For those on the west coast, Albany Oregon has a big MG shoot every May. It is not as big as Knob Creek, but it is the biggest one in the west.
This is an article I wrote for the last CSSA magazine.
Albany, Oregon Full Auto event
If you have an urge to fire a full auto on the west coast, then Albany OR is the place to visit. The Albany Rifle and Pistol Club hold a full auto MG shoot every spring, and the public is definitely welcome!
I made the trek down to Albany several times in the mid 1990’s then missed about a dozen years, due to starting a young family, as well as the low Canadian dollar during the Liberal years. After all, a $20 magazine goes plenty fast on FA, but when US $20 actually cost me C$30, it simply was not viable. Now that my kids are old enough to travel well, and the dollar is at par, it seemed like a good time to return.
The Spring shoot is always on the weekend before the US Memorial day long weekend. This just happens to be our Victoria Day long weekend, so it makes for a good vacation. After being away for so long, I was looking forward to visiting again.
The variety of guns is quite amazing. From small sub-machine guns (a sub-gun uses a pistol cartridge.), up to the mighty Browning .50 BMG belt fed, chances are it was there. The two day event attracts both private collectors as well as dealer vendors. The vendors have their various guns out on display to rent to the public. Prices are quoted based on firing a magazine or a belt of the vendor’s ammo. Depending on calibre and number of shots, the prices usually range from $15 to $30 per turn. Naturally, a gun that uses common 9x19mm pistol ammo will be far less cost than a .50 BMG. I don’t know what price the fellow that burned a 100 round belt of .50 BMG paid, but I would guess about $500! He got quite a cheer afterwards, too. The gun belonged to Carlos Roa, owner of West Coast Machine Guns. (
www.westcoastmachineguns.com) . WCMG has several interesting and historic guns for rent. I videoed Carlos firing 200 rounds of 8x57mm through a WW2 German MG-42, as well as watching him burn a long belt through a Russian designed, Hungarian made PKM.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RH9LrRt5vU4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZ0gEz6B-rM
I started the day firing an FN-P90 with a silencer. In fact, due to noise concerns, the first hour of each day was for pistol calibres and suppressed guns only. After 10AM, it got noisy! Extremely noisy when I fired a round through a Finnish Lahti L39 20mm anti-tank rifle. At $15 per round, one round was all I could justify shooting.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LibWVifdgtI
From Cascade Armory, I rented a 1943 dated British made Bren gun. I have a deactivated Canadian made Inglis Bren in my collection, and my late father often mentioned the Bren in his stories of his time overseas during WW2, so it was interesting to actually fire a live one. $15 for 20 rounds went far too quickly. Fortunately, I had someone video me, so I can re-live the glory again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMwjNgZ9FvM
Later, Bill Berg, the webmaster of
www.ppsh41.com generously offered to let me fire a full 71 round drum magazine through his Russian PPSh 41. I was surprised at just how controllable it handled. Even with the high rate of fire, it stayed on target and did not jump around.
On Sunday morning, military vehicle collector Steve Preston showed up with a tank! Actually it is a 76mm Gun motor Carriage M18 “Hellcat” Tank Destroyer, built by GM Buick Motor Division, in 1943 and 1944. After asking him for some details for this article, he offered me a ride on it. A highlight in my life, for sure! Steve is also the current president of the Military Vehicle Collectors Club of Oregon.
Steve’s tank was not just an ornament at ARPC. He also had a working .50 BMG mounted on top of the turret, and brought 500 rounds for those interested in firing a burst. Unfortunately, I had to leave before he was set up, so I did not fire this rig. (Wife and kids had other plans….Next year perhaps.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbqY56D3fqI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCioYnXBhAY
Along with water filled milk jugs and helium balloons, there were some even more reactive targets. Several times during cease-fires, they would put out Tannerite targets. Tannerite is a very stable two part explosive. It is quite safe to handle, drop, kick around, etc, but will detonate when struck by rifle fire. (Pistol rounds will not reliably detonate it) When hit, it makes a thunderous blast, and large white cloud. This is naturally followed by a loud cheer. Great fun! They also had six old beater cars donated by a towing company. They looked pretty sore after not too long. My entire 20 round burst from the Bren went into the side of one of them.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogi9hn4K30w
One of the faces I recognized from my previous visits was Range Officer John Nichols. I asked him about the history of FA at ARPC. 1990 was the first annual Spring shoot. Around that time, ARPC began holding monthly FA matches, in which time and score is recorded. They still do so, having sub-gun matches every month except May. During my previous visits in the mid 90’s they would have sub-gun and belt-fed matched during the big public event, but this got to be too much, so now the yearly Spring shoot is just blazing away, no scores kept. And that seems to be what most people want anyways. They used to have a Fall shoot also, but not anymore. It occasionally had to be postponed due to fire concerns from dry summer weather.
I asked John if the horrendous expense of registered FA has changed the event over the years. I wondered if perhaps people are now buying as an investment, rather than as a toy to be enjoyed. He did not think so, as one quick law change could make them all valueless.
He did say that he now sees less private owners showing up, and more Class 3 dealers. He attributes this more to the cost of feeding the gun, rather than the original purchase price. The way that surplus ammo has skyrocketed in the last few years, that is a valid concern also.
John is justifiably proud of the perfect safety record this event has. There has never been a serious accident in all the years that FA has been at Albany. A few minor burns, such as the one I got on my inner forearm, (I was firing the Bren from prone position, and laid my arm on a HOT brass casing, resulting in a “brand” the shape of a .303 casing.) but no holes in anyone. NONE, ZERO. Much credit goes to all the RO and staff at ARPC for this stellar record. Each morning, prior to the start of the shoot, the staff have a briefing on safety issues. Upon a cease fire, each and every firearm, both on the line, as well as those on the display tables and racks are visually checked and proven clear by the RO staff. I felt completely safe with machine guns blazing all around me. There have been times at local ranges just before hunting season that I have not felt so at ease.
If you interested in attending (Remember, the same weekend as our Victoria Day, ) check the ARPC website (
www.arpc.info)
