Fun Gun Stories [Archive] - SUBSIM Radio Room Forums

Sailor Steve

12-23-12, 12:07 PM

In the "Define an Assault Weapon" thread the subject of differing designations for different types of guns came up, including pistols. I mentioned that I had shot a single-action carbine, and could tell stories. August asked for some, so I decided to start a separate thread.

Among his many other guns, my late friend Rocky owned an Umberti bolt-for-bolt replica of an 1873 Remington revolving carbine.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a325/SailorSteve/1873_revolver_carbine.jpg

This was one of my favorites to shoot, along with the civil war .58 caliber rifled musket. The first time I held this gun, in Rocky's living room, I held it as one would hold any rifle, with my left hand on the barrel. Rocky immediately and forcefully said "NO! Never hold one of these that way! Black powder revolvers occasionally chain-fire, and Remingtons were notorious for it. Since this is an exact replica, it has the same problem. Do that when you shoot it, and we'll have to call you 'Three-Fingered Pierre." When I asked him how I should hold it, Rocky said "See the hook under the trigger guard? You put your left hand on top of your right hand, and your left index finger grabs that little hook."

When we took it to the range I had a blast. Literally. The gun never chain-fired on me, but holding it that way, with the stock cradled against my shoulder, I quickly discovered that the blow-back from the black powder stung my face every single time. I wondered how they shot them from horseback, which is what carbines are for. I tried facing sideways to the target, with the gun held in one hand, extended as one would with a pistol of the era. I found that it was not only easy to hold that way, but fairly accurate as well. After that it was a hoot to shoot.

Side Note 1: I saw the first spaghetti western, A Fistful Of Dollars, back in 1968, and didn't see it again for many years. In the 1990s I was watching it with Rocky, and there is a scene in which one of the bad guys shoots one from a window, holding it rifle-style. When I said "NO! Not like that!" Rocky just laughed.

Side Note 2- Regarding chain-fire: One day Rocky and I were at the range with a younger friend, and he was trying out one of Rocky's replica black-powder .44 pistols. He fired all six shots, one at a time, and waited for the gun to cool. He then reloaded it as Rocky instructed, and aimed at the target again. When he pulled the trigger there was a very loud bang and his arm made a funny wobbly motion, waving the gun around in the air very quickly. Then he dropped the pistol in the dirt and grabbed his wrist, not exactly moaning in pain, but saying "OW!" a few times.

It turned out that the cylinder under the hammer had fired, but so had two others. One of the balls had hit the pin that holds the gun together, and Rocky had to soak the gun in water and dig the other three bullets out with a corkscrew designed for that purpose, then use a hammer and chisel to remove the pin. Then he had to make a trip to the gun store to order a new pin before the gun was again serviceable.

Please feel free to share your own stories, but please no "I heard about a guy who..." or "I killed thirteen guys in xxx war." Just good personal tales about adventures (and misadventures) with guns. Gun stories, not war stories. If they happen to have happened in military service, fine. Just make them interesting.

nikimcbee

12-23-12, 12:39 PM

Hanomag's gun collection at the subsim meet.:salute::up:

soopaman2

12-23-12, 12:42 PM

I will share my embarrasing first experience with firearms.

I went to Alabama (note my location) to visit my uncle.

Upon trying to get me a valid hunting liscense I was one year under in age.

My uncle took me out anyways.

First thing I did was try to shoot a bird off a power line, which made my uncle crap bricks.

We stalked across this land, that had these white things that popped when you stepped on them, I did end up bagging a squirrel, which my uncle made me eat, against all protests. He helped me, it tasted pretty good honestly.

Then we went to his property, where we shot beer bottles with a shotgun.

I was maybe 11-12, and kinda small. I could not hit jack with this thing. It tossed me around honestly.

So I channel my movie experience, and put this thing near my face. Not knowing the guys in movies, have strength and experience, two things I was lacking, being a skinny yankee.:)

I fire, the bottle splatters, and my right eye lights up in pain.

Great shot! My uncle howls. I howl in pain, as I was given the biggest shiner ever.

At least I hit the bottle! I was simply wounded and embarrassed, the bottle met its end on top of a burned out shell of a Volkswagen Bug.

