steve1

I saw one recently on ebay. I usually look under skydiving.....Steve1

My 170 Hornet fits fine in my Javelin which is supposed to max out with a 150. The hardest part was trying to get the 170 canopy in the 150 bag (when it was a new canopy). That's one reason I started psycho packing. It was just easier for me, to get the slippery thing in there....Steve1

I'd love to go, but I'm going to be stuck visiting with relatives....Yuck!....Steve1

I do it similiar to beezyshaw. I hold things in place with my left and fold with my right. There used to be a video on the internet showing the psycho pack. That is how they did it, and I've had good luck with it. In fact that is how I learned to psycho pack. Noone else in our club packs that way....Steve1

I recall watching a video of one of our own troops who was horribly burned by White Phosphorus. This guy looked like a monster. His entire head looked like something out of a horror movie. His ears, nose, hair, etc. were replaced by a mass of shriveled skin. His right arm was gone and his entire body was burned terrribly. Yet, this man was one of the most inspiring people I've ever listened to. He was assigned to a gun boat during the Vietnam conflict as a young man, (shortly after being married). They were given a mission to deliver some Navy Seals way upriver in hostile territory. He said these Seals were bad ass dudes who spent their time sharpening knives and checking weapons, etc., on their trip upriver. Days later, they ended up in a terrible firefight with the NVA. He said, he was in the process of throwing a White Phosphurus grenade when a bullet hit it. Everyone thought he was dead because noone could have survived that, and he looked like a burned corpse. He was conscious when they piled him with the other bodies. Then someone noticed he was still alive. Twenty years ago he worked as an inspirational speaker. His wife stayed with him through all those years. Truly a remarkable person! I hope he's still with us.....Steve1

White Phosphurus was used extensively in fighting the Vietnam War. It was delivered from aircraft, to artillery, to mortar rounds, and even came in hand thrown grenades. I agree it's awful stuff, but is it really any worse than some of the other weapons that our country is using. Flame throwers were used on the Japanese and Germans in World War II. Napalm is another really scary weapon used in Vietnam. I wonder if it too is used in Iraq. If you really took a look at some of our other weaponry used to deliver death to thousands, I really wonder if "Wiley Pete" or "Wooly Peter" is any worse. I'm not saying this is right, only that we have a lot of other scary shit in our arsenal. Some of it isclassified and probably being used. I had some secret classes (in the 70's) on this subject. I'd sure hate to be on the receiving end of any of it.....Steve1

Clay, What in the world are you doing in Iraq? I haven't heard from you in a while, but I didn't get the news....Steve1

Anyone out there have an all-collegiant eight way (ACE) patch? This was started by B.J. Worth back in the 70's and looked a lot like the SCR, but different colors. I e-mailed Bill Newell about it. He said he remembers it, but it never really caught on and has since been forgotten. I remember seeing a jumper or two from Lost Prairie (recently) that had this patch on the gear bag. I think they were Idahoians....Steve1

He moved it after it opened. I haven't seen it done for a long time though. If I recall, it helped when shooting accuracy....Steve1

This isn't a new idea. I heard several years ago that the government was thinking of selling off public lands to pay off the national debt. It wouldn't surprise me if the current administration comes up with a similiar crazy notion to do the same thing. I just hope our lawmakers are smart enough to vote against it. It's surprising to me how many people think this is a great idea....Steve1

Congrats on your PC jump. I hadn't jumped one in almost 30 years, until last summer. I'd definitely like to do it again.....Steve1

I'll go for the oh-dark-thirty blast from the Herc. M-60 and ruck - though I want to rig my own red-ball release for the ruck. I landed one in Italy after a butterbar substituted 550 line for 80# tape. 1,250 feet is high by combat standards, I admit, but I'd like a little more time to get that 24 footer deployed if everything doesn't work as planned with the main. All the way! Winsor Can I come too?....It's only been 30 years since my last equipment (night) jump. I've only used a red ball a couple times. On those jumps I had a wooden ammo crate filled with gravel (in jump master school). Never jumped a C-17, but lot's of C-130's...Steve1

