steve1

Thanks for sharing... A very powerful story!

An insta-matic camera kind of dates a person. I doubt if most "Whipper Snappers" ever heard of them. In Army Jump School, a friend was using an instamatic, to snap pictures under canopy. He had to be fast, to get many photos from 1200 ft. (while trying to slip away from all the other green canopies) It was also tricky trying to hide such a thing from the black hats in jump schoolI'm sure they wouldn't have approve of making a photo jump when you had less than five jumps. I still have a copy of some of those photos (from back in the day!)....

I always liked that story of when Harry O'connor faked it like he was drowning, in the bottom of a stock tank, at Ft. Benning. When a black hat reached in to save him, Harry yanked the black hat into the water. He had a lot more guts than I have...

Hod is one of the toughest people I know. He does a huge number of tandems, on hot summer days, and packs all those rigs himself. He's close to sixty years old. I'd like to see a young whipper-snapper do that! Hod may not have made it through Seal training, but he's still one tough hombre. I know I can't keep up with him. He was too old for seal training, (when he started Buds). Very few twenty year olds get through that. I look up to anyone who tries.... I know another guy who just got out of the seals. They were going to give him close to a hundred grand just to reup, but he turned it down. He's around thirty now. He's had tours in Iraq and Afganistan. He said if he had to go through seal training, at his age, he probably couldn't do it. It's just too brutal...

I think I'd just sell that pistol. Why take a chance of damaging it? When I was a kid, we were short on money, but we found ways to have fun....I had a friend who found an old shotgun in his barn. Now this friend (Bruce) was almost as crazy as I was, but he did have a few smarts. He didn't know what would happen to this shotgun when he fired it, so he tied it to a fence post. He ran a string back and pulled the trigger from a safe distance. It worked just fine. The only problem was that he had to use a small hammer, on it, to get the pump to work. A few days later, we decided to go duck hunting. We found a little two man rubber raft, and decided to float the river in it. Whenever a duck would fly over, Bruce would shoot, and then you'd hear this hammering sound as he tried to get another shell in the chamber. I don't think we got any ducks that day, but we had fun.... I think, if you fire this pistol, tying it to something, and running a string back, might be the smart thing to do. Shooting glasses and ear protection would be smart too....Better yet, sell it unfired.

I've been wondering about those R-3 capewells. They look a little scary to me. I made a PC jump a few years ago that had them. The jump went well, but I was a paranoid the whole time, wondering if that velcro would hold. I bought a new, old stylemaster rig, with a PC, a few years back. It has R-3's too. I always felt safe with my old shot and a halfs. I do remember one opening, when my arm pulled the cover open on one of them(back in the 70's). Some guys jumped one shot capewells back then. They scared me too.... Maybe I'm just a scaredy cat. Sometimes that can keep you alive, though....

Is that Billy Weber in the video "Pack Like a Pro?" I bought that when I was getting back in the sport. Billy Weber looks like an old salt who's forgot more about jumping than I'll ever know....

Thanks for all the info. Windsor! It's hard to find people with your knowledge and experience. I'm not sure what happened to all the reloaders. Maybe noone has time for that sort of thing anymore. I'd sure rather reload than pay $50 a box. I haven't bought any large caliber rifle ammo, in about 35 years. I started reloading when I was about 14 and never wanted anything else for my rifles. I still buy 22, shot gun shells, and some pistol cartridges, but that's about it. Having at least one good reloading manual is a must. When I first started loading I never even had that. A friend tried to remember a good load, and I was lucky I didn't blow myself up. When I was 16 or so, I was loading Hornady bullets a lot. I decided to write in to Hornady and tell them how much I liked them. I even sent a picture of a big buck I shot with one of their bullets. Old J.W. Hornady himself wrote back to me. I still have that letter. He sounded like a great guy. He and three of his employees were killed a few years later. I'm not sure what happened. Maybe it was a plane crash. I shoot a lot of Nosler bullets now, but I still shoot some of Hornady's....

I remember packing (student) static line rigs when I was a ten jump wonder. We'd tie the static line onto the pilot chute, and onto the cones of a B-12 container with break cord. The string from gutted 550 cord seemed to work well for that. We never got paid a cent, for all that hard work....I don't think I ever saw a malfunction either, despite the fact that those rigs were often packed by ding dongs...