Soop 1, bottle 0 :D

OK so make fun of me now :D

Sailor Steve

12-23-12, 01:20 PM

Hanomag's gun collection at the subsim meet.:salute::up:
Tell the story! :yeah:

Sailor Steve

12-23-12, 01:26 PM

I will share my embarrasing first experience with firearms.
.
.
.
OK so make fun of me now :D
Why would I do that? That's a great story!

Reminds me of when my dad and I went back to Dallas when I was ten. We went rabbit hunting with a couple of my uncles. We did a little target shooting with a pistol. My dad put it in my hands and cocked it. I immediately pulled the trigger while he was still holding it, and according to him I nearly shot his thumb off! I have a picture somewhere of dad helping me hold that pistol.

My uncles did bag some rabbits with a shotgun, but one rabbit jumped out of a bush nearby and startled uncle Richard (the only one younger than dad). Richard shot from the hip, and the poor rabbit was so shredded that there was nothing left to cook!

nikimcbee

12-23-12, 01:33 PM

Tell the story! :yeah:

I'll save my self the 3k word post:

http://imageshack.us/scaled/landing/523/targetste9.jpg

http://imageshack.us/a/img523/9789/movetargetclosermk0.jpg
Chad, Undersealancecpl, Hanomag, Neal?

http://imageshack.us/a/img523/522/dowlykn6.jpg

OMG, they killed Dowly.

Oberon

12-23-12, 01:36 PM

Just looking at that picture and I can hear in the back of my mind the chimes of 'La resa dei conti', but of course that was a Van Cleefs weapon of choice was a Buntline with rifle stock fitted.

Not much in the way of stories I can relate, except for one passed down to me from my mother. Her and my father used to belong to a gun club back in the day, she'd fire Colt .45s just fine but one day for a laugh they gave her a Magnum, a particularly heavy one, and naturally (to their amusement) the first couple of shots made a nice furrow in the floor. So then she adjusted her stance and nailed the bullseye. Their mouths hit the floor.
Moral of the story, don't mess with my mother, she is pretty handy with throwing knives too! :o:dead:

Cybermat47

12-23-12, 02:41 PM

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a325/SailorSteve/1873_revolver_carbine.jpg
.

Wow, that's a strange gun! Looks like it's awkward to shoot!

CCIP

12-23-12, 03:07 PM

I don't really have a lot of stories, mostly because my gun experience is really limited - and it is one of those things that really needs experience. I can only safely say that I got pretty good with one weapon so far - a Ruger .22 revolver that my friend owns. I've probably fed a couple thousand rounds through that one by now, and it's the only weapon with which I can actually hit small things pretty decently. I shot a few .22 weapons, including some really fast semi-automatics, but that revolver one is by far my favourite. Unlike some people, I also very quickly developed a healthy respect for that caliber. You do not mess around with it, however small the rounds look.

All of my experiences at ranges in the US have been very good. Always met good folks, and I really had a good start on guns with serious, safety-minded people.

The most fun I've had is probably with the Mosin-Nagant rifle. That thing kicks! When you get the hang of it though, it's a very, very serious, accurate, and mean weapon. If I lived in the US, that would probably be the 2nd weapon I'd own (after a good .22 pistol for regular practice). Visiting gun stores with my friends, I'd always drift into their Mosin selections and look for pre-war manufacture rifles, though I'm frankly really impressed with how even wartime production Mosins are really solidly built. I once found this really, really nice one that was built in '28, had the hex barrel and a nice finish and everything. Really wished that I was legally allowed to buy a gun that day :/\\!!

When I have my own place (i.e. not renting in a city), I'll probably get myself licensed and get a rifle here. It's really not that difficult and I would not mind the practice one bit - I'd really consider it a useful skill for hunting more than anything. Something that, you never know, might come in handy one day.

Here's me shooting my friend's Mosin (somewhat awkwardly) up in the hills in TN :D
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg5o-VsY4rw
(and yes, those shots did mostly hit my target, and I got a haircut shortly afterwards).

Sailor Steve

12-23-12, 03:18 PM

Chad, Undersealancecpl, Hanomag, Neal?
And Renee, Rebel's wife, and Kyle, Chad's dad.

Sailor Steve

12-23-12, 03:25 PM

@ Oberon: That's a great story. My mom was something like that too.

