Here’s a blast from the past, reminding me that during my lifetime the US Army collaborated with the National Rifle Association to produce a half-hour film explaining the values of responsible gun ownership in our country.
Or watch video here.
It recalls a happier time…
The impetus for the founding of the NRA was a bunch of Union generals, including Grant, that were appalled at the level of marksmanship among the soldiers.
Interesting. I had not known things had deteriorated so badly in the seventy five or so years since “our boys” out-thought, out-gunned, and out-shot those Redcoat invaders. I believe the biggest difference is that, in that earlier conflict, our side had militia as a normal part of civic life. by the mid-19th Century that had fallen out of the norm. City boys and factory workers weren’t much for being armed and trained.
Washington, for one, had a very low opinion of the militia. He wanted regulars (the Continentals). With a couple of exceptions (Bunker Hill and Cowpens come to mind) the militia generally performed poorly. Militia does best in partisan warfare rather than set-piece battles.
For a really appalling demonstration of marksmanship, look at the Battle of the Rosebud which was the opening act of the Little Big Horn campaign. Army shot off about 50,000 rounds, Indians about half that. They managed to kill about 25 people on each side with about twice that wounded.
Richard,
I don’t know the truth about the Revolutionary War, but I will tell you about one report I heard. George Washington asked the militia to do foolhardy things, unhealthy things. You are right, militia would be better at guerrilla warfare, than standing toe to toe with the British Army, and getting pounded by their cannons and musket volleys.
One time Washington told the militia to fire two shots, then split. They did that. In other words, Washington wanted the militia to stand there and fight, but militia members were more interested in living to fight another day. Hit and run, shoot and scoot, Indian-style fighting is more appropriate for militia members. To put it bluntly, militia members are smart, and generals are stupid. I call them “stupid” because of all the suicidal massed charges generals have made their men make.
Oh to get some of the old stuff back into the schools, much less on the air………………..
I recall the first lines of the Marine Riflemans Creed.
“This is my rifle, there are many like it, but this one is mine.
My rifle is my best friend, it is my life. I must master it as I must master my life.
My rifle, without me is useless. Without my rifle I am useless.” And so on.
Very good!
When I wore green we spent a full day every week on the range. And still, when we did ‘the running deer’; a man walked slowly down the targets butts (don’t know what you call them in the US) with a deer shaped target. No one could hit it.
Made me wonder if one could win every gun fight by simply keep stepping sideways!
Ironically you posted this, I have been seeing this on my YouTube feed for the last week……Best Wishes Mas…….Paul in Orlando
About 1954 a survey discovered that Country boys who had hunted, and were experienced with firearms were easier to train when inducted into the Armed Forces.
Carlos Hathcock offers a humorous reply to this question in one of the documentaries about him. Perhaps it’s in the one titled “White Feather,” not sure, but if interested, several can be found on YouTube.
They could have used an optic on the muskets?
Yes, except…I happened across a video recently which reported a British general being taken out by a colonial rifleman from 300 yards away. But an optic may have been handy for those “really long shots” of 400 yards or more, or for less capable shooters. Amazing skill and equally amazing quality firearms. I assume a Pennsylvania/Kentucky rifle was used for the task (?).
We ought to be in great shape the next time the country has to mobilize for a large scale war, drafting a bunch of overweight dipsticks that have never touched a firearm before. Of course, by then the Dems will have driven all the gun and ammunition companies out of business. Sometimes I wonder if we are intentionally committing national suicide or we are just too dumb to survive anymore.
Mas, thank you for posting this. I’m 75 this year and it brought back some good memories. But it also shines a light on the great changes, the contrast, in thinking and values of our culture then ‘til now. If I had my way, this film would be required in school history classes. They might chuckle a little at some of the ways people in films present, but the historical facts, and thinking of the time, are rooted in the true and solid values of good citizenship. Thanks again!
What an excellent video! Really no room for improvement. I loved the narrators’ voices, especially the first one, that general guy (if that was his real voice, not an overdub). I noticed the inclusion of women, and the warning about anti-gun legislation. One of the anti-gun bills placed in front of the camera was from, you guessed it, New York! : 0
Since they showed the M-14, my guess was that the video was made about 1959. But, one of the NRA patches shown had “1969” written on it. I was thinking the video could be colorized, but nah, it looks fine in black & white. This video has stood the test of time.
