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Tsuwm has again given me an excuse for hijacking one of his wwftd. This is a discussion of personal preferences in military weapons, but not enough information is given to make it easy to understand the meaning the speaker intended to convey. He says the other members of the unit have Sten submachineguns, but he has a rifle that weighs three times as much, but no real clue as to why he is willing to carry a weapon that weighs three times as much as the submachine guns. For some kinds of sniping, a heavy rifle might be desirable, providing it has special sights. But he says there is no ammo for it. What the hell good is a heavy weapon minus ammo? Maybe some board members can figure out how this makes sense.
Subject:
today's wwftd is... crotchet
Date:
Tue, 28 Aug 2001 11:43:59 -0500 (CDT)
From:
wwftd master <mikef3@cfsmo.honeywell.com>
To:
wwftd minions <tsuwm@aol.com>
the worthless word for the day is: crotchet
[n] a highly individual and usually eccentric opinion or preference
Everyone else in the firm packs a Sten [submachine gun], you know.
The Mendoza weighs three times as much, no one's even seen any
7mm-Mexican Mauser bullets lately.... Am I goint to let the extra
weight make a difference? It's my crotchet....
-Pynchon, _Gravity's Rainbow_
-tsuwm http://members.aol.com/tsuwm/
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It's right there in your own Subject line, Dr. Bill. It's his crotchet. Not to mention it's Pynchon
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Dear Faldage: A guy in guerilla warfare may have weapon preferences, but a short life expectancy if he indulges in crotchets. And gun enthusiasts love nothing better than a chance to give a spiel about their preferences. Remember Hopalong Cassidy, who favored an old heavy weapon, when the rest of the crew carried newer more rapid firing smaller caliber weapons? He was a marksman, and one of his heavy slugs on an opponent had more authority than a half dozen smaller caliber rounds. But no clues are given for the guy in the quote having a preference. And no ammo? I don't know what ammo the Stens take, but obviously 7mm Mauser ammo would be no good for them. The Sten submachine guns take .45 ammo Here is a URL about the Mexican Mauser. Ammo is not specified. http://www.pmendoza.com.mx/history.htm
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And no ammo?
Maybe he rolls his own?
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I can't find comparisons between the Mendoza and the Sten, but I do see claims that the Mendoza was more accurate and more reliable than the (German) Mauser. The Sten was designed to be very cheap and easy to produce, which it was, with no complex or precision parts; but it suffered from being unreliable and flimsy and did little to inspire confidence in it's user. so (one could conclude), if one could manage (somehow) to get the ammo....
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I used to hand-load ammo for my deer hunting rifle. But I would sure as hell hate to try hand-loading under combat conditions. Even if he saved the casings, where is he going to get new balls? (my recollection is that the military calls the projectile a ball, even when it not a sphere.)
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