Wow, that's a strange gun! Looks like it's awkward to shoot!
Not at all. If you hold it as I was told to it is, plus the black powder blowback problem, but if you hold it extended as I described, the stock fits comfortably right at the crook of your elbow, and it's really quite fun.

@ CCIP: Nice video! I once got off five shots in five seconds with my Springfield, much to the annoyance of several others at the range, who were sighting in their scopes for hunting, and mostly firing one shot every minute or so.

Oh, and my Springfield is useless these days. I lived for awhile in a part of town where things get stolen fairly easily. I hid the bolt where no one would ever find it, and it worked. I haven't seen it since.

CaptainMattJ.

12-23-12, 03:53 PM

The first experience i remember (i went shooting before this but i don't remember much at all) was with my dad and my two uncles. My uncle owned a private airfield that he rented to the air force for drone flights, but since they stopped he ended up taking us out onto it for some shooting.

I first fired a good old .22, then a mini-m14, then a semi-auto AK-47, lastly a .44.

The .22 was very easy and accurate to shoot, loved it.

The AK, even with ear protection made my ears ring. very loud. Had my uncle not told me to back my face up off the stock a bit (he had a red dot attached to the railing) the recoil might've given me a black eye.

The Mini-m14 was my favorite. took out some suspicious Dr pepper cans with ease

But then i had the .44. I had watched my Dad fire, then my uncles, and then it came to me. I held it rather loosely and took a shot. practically hit me in the face the recoil was so intense, The next time i fired i tensed up so much that i ended up firing into the dirt. Firing 3 very powerful weapons pretty much the first time you go shooting is a helluva beginners lesson.

Stealhead

12-23-12, 04:34 PM

Many people have a too loose of grip story with a higher powered handgun.

The best one for me would the first time I ever fired a .45 M1911(it was a WWI Remington that had been refirbed at some point) I was around 10 at the time and I fired .22 cal rifles and .20 gauge shotguns before but never something with real power so I was a little concerned about the recoil.My dad told to do the same thing as with a .22 pistol and just make sure that I let my hands relax.

So I did only a little to much and the 1911 kept coming back and finally stopped when the gun was nearly at a 90 degree angle to my forehead the hammer actually hit my forehead.For a second I thought that it knocked the crap out of me until I realized that it had just stopped its motion when the hammer touched my fore head.MY dad just laughed at me and said "I did not mean that relaxed of grip".After that I kept shooting just a with a less supple grip.

Another somewhat funny experience I had was on a military range.We where doing our qualifying and they made us fire from a standing then a propped standing(like resting your hand a the barrel on an object like a vehicle) knelling and then prone.Anyway prone was last and as I start firing I feel a wasp or something sting me but i keep shooting because I will run out of time if I stop.Few seconds later I feel another sting and then a another.I'm thinking what are the odds of a bunch of wasps stinging a person shooting a rifle in the prone position?

Finally I see a 5.56mm casing land near my face and realize that the next shooter to left their casings where landing right in the same spot I am laying and some several of them are going right down my shirt and the wasps where actually the hot brass burning my skin.

They collect the brass at the end of your range time and have you check your clothes for any that winds up there.I had at least a dozen 5.56mm cases in the bottom of my shirt.Even with all that distraction I scored marksman 1 miss out or 40 and it was the 500m away target I hit it 9 times and missed it once.The shooter next to me just did well enough to qualify.

@ CCCIP your friend had a pretty good Mosin and good ammo with lousy ammo the Mosins will heat up and the bolt will get very sticky the same thing can happen if it a lousy Mosin only 10 fold.You can buy Mosins for a little over a $100.00 in the US and if you know what to look for find a good one most gun shops have crates full of them M44s and 91/30s and M38s are a bit more rare.That one you had their looks like a standard 91/30 you must be fairly tall then.

Madox58

12-23-12, 04:58 PM

I only have a couple that meet the requirements stated.
:hmmm:

I was hit twice with a .22 bullet in my life.
:D

The first time it happened a friend and I were building Zip Guns in the garage.
We were only building them for something to do and mostly to prove to ourselves we could.
:nope:

As I was doing some messing about with my Loaded version?
It went off fireing a round through my left palm near the thumb!
:o

It only caused a small entrance and exit wound roughly an inch apart and hit nothing important.
Still have the scars.