“It recalls a happier time…”
Indeed, the contrast between the views, expressed in this film, and those of today is stark. I did not see a date for this film but the fact that the M-14 rifle had just been adopted dates this film to the 1957-58 period. In other words, it dates from the peak of American Greatness.
As I have noted before, America peaked in 1959 and began its long decline in 1960.
Yet even back then, left-wing ideology was at work undermining America. Note the comments that the Firearms-Prohibitionists were constantly introducing legislation to undermine the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
Nowadays, after more than 60 years of left-wing inspired rot, the attitudes are totally different. Today, instead of teaching children how to shoot, Leftist Teachers punish them for even speaking about firearms. They are punished if they post a picture of their BB gun on social media. They are punished if they wear a shirt with a picture of a firearm or with a pro-2A statement written on it. They are indoctrinated into being hoplophobes by rabid anti-gun teachers and organized into school-supported anti-gun marches (and used for propaganda purposes by the Anti-American Media).
State and Federal Governments busy themselves trying to dream up more methods to burden legal gun-owners. To increase their legal jeopardy. To discourage the exercise of our 2nd Amendment Rights. They pass unconstitutional anti-gun laws and then use our taxpayer money to defend them when challenged. And when one law is struck down, they just dream up another variation and dare us to sue them again.
It all shows the corrosive effect of left-wing ideology. There is no political ideology that has failed more persistently than the various flavors of left-wing politics. Yet, left-wing politics is immune to failure and only grows stronger. Why?
It does so for the same reason that Junk Foods remain wildly popular with all human populations. Junk foods are cheap, sweet, and taste good. They trigger an emotional “sugar” high. They don’t provide any nutritional value but people gorge themselves on them anyway. Overindulgence causes all kinds of health problems (obesity, diabetes, heart disease, etc.) yet people cannot lay off them.
Left-wing ideology is exactly the same. It is the “Junk Food” of politics. Left-wing ideology is purely driven by emotion. It plays on our tribal instincts. It is the ideology of the heart rather than the head. It gives an emotional high. It is sweet to consume and allows those who do so to puff themselves up with virtue signalling.
It does not provide any nutritional value to the People. Rather, the more it is consumed, the more it destroys the political body. Just like real, physical junk food destroys the physical body if over-consumed.
It is addictive, just like junk food or crack cocaine. Once people get hooked on it, they cannot easily drop it. Consider California. Back when this film was made (1957-58), California was beautiful. It was a paradise. Now, after more than 60 years of left-wing rule, it is a garbage State burdened with high costs, high debts, failing governments, runaway crime, and needles and crap on the streets. Yet, the People of California refuse to vote the leftists out-of-office. They are still addicted to that junk food. To that crack cocaine. Like any addict, they will have to hit “rock bottom”, admit that they have a problem, and then face that problem before they can move past their addiction. We need a “12-Step Program” to help the People of America, and the World, break their addiction to the drug offered by the various flavors of left-wing ideology.
Sadly, California is a cautionary tale of what the leftists have in store for the rest of America. America, are you listening? Are you ready to drop that junk food diet and get healthy again? Or are you still addicted to the sweet taste and emotional high of those left-wing fried twinkies?
TN_MAN,
In the 1990s, Japan was doing well business-wise, and some Americans were afraid their economy would out-perform ours. Rush Limbaugh said, in order to slow down other countries economically, and in other ways, so they don’t catch up and surpass the USA, the thing to do would be to “export liberalism.” Rush was right.
Sadly this video is from a time when men could be men and nobody has to ask what the definition of a woman was.
Take me back to yesterday.
Vince
“…the values of responsible gun ownership in our country.”
Firearms-Prohibition, like all left-wing policies, leads to failure. Indeed, the Left’s efforts to disarm the American People is their most obvious area of failure (although the economy, border control, race relations, and crime / violence control are other conspicuous areas).
We have reached the point where efforts to expand firearms-prohibition automatically provokes resistance from the American People. Consider the recent Pistol Arm-Brace ban/registration scheme pushed onto the American People by Biden’s minions in the BATFE.
The Fed’s wrote their rule and rammed it into place without paying any heed to the comments submitted by the American People or the will of Congress. They set their deadline and then proceeded to “crack their whip”.