It looks like his rip-cord handle is stuck in a pocket on his jump suit. I guess that would work as long as he didn't have a floating rip-cord handle (then there might be serious problems). Maybe the housing was also tacked down on his sleeve for safety reasons. That's the strangest camera set-up that I've ever seen. But it was the beginning of things to come. It might have worked fine as long as you had a bull neck.....Steve1

Sid, Please excuse my ignorance. Somehow I got your picture mixed up with the fellow that just died. Gees I'm stupid. I figured someone was just showing some of his old posts....I'm glad you're still with us....Steve1

I'm really enjoying reading these posts. Sid sounded like a great guy. Too bad about his passing. During the 60's and 70's very few combat jumps were made, so it's also interesting to hear from soldiers who have actually made combat jumps. Very few were made during the Vietnam era. There's been a few different versions of the t-10. I'm no expert, but I thought I'd add a little about what I know. Most para-troops were jumping unmodified t-10's during the early 70's. During this time Special Forces started jumping t-10's that had risers which actually slipped through the upper part of each capewell. They weren't sewn together at the bottom like standard risers. There was a safety fork on a lanyard (above each capewell) that you pulled out of each riser, after getting canopy. This made it a little easier to turn and slip into the wind. If I recall right they had a round modification in the back of the canopy. Actually they were really doggy and not much better than the other t-10's. In about 72 or so S.F. started jumping T-U modified t-10's, with toggles, and standard risers. They may have been called mc-1's. My memory is about shot. Again, these weren't too hot, but at least you had some forward drive into the wind. I remember making a lot of standups on these. Anti-inversion netting must have come about in the later 70's. I quit military jumping in about 75 and never saw the stuff until seeing it in a picture a few years ago. May West malfunctions weren't too uncommon back then. A friend of mine rode one into the ground because his reserve didn't inflate in time. He was banged up, but he was still able to drink beer that night. Most bigger skydivers started out jumping a t-10 rather than a 28' round canopy in our club (during the early 70's). They let you down a lot easier if you were big. We had a guy in our Guard Unit that must have been 6' 5" and close to 300 lbs. He had one heck of a time fitting into a standard military harness. One size fit all back in those days. The para-commander was a huge step up back then. This was considered the hot canopy to own for many years until everyone started going to squares. It was in a class of it's own, and not just another round canopy.....Steve1

All this has me thinking. I belong to a Canadian club and am a CSPA member. But the bottom line is that I am still an "ugly" American. Would it be possible to be part of this?.....Steve1

I can't speak for Bill, but I have a terminal opening on a 24 foot flat circular, un-diapered canopy and it wasn't bad. I've had harder openings on modern ram-air mains. I've always wondered about what that would be like. I heard openings were brutal when taken to terminal, but I've never tried it myself. We had a girl in our club, back in the 70's, who wasn't strong enough to pull her main and had two 24 foot reserve openings at terminal. We nick-named her "Total". I'll bet the stretch (from the old 550 cord lines) on the old reserves helped a lot. And yes I have experienced some really hard openings on modern day canopies. I'd hate to have an opening that was any worse.....Steve1

Bill, I was just wondering if you did anything special in packing your reserve to slow down the opening. The reserves back then would about break you in half if you were going terminal. And I have to hand it to you....I doubt if I could ever work up enough courage for a jump like that....Steve1

Quote I used to buy the cheap .22 ammo for plinking. But once I found out how much more accurate the match ammo is, it wasn't any fun any more to plink with the old stuff. You pay more for the good stuff, but it's worth it in my opinion. reply] I once knew another (fellow) gun nut who used to win most of the turkey shoots in our area. He's probably forgot more about bench rest shooting than I'll ever know. At any rate, I used to pick his brain every chance I got to learn more about fine tuning a rifle to get the best accuracy out of it. One day he said..."You know, sometimes ignorance is bliss".... The more I thought about it, the more it made since. When I was younger I was tickled to have just about any old gun or ammunition, and I thought it was perfect. Then the more I learned the more particular I got. Now, I'm probably way to picky about the type of gun I keep, (and the type of ammo it shoots). As far as the M-16 you mentioned....I'd love to own one some day. Sounds about perfect to me!...Steve1