The second time was again in the garage.
My Uncle had bought a .22 pistol. Maybe a Ruger?
My Dad fired it at a wooden block.
Now behind that block was an old shovel. The kind from the days when metal shovels were intended to last forever and a day.

That round took a new flight path that happened to align exactly with my mid section just above the belt line!
Thankfully the velocity was greatly reduced and bounced off of me!
(Ya, I'm bullet proof! :up:)
It made it to the storage platforms above our heads and I carried that round for years as a good luck piece.

Stealhead

12-23-12, 05:07 PM

I hope you learned to check that a firearm is clear before doing anything with it unless of course the planned action is to fire said firearm.:D

Madox58

12-23-12, 05:25 PM

Well, one thing I am thankful for is that the round was not spinning as the barrel was smooth. It also had alot of blow back so the velocity was probably way lower then a real weapon would produce.

It did teach me to think on my feet real quick!
I had to go into the house and tell my Mom a tall tail about a drill to CMA!
:haha:

I told my Dad the truth that night when he got home though.
He pretty much said the same thing you did.

Stealhead

12-23-12, 05:37 PM

A friends father had a similar experience he did not get shot but nearly shot one of his brothers.They had taken one of the fathers shotguns out when mom and dad where gone and had even loaded shells into it and where looking at it not playing though.Anyway the trigger was pulled and a the shot messed up a wall few inches off it would have hit the younger brother.

The father did punish the sons for having taken the shotgun out in the first place but also used it as a chance to teach them how to safely handle all of the firearms they had in the house.

Did you ever see a round go off into one of those red clearing buckets? Very noisy I asking about one once in an armory if it could actually take a rifle round and this NCO says "put the muzzle in there turn the safety off and pull the trigger." so I obeyed the order and did it.:har: it was loud as all get out but it did not do any damage besides some sand in the air.

Madox58

12-23-12, 05:59 PM

I don't remember the exact Rifle used at the time and will have to see if Dad recalls what it was.

We use to go to a local Club that had a fireing range.
They had big steel boxes that you placed your targets in.
All rounds got deflected down into the earth because of the 45 degree backface of the box.
They worked great until Dad fired that Rifle at them!
:hmmm:

On the other side of the range was a river. Then a Cow pasture about a half mile further on.
A few days after our time on the range? We got a friendly visit from the Law Dogs.
Seems we downed a Cow or two!
:o

They built a large mound of dirt behind those boxes right after that.
:up:

Stealhead

12-23-12, 06:20 PM

That might be why many ranges especially indoor ones wont allow rifles.There must be some code in every state that controls gun ranges.Here in Florida you must have a back drop that can stop the rounds on a your own property not sure with an open to the public range.

The best range I ever saw in person was a private range owned by this millionaire that was a school friends father.This thing was really nice in ground with the ends covered while the mid section was open to the air.The owner was also a class III dealer (not how he made his money though) and he had everything even a few true machine guns.That would be another funny story but hard to explain was watching my friend load the pan magazine for a WWI Lewis gun you have to see it to understand the humor of it but basically they are not very easy to fill up and they will spit rounds back out much of the time so the loader will get frustrated which is funny to

The owner was also a class III dealer (not how he made his money though) and he had everything even a few true machine guns.That would be another funny story but hard to explain was watching my friend load the pan magazine for a WWI Lewis gun you have to see it to understand the humor of it but basically they are not very easy to fill up and they will spit rounds back out much of the time so the loader will get frustrated which is funny to

I have a 10 foot high dirt mound that a bulldozer made and in front of it are a bunch of pine tree stumps in front of that are mounts for targets and a "lollypop" stand that I made myself.

Madox58

12-23-12, 06:51 PM

Back around the same time as paying for a few Cows?
We also bought a horse.

It was out in the country and my Dad and Uncle fired a few rounds kind of in the air.

A mile away or there abouts? A neighbors horse was hit.
:o

TarJak

12-23-12, 07:09 PM

I remember the first time I fired a .22 target pistol with a hair trigger at a range and put a .22 sized hole in the roof above me as I nudged the trigger when lowering the gun to aim it.

I still think the most fun gun I've fired was a Lee Enfield .303 of WWII vintage on a 500m range. Took a lot of concentration to get even on target, let alone close to the centre.

