Close calls with death

[Dujon]

Originally Posted by ngcles

. . . and then reached down and grabbed his 5-shot .38 cal Smith & Wesson . . .

Would that be allowing for an empty chamber, Les? I might well be wrong (I haven't gone a'googling) but I'm sure that we used to have the .38 S&W as our normal armament when I was a bank teller many years ago and I think that they were the proverbial six-shooter (revolver) but that we always kept the 'active' chamber empty in case of accidents.

I found them to be pretty accurate, but only if you cocked the damn things before activation.

We also had those pathetic semi automatic .22s. I didn't get a chance to work with them that often, but I reckon a barn door would have been a challenge.

[xelasnave]

I thought of another real close call.
I was in Tenterfield playing music with friends.
I did not feel well with an ache in my body.
I finally said I am going home and went to the car.
My mate Tui (see my signature line) followed me to the car.

whats wrong mate... I told him ..he insisted I go to the hospital ..he had a way about him and I finally agreed and he took me to the hospital.

They said I was having a heart attack...and later tests confirmed that.

I think I may have died on the road home its a lonely road at 2am... I always think he saved my life.

alex

[ngcles]

Hi Dujon & All,

Re the .38cal S&W's, there were two standard models on issue (to police at least) generally up till about the mid-90s. I think the standard weapon was called a model 10 which was a 6 shot assuming all the chambers were full. It had the standard sized butt and standard length barrel. On single action (cocked with the hammer up) it wasn't too bad accuracy-wise but on double action somewhat harder to shoot accurately.

Back in the 80s, in certain circumstances you could apply for a 6-shot with an extended barrel that was about 20mm longer than the standard model 10 which gave much better accuracy. They didn't like giving these ones out because when holstered on your belt, it used to dig big gouges out of the upholstery in the cars -- True!! Water Police got the 6-shot as well but it was all stainless-steel.

Detectives generally and (back in the 80s female police) were given the model 36 -- a similar looking but somewhat smaller, lighter 5 shot (assuming the chambers were full) with a small butt and a barrel about 30mm shorter than the model 10. It was much easier to conceal wearing plain clothes but even harder again to aim with accuracy than the 6-shot. This was this gun the servo attendant had. A reasonable choice for self-defence at very close range, but in terms of accuracy etc not the weapon of choice by a looooong way.

Police are now armed with the Glock 9mm semi-autos in two different sizes. Light, reliable and they have a choice of small, medium and large magazines. It is slightly larger than the S&W but about the same weight and is exceptionally reliable like the S&W. The Glock is much, much easier to actually aim and shoot than the old S&W. I know my shooting went from bloody awful to nearly passable when I made the conversion. With the old S&W, if I wanted to score a hit, I was better off throwing it than shooting!

Having said that the S&Ws were much better (I'm told) than the old Webbley revolvers police had in the 60s and 70s. The revolving chamber on those was as likely as not to fall out on the ground the moment you drew it from the holster.

I'm no gun freak (never owned one) but the Glock is a brilliant piece of engineering.


Les Dalrymple
Contributing Editor
AS&T

[xelasnave]

Les I found that absolutely fascinating.
I thought the Glock change over was un necessary up until now...
Thanks for taking the time to share all that.

alex

[Neil]

In reality we,re all just a heartbeat away from the end. Or ,is that the beginning? I suppose we,ll all find out one day. In the mean time why don,t we just look at what we have to enjoy, and leave the philosophy to the various clergy.

[xelasnave]

Originally Posted by Neil

In reality we,re all just a heartbeat away from the end. Or ,is that the beginning? I suppose we,ll all find out one day. In the mean time why don,t we just look at what we have to enjoy, and leave the philosophy to the various clergy.

Yes indeed I agree that we should appreciate and enjoy life... but I must comment that the clergy do not have a monopoly on philosopy... Bertran Russell to name just one philosoher was not of the clergy...

I sence you are trying to move me from being morbid and I thank you ..that is very decent of you.

alex

[Neil]

Thanks isn,t necessary if that is the result?And you are correct the clergy does,nt have a monopoly on philosophy.We the people that take time to consider our thoughts and share them own shares in thought.

[GeoffW1 (Geoff)]

Originally Posted by ngcles

I was in the NSW Police for 22 years until 2004.

Les D

Hi Les,

I don't mean to sound too maudlin and OT, but I'd just like to express a vote of thanks to you and all the men and women who have served in this most stressful job.

Nuff said there

Cheers

[xelasnave]

Originally Posted by GeoffW1

Hi Les,

I don't mean to sound too maudlin and OT, but I'd just like to express a vote of thanks to you and all the men and women who have served in this most stressful job.

Nuff said there

Cheers

Never enough said about the stress of the job.. If you knew what my mate went thru it was amazing he did not lose it much earlier.

A hero by the strictest definition..saved lives and paid with everything that was dear to him.

I found out he is ok now after a family break up loss of everything and now lives a nice life similar to mine.
I salute these men and women and think they deserve ten times the money and ten times the recognition...

I grew up living in the residences attached to the court houses in various country towns and my best friend was usually the Sargent's son who lived in the residence at the next door police station... not easy for kids like us in those days.

alex

[JohnG (John)]

Hi Alex

I can understand what your mate went through, I had 30 years in the NSW cops, 28 of them in Police Rescue. It cost me everything I had as well, personally, I don't talk too much about what I did in the job, I have seen the worst people can do and a couple of threads here have caused me some stress I don't need and brought up some suppressed memories. I was involved in everything from the Granville train disaster through the Newcastle earthquakes to Thredbo, aircraft crashes, should have been dead on a couple of occassions .

Anyway, astronomy and being by myself doing astrophotography is my relaxation these days, it kept me going for a lot of years.

