Change your avatar month

[player***]

for the record.liked your other avatar Tot w/ship/saucer.keep em coming folks really liking this.

[Ch0jin]

Firstly. Gil, I'm loving your theme! I had two grandparents in the RAAF during WW2 and I've had an interest in military aircraft for as long as I can remember. Well all things military actually.

Which brings me to my latest..

Previous pic was me firing the iconic, American made M60 General Purpose Machine Gun firing 7.62x51mm NATO ball rounds. Or as many people refer it it, "The Rambo Gun". I've had several people say to me in one way or another over the years that you cannot fire a weapon like this from the hip, the way Rambo did it. I'm no Rambo, but I'm living proof you can.

This pic is me with arguably the most prolific assault weapon on the planet. The Russian designed, Chinese Made, AK47. Using 7.62mm x 39mm rounds with smaller casing and less oomph than the 7.62mm x 51mm used in the M60 (and M14 etc) it is still a loud angry junkyard dog of a weapon.

I forgot I was wearing the dorky orange ear protection in this pic

[Gil Janus]

Thanks Ch0jin - I've had some fun collecting the images, and arranging them in a story telling order.

Here's today's change. I'm now wearing the patch for the 4750th Test Squadron, one of the collection of folks who help run the Air Defense Weapons Center at Tynall AFB.



Gil

[Bloozcat]

Firstly. Gil, I'm loving your theme! I had two grandparents in the RAAF during WW2 and I've had an interest in military aircraft for as long as I can remember. Well all things military actually.

Which brings me to my latest..

Previous pic was me firing the iconic, American made M60 General Purpose Machine Gun firing 7.62x51mm NATO ball rounds. Or as many people refer it it, "The Rambo Gun". I've had several people say to me in one way or another over the years that you cannot fire a weapon like this from the hip, the way Rambo did it. I'm no Rambo, but I'm living proof you can.

This pic is me with arguably the most prolific assault weapon on the planet. The Russian designed, Chinese Made, AK47. Using 7.62mm x 39mm rounds with smaller casing and less oomph than the 7.62mm x 51mm used in the M60 (and M14 etc) it is still a loud angry junkyard dog of a weapon.

I forgot I was wearing the dorky orange ear protection in this pic

Firing the weapons you mentioned is kind of a rare privilege in your country these days, isn't Ch0jin?

Yes, you certainly can fire an M-60 from the hip...but your accuracy won't be too good beyond spitting range...

BTW: I too share your "other" hobby...in a pretty big way...

[Ch0jin]

Firing the weapons you mentioned is kind of a rare privilege in your country these days, isn't Ch0jin?

It certainly would be yes Blooze, I had to surrender all my rifles a number of years back when the laws changed. However these pictures were taken in Cambodia where it's as easy as slipping the right people a bit of US currency.

Yes, you certainly can fire an M-60 from the hip...but your accuracy won't be too good beyond spitting range...

Oh I agree completely! I remember thinking whilst shooting it "Wow this thing has way less kick than I expected" However when I watched the video my mate shot, I actually got forced back about 5-6ft over about 200 rounds. I did totally freakin shred a 44 Gallon drum of water though (at a range of I dunno, maybe 50ft) haha.

BTW: I too share your "other" hobby...in a pretty big way...

Sadly it's more of a general interest these days than a hobby for me because of the legal situation. Long gone are the days when we could (literally) just belt around the bush in a ute with a bunch of guns shooting at stuff. That's why when I ended up in Cambodia, I jumped at the chance to gain access to a militia base and their arsenal

In addition to the AK47 and the M60 I also got to try out a Thompson submachine gun, an M16, a couple of RPG's or "Rocket Launchers" as the locals called them. Tossed a few Frag gren's and killed an innocent shrub with an M203 grenade launcher. Was a top day out, even if we did think we were going to be killed for our passports at one point.
"Get out of the car, give us your passports and walk that way into the bush" were the first instructions we received from two armed soldiers......

[Bloozcat]

It certainly would be yes Blooze, I had to surrender all my rifles a number of years back when the laws changed. However these pictures were taken in Cambodia where it's as easy as slipping the right people a bit of US currency.