Stealhead

12-23-12, 07:46 PM

The Lee Enfield is a nice rifle easily one of the best throws on any bolt action.It was generally a little harder to get your sights tuned in and be accurate with those older rifles compared to more modern ones.Of course once you did they where very accurate.

Sailor Steve

12-23-12, 08:14 PM

Rocky and I were at an outdoor range shooting at the pistol targets at the standard range of 25 feet, shooting a matched pair of Dan Wesson .357 magnums. We were shooting .38 special, because the rounds are a lot cheaper, and because with the full magnum load the Wesson has a weird sort of sideways kick to it. Behind the targets was a big hill, so it was impossible for stray bullets to go anywhere but into the soft dirt on the hillside.

Rocky pointed out a big piece of pink paper on the hillside, maybe six inches across and about 25 yards away, and said we should try to hit it. We reloaded and he went first. He managed to put every shot within a couple of inches of the paper. If it had been a man he would have had all six shots in and around his chest.

Then it was my turn. I took my time, and managed to put the first shot about three feet to the left of the target. I took aim again and this time missed about six feet to the right. I tried one more time and the piece of paper disappeared. Rocky shook his head and said "I always say if you can't be good, be lucky."

Armistead

12-23-12, 08:34 PM

Not sure about stories, but I look at all this talk about guns today and compare it to when I was in school. When bird season hit, everyone came to school with shotguns on their truck racks, when the bell rang, the parking lot was full of us getting into hunting gear, getting out guns ready, etc., then off to hunt. Then came deer season, shotguns were replaced with rifles..

We had guns all around the house, behind doors, in closets, gun racks, in drawers, none ever locked up..If a fox hit the hen house, there was always a loaded gun ready to deal with it...Sure, I lived in a rural town, but this was just the late 70's.

My best hunting story, I killed 3 deer one morning, basically dropping them all on top of each other. Deer would walk a creek base through a wood cut out. I shot one, drug him out of the creek based. Wasn't an hour later another came, saw the dead one, came out and was sniffing it, dropped him, it fell on top the dead one....prolly 30 mintues later, another one came by...repeat. Course this was a big fire/police hunt we do in east NC where the deer are plenty, but not as big....and people share tags...

I was also shot was with a 38 right through the hand by another hunter...lucky the idiot didn't kill me.

My best gun stories are of my Grandma, she grew up in the mountains of NC early 1900's, she shot 4 people I know of, including my grandpa...sort of by accident. One man she killed that was breaking into the barn...Sheriff came by a few days later, she signed a form, that was the end of it...

My father also shot and killed a man breaking into the funeral home we lived in 1970....upstairs...I don't remember pieces muh of it. Killed the man on the back screen porch..

Red October1984

12-23-12, 11:23 PM

The most fun I've had is probably with the Mosin-Nagant rifle. That thing kicks! When you get the hang of it though, it's a very, very serious, accurate, and mean weapon.

My dad has one of those. We have a crate of FMJ Ammo for it. We shot at a bunch of fruit one time. It was very fun. I love the weapon. Great rifle.

And recoil? Come on. It isn't that bad. :smug:

Sailor Steve

12-23-12, 11:27 PM

Sailor Steve

12-23-12, 11:41 PM

Describing the "kick" from a gun is always fun, since every one is different. My .30-06 has a really hard, sharp kick to it. Rocky's .58 caliber Civil War replica rifled musket had a much stronger recoil, but due to the slow-burning nature of black powder, it's less like someone punched you in the shoulder and more like they pushed real hard. It rocks you back on your feet, but doesn't hurt at all.

Another interesting thing about the Civil War rifled musket is the famous Minié ball. It was designed with a hollow back end, the idea being that the flange would expand and engage the rifling, ensuring a tight seal and eliminating the need for a patch between bullet and powder. It didn't work that way, at least not for us, so we got into the habit of patching it anyway.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a325/SailorSteve/Minie_Balls.jpg

When you fired the gun it wasn't obvious from the side, but the shooter could see that the trail of smoke from the gun to the target spirals a little, making a corkscrew effect all the way down the range. It's part of the fun of shooting the things.

