From Ted Gundy, a DOM.
Ted Gundy is 84 years old, WWII vet, who lost a leg to artillery fire in 1944, and he is still an impressive shot.
Thank you for serving our country.
Here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQRpAxGVg4M...embedded#at=462
From Winchester's: The Shooting Wire for Monday, February 8
"Old Sniper"
It was a simple question 84-year old Ted Gundy put to the guys at Shooting USA's Impossible Shots: "How is it possible for snipers today to hit targets from such long ranges?"
From most of us, it would have been a gee-whiz kind of question, the kind that gets a polite "thanks for watching, snipers use...." kind of form letter response.
But Ted Gundy wasn't just another TV fan. Gunday was asking about today, based on his own experiences from yesterday.
In 1944, Ted Gundy was an army sniper fighting World War II in Europe. More specifically, fighting in the cold and horrible conditions of the Battle of the Bulge, the definitive name in United States Army combat - still the largest battle ever fought by United States troops.
Gundy also wanted something else- he wanted to try one of those long shots himself. "The more we checked, the more we realized we had a unique opportunity here," says Shooting USA's Jim Scoutten, "Ted Gundy could still wear his WWII uniform blouse- the Eisenhower jacket. He marched in every Memorial Day parade, despite being an amputee. He had a full set of dress greens he used as a member of the Missouri honor guard - he wore them to render funeral honors to veterans of World War II."
"And," Scoutten added, "we realized those World War II heroes were dying in greater and greater numbers."
So, his team pulled together an almost impossible answer for Gundy. The Army Marksmanship Unit commander thought it was a great idea. Public affairs got Gundy and his son cleared for VIP on-base housing, and the deal came together.
So for a week, the old sniper was a VIP guest of the modern Army at Fort Benning, Georgia.
That's the premise of a special episode of Impossible Shots, entitled, appropriately enough "Old Sniper". I first watched it Wednesday night, and I didn't take a single note. I couldn't. Instead, I was transfixed watching one of the fewer-by-the-day remaining members of "our greatest generation" watching today's warriors ply their trade.
It wasn't the gee-whiz nature of today's gear for a veteran who fought with a 03-Springfield equipped with a primitive riflescope that held my attention, it was the reverence with which Gundy was treated by today's soldiers.
Sure, I enjoyed watching Gundy tour the exact recreation of the barracks, mess halls - and latrines- he remembered from more than six decades earlier in Fort Benning's historical areas, and his VIP treatment in the new Infantry Museum.
But I was moved by the way the sniper of old was revered by the snipers of today. As SFC Robby Johnson explained, "they were amazing marksmen. They were given a bolt-action rifle, some rudimentary zeroing time, and then told 'go forth' - and they made the same kinds of shots we make today."
It seemed like a lot of polite talk and a little exaggeration - until Val Forgett of Navy Arms presented the old sniper with a brand-new, exact replica of the rifle he carried across Europe until a German shell cut short his war - and his right leg.
Gundy was taken to a firing line with his new rifle, and the transformation was almost magical.
Today, Gundy's gait might be uncertain, his hands shaky and his hearing electronically enhanced (but not always quite enough), but when he settled behind "his" 03 Springfield A4 sniper rifle, none of that mattered.
From a basic rest, he proceeded to make hits on a silhouette target -at 300 yards. Each one was better than the previous, with the final round landing dead center.
Time didn't stand still, but it was held at bay- at least for three shots.
That's only part of the story you'll see in this special episode of "Impossible Shots" - and I don't want to give it all away.
Normally, I'm pretty much immune to those "moments" created by television shows. That's because most "moments" are created. In this episode, there' was no need to create anything - simply capturing the action spoke volumes.
There are plenty of "moments" packed into this half-hour.
Some of them will swell your chest; others will moisten your eyes.
-snip-
Watch for the "The Old Sniper" on the archives on Outdoor Channel.
Thanks for sharing, this will be worth the time to watch; on another (somewhat) related note, our last WW1 veteran, Frank Buckles, passed away this weekend--the end of an era....
What I got a kick out of was the way he grabbed that rifle (03A3 modified to A4 configuration) with his left hand and after shaking Val's hand with his right hand --- did you see him waggle that right hand to get Val to let go of the darned butt stock so he could get both of his hands on that Springfield and heft it by himself.
That was the sign (for me) that all those years melted away and he was once again standing there holding an A4 and thinking of the shots he was going to make.
Its on You Tube by the way.
Watched the U-Tube. Emotional Motivation Big Time.
Thank you for the post!
I got a kick out of "ping... head shot, ping.... in the mouth, ping... in the mouth again."
Yep, makes you swell up with pride don't it?....O.L. :bow:
He is amazing a sub .5MOA group at 1,000 yards with a rifle he never fired before - truly a Rifleman!
Watch that video again. Watch him as though he's on your firing line. Watch his face, his eyes. Not even the suggestion of a flinch, after all those years.
Steady as a rock.
He can cover my advance any day.
:bow:
Look at Gundy.
Can you tell he is operating on a peg?
Does he look sorry for himself?
This guy is a winner.
A Rifleman. O0
Quote from: SamD on March 01, 2011, 10:36:49 PM
Look at Gundy.
Can you tell he is operating on a peg?
Does he look sorry for himself?
This guy is a winner.
A Rifleman. O0
Sam, he moves better on that peg (smoother) than a lot of folks I know who have two healthy legs!
Look sorry for himself? Not a chance... he's seen death up close and personal and realizes that every day he has here is a gift from God and shouldn't be wasted.
Thanks,
90 years of perseverence out of the greatest generation, can we do less?
Wa
Unlike most of todays generation of logged in/tuned out, self loathing internet whiners and experts, Gundy steps up to the plate and gets it done.
Other than you guys in AS, nobody in tv/internet land will notice what the true spirit of a Rifleman really is all about.
We do most of what we do because of guys like Gundy.
The man is a true inspiration.
The soldier presenting him with the hat in the beginning of the video I believe is John Buol. He is the author of the SDM and Appleseed articles I posted last month.
Very Cool...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQRpAxGVg4M (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQRpAxGVg4M)
My post from last month... For those interested.
http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=20319.0 (http://appleseedinfo.org/smf/index.php?topic=20319.0)
I am honored to wear the "Rifleman" patch, in honor of Riflemen....Past, Present and Future!!!
After reading about Mr. Gundy and watching the video, I did a search to learn more about him and found this: http://www.memphisdemocrat.com/2006/news/061109_gundy.shtml