Military History: The Tank Turns 100 Years Old

Last Friday, July 1, marked the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme in WWI. The Battle of the Somme, also known as the Somme Offensive, was several months long. It began with 18 (!) French and  British divisions going “over the top” and was the largest battle of the First World War. Over a million casualties were suffered; 60,000 of them were British on that first Saturday alone.

“…a series of extended lines of British infantry were seen moving forward from the British trenches. The first line appeared to continue with end to right and left. It was quickly followed by a second line, then a third and a fourth…

‘Get ready!’

“…Red rockets sped up into the blue sky as a signal to the artillery, and immediately afterwards a mass of shells from the German batteries in the rear tore through the air and burst among the advancing lines. Whole sections seemed to fall, and the rear formations, moving in closer order, quickly scattered. The advance rapidly crumbled under this hail of shells and bullets. All along the line men could be seen throwing their arms into the air and collapsing, never to move again. Badly wound rolled about in their agony, and others less severely injured crawled to the nearest shell-hole for shelter.

The British soldier, however, has no lack of courage, and once his hand is set to the plough he is not easily turned from his purpose. The extended lines, though badly shaken and with many gaps, now came on all the faster. ”  Matthäus Gerster, Reserve-Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 119

Today is July 4, the 100th anniversary of the death of the American poet Alan Seeger (author of ‘I have a rendezvous with death‘) one of many thousands of Americans who volunteered to fight on behalf of the French long before the United States entered the war. The Somme Offensive was unlike anything the world had seen before — 19th century tactics employed in the face of 20th century weaponry, resulting in the worst casualty rates in the history of warfare. One of the results of this battle — the first ever deployment of tanks (also something never before seen) to the battlefield, though that did not actually happen until September.

That makes 2016 the centenary of the tank.

Read the Remainder at Breach Bang Clear

Prepping 101: Stashing Ammo

From the Archives, 2016.

Yes, it would be nice if we could afford pallets of ammo, delivered to our doorsteps weekly. While there are people in the world with that ability, it isn’t the norm. With that in mind, today on Just The Tip we’re going to discuss some methods to ensure you have at least some spare ammunition for a rainy day.

First, let’s talk about why we want a lot of ammo. We can only carry so much at one time, right? But as the Great Panics of 2008 and 2012 demonstrated, we can’t always count on gun shops and outdoors stores to have our desired loads on the shelf. Before that, it wasn’t unusual for some to just stop by the store on the way to the range to nab some ammo. Suddenly, that couldn’t be done anymore. Those panics taught us a lesson: purchasing ammo before you need it is no different than buying any other consumable such as toilet paper, batteries, or bourbon.

Some people have it in their heads that they shouldn’t be training or shooting until they have a “comfortable” amount of ammunition set aside. Shooting is a perishable skill, and an extended lapse from the range will degrade your competence level. Having excess (“excess” in this case is defined as more than you can feasibly carry) means that while everyone else is staying home and not going to the range, you still have ammo for training.

Ammunition set aside is also a hedge against inflation. Buying at a lower price now means you don’t have to buy at a higher price later.

So without further ado, here are some tips on stockpiling ammo:

• Cooperative Purchasing

Buying in bulk is one way to quickly stock up on ammo. Usually you’ll get a break on price, which is where the “buy it cheap, stack it deep” mantra comes from. The issue is that you have to eat all of the cost up-front. If you can’t swing that, split a case or other quantity among friends. That way everyone benefits from the cost savings of a larger purchase without having to individually buy large quantities in one pop. You can think of it like a farm co-op without all the kale, marijuana, and body odor.

Read the Remainder at Breach Bang Clear

Armed Citizen Corner: Train Like A Samurai…10 Arrows

Practice doesn’t make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect. Imperfect practice makes rehearsed. You’ve heard a lot of advice on different training philosophies – ways to maximize the results you achieve. The fact is, desultory training (grunts: desultory) is a waste of time, ammunition and money. It may get you killed. Read this and pay attention. Mad Duo (grunts: desultory)

Train like a samurai: 10 Arrows

When I was I kid, I was a huge history buff. I was captivated by one of the most cyclical events which occur in human history—the phenomenon of war. Throughout history, you can easily identify warrior cultures and those which were not. The warrior cultures would eventually claim the less brutal and strategic of peoples, taking their land and resources for their own. One of the cultures I admired then, and still do today is the ancient samurai of feudal Japan.

As a teenager, preparing to leave my home to serve in the military, I read every book I could find on how the Samurai lived, trained and fought. Having fought the Japanese in world war two, my grandfather retained a deep rooted hatred for the country until the day he died. In a way, this open animosity drew me closer to my studies.

Mad Duo Nate on taking your rifle to the range and training like a samurai.

