Over in the United Kingdom. They seem to take a more mature and caring way of taking care of their Senior Veterans.
Like the Chelsea Hospitaliers. These are British Army Veterans, who have elected to give up their pensions. Who then have a sort of Militarised Rest Home. Just do not tell them that!
Anyways, somebody got smart and interviewed them. As you can guess by now. They have some really good war stories. So I hope that you enjoy them.
The Old and the Bold: Short Magazine Lee Enfield Rifle
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My Idea about Gun Control
Now I know that for a lot of the Minorities. There were very few good old days for them.
But for a lot of Americans. There were some Real Glory Days. So here comes some blasts from the Past. Hopefully they will come back one day soon!
Yes I am a Shameless Whore! When It comes to using other folks work.
But none the less. This one is too good to pass up.
Enjoy Grumpy
Cartridge Showdown: The 30-’06 — Awesome or Awful?
Dust rose in thin clouds from the arena where I worked, the horses I was training weaving an age-old dance around me. My 80-something boss shuffled up to the rails and motioned me over through the haze. After shaking my hand he said, “When I die, I want you to come get my guns”. My 18-year old heart made a bound bigger than a colt under his first saddle, and swallowing subdued excitement I replied, “Yes Sir.” Who was I to argue with an order like that?
A good gemsbok bull, taken cleanly with one shot from the author’s 30-’06.
One of those guns was an old semi-sporterized Springfield 30-’06. My brother reshaped and streamlined the stock, I installed a Timney trigger and a modified bolt with a scope-clearing handle, and had the action drilled and tapped for scope mounts. One 3-9×42 Leupold later, and the rifle printed little groups with almost anything I stuffed into the magazine. I had my first real hunting rifle.
A 180-grain Nosler Accubond after passing through the shoulders of a Namibian Gemsbok.
A couple years later I shot my first big bull elk, deep in a backcountry wilderness, with that old 30-’06 rifle. Several more years later I killed my best-ever mule deer buck – a 215-inch 8×9 behemoth – at 324 yards. The only shot I had was at the base of the buck’s ear, and I made one of the best shots of my life, shattering the atlas joint with one prone shot from that Springfield. My best-ever whitetail also fell to the old rifle, along with too many other elk and deer to count. The barrel is shot out now and the groups it prints are a bit bigger, but just last year I carried my old favorite into Africa on the tracks of Theodore Roosevelt. With it, I harvested gemsbok, warthog, and Zebra, and with a 30-’06 Winchester lever-action model ’95 (another rifle carried by Teddy on his legendary 1909 – 1910 African safari), I shot a grand old Kudu bull, fulfilling a lifelong dream.
History
The 30-’06 Springfield was originally introduced as a military round, adopted in 1906 – hence the name. The .30 designates projectile diameter, and ’06 referring to 1906, the year the military started using it. The cartridge was used in a vast array of firearms, including the legendary 1903 Springfield, the M1 Garand, the BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) and many machine guns. Soldiers returning home from war brought stories of the efficient new round, in some cases bringing rifles home as well. Popularity spread like wildfire and a legendary cartridge was born.
The .308 Win. (center) simply doesn’t possess the sexiness of the 6.5 Creedmoor (left) or the panache of the 30-’06 Springfield (right).
Modern Day Cartridge
Now, there are multitudes of wonderful cartridges out there, and I’ll confess to having a love affair with many of them. But for sheer versatility mixed with get-’er-done authority, my vote still goes to the venerable 30-’06. It doesn’t posses the smashing capabilities of the magnums, but neither does it pack the kick. It can’t keep up with the 7mm Rem. Mag. or the .280 Ackley Improved, but ammunition is more available and in much better variety. The 6.5 Creedmoor and other 6.5s maintain energy better, but don’t possess the inside-300-yards authority of the 30-’06. It recoils a bit more than the .308 Win., and necessitates a full-length action as opposed to the short action of a .308, but it also strikes with more authority. (If you want a short-action cartridge that doesn’t kick but still eats dragons for supper, the 6.5 Creedmoor walks all over the .308.) Consider the following statistics, arrived at via my “Ballistic” App. Let’s compare apples to apples, each cartridge using Hornady Precision Hunter ammo featuring ELD-X bullets.
