North to Alaska

[RetiredSeabee]

Which was the most fun?

[Sir Henry]

Which was the most fun?

They were all fun. The Thompson was a beast and uncomfortable which made it hard to control. The M2 Browning was familiar as I’ve fired thousands of rounds of it in the Army. The 1919A4 was easy to control as was the M11/5.

Control was the main issue. I had a five foot wide lane and the range went to 200 yards. The elevation was no closer than the ground at 25 yards and 40 feet at 200 yards. The FAL could only be controlled for 3 rounds. Some like the two Brownings could be fired continuously. The M2 50 was locked into a limited position although it was easy to control and not necessary.

[JEBar]

dang it .... really hate to hear this trip is coming to an end .... I've thoroughly enjoyed your reports and pictures

[Cofisher]

Damn! That's an arsenal. You're doing what we all want to. Have fun buddy.

[Sir Henry]

I hate to leave too. My friend is in the Army and only got a four day holiday weekend. I’m already planning a return trip this spring and might return in the summer for a couple of weeks and wander off on my own.

It’s a blast to shoot machine guns. I’ve visited him in Montana and Texas and now Alaska, all Class 3 states. In past years I’ve fired a STEN, BREN, M2 Carbine, M16A1 (a real Army one), and German MG42 and MG43 machine guns.

[Sir Henry]

Damn! That's an arsenal. You're doing what we all want to. Have fun buddy.

Thanks. I got to shoot eight different Class 3’s. The best part was there was plenty of ammo. I shot at least two full magazines or belts in each. One year I reloaded 5,000 rounds of 9MM just to shoot it in a STEN in about two hours. Two months of reloading for two hours of shooting.

What was nice was all the ammo was free to me. I shot $600 of 50 cal alone yesterday. It was gone in five minutes. Press the butterfly and hold it till it’s empty. Some of the others like the FAL, UZI and Thompson could only be controlled in three round bursts. I couldn’t spray and pray because the range was shoulder to shoulder with shooters and lanes were only five feet wide except for the M2 Browning which was 20 feet wide. Controlling it to five feet at 200 yards was easy. It didn’t climb or wander. Plus I shot it a lot in nam so it felt like old times.

[Rifletom]

Looks like you totally enjoyed the trip. And I never knew sandhill cranes were that big. And good eating too! Amazing adventure.
BTW, my Dad did a lot of finalizing blue prints for the Alaskan Pipeline. He was involved with it for a looong time. Great time there Gene.

[Sir Henry]

I landed in the Twin Cities early this morning after taking the red eye. Then my ride’s car broke down on the way home. Currently stranded in Ladysmith waiting for the shop to replace the alternator.

[JEBar]

been there, had similar part failures happen to us .... hopefully they will be able to repair it quickly

[Sir Henry]

been there, had similar part failures happen to us .... hopefully they will be able to repair it quickly

It was a three hour and $615 delay. The alternator failed. I’m home now and slept from 4:pm yesterday till 7:am this morning. I was running on four hours sleep and only two hours during the red eye flight.