

Posted: 5/20/2002 5:27:17 PM EDT
where the hell is that museum? I need to road trip to that place. I see the guy every other gun special and he seems to know his shiznit.
Anyone know? |
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Quoted: Dude, that is Rush Limbaugh. Didn't you know? View Quote Huh? Wha . . . I can't hear you. |
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Just as I was reading your post I caught him on a Discovery channel show airing right now on future guns, holding something called a SPEW, developed in the 1960's, that looked like a Barret 50 cal, but shot flechette arrows.
He's built like a giant traffic cone, but seems to really know his stuff. He's a Vietnam vet as well. I wish I remember his name, but whenever I see it in captions, it rings a bell with US politics. |
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His last name is Atwater... my friend and I were commenting on him while watching THC last night. He really knows his stuff but after awhile you get tired of the way he delivers his info. Or maybe you get tired of looking at his bloated self and those silly white gloves...
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Stop you guys are making me laugh so hard my side hurts....I do like some the expressions that fat guy uses though...like 'it needs to be soldier proof'...now why the hell didn't I think of that [rolleyes]
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They constantly cut his bloated ass off in mid sentence. I get the feeling the guy keeps going like the Bunny- probably drives those guys crazy.
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Quoted: Quoted: Dude, that is Rush Limbaugh. Didn't you know? View Quote Huh? Wha . . . I can't hear you. View Quote HA--HA Hey, did they cover the SW5 yet? |
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"The M16 used 20-round mags, but you can't load more than 16 or else the springs will wear out and the gun will jam."
Some expert. -Troy |
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Yeah Troy, I've heard him say a few things that didn't sound quite right. I think he's the one that pronounces carbine, kar-bine, with a long i sound.
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: Dude, that is Rush Limbaugh. Didn't you know? View Quote Huh? Wha . . . I can't hear you. View Quote HA--HA Hey, did they cover the SW5 yet? View Quote Not until they do "Guns of 7-11 Employees." To also be features are: The Hi Point Carbine The Mossberg Shotgun The Lorcin Handgun The SKS Assault Rifle |
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Did anybody happen to tape the "Military Firepower" show the other night on the History Channel with the Chris Farley of guns. Would like to get a copy if possible.
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Hey, did they cover the SW5 yet? View Quote Not until they do "Guns of 7-11 Employees." To also be features are: The Hi Point Carbine The Mossberg Shotgun The Lorcin Handgun The SKS Assault Rifle View Quote Thank you Steyr AUG. [;)] |
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Quoted: They constantly cut his bloated ass off in mid sentence. I get the feeling the guy keeps going like the Bunny- probably drives those guys crazy. View Quote And you don't ramble on end about stuff you love to do or know a lot about? I drive my buddy nuts because I love to talk about the Civil War and WW2. And bore this girl at work...I just never know when to shut up...[:)] |
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He is from the ordinance museum at Aberdeen Proving Ground MD, If I remember right he was also a very decorated Viet Nam Vet. I do believe he was SF. It's been a while but thats what I remember. And yes he does know his shi*....[:)]
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That SPEW flechette gun was cool. It also looked like it had a 40mm launcher on it.
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i believe that his name is Sgt. Atwater (RET) and he is the curator of the military firearm museum in Aberdeen(?) if the museum is not at Aberdeen it could be at West Point or somewhere like that.
my uncle was with DOD QUASAS for a long time and we were watching a previous program and said that he had met him and that he was probably the most informative small arms man in the nation. BTW.. on the program... he never said the original M-16 mags would JAM with over 16 rounds in them.. he DID say the springs might wear out. at the time the life of the springs was kinda unknown and the army was leery of having anymore inoperable weapons than they already had thanks to Mcnamara and his micro managing of manipulations from the original design of the M-16. i've seen the guy on 5-6 programs and i havent noticed any erroreous information he's given. he seems to know his SHIT...i wish i could go to that museum...it looks freakin awesome. |
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My dad knows him well, and I've met him on several occasions. He is William Atwater (everybody calls him Bill), and is the curator for the Army Ordnance Museum at Aberdeen Proving Ground. Unfortunately, the museum is closed to the public right now, due to war security (the whole post is pretty much closed to civilian visitors). I believe they even cancelled the annual Armed Forces Day festivities for this year. Bill IS extremely knowledgeable, probably one of the most knowledgeable people out there where ordnance history is concerned. You can rest assured, he IS an authority that probably has forgotten more than the rest of us will ever collectively know.