Oh I agree completely! I remember thinking whilst shooting it "Wow this thing has way less kick than I expected" However when I watched the video my mate shot, I actually got forced back about 5-6ft over about 200 rounds. I did totally freakin shred a 44 Gallon drum of water though (at a range of I dunno, maybe 50ft) haha.



Sadly it's more of a general interest these days than a hobby for me because of the legal situation. Long gone are the days when we could (literally) just belt around the bush in a ute with a bunch of guns shooting at stuff. That's why when I ended up in Cambodia, I jumped at the chance to gain access to a militia base and their arsenal

In addition to the AK47 and the M60 I also got to try out a Thompson submachine gun, an M16, a couple of RPG's or "Rocket Launchers" as the locals called them. Tossed a few Frag gren's and killed an innocent shrub with an M203 grenade launcher. Was a top day out, even if we did think we were going to be killed for our passports at one point.
"Get out of the car, give us your passports and walk that way into the bush" were the first instructions we received from two armed soldiers......

I haven't had the opportunity to try an RPG, but I have gone through several thousand rounds in M16's, Thompsons, AK's and a couple of dozen others. Probably the most interesting I've fired was an original German WWII MP44, the grand daddy of the modern assault rifle. I can see why they were so popular on the Russian front. After a couple of dozen rounds on full auto, the metal handguard turns into a heater...

Fortunately, and happily for me, all of my experiences were not firing at anything in anger...just the offending target and water jug or two (except for those LP gas bottles that we dispatched with the Stoner 63...tracers lit them up splendidly. They were obviously Al Qaeda disguised as LP bottles, though )

I'm glad that things didn't turn ugly as you might have first thought, Ch0jin. With the not too distant history of Cambodia in mind, I'm sure you had a few anxious moments.

[Ch0jin]

OK Friday's avatar is a bit hard to see in 80px X 80px bit I've been able to kinda merge Gil's and my theme for this one (sort of).

This is me kicking back on the side of a Bell UH-1 Iroquois, commonly known as the "Huey" by both US and Aussie troops, I'm sure you've all seen one before if you've seen -any- Vietnam war movie, but if not, it was a multipurpose military helicopter, famous for its use in the Vietnam War.

I have my arm draped casually over the door mounted M134 Minigun. Made by G.E., the "minigun" was a scaled down version of the M61 Vulcan canon. Whereas the Vulcan fired enormous 20mm rounds at up to 6600 rounds per minute, the "Minigun" used the same 7.62x51 rounds as the M60 and M14 and spat them out at around 4000RPM.

For me, getting to sit inside one of these aircraft was quite a moment, as not only do I have a fascination for military equipment, but my Uncle told me about being flown around in exactly this kind of chopper during the Vietnam war.

The pic was taken in Saigon at The Museum of American War Atrocities (yes, thats really what it's called)

If your interested the full size pics are here and here

With the not too distant history of Cambodia in mind, I'm sure you had a few anxious moments.

We sure did mate. Stories for another time and place, but my traveling mates don't really go for the package tour kind of deal. We tend to just rock up to a place and take it from there. In that trip we went to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos and just let fate deliver us a series of adventures. Sure it's dangerous and stressful at times, but when you make it out the other end in one piece, reflecting on the journey makes it all worthwhile.

[Spudman***]

This is me kicking back on the side of a Bell UH-1 Iroquois, commonly known as the "Huey" by both US and Aussie troops, I'm sure you've all seen one before if you've seen -any- Vietnam war movie, but if not, it was a multipurpose military helicopter, famous for its use in the Vietnam War.

Both my brother and father spent their military careers as pilots of that helicopter. My brother flying Medivac and father doing 2 tours of Vietnam. My first ride in one was thrilling to say the least.

[Bloozcat]

We sure did mate. Stories for another time and place, but my traveling mates don't really go for the package tour kind of deal. We tend to just rock up to a place and take it from there. In that trip we went to Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos and just let fate deliver us a series of adventures. Sure it's dangerous and stressful at times, but when you make it out the other end in one piece, reflecting on the journey makes it all worthwhile.

A grand adventure for sure! And the kind to take while unattached and unfettered, I'd say. While I'd love an adventure like that, my wife won't go where Hiyatt or Marriott won't go at a minimum...