Sometimes the rifle is just fine, it just doesn't shoot well with some brands of ammo. So it's a shame to reply] I agree. It's funny though sometimess you can get a gun that ought to shoot, but just won't group as good as it should, no matter what you do. I bought a stainless Winchester 300 Win. Mag with a 26 inch barrel, synthetic stock, and claw extractor a while back. I figured that when I got done with it, that it would drive tacks. I floated the barrel, glass bedded the action, and put a 3X9 Leupold scope on it. I adjusted the trigger the way I liked it....(Soft and Crisp). Then I started working up loads for it using a variety of powders, charges, and bullets. I started each load out light working up a half grain with each group. (Watching for pressure signs) The best I could wring out of it was 1 1/2 inch groups. Most were around two inches. I guess this was good enough for most hunting purposes, but I just wasn't satisfied. I loved everything about that rifle but it just wouldn't group like I wanted it to. I next tried putting a shim under the barrel near the forend of the stock. Still no change....The groups were too big. I had a couple other rifles with light barrels, and this shim made a huge difference, but not in this case. I'm not knocking Winchesters because I have a Winchester featherweight in 270 that will group around 3/4 of an inch at 100 yards, but this other rifle just wouldn't group well. Maybe the flaw was in the barrel or possibly the action. My knowlege is limited here. So, the next gun show I went to I found this beautiful 300 Win. Mag. in Remington BDL with 26 inch barrel (from their custom shop). Without any modifications at all it would shoot close to an inch. After fine tuning it and working up a good load I can consistently get 3/4 inch groups with it. I traded the other Winchester in on it, and lost quite a bit of money, but it was worth it to me....Steve1

I think it's a human problem and not just a western one. I agree....Steve1

And try different brands of ammo too. This is a great idea. I have a few friends who do this. If I did more 22 shooting I'd definitely do the same. I usually buy Remington 22 ammo, but another brand may shoot a lot better. I've got three 22 rifles and I really should test them to see which brand shoots the best For general plinking this may not be needed, but I've always been kind of a perfectionist when it comes to my guns. If it doesn't shoot well, I usually get rid of it....Steve1

I think a 223 would be a great choice. I usually shoot a 22-250, but a 223 would be another great caliber. I like the idea of less noise and slightly less recoil than a 22-250. Some people shoot hundreds of rounds a day at prairie dogs and you might notice the difference at the end of the day. I load Hornady super-X bullets in the 22-250 for coyotes. This is probably the most accurate rifle I own. Usually there isn't an exit hole on coyotes. I've shot a few deer and antelope with this gun, but it's really too small. You could take a neck or head shot. I hate neck or head shots though, because something may go wrong and you could end up with a wounding shot. And I really hate that. I'm a firm believer in using enough gun. There's also plenty of military ammo available in 223 that you could buy reasonably. I'd rather handload for a bolt action rifle, but for say an M-16 or AR-15 you might want to shoot the cheaper military stuff....Steve1

It took me a while to figure out that people are people no matter what the culture, race, or religion they have. I was once so narrow minded that I thought unless you were from Montana, that you were wrong. Jumping at Perris with jumpers from all over the world (for a short time) really openned my mind to how wrong this kind of thinking is, and to how similiar we all are. On some loads I had trouble conversing with these jumpers since we spoke a different language, but nearly all were great people. Predjudice is something we all carry around with us, and it's usually based on ignorance....Steve1

I just read a recent article in the news about a church in the Kalispell area (near Lost Prairie). I guess everyone there wears the latest cowboy regallia, and nobody takes their hats off during services. To tell you the truth I doubt if there are many "true" cowboys there. But at any rate they baptize folks in an old water trough. Once they dunk them under everyone cuts loose with a loud "YeeeHaw" or "Yahoo" or just a plain ole "Yipeee". What do you think? I guess it isn't much different than what I saw in Catholic school growing up. I think I'm going to go home and hide my straw and felt cowboy hats and pairs of western boots.....Steve1