Cheers

[casstony]

Originally Posted by xelasnave

Yes I cab imagine ..I love Eagles but you can not get near them on the ground up home...I am always after a photo but even with a 300mm lens can not get close...they must see a big eye looking at the and think they are my prey...

alex

I have a project for you and your daughter Alex. Given how they respond to hang gliders, you might be able to lure an eagle to you by making yourself look something like an eagle. You could use cardboard and other materials to make wings(attached to your arms) and a head piece with a beak. Your daughter could glue the feathers on. Dress up, invade the eagles territory and see if you get attacked. Even if it didn't work you'd have great video to show us here on IIS .

[xelasnave]

Originally Posted by JohnG

Hi Alex

I can understand what your mate went through, I had 30 years in the NSW cops, 28 of them in Police Rescue. It cost me everything I had as well, personally, I don't talk too much about what I did in the job, I have seen the worst people can do and a couple of threads here have caused me some stress I don't need and brought up some suppressed memories. I was involved in everything from the Granville train disaster through the Newcastle earthquakes to Thredbo, aircraft crashes, should have been dead on a couple of occassions .

Anyway, astronomy and being by myself doing astrophotography is my relaxation these days, it kept me going for a lot of years.

Cheers

Yes I really thank astronomy as looking up at what we can see I get this feeling of on the one hand of being important to be here but gain the perspective that I am nothing in all there is...my little set backs are nothing.

Sorry to open old wounds with this thread my intention was to let people realise how lucky they have been and indeed are to be alive.

I have been a little morbid lately but today is a new day.

Have a great day and even better nights.

best wishes
alex

[xelasnave]

Originally Posted by casstony

I have a project for you and your daughter Alex. Given how they respond to hang gliders, you might be able to lure an eagle to you by making yourself look something like an eagle. You could use cardboard and other materials to make wings(attached to your arms) and a head piece with a beak. Your daughter could glue the feathers on. Dress up, invade the eagles territory and see if you get attacked. Even if it didn't work you'd have great video to show us here on IIS .

I know you suggest this because you know I am crazy enough to do it.
I dont know how far their territory extends or if the ones I see are the same ones...

But that is right up our alley... I have mentioned before our animal games..she describes mythical animals to me in absolute detail and I am scolded if I forget one small detail... I am also "Mushmellow" the lead dog in her team... I have a better vision of myself as mushmellow than I have of my real face and body.

I dont know about a movie even I have some fear of folk laughing at me..who could tell...and I dont have a movie camera yet..looked at some yesterday actually used that as a reason to go out for a while... and in truth that is the only reason one may not be forthcoming. Sales people how I wish they could just tell me what their product does... I ask can I download straight to a computer and all I get is a stare so far...may go in to the city after I do the lawns.

They come down for road kills but I can never sneak up on them as I said...I keep meaning to build a hide and provide a kill but have not got around to that...like so many things really...but it is one of those on the top of the list.

I have a few photos but nothing like one could be proud of from a technical view point.

alex

[robagar]

I survived the Cairns tsunami

[casstony]

Originally Posted by xelasnave

I know you suggest this because you know I am crazy enough to do it.

alex

True, but a little bit of crazy is a good thing. I feel like I'm done with the dangerous crazy years of youth, now I'm in the silly crazy years afforded by children, next will be the adventurous crazy years (travel and cultural immersion with the kids before they run off).

But to really live on the wild side.........imagine your usually lovely wife is capable of spitting venom under certain circumstances; imagine you've recently suggested she buy less toys for the kids since materialism is no good for them anyway and there has been a reduction in family income...............then a pair of Denkmeier II powerswitch binoviewers turn up at the door.

Regarding video camera shopping we haven't used our digital video camera since we purchased a Canon S3 IS compact SLR. It does everything; snapshots, video at decent resolution and 12X optical zoom.

[xelasnave]

Tony mine gave up on me when I bought a 12inch instead of a fridge... they can be unreasonable...

I was thinking to get a finepix..fugi 5500.. and a gig card..I really like them and it would seem to do all I want... what do you think about that approach?

alex

[casstony]

Originally Posted by xelasnave

Tony mine gave up on me when I bought a 12inch instead of a fridge... they can be unreasonable...

I was thinking to get a finepix..fugi 5500.. and a gig card..I really like them and it would seem to do all I want... what do you think about that approach?

alex

I'm not familiar with the finepix 5500 and don't know how it compares to the canon S3 IS, but I can tell you that we have 5 of these floating around between family and friends and all are happy with them. Two gig cards are about $25 from computer stores, it has short shutter lag, it's compact, video quality is good - no noticeable drawbacks in general use. There will be cameras that perform better in a given area, but it takes about forever to do the research to figure out which is best. This is a good place to search for Australian prices of any particular camera http://www.staticice.com.au/

[xelasnave]

Thank you very much for posting the link Tony...wow cards have dropped...great.


alex

[Dujon]

[Les] Way back up there ^

Thanks for the run-down.

We were using (well, supplied with) the S&W .38 when I joined the bank in '63. I think the conversion to the .22 semi-automatic occurred in about '66/'67. That didn't last long, we reverted to the S&W within a couple of years.

Like you I'm not one who would own a pistol/revolver and never have done so. If I did (and I have been toying with the idea of joining a club) it would be kept secure elsewhere. The only reason I have been pondering on such a membership is that, using the .38 on a range - we were required to undertake such activity every year or so - I apparently did reasonably well (five rounds in a group 2"). If memory serves me correctly the targets were set at 15 yards.

NOTE: How the heck can you 'keep up your skills' (what skills?) when you are allowed 5 rounds each year or two? Stupid, stupid, stupid!

Fortunately I didn't need to use mine in anger.