My weekend started off bad but got better

[ktw]

I was roped into spending last weekend down in Wisconsin at the "Birkebeiner", a large competative cross country ski event. While I enjoy the winter sports as much as anyone, spending a weekend at a resort with six thousand spandex clad, enthusiastic health nuts has never been my definition of the high life.

The weather put a large crimp in the whole affair. A warm spell several days earlier had laid waste to most of the snow cover. Event courses, distances and start times were in constant flux as resort staff scrambled to prepare trails. Now we are talking thousands of somewhat surly, spandex clad, enthusiastic health nuts. Chaos ensued.

The wife was participating in one of the events on Saturday, so the kids and I were left without adult supervision for the morning. I was feeling a bit low over the fact that in that whole huge crowd of people I had yet to spot even one person who looked like they might consider an afternoon down at the dump shooting rats to be a good time. Then, low and behold, two of those kindred spirits walk right up to me and introduce themselves.

It seems the event organizers had arranged to have the local National Guard send them a 105 howitzer with which to signal the start of each wave of competitors. Due to the climate induced flexibility in the event schedule, organizers had decided at the last minute to do away with the wave starts and simply let each competitor head out on one their own initiative. This presented quite a problem to the Guardsmen, in that they no longer had any excuse to fire off the large pile of blank cartridges they had brought along. Displaying some flexibility of their own, they took to trolling the crowd looking for kids who wanted fire the howitzer.

Well, hot damn, things are looking up. Something involving triggers, gunpowder and loud noises, when all I had been expecting was polite conversation, bottled water, granola, and whole-wheat bagels. The kids and I were all over that. Here is a pic of daughter #1 doing the deed. Exhibiting a bit of a flinch, unfortunately, here in the post-game film analysis. We will have to work on that down at the range.

http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g232/ktwna/kids_105.jpg


My weekend was salvaged. A good time was had by all.

-ktw

[dragonrider]

Wow thats looks like an awfully good time.

[waksupi]

Heck, that ain't a flinch. I've been known to loose my hat, break, and run, on a hangfire with a flinter!

[schutzen]

You and the Kids got to shoot A M102 Split-Tail 105MM Towed Howitzer! I envy you! Nothing warms the heart like the smell of cordite on a cold morning.

It also says something for the caliber of men and women in our National Guards. They took a poor situation and turned it into a positive PR event for the military. Once again pro-active initiative by the Field Artillery to accomplishes the mission.

[waksupi]

Something tells me, any activity initiated by field artillery, will get some one's attention!

[versifier]

What's the practical range of them? Are they legal for moose? [smilie=1:

[SharpsShooter]

Does Lee make a mould for that ?????????????


SS

[DLCTEX]

Range is 7 miles. A good crew could put a round in a 55 gal. drum at that range. Dale

[Scrounger]

If I'm figuring right, 7 miles is 12,300 yards; roughly 125 inches would be 1 minute of angle. Allowing 36 inches for the major dimension of the drum, that would make that Three Tenths of a Minute accuracy capability. Why are we fooling around with snipers shooting .308s and .50 BMGs??? They can't shoot that well at One Mile!

[ktw]

When I was stationed at Marine Corp Air-Ground Combat Center in 29 Palms, CA over 20 years ago they had an Ontos parked on display. Every time I drove past that thing I couldn't help but think how that would make the ultimate "drive out to the range and do some long range plinking" machine.

Even one level above derscheutzenvagen, if such a thing is possible.

http://www.diggerhistory.info/pages-armour/allied/ontos.htm

-ktw

[kywoodwrkr]

I think we have some , huuum, "darn", good 'shooters' in some of our military units.
I was talking with a marine gunnery seargent at Ft Knox last year who was in Fallujah during the second coming.
He was telling us about the behind chewing he received from an army officer, whose hide he had just pulled out of the fire, for using excessive force.:confused:
Seems the gunny was a tank commander and in 'liberating' the army patrol which was pinned down and under heavy fire he rolled his tank into the fray and spotted an insurgent running along the top of a building.
Long story short he sent an HEAT round smack dab throgh the chest of the bad guy.
Army officer called the gunnys CO and said he wanted to file a complaint.
Gunny's CO asked the Army officer if he'd put the complaint in written form.
Army officer asked why. The gunnys CO said it was so he could put for a commendation for the seargent!:mrgreen:
Sad part of this converstaion is it took place where we couldn't even buy the gunny a drink!:drinks:
I'm not sure of the distance in this case but I'd call that shooting with at least one minute of insurgent!
DaveP kywoodwrkr
ktw,
They are rebuilding one of those at the Patton Museum motor pool.
Saw it there last year when I was volunterring.
D.

