STORIES from the armory world....

[Jcordell]

Whew. I have to admit that back in my Army days I "played" with the blanks that we used in our M-16's.

I and my fellow soldiers would unscrew the blank adapters from our barrels then shoot cleaning rods out of the barrels by firing the blanks. We didn't shoot at each other, but I did see cleaning rods driven into tree trunks.

Young soldiers can be dangerous if left unattended. I also recall playing with artillery simulators.

It was many many years ago and I like to think that I'm smarter now. But blanks aren't toys that's for sure.

Now I shudder when I think about the damage that we probably did to the barrels as well with those cleaning rods.

I look at my teenage kids and find myself hoping that they are smarter than I was.