I shot cast bullets in my pistol some. I was told to load them slow, so there would be less lead fouling. That's about all I know on the subject. There's a lot of 223 ammo, already loaded, that seems to be reasonably priced. Compared to other ammo. I know what you mean by high priced ammo. It's getting ridiculous for some calibers! I remember the days when I could load a box of ammo for about $3.00. Those days are long gone...

I think I misspelled this. At any rate, does anyone know if Greg Nardi is starting a drop zone there? I heard that Hod Sanders may be moving there too.

Shit, I'm starting to sound like my old man! Remember the day when we all swore that we would NEVER be like that? Sighhhhhhhh Mick. Isn't that awful! I always swore I'd never be like that. Yet there are days when I hear his words coming out of my mouth. I look in the mirror, every morning, and there's my "old" Dad looking back at me. I even walk like him....I picked up a limp somewhere along the line....If I had only had a better role model, maybe I wouldn't be such a grouchy old fart!

I read yesterday, that another person was killed by a Grizzly in Yellowstone Park. That makes two this year. Bear Spray may work just fine, or not in some situations. To say that bear spray is best and that a gun will probably make the situation worse, just isn't true. Most people carry what they feel would best protect them in bear country. I've yet to see any Fish Wildlife and Parks people who pack bear spray. If it is so much better, why don't they carry the stuff. Nearly all of them pack pistols though. I know of one Fish Wildlife and Parks employee, who was unloading a trapped grizzly out of a barrel type trap that was on the back of a pickup. The bear got ahold of him and chewed him up good. The thing that saved him was a 357 pistol that he was carrying on his hip. He killed the bear with it. Bears can be stopped with a pistol, but I'd sure hate to try it. But then again I'd rather have a pistol than bear spray. It's a personal choice. If I was to pick a pistol it would be probably be a 44 magnum (or bigger). I don't own one so I sometimes pack a 357 in bear country. It's too small, but it might work just fine. I don't know what the new regs are, in National Parks. I doubt if you can carry a rifle or shotgun (with slugs). I would much prefer that, over a pistol. It was mentioned earlier, that the experts in bear country are choosing pepper spray. I know that isn't the case. I've a friend who was a Bush Pilot in Alaska. They never carried bear spray. It was usually a 338 magnum rifle. And yes he was able to stop one charging grizzly, at close range, with that rifle. I've known others who have stopped charging bears, with rifles. I don't know of anyone who has had the situation get worse, because they had a firearm.... I know one guy who markets bear spray. I met him shortly after he moved to Montana from California (about 35 years ago). I guess bear spray saved him one day. But he also was chewed up really bad. The grizzly actually had his head in it's mouth, a couple different times. He has the picture of himself, with blood running down his face (on the bear spray that he advertises). It doesn't say how he got all the blood all over. Maybe that wouldn't help him market his product. Maybe this is a good example of what can happen, when you try to defend yourself with bear spray....

Back in the olden days (early 70's) everyone packed their own main. At least I never heard of anyone who got paid for doing such a thing. I quit jumping for about twenty years. When I came back, there were all kinds of new changes.....this was one of them. At first I figured only the wealthy, did that kind of thing. Kind of like hiring someone to shine your shoes, or drive your car, or something like that.... but no.... even peons, like myself, sometimes hired a packer.

Mark, I think what you are trying to describe may border on gun phobia. There are much bigger things to target, in terms of causes of violence, other than kids playing with toy guns. I work with a teacher who freaks out at the mere thought of a gun. She literally went beserk, at a little fifth grader, last year, for bringing a plastic toy replica of a gun to school. This replica was about one inch long. (I work as a school counselor.) Another time this same teacher, told me about two boys on the playground who were playing cops and robbers. They were using their fingers as guns. This poor excuse for a teacher wanted me to talk to these boys, because they were surely disturbed, to do something as evil as that. I think the only person who is disturbed is this teacher. Please don't assume that I know nothing about gang culture, or economically deprived people, or ghetto's for that matter. I've spent the past 28 years working in just that sort of place. When I started work on this Indian reservation, the town I work in, had the highest murder rate in the United States (per capita). Gangs are very prevalent here. We have the Bloods, Crypts, and several other gangs. One thing I teach is gun safety. I also have an outdoor club where kids can learn about hunting. One reason kids turn to gangs is because they have nothing better to do. I grew up in an extremely difficult, dysfunctional, home. Guns and hunting is what kept me out of trouble. If It hadn't been for that I'm not sure where I would have ended up. That passion is what kept me going when life looked awful. I have a hard time picturing guns as something evil. For some people that is all they can see....