Armistead

12-23-12, 11:42 PM

Three deer as they walked by? Hardly sporting. But then neither is buying a steak at the store. :sunny:

My mom and stepdad both loved to hunt, but only occasionally liked venison. They gave my wife and me one whole deer, butchered and ready to eat. Good thing we had a freezer ready to hold it all.

I like your grandma. My father-in-law once told me his oldest daughter had a stalker while in high school - a boy who had more than a crush on her. One night he heard a noise in the back yard. Joe wasn't sure if it was the boy or a buglar, so he went out very cautiously, armed with a revolver. He saw a shadow in the yard, and to show he meant business he fired the gun straight down into the ground. The intruder fell backward and lay still. Joe then approached slowly. It was the boy, and Joe thought he had killed him. No, Joe's shot did indeed go into the grass. The boy had just fainted.

Guess my Grandma was in her teens in early 1900's, got married at 14, had 16 children, outlived all of them but 3, dying at 101. Growing up in the mountains in NC during that time, really was no law.

One of her funny stories was...They lived in a old cabin, planked floor, but large cracks in the floor between the planks. She said once a man crawed under the house and was watching her cook or looking up her dress. She had hot water boiling on the stove and dumped it on him. She said.."his head hit every plank on the way out..."

The cabin door had knot holes in hit, doors only had a latch. A man was trying to unlatch the door sticking his finger through the knot hole. She didn't know him, let go of both barrels at his finger. I don't think she intended to kill him, just blow his finger off, but she blew through the door and killed him......no charge of course, that was a killing offense back then.

Sailor Steve

12-23-12, 11:48 PM

Wow! It's amazing to hear stories from other people's lives.

One of her funny stories was...They lived in a old cabin, planked floor, but large cracks in the floor between the planks.
I read Laura Wilder's 'Little House' books to my kids when they were little. She mentions those separated planks, and says that it was easy to sweep the floor that way. The dirt went between the planks and down into the "under floor".

It's said that legendary Kansas lawman Elfego Baca once held off an entire town for a couple of days by ripping up floorboards and lying in the "under floor".

Armistead

12-24-12, 03:30 AM

Wow! It's amazing to hear stories from other people's lives.

I read Laura Wilder's 'Little House' books to my kids when they were little. She mentions those separated planks, and says that it was easy to sweep the floor that way. The dirt went between the planks and down into the "under floor".

It's said that legendary Kansas lawman Elfego Baca once held off an entire town for a couple of days by ripping up floorboards and lying in the "under floor".

Don't know if you've ever been to a mountain funeral. Starts at the dead persons house, load coffin on horse and buggy. As it heads to graveyard, as you pass peoples houses they just join in the march, everyone singing along the way. You'll walk about 3-5 miles per graveyard, usually up dang hills, but you'll have a crowd by the time you get there. Yes, they have cars, but don't use them, up there anyway. Course it's been 15 years since I last went to one, no relatives up there anymore.

I have her books also, plus the entire Lil House series on disc. Loved the show back then...

Stealhead

12-24-12, 03:22 PM

When you fired the gun it wasn't obvious from the side, but the shooter could see that the trail of smoke from the gun to the target spirals a little, making a corkscrew effect all the way down the range. It's part of the fun of shooting the things.

Sort of like a vapor trail with a more modern round I suppose only with some smoke about you would really see it.So all the smoke from the black power the bullets would of course go through this and you would be able to see the trail it cut in the air.I never really thought of that.I wonder if it would have happened on a battlefield with all the smoke that lingered in those days I recon so but perhaps you would not notice it so much having other concerns on your mind.

Sailor Steve

12-24-12, 03:45 PM

...perhaps you would not notice it so much having other concerns on your mind.

There are reports of American Civil War soldiers who didn't notice the musket had misfired and continued to load and fire, later having to dig three or four bullets, and the layers of powder, out of the barrel.

Stealhead

12-25-12, 12:13 PM

There are reports of American Civil War soldiers who didn't notice the musket had misfired and continued to load and fire, later having to dig three or four bullets, and the layers of powder, out of the barrel.

I can see that occurring in the heat of battle easily.

Not really a firearm story but interesting....

