My kid shot something similar to this Sunday at the shoot–
M1A1 Thompson Submachine Gun with 30 Round Magazine.
.
You know the routine when it comes to the typical Republican party fundraisers. Buy a ticket for some thirty bucks or so. Go to a picnic or a dinner of some sort, oftentimes with food of questionable taste and safety. All the while you’re hanging out with the party stalwarts, often perceived as the "elite", who generally through their words, attitudes, and actions, hold ordinary people in contempt. "We know what’s best for the people," they say. ("And we’ll do it behind closed doors.") On top of that, you get to listen to a string of politicians give speeches telling us what they will do for us. Oh, it’s not always THAT bad, but in general, you get my drift.
.
Sunday’s fundraiser held by NH’s Manchester Republican Committee was none of that. This innovative group, led by Chairman Jerry Thibodeau hosted a "machine gun shoot" in conjunction with the Pelham Fish and Game Club and Manchester Firing Line Range, LLC. which I attended with my 16 year old son and a friend. I can freely state that while I appreciate the efforts by the MRC, I probably wouldn’t have attended any of their fundraisers were they the usual fare. MAYBE, if the right prez candidate was to show, but more likely not. But for this, I eagerly awaited the day to arrive.
.
We were not disappointed. (Well, except that we couldn’t take pictures or video– more on that below) The event was very well controlled, with safety and proper techniques the first and absolute order of the day. The clubhouse featured a nice array of vendors and assorted firearms and other related items for sale (yes, including REAL [gasp!] machine guns). The sound of machine gun fire filling the air certainly created a rush and added to overall "fun" atmosphere. The people manning the range, helping with the firearms, and conducting the shoot couldn’t have been any more friendly, fun, and helpful. And boy, did we have a blast with the guns! My kid and his friend went for the Uzis, and I went for the M5 SWAT- type piece. Standing on the range side by side with Thommy guns, Uzis, M16s, etc. all blazing away with brass bouncing all around is a thrill that can only be best understood when actually being right there.
.
Following this, we went over to another range where those bringing personal arms were able to shoot. Again, the guys here were great fun and very helpful, providing safety and usage pointers to us as we fired our own guns. At the end of the day, two of the fellows there with their own machine guns offered the boys a chance to shoot a Mac-10 and a Thompson similar to the picture above. What a thrill, for sure.
.
The only disappointment was that photography or filming of any kind was absolutely off-limits. After much conversation and begging, I was unable to convince anyone otherwise. Why would this be, given that the Internet is filled with photos from similar events? We can thank the news media for this, according to those I talked to. Seems the complaining and negative light cast by them (the bozos at the Union Leader included) regarding the event left everyone skittish over any kind of publicity, lest it cast the wrong light on the day. While I can understand why the sponsors did what they did, I say PHOOEY to those in the media and double PHOOEY to all those spineless Republicans who complained about the event, thus feeding more fuel to the fire created by its detractors.
.
There was one happy byproduct of the negative publicity that I would be remiss if I didn’t mention it:
There were no politicians in sight. Only happy, ordinary Republican folks enjoying a good day celebrating the 2nd Amendment with friends and family. I’ll take that over a room filled with pompous politicians any day– Democrat OR Republican!
.
