Violent Video Games: First Person Murder Simulators

[DonP]

20. Fantasy vs. Reality with an M1 Garand

A couple of summers or ago, I was zeroing in a new CMP Garand I bought at an Indiana outdoor range.

Two lanes over a guy with his teenage son and his father were shooting black powder, The grandfather noticed my Garand and came over when there was a break to fix targets and asked to look at it. He carried one in WWII in the Big Red One and hadn't touched one since. His grandson came over with him and I offered to let him shoot a clip or two of FMJ surplus.

He loved it. I asked if he wanted his son and the grandson to try the gun his grandpa used?

The son said no thanks, but the grandson couldn't wait to try it. He kept talking about "Call of Duty" and knowing "all about the Garand". When we handed it to him he almost dropped it, commenting "Boy that's really heavy in real life". Grandpa pointed out, "Damn right and with a couple of extra bandoleers of ammo and the rest of your kit, you got a real workout, but you were too busy just staying alive to think about it."

Between the real world weight and the bruises I'm sure he left with from the recoil, he probably learned there's a big difference between fantasy land and the real world.