Back I am

Sorry for the prolonged absence. Lagniappe and I took a well-deserved vacation.

We went up to Michigan for a while to visit family and Aaron, creator of The Shekel blog. He also blogged about this week-end--before I could--and he used several of the pictures that I'd planned to use. Ah well.



We went out to the local gravel pit and I unlimbered the 1919A4.
The target of choice today was my old dehumidifier, which had quit working--but not running or using electricity--a few months ago. It was placed on the hillside and reduced to scrap metal and plastic in fine form, as can be seen on this video:

Note the proper use of short bursts initially, just like the military field manuals proscribe. Long bursts are fun, but barrels are expensive to replace, so why burn them out prematurely? As it was, the video shows how quickly that 120 rounds can go even when you're making a halfhearted effort to shoot slowly. What can I say? It's fun!

I also had the chance to try out an old Enfield #5 Jungle Carbine for the first time. These rifles came about through an attempt by the British to make a lighter rifle for their troops in Malaysia and other colonial territories. They were made for about three years, from 1944 through 1947, until production ceased in favor of newer designs. They were never really popular with the troops despite the light weight because the recoil was rather stout with military loads and the rifle's zero tended to wander when it got hot, possibly due to some of the lightening cuts that were made.And this one is light. Surprisingly light. I think I've hefted heavier toy rifles.

I managed to pick this one up for a song, probably because some bubba had chromed the buttplate, trigger guard and forward band. Eventually I'll restore it with the correct parts and replace a seriously weak magazine spring and it'll be worth twice what I gave for it. In the meantime, it's a fun shooter and a great addition to my historic collection. I suspect that it also needs a longer bolt head eventually due to a string of incipient case-head separations that I observed when the handloads I was testing got close to max pressure, but it handles just fine with lighter loads and it kicks a lot less.

We got a lot of shooting in before it was over. Aaron had his Uzi submachine gun out as well. I also had an older AR15A1 that I'm rather fond of, and Aaron had a newer AR15 M-4 clone with an Israeli Meprolight sight that turned out to be an incredible addition to the platform. Think EOTech Holosight only without a need for batteries and with a finer dot easier to use at longer ranges. Seriously impressive. I got some practice in with my 1911A1 and old reliable Ruger 10/22 as well. No matter how many new or exotic guns I manage to lay my hands on, none have yet diminished the enjoyment that I get from that old .22