There are many conflicting stories and historical accounts in the story of this warrior culture. Often a blend of fiction and fact, you will find a certain existential aspect to many tales, mixed with the possibility of the supernatural (magic), and divine intervention for chosen shoguns as well as individual warriors.  It was during this time I learned the difference between plinking and training. One is the frivolous expenditure of ammunition to merely make noise with little result; the other is hitting your target in as accurate and efficient manner as possible.  As a boy, I shot more rounds of ammunition after school on a daily base then I would during my first few years in the service

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The Samurai Archer

There was story that stands out, which I have based all my marksmanship training off of since I read it as a boy. It came from an account of how the samurai archer archetype would train at his craft.

Every day the archer would awake and conduct his morning routine. Eat breakfast, spend time with the family, paint or write poetry. Do whatever he pleases until he felt relaxed and ready, his focus sharp and mind clear of distraction. He would then leave to train, going outside with his bow and equipment. Starting his craft, the profession of arms, early in life, he has grown up with a bow in his hands. Setting a target up at close range, he will shoot one arrow into the bull’s eye. He will then pace out a further distance, and again shoot a single arrow into the center of his target.

He will repeat this for every distance his bow was capable of shooting accurately, reaching his own maximum effective range. Ten arrows, ten bull’s eyes.  If he missed a single target, he would shoot until he hit the bull, and upon striking it, he would immediately cease training. Why? So that his mind and body would remember what it took to hit, not reinforce what it takes to miss. His archery practice complete, having ended on a high note, he would go train with the sword or spear, or simply retire for the day. The next day he would repeat this routine, starting with a first round hit, at a seemingly ridiculous distance, then proceeding to hit with one arrow at every range that he could. He would start with success, and end with success. If that took 10 minutes or two hours, it didn’t matter. He didn’t walk off the range a failure.

I don’t care about the historical accuracy of this tale. I don’t care if it is more myth than fact. I don’t care if it’s incorrect, or wrong in anyway. I don’t have a degree in history, and the book which I read this has been long lost to my memory (as has the public library in which I read it).  The important thing is that I believed in it. It made perfect sense to me then. And it makes sense to me still.

How I train

I don’t go to the range to plink; I go to the range to train. I go in the cold, the heat, the rain and snow. There is no such thing as perfect weather in which you should refine your skill. You are as likely to smoke a violent criminal in a parking lot in February as you are in July. You are as likely to defend yourself in any month or situation as the next. Indoors, outdoors. Rain or shine. If you wear gloves every day in the winter cold, wear them when you shoot in winter months. Train as realistically as you can, don’t cheat yourself and set yourself up for failure because of the  plainly visible variables you worked your way around. If you carry concealed daily, but always wear a battle belt to the range to train, you are probably setting yourself up for failure.

Consistency equals accuracy in all ways.

On the range, I start at a very close range. A range that I know I cannot miss at. A distance that gives immediate positive results. Satisfied with a first round hit, I will move further away and focus at least one magazine on the fundamentals of marksmanship, with slow accurate fire. Once again good hits are expected, or I will not move on. The bulk of my ammunition will be spent on drills I need work on. My weak points. I go to the range to find my deficiencies and improve on them, not make myself feel like a bad ass.

I want to fail, so that I can learn how not to fail.

I want to fail on the range, so that the likelihood of failing real world is less likely. But if I should fail, I have conditioned my mind and body to correct the problems and stay in the fight. After I have shot each drill to satisfaction, I end on a high note. I will end the way I began, with success—even if that means going back to the tediously close target. Shoot slowly and concentrate on the fundamentals; half-way through that magazine, if you shoot a perfectly placed round, STOP. There is no shame in going home with loose rounds. Take them home for next time, or give them to a training partner. Just don’t waste them, reinforcing subpar accuracy and leaving the range frustrated after a good day of improvement. Start with a perfect hit, leave with a perfect hit. This is not an unreasonable goal.

I have found throughout my life that shooting this way has paid dividends. I have not always had the opportunity to train or to fight this way, but the mindset of the Samurai Archer has always stuck with me. To miss is unacceptable—train the possibility out. A shot is not always a hit, always get your hit. Hit until you no longer need to. This format of training has held true for me for the times where I could not train due to deployments, ammo availability or lack of money in the bank. I reinforce live fire by conditioning with dry fire whenever possible. If I’m broke, and have little money for classes let alone ammunition, I will scale down my round count to still follow this basic format.

Over the years many people have heard me tell this story, and my adaptation of it in my individual training. Many of my junior Marines and peers, as well as civilian friends have adopted their own form of this system, with great result. It’s not for everyone, and perhaps there is no value to it other than believing in it enough to foster consistency and accuracy in the mind. People have mocked it, or have told me it’s wrong, based off historic fiction, or is just a dated way of training. That’s fine. It works for me, and I don’t expect that to change. Regardless, go to the range with a no-shit plan. Follow that plan, and find your failure points. Improve them, and revisit them even once you have become satisfied with your skill. Remember that the mastery of the basics is more important than the cool guy drills executed terribly.

10 arrows, 10 yard lines, 10 hits.

