Vietnam or a Combat zone. With Vietnamization, they had pulled most of our troops out including Seabee regular battalions. I didn't know jack about Task Force Delta, or the 9th Marine Amphibious Brigade, Marine Aircraft Group 12, and Marine Aircraft Group 15 were destined to serve in anonymity, their efforts not considered newsworthy at the time.

As a mater for the historical record, when the Vietnamese Marine Division moved from Saigon to defend Hue in April 1972, aggressive support by III MAP forces contributed to the success in defeating Communists there and at Quang Tn City. The contributions made by Marine Aircraft Group 12 to the defense of An Loc in Military Region 3 were also noteworthy.' The Marine Corps response reflected the changing security requirements of the decade, as much as it did the continuation of the previous era of fighting in Vietnam. When considered in the context of maritime strategy, the variety of demands placed upon III MAP Marines in 1972 and 1973 can be viewed as post-war deployments that set a pattern for the next decade of contingencies in the Far East and elsewhere.

I knew for sure when I volunteered for a Seabee detail to dismantle a the Concete Batch plant at Cam Ranh Bay, then reassemble it on Diego Garcia, then continue on to New Guinea and Micronesia - all close to the water - appeared to be much less sweaty then going with the rest of my Battalion to join Task Force Delta, expanding a CIA airbase in the jungles of Nam Phong. As it was it all worked out, though Diego Garcia was hot and humid, and Buna on New Guinea was about as humid as can be, and Truk (Chuuk) Atoll were way more humid then I expected, it was a interesting deployment. I know for a fact, everyone I knew, wasn't expecting the Vietnam conflict to last as long as it did.

U.S. MARINES IN VIETNAM THE WAR THAT WOULD NOT END 1971-1973

 

[Charlie Foxtrot]

There _is_ humor.

And joy.

My favorite annual Cowboy competition ended with a stage featuring a 2 by 3 foot steel plate and stage instruction to shoot all 10 lever action rounds into the plate to end the match. For a cowboy with his spurs on, it don't get any better than running a lever flat out at a large target. After a weekend of intense competition, it was cathartic!

Only thing better would be shooting cartridges loaded with the Holy Black!

 

[boomer]

Freedom of speech aside - Normalizing guts, gore, and gun violence never was a good policy. Children in the United States frequently have access to unsecured firearms and frequently consume media containing guns. Recent studies shows that children who see movie or TV characters use guns are more likely to use guns themselves. Not securing guns in a safe, is apparently an open invitation. Normalizing hate for immigrants and those who don't believe in human rights for all people including LBGT+, was never a good thang. Nor is the rise in "White Supremacy". The recent rise in anti LBGT+ sends a message to others, who don't have a problem picking on or degrading to those LBGT+, as in the case of what happened in Tennessee. It's time to disarm hate.

A link between gun violence on TV and firearm deaths

TV Gun Violence Rises Over Two Decades, Paralleling U.S. Gun Homicide Trends

The association between the rise of gun violence in popular US primetime television dramas and homicides attributable to firearms, 2000–2018

A link between gun violence on TV and firearm deaths

TV Gun Violence Rises Over Two Decades, Paralleling U.S. Gun Homicide Trends

The association between the rise of gun violence in popular US primetime television dramas and homicides attributable to firearms, 2000–2018

Note the bible belt states and their gun safety laws. Research shows that common-sense public safety policies can reduce gun violence and save lives.

Gun Safety Policies Save Lives

Washington State's approach to the epidemic of gun violence is actually saving lives. One strategy Washington State is pursuing is to increase awareness of are extreme risk protection orders (ERPOs) and other laws that can result in a court order for the surrender of firearms. Research shows that the presence of firearms makes suicide attempts and domestic violence far more likely to end in death, confirming the importance of safe storage programs and court orders requiring firearm relinquishment. Suicides account for more than 75 % of firearm related deaths in Washington. Research has shown as many as 10 suicides are prevented for every 100 guns surrendered through an ERPO.

