St Andrew and Rattle Cans...

[43rdRecceReg]

Oh, and as for derailment, here's a happy shootist perforating a line of rattle cans (and shaving foam) with a Glock. The visuals, and slo-mo, are worth checking out.

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[EAO]

Diversity is all the (acceptable) rage these days, it appears...
Personally, it's what gives threads a decent 'warp an weft' (look 'em up) to me, and those distinctive patterns and features
Some fascinating details there, Jim and Eric.
Many years ago- as a kid on a hill farm, who was in thrall to machinery, I managed to get an old Fordson tractor working; one that had been standing on a remote hillside since the 1940s (this was back in 1962).
The trick was to remove the magneto, warm it an oven, replace it- crank the engine on petrol,and then switch it to TVO when it was warm enough. Cranking the engine by hand was always risky, and could actually break a wrist, if the engine backfired. But,this one kicked into life. Hand cranking was a big- but normal- risk; no doubt one that the Stuka ground staff faced. Many cars though, were still equipped with the crank in those days, even when electric starters came in I had a Morris Minor with one.
The smell of those old machines, and of lathes, emery cloth, lathe coolant, burned carbon, and ground metal in senior school ( I went on to study Philosophy at a 'Hippy' populated University )
always link, for me, to the smell of discharged weapons: It's sort of addictive. 'Napalm in the morning', is not my thing, but oily emery cloth could be, and spent cartridges too. It would be a good option for Mega Steam: 'Spent Cartridge'/ 'Old Fordson on TVO'

My Father owned a Irish Fordson built in Cork, Ireland. I have seen (several times) first hand what hand cranking an old tractor can result in! You are right about smells triggering memories. I also think that the power of the human nose is stronger than we think. Every time I smell fired .22 long rifle cartridges it immediately takes me back to my Hunting Safety Class at age 12. Held in the basement range of a Catholic school no less! Those were the days!

Regards,
Eric.

[43rdRecceReg]

Well, the rattle can question seems to have had an answer, (Yes, some, especially WD-40 range don't have enough puff...) and now exits stage left.
I'll wind this thread up, without (hopefully) winding anyone up.
On the subject of Police. My family has had a long association with it (mostly on the side of enforcement, apart from apple scrumping ). Soldiers and coppers
dangle from my family tree like Christams ornaments. I had a cousin who was in 'Missing Persons', In Glasgow (his end of service position), another who was a Chief Superintendant down in England-shire, of all places. My Gr-Gr Grandfather started out as a sail-maker in Leith (Edinburgh), before becoming- eventually- a Police Sergeant in Central Glasgow, complete with mutton-chop sideburns, and massive truncheon. I got his records from the Mitchell Library in Glasgow. After thirty years service (1850-1880), he was finally pensioned off for, quote: 'being the worse for drink, and associating with a brothel keeper'.
So, he went out in style!. In fact, people drank alcohol all day in the Victorian period because it was far safer to drink than tap water. Indeed, the hapless figures in the Dickensian 'Workhouses' had (strong) beer for breakfast, lunch and (hic)... sschupper.. too.
My best male friend was, until lately, a Leutnant in the Hamburger Polizei. Hence (his gift) my car key fob here:

Okay, A last blast with the ballistic pics. Here's me firing the lad's Rumanian buily AK-47. You can fill these with sand and gravel, almost, and they'll still work,

Then the AR 15 and Pals :- (SiG SG 57- left; AR and SIG SG 550- my favourite). The Mauser K98 and Lee-Enfield (.303)Mk IV are not in the pic:

I'd take the SG550, and it's Swiss precision every time over the AR15. That's not to say that the AR isn't a good weapon. Handily, they take the same ammo.

I might add some pics of Scale accessory weapons to this thread, much later, to give it more relevance.

