A few things from the John Garand Match at Camp Perry.

[John Kepler]

Fine....and your rapid? Careful now.....I was in the pits on your Relay and didn't see SQUAT on the low-end for score!

[John Kepler]

I have shot locally in the rain. I wear glasses, and what works for me is to use a non fogging solution for the lenses (something I started in my younger Hockey days, and has carried over to my JCG shooting)

And plain old "99 and 44/100ths Percent Pure" Ivory bath soap works better than any of the commercial anti-fog agents (including Rain-X which was one of our racing sponsors!), and one inexpensive cake is a lifetime supply!

Also wearing a hat with a brim. I wear my USMC cover. If my dope holds, than the majority of my rapid fire groups are where I want them. Rain or shine though it seems I would always like those groups tighter!

Semper Fi, Rob

Bud...there's rain, and then there's RAIN! Saturday was the later variety!

[Snafu]

Fine....and your rapid? Careful now.....I was in the pits on your Relay and didn't see SQUAT on the low-end for score!

91....I fought with my self on 1 or 2 down on rapid.
Did 2 and had a group 6 o'clock 9 ring

[Griff Murphey]

I HAVE shot an M-1 in the rain, in a leg match, although it has been many years, perhaps 40 ago. Kepler, dude (not normally a word I use except when searching for fancy western ranches...), I agree TOTALLY on the superiority of the AR in the rain, at least as far as seeing the iron sights. The M-1/M-1A will throw water all over your glasses. Problem is NOT fogging - rather, massive water droplets. And hats help little with the M-1/M-14 types in rapid fire. Now with the AR-15.... No op rod to throw water, bolt internal. Get a good boonie hat down over your rear sight and you will be OK in RF. And I agree with the man who just pointed it out that TECHNICALLY you are supposed to have eye protection but in those bad old days I saw people with good vision shoot bare-eyed. Back then it was recommended, NOT required. So point taken on that. But... I would bet one or two JCG shooters with good eyes might've pulled their anteojos off during prone rapid in the rain.

[Terry N.]

I wonder if the old-timers who wore a campaign hat (smokey the bear hat) while shooting at Perry (and elsewhere) maybe didn't know something that the rest of us don't. They keep the rain out of your eyes (as well as any hat does, anyway), and they keep the sun off your neck.

[John Kepler]

Just because I didn't shoot in Saturdays rain in the JCG, DOESN'T mean I haven't done it before! I have, numerous times with both my Garand and M14 (including the miserable rain-shortened 1998 NTI....I bought my AR right out of Frank White's hands still dripping water at the end of the match!). Having done so on multiple occasions makes me wonder about those that poo-poo how difficult it actually is...with or without glasses!

A Booney Hat helps, but as Phil pointed out, it's not the rear sight that's the issue per se, it's the tea-cup or so of high-velocity water that gets blasted into your face from the bolt and the op-rod cycling every time you fire a shot! Also, water surface tension and small holes (as in your rear sight aperture!) can make for a rather "opaque" view of your target, and no wide-brimmed hat is going to keep the water out of it after the first shot! Oh....and did I mention that the water being tossed off the rifle into your face HURTS?

[Snafu]

Just because I didn't shoot in Saturdays rain in the JCG, DOESN'T mean I haven't done it before! I have, numerous times with both my Garand and M14 (including the miserable rain-shortened 1998 NTI....I bought my AR right out of Frank White's hands still dripping water at the end of the match!). Having done so on multiple occasions makes me wonder about those that poo-poo how difficult it actually is...with or without glasses!

A Booney Hat helps, but as Phil pointed out, it's not the rear sight that's the issue per se, it's the tea-cup or so of high-velocity water that gets blasted into your face from the bolt and the op-rod cycling every time you fire a shot! Also, water surface tension and small holes (as in your rear sight aperture!) can make for a rather "opaque" view of your target, and no wide-brimmed hat is going to keep the water out of it after the first shot! Oh....and did I mention that the water being tossed off the rifle into your face HURTS?

No POO POO here
I was very shocked at my belly shooting in M1 and M1A

[Dave Waits]

I wear a Boonie-hat rain or shine, keeps the rain off my shooters and the sun off my aged pate!!!

Good point on the BLO Gus! That's why all my Garands wear Tung-Oil or nothing at all!!

[Gus Fisher]

I was interested in your comments about pins. How would you describe the effort required to remove a properly sized pin? I have at least one that only requires light pressure from a hand held punch or similar device to remove it. No pounding required. Would you say that is too loose? --TIA

Sorry I have taken so long to answer. I picked up a NASTY viral cold at Camp Perry and worked really sick for about four days. I'm really only beginning to feel better tonight. When I got back home to Virginia, our AC wasn't working and that has taken two trips by the repair follks to get that fixed, which was finally resolved today. Through in the fact I had to rush to get a couple things done for the gun show this last weekend and do the show................well, things have been a might busy around here. Grin.

A properly sized trigger and hammer pin should be able to be pushed out with the correct sized punch, by hand. You shouldn't need a hammer to pound them out.

There are two things that normally cause loose trigger pins. The first is the main portion of the pin has been worn out of round or worn out of spec. The second is the hole in the trigger housing for the head of the pin has worn oversize. This last is the most difficult to fix. You sometimes can peen over the hole to close it up and make it a tight fit for the head of the pin, but sometimes that won't work and you HAVE to be very careful doing it or you may bend or crack the trigger housing.

So I always suggest getting a NOS trigger and or hammer pin first and many times that is all you need. HTH

[lonegunman]

I shot relay 5 in the downpour part of the rainstorm. Nothing says fun quite like a river of water running down your crack and pooling in your crotch. hahaha

I managed to say Hi to the Gunny and win a little medal as well. It was a nice time.

There was at least one guy there with a CAI commerical Garand and a guy with an ultra rare 7mil s/n gun. Neither made it past the trigger checks.

My 2.3 mil Winnie ran perfectly, it's lovely original green park sluffed off raindrops as well as it has been doing it since WWII.