Read the Original Article at Breach Bang Clear

Train Often and Train Realistically!

 

Stay Alert, Stay Armed and Stay Dangerous!

Military Weapons From The Past: Smallest Guy Gets The BAR?

One of the most beloved and hated weapons of World War II was the Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR). Another of John Browning’s classic designs, it was literally the first Squad Automatic Weapon. Though it lives on in weapon lore, like we said earlier, it had its detractors.

World War II Marine William Manchester wrote in his memoir Goodbye Darkness–A Memoir of the Pacific War:

“The BAR was a bitch. There were bolts and firing pins, extractors and receiver groups, a sliding leg assembly, a flash hider, a bipod bearing, and a recoil spring and guide. I lack small muscle skills, and I have a mechanical IQ of about 32, but I became adroit with all infantry small arms. I had no choice. It was either that or my ass. The tricky part of the BAR, I remember, was putting your index finger on the checkered surface of the recoil spring guide, turning and pressing until the ends were clear of the retaining shoulders, and then carefully removing the spring and guide. You never hurried that part. If you let the spring get away from you, the guide would rip right through your throat.”

Ian McCollum from Forgotten Weapons takes a look at another commonly heard story about the BAR in this week’s edition of Weapon Trivia Wednesday:

 

There is an oft-repeated myth that the Army in all its infinite wisdom would issue the BAR to the smallest man in each squad so equipped. Seems like just the sort of thing the Army would come up with, right? Well…it actually was (sort of).

Like so many common myths, there is a grain of truth behind this story. Marine squads before WWII were organized as eight men under a squad leader. When it was decided to add a BAR to the squad load out, it had to go to someone, right? Well, each guy in the squad already had a designated role. So who gets the BAR?

A decision was made that the #7 and #8 positions were most appropriate to replace with the BAR (I think those had been regular riflemen) – so one became the BAR gunner and one became his assistant gunner. Problem solved, now the squad had a BAR and the optimal mix of equipment and combat roles.

The factor that hadn’t found its way into the decision-making process was that the squad had also been organized by height, so the men would look impressive and squared away on the parade ground. Who looks random and jumbled by height on inspection? Certainly not Marines! The #1 man was tallest and the #8 man shortest. Problem solved, now the squad looked good on display.

Of course, when you mix Decision #1 and Decision #2 together in the real world, you get the smallest guy being issued the heaviest shoulder weapon. Whoops.

Thankfully, the modern role of the Automatic Rifleman in the Marine Corps Rifle Squad is based more on proficiency and or seniority within the fire team.

Read the Original Article at Breach Bang Clear

Thanks to Forgotten Weapons and Ian McCollum for Their Awesome You-Tube Channel as Well!

Armed Citizen Corner: Traveling Armed Part IV/Unarmed

 

 

By Brian Montgomery

Continued from Part 1 (Know the Law), Part 2 (Airplanes), and Part 3 (Complacency Kills).

 

Carry your gun. Carry it wherever and whenever you can. Also carry a re-load, back-up, flashlight and communication device. Yeah, I know, everyone carries a cell phone, but do you routinely carry a secondary power source? Oh, and make sure you know the law of the land…when you land.

I know I’m mostly preaching to the choir. I also know I travel to – or at least through – the occasional non-permissive environment (like Maryland or New Jersey, where you just can’t or shouldn’t carry a concealed firearm). Or perhaps you know you are going to be engaging in activities that preclude you from carrying: imbibing alcohol, working out, going to the beach, etc. – you get the idea.

When I can’t carry a gun, I at least carry a knife…and once in a while I’ll carry a can of pepper spray. Recently I found a great little backup weapon from ASP: a 12” collapsible baton. Lethal? Nope. But it fits in my shaving kit for travel and fits even better inside the waistband for concealed carry, is easy to carry in running shorts and has a handy clip. It is just longer than the width of my hand, has three segments (similar to standard sized batons), but is much lighter and very easy to conceal.

All of the above mentioned tools are really about the projection of power, as well as the ability to carry them comfortably concealed (without the use of a “sock holster”, of course). Will a 12” baton really deliver a devastating blow? Possibly not, but it will work better than a focused blow, palm-heel strike or garden variety “haymaker”. And I really like having another use of force option to complement my typical EDC set up.

I’ve been toting this little dude around for a few weeks and I really do like it. One of my kids immediately recognized it and said, “Hey, a baby-whacky stick!” Which is precisely what it is.

Barring the ability to carry something that goes bang with which to dissuade mopes, assholes and cannibal clowns, this baton is a great option. Another is the JPX Pepper Gun (which Trek and Reeder call the “2 Ball Blaster”). I’ve heard rumors some people will carry a cue ball and a spare pair of socks in their carry-on — this is obviously not optimal for carry at your destination, but could come in handy on the plane if Abu Din Goat Fawkah tries something nasty.

Read the Original at Breach Bang Clear