Content Contest: How The Army Almost Ruined Guns For Me

By Dan Zimmerman

By Matthew Gray

When my brother and I were young men, we were both obsessed with guns. Our favorite book was an encyclopedia of weapons. It covered the first rocks and clubs of ancient man, all the way up to what was cutting edge at the time of publication. It went into detail of the major small arms of the world, as well as chemical weapons tactics, even the proper detonation altitude of a hydrogen bomb to have the greatest effect with the least megatonnage . . .

We memorized much of this information, mostly calibers and the cyclic rates of fire of various small arms. Those were our favorites. We used this information mostly to annoy family and friends while watching action movies. Any time a gun was on screen, we would shout out its name, and usually give a brief background on the weapon. My mother would sometimes get frustrated that we could remember such things, but not remember our multiplication tables. Oh mom, isn’t it obvious that a MAC-10 that fires 1100 rounds per minute is so much more interesting than math?

Fast forward a few years, I had joined the Army as an Airborne infantryman. After my first deployment …read more

Source:: Truth About Guns