I got thinking yesterday...

[Pitspitr]

...a dangerous thing, I know

Anyway; I took my concealed carry class yesterday and in Nebraska you have to be able to show proficiency with your firearm, so as part of the course you go to the range and fire 30 rounds for score from various distances. On the line we were packed together quite closely. I'm used to shooting by myself and I found the additional noise and the other guys' brass hitting me to be quite distracting. It was something I wasn't prepared for but it made me realize that the noise and flying brass is something our soldiers had better get used to because it would likely be part of a battle. This made me wonder Is there some way we could incorporate noise into our skirmish format scenarios? Maybe bird cannons? What do you all think?

[Bow View Haymaker]

People run for cover when I start thinki'

As far as distractions,  I think the hecklers were quite enough, thank you.

(hearing people talking about playing footsie and not wanting to see the offspring of that, while your trying to take aim at those little prone Blunt targets was enough distraction for me)

[pony express]

Maybe have some kind of fireworks down by the artillery battery when you're attacking it, so you have noise AND smoke. I was at a Memorial Day ceramony a couple of years ago, at Jefferson Barracks, they fired a canon salute at both the US and Confederate parts of the cemetary-but the cannons stayed in place, so when we moved to the Confederate section we were"kinda-sorta" downrange. Odd feeling seeing the cannons flash, the smoke and a second later hear the sound.

I don't think being hit by flying brass was so much of a problem in our era, (although the timer operator has to duck when I start shooting my trapdoor!)

[1stSgt Fritz King]

Put some loose brass in an ammo can and shake it briskly.  Find a WM who can scream loudly.  Trust me it works...
R/S
Fritz

[Delmonico]

Loud Rap music, as long as the noise stays in the canyon and doesn't float up to camp.

[Stu Kettle]

I'd rather have incoming artillery & small arms fire than be subjected to that rat music. Smoke & noise would add to the experience.

[River City John]

Have an artillery volunteer on the sidelines with shotgun shooting those 12ga. bird noise dispersers(? or whatever they're called ) overhead for effect. Limit two per shooter on a stage, firing them at staggered interval so you wouldn't be able to anticipate.
   

Or use those carbonite cannons (?) that make a pretty good bang. Maybe cheaper and not as much of a fire hazard. I think they're still being made and you can get tubes of the propellant?

RCJ

[cpt dan blodgett]

Might be able to set up a buddy team course

[Drydock]

Devils advocate here:

Okaaaaay, so you're playing a game with firearms and live ammunition, and your PURPOSEFULLY attempting to distract someone with a loaded weapon in his hand.  Think of how that sounds either to a new shooter you're trying to get involved in GAF, or his/her wife/husband, or worse yet, to a lawyer!  Or the club you're trying to get insurance from.

Inadvertant distractions happen all the time.  But doing it on purpose makes me uncomfortable.  Combat or training is one thing.  But we're not doing either, its a game.  Quite a difficult one as it is, ask anyone at the end of a skirmish run!  

[Cowtown Scout]

Devils advocate here:

Okaaaaay, so you're playing a game with firearms and live ammunition, and your PURPOSEFULLY attempting to distract someone with a loaded weapon in his hand.  Think of how that sounds either to a new shooter you're trying to get involved in GAF, or his/her wife/husband, or worse yet, to a lawyer!  Or the club you're trying to get insurance from.

Inadvertant distractions happen all the time.  But doing it on purpose makes me uncomfortable.  Combat or training is one thing.  But we're not doing either, its a game.  Quite a difficult one as it is, ask anyone at the end of a skirmish run!  

+1

[PJ Hardtack]

As Foreign Observer, I've attended a Washington State Civil War Association battle re-enactment at Ferndale where there several Federal cannon in the battery. As the Reb artillery advanced, buried charges were remotely triggered, marked with tape so the infantry could pass them safely. Rounds were timed to burst either in front of or behind the advancing infantry.

