This A.M. I was listening to one of my favorite Saturday A.M. radio programs. I am a fan of NPR's "Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers". However they were discussing the answer to "...last week's puzzler.", which I had missed the week before.
The puzzler was: "Why did the Japanese chamber their rifles for a .31 caliber bullet whereas the Americans used bullets of .30 caliber?"
When they gave the "answer" I could not believe my ears. The answer was that the Japanese, being clever, chambered their rifles for such because in battle with the Americans, if they fell back and abandoned ammunition, the Americans could not use it in their rifles. Also, if they captured American ammunition they could shoot it in their rifles if the need arose, albeit slightly less accurately than their own.
That kind of complete stupidity is most frequently heard in bars from "Johnny Six-pack". I have heard essentially the same thing from an old WWII vet who insisted the was the case with 30-06 and 8MM Mauser ammo...they could shoot ours, but we could not shoot theirs. Out of respect for his WWII service, I did not tell him that what he had said was B.S. He also stated that the twist on the German 8MM Mauser rifles was opposite of ours and it was an adaptation to "compensate for the rotation of the Earth."
In case anyone on these boards do not already know, the 7.7 Arisaka's chamber is too short to accept 30-06 cartridges, as is the 8MM Mauser's.
Legends never die, they are perpetuated by stupidity.
The puzzler was: "Why did the Japanese chamber their rifles for a .31 caliber bullet whereas the Americans used bullets of .30 caliber?"
When they gave the "answer" I could not believe my ears. The answer was that the Japanese, being clever, chambered their rifles for such because in battle with the Americans, if they fell back and abandoned ammunition, the Americans could not use it in their rifles. Also, if they captured American ammunition they could shoot it in their rifles if the need arose, albeit slightly less accurately than their own.
That kind of complete stupidity is most frequently heard in bars from "Johnny Six-pack". I have heard essentially the same thing from an old WWII vet who insisted the was the case with 30-06 and 8MM Mauser ammo...they could shoot ours, but we could not shoot theirs. Out of respect for his WWII service, I did not tell him that what he had said was B.S. He also stated that the twist on the German 8MM Mauser rifles was opposite of ours and it was an adaptation to "compensate for the rotation of the Earth."
In case anyone on these boards do not already know, the 7.7 Arisaka's chamber is too short to accept 30-06 cartridges, as is the 8MM Mauser's.
Legends never die, they are perpetuated by stupidity.
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