What was the result?
1) Massive non-compliance – See this link:
https://thereload.com/atf-says-a-quarter-million-guns-registered-under-pistol-brace-rule/
2) and expanded support for 2nd Amendment organizations. See this link:
https://www.saf.org/saf-membership-surges-after-judge-clarifies-scope-of-arm-brace-injunction/
This Left is failing with their imposition of Firearms-Prohbition. This failure will, ultimately, lead to the complete failure of the Left-Wing Agenda in America. It is just a matter of time.
Quote of the Day:
“The more you tighten your grip, Tarkin, the more star systems will slip through your fingers.” – Princess Leia from the Movie ‘Star Wars’.
P.S. – Just substitute ‘Biden’ for ‘Tarkin’ and ‘Americans’ for ‘Star Systems’ to adapt Leia’s quote to our current situation. 🙂
With respect to the “Big Picture”, I have argued (for years now) that those who climb to leadership on the extreme Left (or extreme Right for that matter) are psychopaths. That the idea of “Big Government” (which is at the heart of all Left-Wing Politics) acts to attract people who “crave power” for their own criminal and neurotic purposes.
I have argued that the old saying, of “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely” – per Lord Acton, is wrong. Power does not corrupt. Instead, a powerful central government inherently attracts corrupt people. A more accurate revision of the above saying would be:
“Power attracts criminals and psychopaths like catnip attracts cats”.
Up to now, the idea that the American and Global Left was captained by psychopaths was just my opinion based upon pure observation of our National Leadership class. Well, it is no longer just subjective opinion. There are now studies that confirm that those with strong left-wing views also tend to suffer from various forms of mental illness. Basically, these studies show a link between strong left-wing views and psychopathy.
It is good to have some scientific backing for my viewpoint which, up to now, has been based upon pure empirical observation. See this link:
https://www.psypost.org/2023/05/antagonistic-narcissism-and-psychopathic-tendencies-predict-left-wing-antihierarchical-aggression-study-finds-163497?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
P.S. – I always knew that the American Left was nuts! 🙂 Nothing else could explain their public policies along with their private acts.
Quote of the Day:
“History is indeed little more than the register of the crimes, follies, and misfortunes of mankind.” – Edward Gibbon
The fact that mankind has (mostly) been led by psychopaths, throughout the ages, provides the explanation as to why Mr. Gibbon’s quote (above) is so, so, so, very true.
The firearm-prohibitionists have proposed that anyone who wants to own a firearm undergo psychological testing. Let me offer a counter-proposal. I strongly recommend that anyone who wishes to hold public office or who is to be appointed to any position of significant public authority undergo psychological testing. This testing should specifically be designed to weed out those persons who have criminal tendencies or who crave power for narcissistic reasons. The testing should seek to identify the psychopaths who are drawn to governmental power for the purpose of feeding their own desires and ego. Anyone failing the psychological testing should be disqualified from holding public office or from appointment to any significant position of public authority.
I guarantee you that psychological testing for public leadership would do FAR MORE to end crime and violence and to improve society than psychological testing of gun-owners could EVER accomplish in a MILLION YEARS!
TN_MAN,
You wrote, “The firearm-prohibitionists have proposed that anyone who wants to own a firearm undergo psychological testing.”
I’ll tell you the way things ought to be. People should be ashamed to NOT own a gun. Heads of families should be scolded, “Don’t you want to protect your children/family members? Why don’t you have a gun?”
Shaming smokers has led to 25% of the American people being cigarette smokers, when they used to be 50%. People should be ashamed to not wear seat belts, to not have a fire extinguisher in their home, to pursue unhealthy habits, and to be deeply in debt.
Gun owners are responsible for their safety, and the safety of others. Non-gun owners rely on people with guns to protect them, which is what they are doing ’round the clock. Police protect us from domestic enemies, and the military protects us from foreign enemies, with lots and lots of guns of all sizes.
Of course, I learned from Jeff Cooper that no one should ever be forced to become a gun owner, because they will not be safety conscious, and they will never become competent. So, if someone really objects to owning a gun they should be required to own a sword, baseball bat, hammer, or at least a large kitchen knife.
Unarmed people invite violence. They tempt criminals to attack them. Unarmed victims are enablers for violent felons. Shame on them!
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