Gone shootin’
If you are a person who loves to shoot guns, being in the army in a combat zone is a good way to get your shooting fix. For example, even though my job in Iraq makes me pretty much a “fobbit”, I still can get my hands on some pretty sweet hardware once in awhile. Nothing big like a tank, but big enough.
Today I got to go out and go shooting with some guys from a contract security company here on the base called EODT. EODT started out primarily as a weapons munitions disposal company, but recently has branched out into security. Not a bad bunch and we get along well with them. Most of their guards are actually Iraqis, but the supervisors and managers are all ex-military from a variety of western countries.
They are allowed to be armed with certain small arms rifles and machine guns, and that’s what we got to play with today. AK-47’s, M4’s, M9’s, Glock 17’s, and SAW machine guns were all on hand. Plus, I had a captured Sterling L2A3 submachine gun and an old Beretta Model 38 - both of World War II vintage - to play with. I provided the ammunition for the U.S. weapons to sweeten the deal for them as I got to shoot their weapons.
The army, in a war zone, has plenty of ammunition and I had no trouble getting my hands on some. I personally shot eleven 30-round magazines through the AK47, fifteen 30-round magazines through the M4, about 400 rounds through the SAW, and about 120 rounds through the two submachine guns.
When you put that many bullets through a rifle or machinegun, the barrels and actions literally get red hot. I’ve seen people burn the hell out of their hands and fingers by grabbing a hot barrel. In fact, machine guns are set up to allow you to switch out the barrels on them when you’ve put too many rounds through them - which we had to do. The AK47 and the M4 also get very hot. The forward grips get too hot to hold on to - the plastic just can’t handle the heat. That’s when the attached forward grips really come in handy - they generally don’t get nearly as hot.
Of the military hardware I’ve been able to play with in my career, probably the most fun was sitting behind an M2 .50-cal and letting that thing hammer 1/2-pound lead slugs down range. Even on a tripod, the gun quite literally rocks and rolls. Good times! Runner up to the big .50-cal would have to be an M4 with an Eotech Holosight. It’s so quick to get up on target, blast a quick three-round burst, and then move like lightning onto another target to repeat the process. Too bad I can’t have one at home! (Well, I can. I’m just not willing to drop the going rate of $11,000 on one.)
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