ERPOs are also effective in preventing fatal intimate partner violence because they provide a legal avenue for victims of domestic abuse to separate abusers from their weapons. Washington’s law is more expansive than many other states in that it allows for family and household members, as well as law enforcement, to file a petition for firearm surrender against someone deemed to be an immediate threat to themselves or others.

The statistics broadly show that Washington’s work to counteract the epidemic of gun violence has been effective. From 2018 to 2021, while the number of deaths by firearm nationwide increased substantially, rates in Washington did not mirror that trend. Firearm deaths in Washington remain well below national averages. Even so, gun violence continues to claim the lives of Washingtonians every day, which is why legislators are proposing additional firearm safety measures for this year’s legislative session.

Among the gun responsibility proposals up for debate in Olympia now, is a permit-to-purchase bill. This would require all prospective firearm purchasers to complete safety training and apply directly to the Washington State Patrol for a permit before purchasing a gun. With a smaller proportion of first-time gun buyers purchasing a firearm for hunting - an activity for which a license and training has long been a standard legal requirement - more of Washington’s new gun-owners increasingly lack any kind of training in how to handle and store a gun safely. In the face of that trend, the permit-to-purchase policy is a common-sense method of ensuring gun owners have the knowledge necessary to handle their weapons properly. The bill would also put in place a 10 day waiting period for all firearm purchases.

2020 was a turbulent time that presented COVID-19 concerns and economic downturn due to COVID, as well as a racial reckoning that rocked communities in multiple ways, including massive protests, civil unrest and threats by some groups of civil war - resulting in an estimated 23 million guns were purchased - a 65% increase from 2019, according to Small Arms Analytics, a consulting firm that tracks gun sales.

U.S. gun violence increased 30% during COVID-19 pandemic

 

[Go Left]

There _is_ humor.

, take a buddy and let him go through the entire Ritual of loading a black powder Hawkins for the first time.

He aims and fires.

, and we both giggle about having to wait for the cloud of smoke to blow away before we can see the target again.

Please, please make sure you don't breathe in any of that smoke while you're giggling. It's very unhealthy. (Giggling????, really? Like school girls smoking in the lavatory?)

 

[Go Left]

You should get off our lawn because,,

, it would be _moi_

, who will be quite happy to drop dead wolves iin _your_ lawn

I thought all you gunz-guys were proudly and deeply dedicated to legality in every way.

Yet here you go, promoting trespass, harassment, illegal hunting, and generally being a public nuisance. Sorry, Mike. You lose.

 

[warbird]

Sounds like you had a very competent and thorough CO.

I'm sure you had thoughts of, "I didn't expect this much training."

When they spend a lot of time and cashola training you, they want you to re-enlist.

When were you in?

Capt Phil Norton. Late 30s Mustanger. Played team cribbage with me when we were in the field. I enlisted to get the max training they offered. I had a Congressional appointment to the Merchant Marine Acedemy, my younger sister had committed suicide in spring of 76 and my thinking was avoiding that commitment that I was not fully behind and adding more pain to my devastated parents. Enlistment, training, GI bill... what could go wrong.
The firing battery "C Battery" had very good results with Capt Norton as CO. He let it be known that we would do anything for anybody in DoD if they foot the bill. We did "emmissions" calibration for Firefinder system '78 or '79 at Fort Hauchuca for a 2 month excersise. Shortly after we did "Cruise Missile" detectabilty scenarios at White Sands for a month or so. Finally we did a 14-16 week gig in Dugway Proving Grounds tracking cruise missile prototypes in another detectability exercise late '79. That is the exercise two friends and I borrowed the ceremonial 105 howitzer from headquarters and lost it in the desert.
I served '76 to '80. Post Vietnam recruiting was tough. My MOS 5921 and other in Hawk Systems had pretty high ASVABs so I served with some pretty sharp folks.
My RADARs then were going through upgrades from tube technology to digital so when I checked into my firing battery we immediately went to "Digital" school.