Quoted: "The M16 used 20-round mags, but you can't load more than 16 or else the springs will wear out and the gun will jam." Some expert. -Troy View Quote Did you notice the sheepish grin while he was saying that? That was a reference to what they were told back in Vietnam, which many (including Bill) have refuted later. He has a very strange, dry sense of humor. |
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Quoted: Is he any relation to the late, great, Lee Atwater? View Quote Don think so. |
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That is Dr. William Atwater. He is the head of the Ordanence Museum at the Aberdeen Proving grounds in Aberdeen Maryland (about 40 minutes north of Baltimore just off I 95).
Unfortunetly the Museam is currenly closed to civilians as they are only allowing you on base if you have business there. If you are into armor the Museam is worth a visit (lots of armor on the grounds). Some of them are 'cut away' so you can see inside. There are some weapons on display, some are fairly beat up, stuff most of us have seen or own. Once the museam opens back up I recommend a visit (at least 2 hours worth) if you are in the area. Edited to add: Shoot Gus - I missed your post (otherwise I would not have bothered posting). I've not met Dr. Atwater - but I have corresponed with him on a few occasions for some research I am involved with. Seems to be a very good guy. |
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Quoted: Yeah Troy, I've heard him say a few things that didn't sound quite right. I think he's the one that pronounces carbine, kar-bine, with a long i sound. View Quote Hmmmm Thats ONE of the correct ways of saying it!! Main Entry: car·bine Pronunciation: 'kär-"bEn, -"bIn Function: noun Etymology: French carabine, from Middle French carabin carabineer Date: 1605 1 : a short-barreled lightweight firearm orig. used by cavalry 2 : a light short-barreled repeating rifle that is used as a supplementary military arm or for hunting in dense brush |
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Quoted: That SPEW flechette gun was cool. It also looked like it had a 40mm launcher on it. View Quote SPIW......... |
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US Army Ordnance Museum’s website:
[url]www.goordnance.apg.army.mil/odmuseum.htm[/url] |
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He is a combat vet of Vietnam-forget what unit. He's a nice guy, described as a redneck with a PhD by someone I know who knows him-and meant it as a compliment.
The museum at Aberdeen is awesome, if you have the chance go! I've been in the arms rooms at a couple of Army museums-they are unbelievable. The center in Alabama is where the museum system gets there pieces for displays. I saw an unissued M1903A4 that came from there, still in the foil wrapper. Sweeeeet. Plenty of foriegn stuff, too. I saw a pristine 8mm Inglis Bren with no markings in one, with a transit chest full of mags. Tim |
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Atwater is the man. He knows his shit. He's been in a bunch of documentaries.
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Quoted: Quoted: "The M16 used 20-round mags, but you can't load more than 16 or else the springs will wear out and the gun will jam." Some expert. -Troy View Quote Well, bullet head was right on that account. I wish I'd known that when I was first issued one. They were known for just stopping before the magazine was empty. Not jamming, just stopping. He is irritating though. I resent his remark about the long range marksman being a myth. I think he's a PhD. BTW, they had a better special some time back on a warehouse in Alabama where they keep unissued arms and jeeps. They had new Thompsons and B.A.R.s in the original wrappers, new 1911s, jeeps with almost no miles, etc. I was going crazy. View Quote I thought the problem was soldiers assembling the magazine after cleaning it with the spring in backwards, causing problems when it was fully loaded. When they were told to *not* remove the spring from the follower, the problems stopped (but mags were still underloaded "just in case") |
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Quoted: ... I thought the problem was soldiers assembling the magazine after cleaning it with the spring in backwards, causing problems when it was fully loaded. When they were told to *not* remove the spring from the follower, the problems stopped (but mags were still underloaded "just in case") View Quote Rumor also has it that the problem was GI’s overloading their mags, esp. prior to the issuance of stripper clips. Telling them to underload the mags kept them from overloading them. I have a vague recollection of being told to underload M-14 mags before the M-16 came along. |
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Quoted: Quoted: ... I thought the problem was soldiers assembling the magazine after cleaning it with the spring in backwards, causing problems when it was fully loaded. When they were told to *not* remove the spring from the follower, the problems stopped (but mags were still underloaded "just in case") View Quote Rumor also has it that the problem was GI’s overloading their mags, esp. prior to the issuance of stripper clips. Telling them to underload the mags kept them from overloading them. I have a vague recollection of being told to underload M-14 mags before the M-16 came along. View Quote do they still do this? tell you to underload your mags? |
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Quoted: do they still do this? tell you to underload your mags? View Quote Officially, no. But myths and misinformation get passed on anyway, so there are plenty of individual units that make underloading SOP. -Troy |
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