Gun Control Reform Activism

That's just my memory of what that group called it. They called the .308 "308" instead of 30 odd 8. And it may be the "odd" was ought (as in zero). I'm not a real gun guy. I was just around it some. 223 for the AR15s was 223 (or whatever the number is - I don't remember). They had "22 conversion kits" for the AR15s. Cheaper I guess for some stuff. They used those for going through woods and shooting targets while being timed. Some of the targets were silhouetted cardboard human shapes that could pop up somehow.

They had what they called an elephant gun. I think it was .75 caliber. Only one of us was able to shoot that and remain standing up it had such a kick.

My brother was into old muskets - Civil War and before - won some stuff with those and WWI and WWII guns. He and they often made their own ammo. I think he had a "Lee Enfield" (that's what it sounded like - I think it used 303) and a "M1 Grand" (don't remember the caliber) There was an old car by the field they claimed they put a 44 magnum through the engine block with some souped up bullets they made for it. I never saw them do it but I saw the hole. I think they damaged the gun doing it.

It was a little less than 40 years ago. I'd gone back home/to school. Archives only go to the 90s for the paper there. It probably got some write up - don't think it would be a big blurb.

According to my brother who told me about it sometime later, he was unarmed (because they made him dispose of about $3,000 worth of weapons - which was a lot more weapons than $3,000 would acquire today - probably closer to $12,000+ in today's dollars) and he used that to buy this APC truck-like armored vehicle - wheels on the front and tracks on the back - sounded like one of the vehicles I saw in Lawrence of Arabia movie. But driving an armored vehicle around town naturally freaked a few folks out - I think it was on a Sunday morning - he'd been up all night drinking. So they sent the SWAT team. He took them on a bit of a chase - kind of driving around and around a traffic circle near a college but no shots fired. It wasn't high speed because this thing couldn't go that fast. I think he had an accident with it - hit a pole or something - my brother said it was not easy to drive looking through the slots - and the accident ended the chase. Not exactly front page news - particularly in light of the fact that the guy was mentally messed up.

I don't think he ever got charged with anything or a court-martial. He was still in the army at the time but not for much longer - probably 39 years ago because of that - not long after I went home. I think they put him in a hospital and then cut him loose after a while. They had the tests he'd previously failed and he obviously wasn't well. He was really nice, mild-mannered, kind of gentle person to talk with. You'd never know from a casual conversation he had problems. Never saw or heard about him after that. Don't know what became of him. I remember his first name but not his last but I wouldn't post that anyway.

There's no point in making a story like that up. That's the best I can do. I doubt my brother would have kept a clipping.

I'd say one of the other guys from the army and my brother were the only two "sensible", don't-have-a-mental-issue in that group. That was the point. These guys were armed to the teeth and not that solid mentally. They had everything they basically wanted in powerful weapons.

One other notable thing for this forum. They were paranoid of laws people were talking about that would take their guns away - even back then. So they took some of these guns, packed a bunch of ammo for them and whatever else they'd need to maintain them (packed them in grease I think) and did it in such a way, they'd be preserved for decades, took them up to the mountains and buried them. All of them did that including my brother. If anyone attacked or took their guns, they were armed & ready for war. I'd never hung with people like that so I found it a little shocking - particularly my own brother. When people scolded Obama for saying folks "clinged to their guns", to me, those words resonated - they struck me as kind of true.