Posted on 04/18/2009 5:32:36 PM PDT by neverdem
Don’t forget to set up in your NPOA! It’s a lot easier on old bones.
Indeed! Will it stop just a 7.62x39 mm? Do grunts have to haul 20 pounds more when they are carrying at least 100 pounds to begin with. It's a very pertinent question.
Ah, the NPOA. I know I’ve got one around here somewhere. The guys instructing are really, good - we’re learning to shoot ‘by the numbers’ and by the and of the day, I didn’t even have to think about them. I still have a lot of good habits - like not dragging wood.
Seriously, the real benefit of this event is that I’ve gotten a wake-up call as to my general fitness level. I’ve let things go, and that’s not good - especially now. So there’s a lot of work to do, and I’ve definitely got the motivation.
Which rifle are you shooting?
Shooting the FAL (Stg58 on a DSA receiver), which has proved to be disappointing. Lots of failures to feed and stovepipes. Had to bag the rest of the AQT training today because of that. Thought about taking the NM Garand, but the price of 30.06 - ouch! There’s that nasty Greek stuff out there, but it seems a shame to run that kind of ammo through such a fine rifle.
So it’s probably two things: weak mag springs and/or a weak op rod spring. No matter what the gas block setting, I may not get a complete ejection and the bolt will fail to strip or partially another round off the top of the magazine. I was ripping along on phase 1 and 2 of the AQT, and then I started having feed problems. Only got off 3 of 10 on phase 3 and 1 of 10 on phase 4. You just can’t score well on timed fire if you’re struggling with jams. Decided to bag it and get it to a FAL doctor.
That said, when it worked the way it was supposed to, many, many of my shots were touching or near touching. I was getting nice little 2 and 3 shot groups like that. I’ll get it figured out and fixed and soon.
Still need lots of physical improvement, though. I had to kneel in the sitting phases - couldn’t really manage the the full forward sitting position. These old bones...
But if it's not...well.
Getting old is a real bitch...
The answer is to overhaul all of my magazines with a spring-follower-floor plate kit. A relatively cheap fix: they’re out there fora few bucks each.
Trip to the FAL doctor - maybe not so cheap, but it’ll be worth it. It’s an iron-sight tack driver in capable hands.
As for getting old - time to get back on the serious fitness trail. Funny thing: now that I’ve got a regular job, I’ve gota whole lot more time.
And if I had the bux, I’d own a Springfield Armory M14. The king of battle rifles.
I got 'once in a lifetime' lucky when I bought mine, that's for sure. I'll not part with her till I'm cold and lifeless.
As Colonel Cooper put it: "The Queen is not for sale."
it gets heavy! Many of us would ligthen the weight in exchange for less "safety". I want to be able to move quicker and longer without having to stop to catch my breath... you lose your agility!
I want those idiots that called them back to come out here and wear it daily for a month. now with the onset of summer, yes, you wear it and suffer with all the aforementioned you fricking FOB POGs! Then you tell me what you think.. You ever wear this stuff on a day to day basis? don't even tell me yes you have when as an officer, you "sit down" in your fricking meetings and are out of the sun and have the weight load off.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.