Of course you're right. There are much more important things than toy gun buy-backs, such as complaining about toy gun buy-backs on the internet. You have a point. But this is so ridiculous it's hard not to respond....

Let''s be honest. There is a large number of adults who have used guns for violence, since the invention. Every generation has their outlaws. It is nothing new. The last couple of generations, however, has grown up on media that encourage bad behavior. We can blame their actions on bad parenting, violent video games, gangsta rap..., or we can look at the whole picture and see that a number of elements come together to encourage behavior. Young children tend to be very impressed by what is portrayed as cool. I'll use gangsta rap as an example of encouraging inner-city gang violence. Gangsta rap reflects the reality of life in the worst parts of the city. The song 'Gangsta Paradise' illustrates the gangsta life. . I'm well aware that there is too much violence in America. Poor parenting, violence in the media, violent video games, violent video games, violent music, are some big factors in this. There is research to prove all of that. But I think it is a big stretch to say that just because kids are playing cops and robbers, or cowboys and indians, or even army, that they could very well grow up to be psychotic killers, because of that. I raised two daughters. One of the most memorable Christmases that they often recall is when I bought them both cap pistols. We spent a very fun, cold, Christmas Day playing with these cap pistols. The house was filled with the fumes of cap guns. We loved every minute of it. Guess what....neither of my daughters were harmed by that. The oldest works in a school, the other in a bank. Both are happy, healthy, productive adults. My gosh, What's the world coming to! Now they are trading in toy guns. Don't people realize there are much bigger things to worry about?

That's a good point Sparky. When someone gets killed there's always someone who says...."At least they died doing what they loved!" But then, being deader than a door knob, can't be much fun! Let me think on this a while....I'm having trouble taking it all in! When you get as old as me, even thinking is a challenge!

It's interesting how things you once hated to do, back in the day, would be fun to do just one more time. Some days in the army seemed awful. We couldn't wait to get out. Now that I'm an old fart, I kind of miss a lot of things back then. Hell, I'd give a lot to make just one more army-night-jump, with full equipment....I think I could still pull it off! If you are going to die, you might as well do it having fun!....

Nobody has called me young in quite some time... Does this mean that, "I done good?"

[! I went through Jump School in 1968 and we did not use the C119 then, C 130's and C141's were our jump platform. I was under the impression that the 119 was no longer in the inventory then. Oh, no.....The C-119 was still in use in 1970. I made four out of five jumps in jump school out of one. When I started S.F. training at Bragg in 1970 they were still in use there too. Most of my jumps from 1970 to 76 were out of 130's. I've never tail gated one. We always used the side doors. We jumped a C-130 Black Bird one time. It had all kinds of classified stuff on board. I even got in trouble for taking a picture of it. The 141 was fun to jump. The wind deflector was kind of hard to see beyond, (when jumpmastering). It also took a fairly long drop zone. I never jumped a 123. I knew a lot of soldiers who have jumped it. I think they were kind of a mini version of a 130, if I remember right. I have some old pictures, under the thread..."Back When I Was an Airborne Trooper". Those might be fun to look at. There are some pictures of some 119's, at Bragg too. We used to chute up next to the old HALO building....

reply] Steve1 Your the second person I ever talked to that jumped out of a 119 you must be really really old. OTOH Montana ANG maybe not remember a yr? Since you got to jump the 141 you couldn't be "that old" I went through Jump School in 1970. I was a twenty year old youngster. They were still jumping the 119's in both Ft. Benning and Ft. Bragg in 70. I'm not sure what year they got rid of them.... The 141 was a fun jump plane. I got to jumpmaster, a few times, out of it.... Yep. I'm an old fart!

About ten years ago, I was doing a demo into a football field. It was in a bowl with high cotton wood trees on one side. The wind was stiff, with some gusts. I had turned onto a final approach, when I had this sickening falling feeling. Being about a 400 jump wonder, I thought, "Oh crap, what do I do now!" My Falcon (9 cell) had collapsed. I'm not sure how many feet I lost, but it seemed like a lot. Then my canopy reinflated, and I came in for a nice landing. I sure don't want that to happen again! I should have been able to read some of what might happen due to the weather conditions, and the location of the field. Maybe there's a reason why green horns, shouldn't do demos....

Me neither...I always wanted a house that had a cement pond in back!

Sparky, That's the same gear I started with (down to a T). I also had portia goggles back then. That was actually pretty hot gear for that time period....