Interesting WWI Trench Gun Article

Thanks for posting that link. Interesting article indeed. I thought it was interesting that the Germans were so worried about shotguns that they threatened to kill any American prisoner who had used them!
 



Hey! I found one! The trench gun is being held by the guy next to the.....chick with a sword...........oh, wait.

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Originally Posted By: bigj_16
The Germans were angry because the U.S. Army wasn't following the rules. How German.


Apparently, lobbing around chemical weapons was fine and dandy, but shotguns? Those are barbaric!
 
Old thread, but having read the article it seems to me that it's possible that it was an order to not photograph them. But alternately, given the close quarters combat nature and use of these guns, it seems also quite likely no photographers were "in the mix taking pictures" of these guns in use. I've never seen photos of bayonets actually being used (fixed, yes, but not in use), but we know those were used.

We have some video and images of men running across fields, for instance, but these are almost always from afar safe distances. But when it's really dangerous, as we hear of entire battalions mowed down; I don't really recall seeing videos of that. But we know it happened.

Likewise, trenches were of course narrow long pits and if infiltrated, it was life and death, every man scrambling with a gun or bayonet for survival. Probably not many selfies being taken ... And that's my opinion.
 
Older thread, but good article!

I can’t think of a more devastating weapon than a 12-gauge shotgun at closer ranges (say,
Almost guaranteed 1-shot man stopper, assuming proper ammunition.

There’s also a reason that highway patrol agencies historically liked to pair the .357 MAG revolver with the 12-gauge pump shotgun. These two weapons had demonstrated excellent effectivity against attacking criminals intent on using vehicles as weapons.

These days, you might be more likely to see a Highway patrolman in Tennessee use the Glock 31 (.357 SIG) and AR-pattern carbine. But I think, depending on the situation, a good argument can still be made for the 12-gauge shotgun for use in law enforcement - especially against perps driving vehicles who are likely to hurt or kill someone if not stopped.
 
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