One of my relatives C.P. Witt was a Confederate officer during the the Civil War he was involved in some skirmish in 1862 don't recall the exact battle off hand but it was in Virginia it seems his house slave camped with him the slave was called Uncle Joe though he was only 14 or so at this time.Witt apparently got taken to the ground in hand to hand combat and was presumed dead but "Uncle Joe" refused to leave him behind and ran back to the battle location in a wooded area and found Witt alive some Union troops must have seen him giving aid to an enemy and fired on the two but Uncle Joe did not waiver and carried Witt back to the Confederate lines.Witt recovered and kept fighting and surrendered at Appomattox.Uncle Joe stayed with the family until some time in the 1890s so he must have really liked the Witts.I am pretty sure Uncle Joe got the Uncle part at some point after the war.Another Witt cousin was married to a black woman after the war so interesting family I'd say.

Sailor Steve

12-25-12, 12:28 PM

Not really a firearm story but interesting....
Yes it was. I like "human" stories. Thanks for sharing.

Red October1984

12-25-12, 01:09 PM

My gun story? I just got a Savage AXIS .223 for Christmas. Beautiful gun. All i need are some rings for the scope and some 55 Grain ammo.

The scope has a ballistic kind of "calculator" and it is made to that when i sight it in for 100 yards, I just change the range marks on the scope and it adjusts the range to what I need. Awesome scope.

BSA Sweet .223 is the name of it. :arrgh!:

Sailor Steve

12-25-12, 01:29 PM

Cool!

Be careful and have fun. :sunny:

Armistead

12-25-12, 01:35 PM

I can see that occurring in the heat of battle easily.

Not really a firearm story but interesting....

One of my relatives C.P. Witt was a Confederate officer during the the Civil War he was involved in some skirmish in 1862 don't recall the exact battle off hand but it was in Virginia it seems his house slave camped with him the slave was called Uncle Joe though he was only 14 or so at this time.Witt apparently got taken to the ground in hand to hand combat and was presumed dead but "Uncle Joe" refused to leave him behind and ran back to the battle location in a wooded area and found Witt alive some Union troops must have seen him giving aid to an enemy and fired on the two but Uncle Joe did not waiver and carried Witt back to the Confederate lines.Witt recovered and kept fighting and surrendered at Appomattox.Uncle Joe stayed with the family until some time in the 1890s so he must have really liked the Witts.I am pretty sure Uncle Joe got the Uncle part at some point after the war.Another Witt cousin was married to a black woman after the war so interesting family I'd say.

I love the Civil War ere. Yes, many slaves were taken into war with their owners and many willingly went, some were known to even fire on union soldiers. They're several stories of slaves going to look for their owners on the field, but it was a very dangerous thing to do until a truce was called. Course, they're many stories of soldiers going on the field to take care of both friend and foe before a truce, such the "Angel of Marye’s Heights." Richard Rowland. Many felt Kershaw made that story up, very possible.

My GGG Grandfather was also a Confederate officer 22nd NC, Company E.
Lucky we have his uniform, sword, guns and papers...or should I say my uncle got it....When he came home, he put most his stuff in the foyer closet, where it remained until my grandfather died, then got passed on. My GF's third wife still lives in the house.

Stealhead

12-25-12, 02:05 PM

@RedOCT1984 that is a pretty good varmint gun there you should be able to get pretty good groupings with one with a little practice.

I don't know much about the scope personally it seems to get mixed reviews though not a bad starter scope and some people are either overly picky or overly in love with a product.Just be careful with the set screws seems they are easy to strip just scanning some reviews that seems to be a common ding.

@Armistead My aunt does the genealogy research I cant recall the unit Witt was in and he had two brothers that also where in the CSA one as enlisted and the other an officer all in different units.Two lived in Texas but did not serve in Texas units and when the war was over they walked home.They had cousins on the Union side one lost his arm in Georgia he was the worst injured of any relative of course these families had no relation to each other at the time.

I have no doubt that some slave owners where very harsh and some where not and anything between it was just the mentality of the times slave ownership and how each person treated them varied.All I know is that a beaten man would not risk his life for his owner maybe freedom is better true but at that time such a thing was not certain and a black person with a owner that treated them well might correctly doubt how well he might get treated as a free man or if his current owner dies what his fate could be.

What gets me is how some people get on about it still even though it is a done deal and now things are different.Funny how even right now there are people in this world that are salves some of them sex slaves yet this fact gets little attention it seems.

Red October1984

12-25-12, 03:05 PM