Now that Christmas is nigh, and the prospect of release from the chains of Covid Incarceration (via a Jab)- now at least a real option, I'd just like to say that designated 'areas of outstanding' beauty' such as the Highlands area I live in, depend heavily on tourism. We have some of the oldest mountains on Earth here, which- it's said- were once as high as the Alps, and even the Himalayas- though 400 Million years of erosion have brought them down to 3,000 + ft (4,300 max), and unique flora and fauna. Then there are those distilleries...
Hopefully, some of you might get a chance to visit Scotland (plug) when the curse is lifted. I'm sure my compatriots, with their lodgings, chalets, and Highlander culture would appreciate guests from the US, Canada (More Scottish than Scotland in some places) and elsewhere.
This is what I see on walks:

https://www.visitwester-ross.com/local-information.asp

Fans of 'Game of Thrones' will note that 'Westeros' is close to our Wester Ross, and the 'wall' is very much like the one designed to keep my 'heathen' ancestors from bothering the Romans down south. Merry Christmas all!.

[sassgrunt]

"The Enfield No 2., Mk 1. My dad probably had one of these, as they were often issued to Recce troopers and Tankers for close defence. This one's now over 80 yrs old, but still functions perfectly. People often overlook the fact that Britain once produced some excellent revolvers."

From my father's collection is a Webley Officer's Model (which has a 7-1/2" barrel rather than the more typical 6"). It was produced in .455 caliber, but the rear of the cylinder had been cut back to allow .45 ACP with half-moon clips, (much easier to obtain in the States than .455). Back around 45 years ago, I competed in monthly combat matches, (now they're called "action shooting" to sound less violent, I guess) with a .357 revolver. Ever since Dirty Harry came out about 4 years before, what I REALLY wanted was my own .44 Magnum. But, since everybody else wanted one too, the price stayed at black market levels and I was unable to afford one. I started bringing the Webley to the combat matches, and called it my "British .44 Magnum." Everybody loved it; especially when we shot a stage that had steel plate targets. You see, the .45 ACP round is 0.452" in diameter, and was just enough smaller than the .455 bore of the Webley so that a lot of the gas escaped around the bullet as it traveled through the barrel, which lowered the fps considerably. The result was that when anyone else fired at the plates, their bullet would completely fragment. But when I fired at them, the bullet would flatten to about 1-1/2" diameter, and drop straight to the ground. It was about the funniest thing anybody had seen, and I took considerable ribbing over it. Great memories; thank you for reminding me of them! -Mike

[43rdRecceReg]

"The Enfield No 2., Mk 1. My dad probably had one of these, as they were often issued to Recce troopers and Tankers for close defence. This one's now over 80 yrs old, but still functions perfectly. People often overlook the fact that Britain once produced some excellent revolvers."

From my father's collection is a Webley Officer's Model (which has a 7-1/2" barrel rather than the more typical 6"). It was produced in .455 caliber, but the rear of the cylinder had been cut back to allow .45 ACP with half-moon clips, (much easier to obtain in the States than .455). Back aroundhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EqkcVlzVSw&t=387s 45 years ago, I competed in monthly combat matches, (now they're called "action shooting" to sound less violent, I guess) with a .357 revolver. Ever since Dirty Harry came out about 4 years before, what I REALLY wanted was my own .44 Magnum. But, since everybody else wanted one too, the price stayed at black market levels and I was unable to afford one. I started bringing the Webley to the combat matches, and called it my "British .44 Magnum." Everybody loved it; especially when we shot a stage that had steel plate targets. You see, the .45 ACP round is 0.452" in diameter, and was just enough smaller than the .455 bore of the Webley so that a lot of the gas escaped around the bullet as it traveled through the barrel, which lowered the fps considerably. The result was that when anyone else fired at the plates, their bullet would completely fragment. But when I fired at them, the bullet would flatten to about 1-1/2" diameter, and drop straight to the ground. It was about the funniest thing anybody had seen, and I took considerable ribbing over it. Great memories; thank you for reminding me of them! -Mike

Fascinating stuff, Mike!!. Hope all's well over there in Mid-Pacific. I saw a Youtube vid recently (3-parter) about the amazing effort and techniques used to raise the USS California, and other battleships at Pearl Harbo(u)r, in 1942. Then, thought of you living there, not too far off from the memorial to the Arizona- one Battleship that stayed beneath the waves. There's certainly some history where you live.

I was winding this thread up, but the mention of Webley brought these interesting beauties to mind (below). Sadly, Webley only make air pistols these days- if that.

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A Merry (Ballistic!) Christmas to you!!