Shooting German guns and earning German badges

[DRM]

Hey bros,

Spent the better part of two days qualifying with two weapons of the Bundeswehr: the Walther P38 and HK G36. I was able to earn the Silver Schuetzenschnur...or German Armed Forces Badge of Marksmanship. It's tiered in three levels: Bronze, Silver, Gold. Only a small group were able to earn the Gold and I was one of the seven from my unit to earn the Silver. A little over thirty earned Bronze.

Anyway: pics...




Not the most difficult award to earn, but I was very lucky to receive a shot to test for it given how rare it is for units outside of Germany to get the opportunity. Overall, a fun experience and one I'm definitely proud of.

[leftykingv2]

That's pretty awesome bro and congrats on the marksmanship award! I've never been the hunting deer type like my dad and big brother but I do love shooting targets and skeet. What unit are you in? My older brother had that same airborne patch with the fig leaf on it!

[DRM]

That's pretty awesome bro and congrats on the marksmanship award! I've never been the hunting deer type like my dad and big brother but I do love shooting targets and skeet. What unit are you in? My older brother had that same airborne patch with the fig leaf on it!

That is my combat patch from the 4th Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division when I was stationed in Alaska.

[leftykingv2]

That's awesome man and God bless you for defending our country! My brother was a Ranger I am not sure if his fig leaf said Airborne but he did have an airborne patch. He was in desert storm and some other places. I've tried to ask him about it but he's not really talkative about what he did aside from good times he had with the guys in his unit. The next time I see him I'll ask him what unit he was in. I am not too sure about any of the stuff aside from him being a ranger because my dad (a Vietnam veteran and army cav guy) was really proud of him when he made it as a ranger. My father told me I'd never know what guys like you and him had to do to get where you are and I believe and respect him more than anyone because my dad was in some serious shit.

[leftykingv2]

That little machine gun you're shooting looks like it's a bunch of fun though too! Is that the HK?

[tomanyjacksons]

Are we playing all nice with Germany over the cell line tappings. lol Hell yeah brother, When I was in the Guard I got to go to Italy for a bit and we trained for Desert Storm in Ft Irwin Ca. Most summers we went to Ft Riley Ks. Which wasn't a bad base, just got tired of going there every summer. Had Chance to go to Germany once and I had a bad sinus infection so I couldn't fly, bummed me out as I waned to go and see Germany. Thanks for your service.

[DRM]

That little machine gun you're shooting looks like it's a bunch of fun though too! Is that the HK?

Yeah bro, it's a cool rifle. It's an HK G36K. It has some design differences that make me prefer the M4 over it, though. Mostly related to the ergonomics and the fact you can't adjust the length of pull on the stock. And the trigger...I swear, HK don't believe in trigger reset. Every one of their weapons I've ever used has had a very, very long reset.

[DRM]

Are we playing all nice with Germany over the cell line tappings. lol Hell yeah brother, When I was in the Guard I got to go to Italy for a bit and we trained for Desert Storm in Ft Irwin Ca. Most summers we went to Ft Riley Ks. Which wasn't a bad base, just got tired of going there every summer. Had Chance to go to Germany once and I had a bad sinus infection so I couldn't fly, bummed me out as I waned to go and see Germany. Thanks for your service.

My friends in the 173rd love Italy. Given I just PCS'd from OCONUS, I highly doubt I'll be getting orders there anytime soon (if ever).

And Ft Irwin sucks for what it's worth.

[Razor]

Cool photos and thanks for sharing. Always thought the G36 was an interesting rifle. How is it's accuracy compared to the M4?

[DRM]

Cool photos and thanks for sharing. Always thought the G36 was an interesting rifle. How is it's accuracy compared to the M4?

Double edge sword. It's free floating by design, so unless you specifically outfit an M4 to be free floating, it will have that advantage. But the trigger is mushy and has a very long reset. Being that they're both chrome lined barrels, accuracy really comes down to the shooter and the ammo feeding it. I didn't see it being leaps and bounds more accurate than my work M4, but I know a few of my personal ARs would eat its lunch. But that's because they were made to be precision rifles.

It definitely has the cool factor going for it. They were very reliable and there wasn't a single malfunction from any of the rifles on the line and each went through a few hundred rounds. Not a significant achievement on its own, but they didn't give us any fuss all day.

I enjoyed shooting it, but I won't lose sleep tonight knowing I will never own one.

[Jayster]

Nice... Looks similliar to the scar 16.