Went shooting at Ft. Dix range 14 yesterday with my Barrett M99.A colonel wanted to try it and traded a spot in the bleachers at Range 65.
Tooooooooooooo cool.
The muzzle blast was overwhelming.The machine guns were accurate as hell and the tracers were awesome.They ran one tank at a time and did this all day.I didn't care that i was supposed to be home for a party so i sat there and watched for a few hours.They broke out MRE's for a break but didn't offer me one.
I was glad.
The tanks shells were being off loaded a few feet away in very large pallets.They didn't offer me one of those either.
I spoke to a logistics officer whose job was to count the "booms" and match them with the count of missing ammo.
What a day.Does life get any better.
I am gonna keep my eye on the for sale forum for a tank.
Eric the ammoman

"my Barrett M99.A colonel wanted to try it"

So, what did the colonel think of your Barrett?

for some reason i dont think you are going to find a tank for sale.

but every once in a while i come acrost a shell.
i have a 75 mm from wwII , a shorter 75 mm from wwI, and a 40mm from wwII. there nice conversation pieces.

He loved it and was quite a good shot.
Granted a Barrett can shoot a hell of a lot further, but i had a cardboard with an exploding target set up at 100 yards and he whacked it.We also shot the "blue tip" incendiary ammo into the hill for effect and the flash, explosion and smoke cloud is awesome.
He was quite impressed.Say what you want, but i am driving my Excursion around with a Barrett M99 an M1D sniper and my skeet gun in the back.
I look like "harvey milk toast" and it's all legal.This really is a great country.
Eric the ammoman

Wow - the things I take for granted...

'course even among the military types on the internet, very few were/are really around tanks. Force Recon, Rangers, and Special Ops types don't see much of the Heavy world [:D]


Adam

I often got the job of Range Safety Officer when I was assigned to a Tank Battalion in Germany in the mid 70's.

lost part of my hearing because I had to stand behind the tank line to insure things were done in a safe manner. Ear plugs were worthless, the concussion from those main guns would knock you unconscious if you were in front of the turret. And those days the tanks had the L105  (105mm)

I remember taking a company of grunts to the range to have them observe tank fire.  Standing 25 yds behind the tanks they got a real eye opener when the main gun let loose. Some of those guys looked like they wanted to run away. I bet several of them dropped a load...

Tanks are awesome, [:)]

Geoff Ross

I concur! But since I'mm an 11M, I'm still partial to the 25MM Chaingun (whose name just happens to be "BUSHMASTER") on the Bradley. Not quite the "boom" of the 120MM smooth bore on the M1, but 200 RPM, with every round a tracer is awesome in it's own right.
If you really want to see a "sight" though, the Brigade night defensive live fire at the NTC is the best. Every thing the BDE has (Tanks, Brads,TOW missles, 50 cal and all others small arms, Arty and Air Force ) shooting thier FPL is enough to bring on the wood! I've been out there as a "player" and as an O/C and it's hard to remember that you've got a job to do and not just sto and watch in awe. If you've ever seen "The Boys in Company C" when they are dropping all that ordanance on that hill, and the reaction of the LT, it's like that! OUT.

Speaking of the Bradley...I was a Bradley gunner in the Army for a while.  I was doing a night live fire one time and I was lucky enough to have an Abrams pull up beside me and engage.  When the main gun went off, I thought my 25mm blew up.  I looked at my Bradley commander and expected to see his face blown off.  I finally realized it was just the concussion of the Abrams big gun.  I'm hear to tell ya...that will strike the fear of God in ya!

Bradd

I was a 19E,M60A3 armor crewman while  I was in the Army during 1989-1991.When desert storm started up they started sending us all through the 19K, M1A1, transition schools at FT. Knox. While on the live firing range getting quilfied I hit a deer with a 120mm SABO round, damn thing just started running accross the range and right in front of the  heated target that you fire at. I could see  the deer  running accross the range  through the TIS and it was just in the wrong place when the TC shouted fire! Ripped him in two and sucked his guts and  stuff  down range for about 30-35 yards!
Was pretty cool!

FYI - those of you who live in the mid-Atlantic area, every year on Armed Forces Day, Aberdeen Proving Grounds has an open house. This includes a demonstration of artillary, tanks, and other VERY cool stuff. Get there early - it's usually very crowded. It'll give you a chance to check out the Ordnance Museum too.

Highly Recommended!

Thanks gus, I wasn't aware anything like this was open to the public. Does anyone else know of an artillery demonstration put on for the public anywhere in the country. One of my dreams is to see an Abrams fire shells.

Last time I went, they did an A-B comparison of the Abrams to the M60. Needless to say, it didn't seem fair. Sure was impressive though.
Live fire was the order of the day!

