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For those of you who care, I live in Akron, Ohio and I have been a
recreational shooter since my days in the military. After completing boot
camp at Great Lakes in late 1965, and a brief stint on an LST homeported
in Little Creek, VA, I was transferred to Davisville, RI, home of the
Atlantic Fleet
Seabees.
I was a "plank owner" of the newly commissioned
MCB FORTY and served with that battalion
throughout I (pronounced "eye") Corps in South Vietnam during the years
1967 through 1969, including the infamous 1968 Tet Offensive. After
7
weeks of infantry training at Camp Lejeune, NC and at CBC Davisville,
we prepared to depart CONUS for SEA. While in Vietnam MCB FORTY was
under the operational control of FMFPAC (Fleet Marine Force, Pacific). When I first went overseas we were issued the old
reliable M-14. During much of my first tour at Camp Shields, Chu Lai,
RVN, I was assigned to the Security Platoon where I was issued a military
Ithaca Model 37 shotgun in 12 gauge, firing full length double ought (00B) brass shells. Subsequent
tours at Chu Lai and next at Camp Campbell in Phu Bai saw us issued the
original M-16 rifle with the three pronged flash suppressor.
Upon return from my final tour in Vietnam and my release from active duty
in August, 1969, I remained active with the surface forces in the Naval
Reserve until 1983 when the demands of working, going to school, attending
the required reserve functions and raising a family became too much. I
miss the guys I served with, they were a dedicated and highly professional
group, not to mention a lot of fun to be with.
Anyway, I worked in public law enforcement for many years before realizing
that, although it was always challenging, frequently enjoyable and
sometimes frightening, it was most certainly not well paying. After much
deliberation I decided that being a machinist was much less stressful and
better paying. I attended a year long training program and eventually
went to work for several small machine shops. In 1986 I began working for
a local manufacturer of solid carbide cutting tools (end mills, drills,
reamers, rotary files, etc.). Over the years I have held such varied jobs
as Machine Operator, CNC Set-Up, Shift Foreman, QA Inspector and ISO 9000
Coordinator. I then spent a year and a half as the Director of Education
and Training before being named the Quality Systems Manager for the
company.
My
primary interest has always been in handguns, especially Smith and Wesson
revolvers. In the last five years I have become more interested in semi automatic
handguns, having "re-discovered" the pleasures of the M1911-A1 pistols in
.45 ACP. Shooting "postal matches" with the Ruger 10/22 is also great
fun - and relatively inexpensive too. I also became
interested in benchrest rifle shooting and purchased a Remington
700 VLS SA in .223 Remington and a Ruger M77 MKII in .308 to play around
with.
Because I go through so much ammo, I also reload
ammunition for my handguns. I use a Lee Pro 1000 press and presently have
dies for .45 ACP, .44 Remington Magnum, .40 S&W and .357 Magnum.
Both of my sons (and now my grandson) participate with me in recreational shooting and we
support the goals of the NRA. If you have an interest in recreational
shooting (and why else would you be visiting this site?) and live in the
Northeast Ohio area, drop me a note. |