The Association carries liability insurance to cover any injury to spectators or re-enactors. As for distraction, I've shot in team shoots with 10-12 people on the line behind tables. You shot your pistols dry and then picked up your rifle and carried on. The din was horrific.

In such an event, a friend (now deceased) fired three squib loads in his original '86 45-70, bursting on the final round. The weather was hot and the bullet lube melted, contaminating the powder. He sued and won as he proved that the commercial reloader had not used the lube specifieded on the order.

No one was hurt, and the court awarded him damages to get the rifle rebuilt.

[Bow View Haymaker]

OK,  we have enough distraction when taking the shot.  how about a bit of a explosion when a couple of the targets are hit and go down?  something on the back of the falling plate that goes boom when it falls?  And of course randomly different ones on each run. 

[Delmonico]

The idea is good to a point, but I would fear a fire.

[Pitspitr]

Devils advocate here:

Okaaaaay, so you're playing a game with firearms and live ammunition, and your PURPOSEFULLY attempting to distract someone with a loaded weapon in his hand.  Think of how that sounds either to a new shooter you're trying to get involved in GAF, or his/her wife/husband, or worse yet, to a lawyer!  Or the club you're trying to get insurance from.

Inadvertant distractions happen all the time.  But doing it on purpose makes me uncomfortable.  Combat or training is one thing.  But we're not doing either, its a game.  Quite a difficult one as it is, ask anyone at the end of a skirmish run!  

Good Point Consider the idea dead.

[US Scout]

Devils advocate here:

Okaaaaay, so you're playing a game with firearms and live ammunition, and your PURPOSEFULLY attempting to distract someone with a loaded weapon in his hand.  Think of how that sounds either to a new shooter you're trying to get involved in GAF, or his/her wife/husband, or worse yet, to a lawyer!  Or the club you're trying to get insurance from.

Inadvertant distractions happen all the time.  But doing it on purpose makes me uncomfortable.  Combat or training is one thing.  But we're not doing either, its a game.  Quite a difficult one as it is, ask anyone at the end of a skirmish run!  

I was completely off-line yesterday so I'm coming in a bit late (and I see the issue is dead) but I fully agree with Lt Col Drydock.

On the surface, this would appear to be a good idea and help add some realism to our Musters, however se have enough distractions already - hecklers, the other squad shooting, etc.  No need to add anything more, especially as they potentially increase the likelihood of an accident with a loaded firearm. 

US Scout
GAF, Commanding

[Terry Lane]

Devils advocate here:

Okaaaaay, so you're playing a game with firearms and live ammunition, and your PURPOSEFULLY attempting to distract someone with a loaded weapon in his hand.  Think of how that sounds either to a new shooter you're trying to get involved in GAF, or his/her wife/husband, or worse yet, to a lawyer!  Or the club you're trying to get insurance from.

Inadvertant distractions happen all the time.  But doing it on purpose makes me uncomfortable.  Combat or training is one thing.  But we're not doing either, its a game.  Quite a difficult one as it is, ask anyone at the end of a skirmish run!  

That's what an NRA RSO does. Guide the shooter safely through the course of Fire. I've trained hundreds of NRA RSOs with just this sort of thing in mind. The NRA RSO is the first and last line of safety.

[Trailrider]

I, too, think...occasionally...  Makes my head hurt!    I agree that intensional distractions could be a real safety issue.  About 100 years ago...OK, so it was more like (yee gads!) 50... when I was in an intercollegiate small bore rifle match with my AFROTC team, we had a member of the team who shot a BSA Martini-action rifle.  The ejector spring on that piece must have come off a railroad boxcar truck (you know, the part of the wheelset), as it would throw a fired .22rf case about five yards!  We usually tried to stage the shooter on our right, and, if possible, on our competition's left.  This time, however, he was to my left. I was lining up for my last shot in the offhand stage when I heard the distinctive "snick" of his rifle's action being opened.  A split-second later the hot case went right down the back of my shooting jacket!    Fortuately, I was able to get my finger off the trigger. Once the case cooled below my burn threashhold, I took the shot. We won the match by one point!