The 30-’06 is available in an astonishing assortment of bullet weights and designs.
As you can see, the .308 offers a couple hundred foot-pounds in energy over the 6.5 Creedmoor at the beginning, but at 800 yards has lost pretty much all of its margins. The Creedmoor starts out faster (with far less recoil, I might add) and stays that way, in fact gaining about 12 fps per hundred yards on the .308.
The author’s first big wilderness bull elk, taken with his “one rifle man” Springfield.
The 30-’06 versus the Creedmoor is a much closer race. The 6.5 maintains speed and energy better, but the ’06 starts out with a speed and energy advantage. At 800 yards the two cartridges sport almost exactly the same drop (fully 20 inches less than the .308), the 30-’06 carries an energy advantage of 186 ft.-lbs. of energy, while the Creedmoor now has a 58 fps speed advantage.
The upshot of this is that were I offered three identical rifles in these three different calibers – 6.5 Creedmoor, .308 Win., and 30-’06 Springfield, I would choose either the Creedmoor for its low recoil, short action, and aerodynamic projectile, or, if I wanted more authority, the 30-’06 for its higher energy and speed inside 300 yards, which is where 98 percent of game is harvested. The .308 Win., while being a great cartridge and thoroughly capable in its own right, gets left in the proverbial dust. If I had to choose one of the three to use for the rest of my life it would be the 30-06 every time. Here are some (more) reasons why:
Why the .30-’06?
Versatility.
Thirty-caliber projectiles are readily available in weights ranging from 110 up to 225 grains, and in a myriad of profiles from flat-based round-nosed bullets to super streamlined high BC (ballistic coefficient) pointed boat-tailed bullets. Factory ammo is available in almost as many iterations. The handloader can have a field day with his 30-06, loading 110 gr. Varmint bullets for coyotes, 150-grain projectiles for deer, 180-grain partitions for elk, 225-grain match bullets with a G1 BC of 777 (that’s high) for long range shooting, and stuff all of them in the same rifle.
Availability.
Walk into a sporting goods store anywhere from Alaska to Africa, and the most common ammo on the shelves will likely be good ol’ 30-’06. Should you find yourself abroad on the adventure of a lifetime while your ammo takes a flight to parts unknown courtesy of baggage handlers at the last airport, you can always find something to turn your rifle from a fancy club into a lethal tool.
From Western mule deer and elk to plains game in Africa, the author has never felt under-gunned while packing a 30-’06. Two of the author’s favorite things: his old Springfield rifle and a big warthog.
So, is the 30-’06 Springfield the best cartridge out there? The simple answer is no. There are cartridges better at almost any one thing. The magnums are better when something is trying to eat you. The super-aerodynamic calibers are better at long range. Lighter recoiling cartridges are better for sensitive shooters. But the ’06 is, to my way of thinking, perhaps the best all-around cartridge out there – that’s where it shines. It does everything well.
The 30-’06 Springfield has fought for our freedom through two world wars and several smaller ones. It’s been a favorite of hunters for the past century, and used wisely it is adequate for any game on the North American continent. It possesses a noble history, commands widespread respect, and is a favorite of America sportsmen and shooters. Just like my favorite old rifle, the 30-06 is here to stay.
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When Sikhs get bored
I know a few of these Guys in the Army. They are some great Soldiers & folks.
Enjoy!
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Some more Gun Porn
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Terminal Lance
I think that only my Brother In Law is the only Marine in our family. But none the less I really like this Comic Strip about today’s Marine Corp. It seems that they have a lot of the same issues that the US Army has also.
Also the Author is whip smart also. So hopefully some of your guys might like it also!
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NSFW
Something that will be easy on a man’s eyes
Enjoy
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The Presidents 100
Now a lot of folks out there in the shooting community. Have never probably even heard of this program. I myself have never even seen one of these folks. They are that elite!
Who ever can legally wear all of these patches. Will qualify as a REAL BADASS in my book. That and the eye hand coordination of these folks must be off the scale!
But enough said of that. As it usually happens. This very good idea found a serious patron in the form of Theodore Roosevelt. Who really got things rolling.
Hopefully one day I can go and at least see at Camp Perry Ohio. (By the way, it is a really nice place and the CMP program is a real hidden gem)
Thanks for your time that you spent reading this!
