I have a similar situation. I've got a few of the period weapons for my
vehicle, and have even gone so far as to purchase extra bolts from which I
could remove the firing pin. I agree that you have a military vehicle and it
deserves to have a "weapon" mounted or displayed with it. That is the
reality of your choice of vehicles. I like to bring my guns along. But...
I think common sense should prevail depending on where you are showing your
vehicle...
Don't take your live weapon anywhere unless you plan on shooting it. I still
tend to think in the ways my dad taught me about gun safety... "if you don't
want to kill it, your gun shouldn't be pointing that way". Temporarily
disable your live weapons. It is typically not a difficult thing to remove a
firing pin or some other essential part without effecting the outside
appearance. And you don't have to worry about some goof bringing a live
round to see if it works. Of course, law enforcement generally does not
think that way, so bring your paperwork if it is necessary for your piece.
- If at your MV club rally or similar, by all means bring out the weapons.
Folks at these kind of events are of the same mind, attitude and outlook.
If you are taking your vehicle to the local car rally, where folks from the
area bring their suped up Camaros and old run of the mill civilian stuff
like that, it probably is not a good idea to bring your rocket launcher,
recoilless rifle or your Plutonium P-32 Space Modulator. If you really want
to bring something to that kind of show, get a dummy that is demonstratively
inactive. The last thing you want for yourself, as well as our hobby is to
be ejected from the rally and in effect be barred from the mainstream. I
personally enjoy these types of rallies because people who rarely see
something so neat as an old GPW really go nuts. Its lots of fun to park next
to the most beautiful car in the show and take away all his thunder with
your "relatively" cheaply restored vehicle vs. his no expense spared cherry.
Don't drive around with your weapons, dummy or not, hanging out on its
pedestal, in the windshield rack or at the ready. Put it out of sight so you
are not intimidating other people. Don' attract a lot of unwanted attention.
I know alot of you folks won't agree with this, but I really think it is
common sense to not be seen as the least bit intimidating to other drivers.
Remember that the general public is usually ignorant about most things
military, and view most people dressed in camouflage or driving around in an
army truck with guns bristling as slightly off kilter or part of a militia
group. We all know otherwise, of course.
Mainly, what I am trying to get across here is that as MV collectors and
restorers, we have the added responsibility of preserving history as well as
educating the general public. We shouldn't have attitudes that only amount
to scaring people away.
Again, many folks won't agree with me but I think that where the general
public is concerned, it is better to put your best foot forward and
demonstrate your ability to fit in with the social norms of the times,
rather than to rabidly push the limits of reasonableness. We don't live in
the Old West and unless the Mexicans invade, there just isn't a justifiable
reason to be tooling around town with your live fire guns hanging out.
This is only my opinion. It probably reflects attitudes in my geographical
area. It probably reflects my upbringing. It probably reflects my education.
In short, it is my opinion, and I am free to form it and tell you about it.
You don't have to follow it, but I wish you would. I would like to keep my
guns.
Have a nice day,
Bob K.
'42 GPW
-----Original Message-----
From: Kenneth J Mock [mailto:empire.builder@juno.com]
Sent: Thursday, February 15, 2001 11:52 PM
To: mil-veh@mil-veh.org
Subject: [MV] M1 Carbine
Hi All,
I have a question. What problems would one have in displaying a real M1
Carbine in the
holder on a M38 jeep at shows IF the bolt has been removed????? I'm
asking because
I hope to have my M38 restored in time for a thresheree this coming Sept.
and would like
to have something in the rifle carrier if possible. Don't really want to
spend money on
an imitation weapon when I already have the real thing.
Have a great day,
Ken & Charlotte Mock
KC's X-TRA Custom Railroad T-Shirts
1952 M38
1948 John Deere 'M' tractor
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Mar 05 2001 - 07:58:31 PST