 

[boomer]

Capt Phil Norton. Late 30s Mustanger. Played team cribbage with me when we were in the field.
The firing battery "C Battery" had very good results with him as CO. He let it be known that we would do anything for anybody in DoD if they foot the bill. We did "emmissions" calibration for Firefinder system '78 or '79 at Fort Hauchuca for a 2 month excersise. Shortly after we did "Cruise Missile" detectabilty scenarios at White Sands for a month or so. Finally we did a 10 week gig in Dugway Proving Grounds tracking cruise missile prototypes in another detectability exercise late '79. That is the exercise two friends and I borrowed the ceremonial 105 howitzer from headquarters and lost it in the desert.
I served '76 to '80. Post Vietnam recruiting was tough. My MOS 5921 and other in Hawk Systems had pretty high ASVABs so I served with some pretty sharp folks.
My RADARs then were going through upgrades from tube technology to digital so when I checked into my firing battery we immediately went to "Digital" school.

Yes the handwriting was on the wall, either go OCS and get a commission, cross rate or get out. - so I got out - even though I was one of two Seabees out of 187 who qualified for OCS in 1974, and engineering school at either Washington State or Oregon State - since Seabees was Civil Engineer Corps, one could only get a degree in Civil Engineering, however I wanted a degree in Mechanical or Structural Engineering, so turned down a full boat scholarship. Even in the Seabees beyond '76, rank advancement beyond E5 ground to a halt in all the Seabee rates, as Battalions were shuttered, during Seabee reduction after Vietnam. I had friends who stayed in for 24-36 years, who crossrated to EOD, because that was the only way for them to advance in rank. A few who stayed in the Seabees for 20 it took their whole career to advance to E6 or E7, when a normal open rate allowed one to advance to E6 or E7 in 7&1/2 to 11 years. A go getter makes E5 in four years, and E7, the shortest time in rate was 7&1/2 years, I've read about some rare instance of someone making E7 in 6&1/2 years, but figured it was a misprint or misquote - because you had to have a year in service for each grade rank advancement. Unless someone did exceptional work, for us that meant time reduction or something heroic, you can't advance faster then that.

 

[warbird]

And I don't need an AR 15 for anything.

The restrictions on the Government from taking our rights has no "need" verbage. The Govt cannot restrict our rights to speech, defense, religion, from self incrimination, etc. You really need to reconsider what the constitution says.

 

[warbird]

How many innocent men women and CHILDREN need to die before

We put a clamp down on radical transexuals?

 

[Go Left]

Let's make it clear. Wartime experiences are not relevant to a discussion of whats in your personal domestic arsenal. It is without a doubt the role of the military to have the best weapons of war. It is also without doubt not the role of a private citizen to accumulate and publicly flaunt weapons of war - no matter what skewed 2nd amendment reading you want to flog.

And for those who wave the "But, but, but we gotta fightTyrants" flag, it seems a lot of you have been waving a flag of the only wannabe tyrant out there.

Yeah, yeah, take it to PA. Well, if you start a thread on private arsenals on a sailing web site, you're the ones who've decided to be political.

 

[Go Left]

We put a clamp down on radical transexuals?

Oh, that's a sweet thought...

 

[BoksNoRox]

I can probably guarantee that I've had my back ground checked far more than you! As a gun owner: Please, Please enact more strict guns laws! Please!


This notion of "need" as a measure of something actually being needed in 'Murica is a joke, right?



What's in YOUR arsenal BoxOFRox?



There are plenty of other threads in PA where you can piss on gun owners.

Move on!

My arsenal consists of a Winchester model 12 in 12 gauge, a Marlin 336 in 30.30, and a Browning High Power 9mm. So I don't piss on gun owners. Just idiots who think that guns are the most important thing in their pathetic lives, and believe that what the NRA says is inscribed on the tablets with the ten commandments. Common sense should prevail.