$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
By the way the Paypal Button is still working! Yes I am still deep down a complete & total mercenary!
Here is also some more information about these incredibly skilled Folks!
The President’s Hundred Tab/Brassard is a badge awarded by the Civilian Marksmanship Program (CMP) to the 100 top-scoring military and civilian shooters in the President’s Pistol and President’s Rifle Matches. The tab is authorized for wear on military uniforms of the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Coast Guard (enlisted only). The brassard version is authorized for wear on enlisted uniforms of the U.S. Navy. The tab is 4 1⁄4 inches (11 cm) long and 5⁄8 inch (1.6 cm) high, with the word “PRESIDENT’S HUNDRED” centered in 1⁄4 inch (0.64 cm) tall letters. The Army’s and Air Force’s miniature metal replica of the tab is a full-color (yellow with green letters) variant of the tab once authorized for wear on the old Army Green Service Uniform and is about 2 inches (5.1 cm) in width. The brassard is a 3 1⁄2 inches (8.9 cm) long by 1 inch (2.5 cm) high curved bronze metallic arm patch with an enameled representation of the Flag of the President of the United States flanked by the Seal of the President of the United States to the left and the seal of the CMP to the right. At the top of the brassard are the raised words “PRESIDENT’S” to the left and “HUNDRED” to the right.[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
The President’s Hundred Tab is currently one of four permanent individual tabs authorized for wear by the U.S. Army.[2]
The President’s Hundred Tab is currently one of four permanent individual tabs authorized for wear by the U.S. Army.[2]
History[edit]
The National Rifle Association‘s (NRA) President’s Match was instituted at the NRA matches of 1878, as the American Military Rifle Championship Match. It was patterned after an event for British Volunteers called The Queen’s Match, a competition started by Queen Victoria and initiated by the National Rifle Association of Great Britain in 1860, in order to increase the ability of Britain’s marksmen following the Crimean War.[1][5][10]
In 1884, the name was changed to the President’s Match for the Military Rifle Championship of the United States. It was fired at Creedmoor, New York until 1891. In 1895, it was reintroduced at Sea Girt, New Jersey.[1][5]
The tradition of making a letter from the President of the United States the first prize began in 1904 when President Theodore Roosevelt, at the conclusion of the President’s Match, personally wrote a letter of congratulations to the winner, Private Howard Gensch of the 1st Regiment of Infantry of the New Jersey National Guard.[1][5]
It cannot be ascertained as to when the President’s Match was discontinued; however, it is known that it was not fired during World Wars I and II. It appears to have disappeared during the 1930s and during the Depression when lack of funds severely curtailed the holding of matches of importance.[1][5]
The President’s Match was reinstated in 1957 at the National Matches as “The President’s Hundred.” The 100 top-scoring competitors in the President’s Match were singled out for special recognition in a retreat ceremony in which they passed in review before the winner and former winners of this historic match.[1][5]
On 27 May 1958, the NRA requested the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel’s approval of a tab for presentation to each member of the “President’s Hundred.” NRA’s plan was to award the cloth tab together with a metal brassard during the 1958 National Matches. The cloth tab was of high level interest and approved for wear on the uniform on 3 March 1958. The first awards were made at Camp Perry, Ohio, in early September 1958. Only the U.S. Navy has authorized the wear of the metal brassard on the uniforms of enlisted sailors. However, the NRA issued the metal brassard to all military and civilian personnel for wear on the shooting jacket.[1][5][10]
In 1977, the National Board for the Promotion of Rifle Practice (NBPRP) assumed responsibility for the President’s Match from the NRA. Today the CMP manages and awards the President’s Hundred Tab/Brassard to the top 100 shooters in those matches.[5]
In September 2008, the Department of the Army authorized a miniature metal tab to be worn on the new Army Service Uniform. This is a scaled-down replica of the President’s Hundred full-color embroidered tab.[1][7]
In January 2014, the Department of the Air Force, via an update to Air Force Instruction 36-2903, authorized the wear of the President’s Hundred Tab on the Airman Battle Uniform (olive drab version) and the Air Force service uniform(miniature full color replica) through the authorization for Airmen to wear any military badge they have earned given it is worn within uniform regulations.[6][7][11] [12]
