Check out that Vickers!
When the line goes hot, the wall of sound is unbelievable. It's like a physical presence; it fills the air so there's no room for your voice, no matter how hard you try. It's a constant roar of money being turned into noise, occasionally punctuated by a cannon or the RRRRRIIIPPP!!! of a couple-second-long burst from a minigun tearing up targets downrange like the finger of an angry god.
It would appear that the carpet of brass in front of the Vickers is keeping the dust down, nicely. :) Which way does the wind blow, with regard to the line?
ReplyDeleteMaybe that what God sounds like when he's having fun.
ReplyDeleteGerry
I got a few shots during a cease-fire:
ReplyDeleteMy first thought was that that sort of thing could get you thrown off the range.
A "wall of sound" is an excellent description -- it is just an awesome thing to behold! :-)
ReplyDeleteI wonder if MadMike Williamson was there? He owns a M1917 Browning and has taken it to Knob Creek in the past.
ReplyDeleteOne of those things to add to my bucket list? But then I have heard lots of automatic weapons, artillery and rockets going off with ill intent, it would seem almost like paying for sex or the illusion of love. Hmmm, but I do know, they have got to be having fun pretending or just marveling at the old guns getting up and going!
ReplyDeleteEarl,
ReplyDelete"Hmmm, but I do know, they have got to be having fun pretending..."
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. ;)
Tam,
ReplyDelete"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar. ;) "
Wit like this and your "Magnificent Bastard" paraphrase in your comment at Bobbie's is why VFTP is set as my home page.
I'll point out that very few modern battlefields are this loud; it's a rare war that sees over a hundred belt-feds lined up cheek-by-jowl with the triggers held back for minutes on end.
ReplyDeleteMost contemporary battlefields are downright contemplative by comparison. ;)
Well put Tam.
ReplyDeleteMost contemporary battlefields are downright contemplative by comparison. ;)
ReplyDeleteMaybe, but if you've got a squad or platoon of guntrucks going cyclic in the narrow backstreets and alleyways of say Najaf, Baghdad, or Fallujah it might come close. Of course five years ago might not be contemporary...
Most combat these days, is small unit contacts. The closest thing to Knob Creek commonly encountered in recent history might have been the "mad minute" of the Vietnam era.
ReplyDelete...and there are more belt-fed, crew-served weapons on that line than any given infantry battalion fielded even then. It is loud.
ReplyDelete