Seasons Greetings (Opinion please)

[Mors Profundis]

I just gotta put my oar in....
First, any submachine gun is a specialty weapon, once they were the best that could be produced, but they've been replaced by the cut down assault rifle for combat use.
Police still use them, and counterterrorist units like them because they have limited range and penetration, very important when innocent bystanders are to be considered.
I killed three men in Vietnam with a Thompson(had to have it, found a Vietnamese militiaman who wanted twenty bucks more than a fifteen pound gun.
A lot of our action was at very close range, and the Tommy was very handy, deadly reliable, and since we were motorized, the weight was no big deal.
It was also the best weapon for fighting at night, when our laager was being overrun.
During the day, or on dismounted patrols I carried a M-16.
The Mac is designed to be made cheap, used up quick, and spray a lot of lead into a small area-it is not durable, accurate or remarkably sturdy.
With the handy supressor(whick keeps you from shooting your fingers off with the damned thing) it is quiet enough to use to knock off sentries with no alarm being raised for a few minutes(not silent, it doesn't sound like a gunshot, and doesn't carry far.)
Otherwise, the designers wanted to sell it as a replacement for the pistol-which it just didn't seem to want to do, even though it is more effective in that role.
The special ops troops who used it were often issued a longer barreled variation, so they wouldn't shoot their fingers off, absent the supressor.
All the old submachine guns Uncle Sam could get went off to Vietnam to die in Cambodia, Laos and North Vietnam-it was called being sterile, as they couldn't be traced back to the US military.
At pistol range(25 yards or less) a Mac, a Sten, a Swedish K or a Thompson was a fearsome weapon for engaging a single opponant.
Further out, they could spray enough projectiles, especially if being employed by a squad or platoon, to make an area very unhealthy.
Every weapon has it's niche.
As to what your other hand might be doing, when you use a retractor knife, well, more sheath knives get ditched in combat because the user can't get the damned thing back in the scabbard while the action is hot,or time is pressing.
The Halo knife is a good one for cutting your way out of a tangled 'chute, but if you have to get your firearm working real quick, you'll have to ditch it.
Depends on the situation, you might not mind.
For utility work, the need for the off hand is not a problem.
For sticking some goon in a close quarters fight, just be glad you have it- after all, you can get another one, worst comes to worst.
The Turks would throw down the sheath of their sword or yataghan as they went into battle, on the theory that if they survived, they could look for it, and if they did not, well, they'd have no use for it.
Likewise, Highlanders discarded the scabbards of their broadswords, to signify that they meant to conquor or die-"I have thrown away the
scabbard" declared that there was not going to be a peace conferance any time soon.
Somewhere in between, it's very good to have a knife you can close with one hand, still, much depends on the situation.
Brother Bill is no windbag, nor is he an armchair expert.
I'm sure he sees what I'm driving at here.
Gun and knife cranks(of which I am one, and proud of it)sometime get a little too wound up to consider all the aspects of the subject at hand, and then hasty words are exchanged.
This is always bad, since it can be a sorry end to a good companionship.
Each of us brings something to the table-and what a feast we have laid!
Let us consume it joyfully, and set hard words aside.

[The Falcon]

Greetings, Mr. Stone Knife-

Usually I just love discord, and get all tingly when I see an opportunity to inflame and enlarge it. However, on this rare occasion, I must concur with Mr. Pushwindbagbutton, and request that you humbly pay Mr. DeShivs the respect he has earned, and is due.

Sir Walter,

If you were to apologize to ALL the people that you'd ticked off, this thread would be as long as the "Imitation Horn" one.

[Vagrant]

Greetings, Mr. Stone Knife-

Usually I just love discord, and get all tingly when I see an opportunity to inflame and enlarge it. However, on this rare occasion, I must concur with Mr. Pushwindbagbutton, and request that you humbly pay Mr. DeShivs the respect he has earned, and is due.

Sir Walter,

If you were to apologize to ALL the people that you'd ticked off, this thread would be as long as the "Imitation Horn" one.

I don't think Wally [or anyone else here] has offended or ticked me off. But I have a thick hide to make up for a lack of common sense.

[JerrBear]

I don't think Wally [or anyone else here] has offended or ticked me off. But I have a thick hide to make up for a lack of common sense.

Mr. Vagrant,

As Mr. Falcon recently said, on a different topic, we're "not trying hard enough."

[Wally J. Corpse]

Greetings, Mr. Mors Profundus-

I commend you on your succinct, well expressed input on the sub-machine gun. I loved firing the Auto-Ordenance 'Tommy Gun', myself. Solid, robust, and built with the good ol' USA quality. Too bad it was over-engineered for purism rather than mass production, hence it's decline from the gov't arms contracting boondoggle. Once tamed, a shooter could use that inertia of the advanced primer ignition open bolt mass to an aiming advantage, 'eh?

Didja' see any M-3 'Greaseguns' in country? I heard they were often handed to APC personnel. Now there's a dog of a sub for ya', but functionally beautiful in it's own way.

Mr. The Falcon-

Who say's I'm apologizing to anyone, anyways? I've been told by myself that my legion of fan herein just can't wait to view Wally's postage, because I entertain AS well AS inform... No, that's not it... oh yeah, I annoy and inflame.

Hadoyalikeit?

AS ever,

Your ol' pal,

Wally J. Corpse