I got to watch a 9 gun salvo from the USS Iowa from 8,000 feet.
AWSOME!
So Eric, were you able to take out one of those tanks from a mile away with that Barrett? After all, Diane Feinglestein says that they will stop a tank at a mile......
[X]

The M60 will out shoot the M1 standing still. While I was in the Army going through basic and AIT the instructors would freely tell us that the fire control computer on the M60A3 was better then the one on the M1, but once they started to move it was all over! Riding in a M1 is like riding in a Caddy, its so smooth thats it is easy to see how it offers a better shooting platform for firing on the move. But if I had to be in one or the other while they were going at one another from a stand still Id have to go with the M1 with the 120mm smoothbore cannon and that armor, Id really like to know if a 105mm SABOT would penatrate that frontal armor! Also if you are ever close to a M1 take your fist and tap the front deck of a m1 just in front of the drivers hatch like you were looking for bondo in a car fender and you will hear the hollow spaces in it for the composit armor. Sometimes I realy wish I hadnt gotten out!  :)

Eric, where are the pics man!!??

(I'm sure you're not going to tell us that you didn't take pics... [;)])

CMOS

Oh man talk about bringing back memories, I was a Bradley Master gunner/ Plt Sgt during the Gulf war in the 3ed Armored DIV. 5/5 cav out of Kirchgons Germany. I remember watching an M1A1 engage a dark T62 (not much of a heat sig) but some idiot stuck his head out of the commanders hatch, oh man that was a mistake. That M1 gunner had to be locked on before the guy pocked his head out and waiting with finger on the trigger. Now thats firepower!!

Rew  

Not much of a match for modern ones but our local guild of weapons collectors restored a T34 to working order, still a hell of a nice piece of machinery.

Take a look:

[url]http://www.guns.connect.fi/gow/T34tank1.html[/url]

mcgrinch,
Since your in MS., your not that far from Ft Benning. I'll see if I can get you the PAO's number and send it to you. Or you can go to:www.army.mil, and search on that sit. It's a public site, and you might find some numbers to call and get some info on public firepower displays at Benning. Thanks.

In Germany we did some kind of International wepons display day thing. They rolled the M1 up on the line and people crowded around the thing. They were as far forward as the front of the tracks. Huge crowd. The main gun went off and they were all over themselvs trying to un-ass the front of that crowd.. LMAO

Aviator

Eric, sound like a great day. Thanks for the "Great" deals. Look forward to seeing you someday at Ft. Dix. Reminds me of the 'ol days in Armored Cav.  First had M60s then went to the M551 (152MM Main Gun), what a hellofa shot. Remember the days when you just burned up ammo, especially 50 and 7.72 so you wouldn't have the hassel of turning in back into the ASP. Also did a lot of main gun burning for same reason. There are several lakes in southern Germany full of 155-105-50. Thanks for the memories.

I was a 19E M60A3 armor crewman, too. I was pulling ammo detail one night in the back of a HEMTT parked about 25 yards behind the firing line. You should try to get some rack time in that position. Damn near impossible.

I was a tanker for 7 years. For a real show, you ought to see Tank Table VI on Yano Range at Ft. Knox. I was a gunnery instructor in gunnery skills branch. We taught Armor/Cav Officer basic/advanced course, Pre command course, and sent Mobil Training teams all over the world to train units upgrading to the M48A5, M60A3. We were also working on the at that time XM1. The M60A3 will, or would at that time out shoot the M1 stationary. The M1 comes into it's own moving. The M60 series had add on stabalization, the gun was stabalized, not the sight assembly. So, you (gunner) would have to talk your driver to the best speed (about 12-15 mph)where the sweet spot was-the vibrations from the track pads would harmonize and you could see the target. The M1 has stab gun and sights, so no such problem. The original thermal sights on the A3 were better than the early M1 thermals.
But back to Yano Range, just think of 12-15 tanks parked on line. They are about a foot apart. It is dark, and flares pop. The M85 .50, the M240 coax, and M69 105mm on all of them begin engaging targets! I would be sitting outside on the loaders hatch with a set of headphones on. The muzzle blast would leave you slap happy by the end of the range. But my God, it was fun! Especially when ammo was left over. We, the instructors would load up and show the newly minted Lt's how it was done! You could shoot the 105 soooo fast, it was almost like a 40mm bofors pom pom...

I was a 19K M1A1 armor crewman stationed in Germany.  Night fire at Grafenwoer is awesome!  You can see the tracer on the round go all the way downrange 2000-3000 yards.  I have seen some really cool postcards showing the muzzle blast lighting up the entire front half of the tank.
At Ft. Knox during basic they had "Family Day" where they would let people climb in the tanks, and I think maybe they let a few parents fire a round as well.
The last two years of my Army career pretty much sucked, but that first year and a half in Germany almost makes up for it.