[Ricochet]

Yeah, that was some fine shooting putting a HEAT round through the chest of a running insurgent.

That's great using the 105 as a starting gun!

[Four Fingers of Death]

I used to be a Centurion MBT Troop Leader. We were doing a firepower demonstartion for the Air Force. The boss of the flyboys and his toady were allowed to get on the back of the tank with the Range Officer to see (read hear :D ) the main armament (the old 20lb'er, 87mm not the new fancy 105mm, not much difference) fire. We were using APDS(prac), which was a steel bolt/rod about 1 1/4" wide and about 15" long from memory. The regular Armour Piercing Discarding Sabot round had a tungsten ball embedded in the point, the Prac was solid steel, balanced to have the same trajectory. I had carefully parked exactly 1000yds from a copse of tall snow gums, which were white(ish) and very well defined. They picked my tank, not because I was such a sharp operator, but because my gunner was the best in the regiiment. I waved expansively to the flyboys and said 'see that copse of trees over there? Pick a tree.' When the had head honcho had indicated one a voice came up from the turret. It was my gunner, he said 'which branch?' This worried me somewhat, but the boss being polite picked out the big bottom one. Goggles on earmuffs on, hang on, KER BLAMMMMMMM! and no more branch, the flyboys were amazed, I was just relieved! The muzzle velocity of the APDS (both versions) was 4500fps. Nice flat shooter. TheAPDSs were so powerful the 50ton Cent used to roll back on the suspension and 'squat' at the rear when it soaked up the recoil.

I would have loved to have had my kids there when they were young, what an experience. My cousin and I used to haunt the goods rail line which ended at my Grandma's house when I was little and stayed there on the school holidays. Occasionally the steam train drivers would give us a ride in the loco. Once we were given a ride and we got to shovel coal into the furnace while the other one drove, then they swapped us around. It is about 50 years later now, but when Terrry and I meet, we always talk about driving the steam train as boys.

Your kids will remember that day for as long as they live, and will have a soft spot for the military as well.

[DLCTEX]

The 175 mm howitzer had a reported range of 32 miles, don't know about the accuracy at that range. DALE

[DanWalker]

I think we have some , huuum, "darn", good 'shooters' in some of our military units.
I was talking with a marine gunnery seargent at Ft Knox last year who was in Fallujah during the second coming.
He was telling us about the behind chewing he received from an army officer, whose hide he had just pulled out of the fire, for using excessive force.:confused:
Seems the gunny was a tank commander and in 'liberating' the army patrol which was pinned down and under heavy fire he rolled his tank into the fray and spotted an insurgent running along the top of a building.
Long story short he sent an HEAT round smack dab throgh the chest of the bad guy.
Army officer called the gunnys CO and said he wanted to file a complaint.
Gunny's CO asked the Army officer if he'd put the complaint in written form.
Army officer asked why. The gunnys CO said it was so he could put for a commendation for the seargent!:mrgreen:
Sad part of this converstaion is it took place where we couldn't even buy the gunny a drink!:drinks:
I'm not sure of the distance in this case but I'd call that shooting with at least one minute of insurgent!
DaveP kywoodwrkr
ktw,
They are rebuilding one of those at the Patton Museum motor pool.
Saw it there last year when I was volunterring.
D.

yup,
That's actually pretty much a chipshot for the abrams. I was in 2ndtk bn and was also an instructor at the Marine Det at ft knox. Our better gunners could put 3 rounds in a 3' circle at 4000 meters, and that was with the the old 10x sight.
The new, high mag sight should be even better.
NOTHING on earth, short of a battleship, can take the punishment an abrams can dish out. That 120mm cannon is absolutely devastating.

[Scrounger]

With either one of those puppies, you put it within 50 feet of thin skinned targets, they're going to get hurt.