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Post by missionary on Aug 15, 2022 9:33:11 GMT -7
Ever time we are down here I get hungry for something or other that cannot be had down here.... We have excellent food available also.
But a couple days ago it hit me. Something I never dreamed would ever come up again. Yep.... "C-rat stew" which we called "takers stew".
4 meals each all mixed into a clean steel pot (protective helmet) and cooked over the gas fired one burner stove every tank should have had. But no Lima Beans.
Every thing went in minus the "John Wayne chocolate bar", hot chocolate mix, coffee, peaches and peanut butter. Just add water and stir.
Seldom was the same as a case had 12 meals and we would randomly pick without reading the labels. Could "stew up" only randomly as ya need 2 hours to fix and eat in peace.
May have to search up a case of C-Rats we we get north. Never tried MRE's...
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Post by todddoyka on Aug 15, 2022 12:10:26 GMT -7
Meals Rejected by Everyone!!!!
that is what we used to call them. the best thing was the dehydrated peaches. it came in a bar and it was good. no hydration needed!!!!!! we did hot chocolate powder, creamer powder and a little bit of water to make chocolate pudding. peanut butter and the square crackers were favorites too. if you were lucky enuff to get a chocolate fudge bar, you could go #2. the MRE's made you constipatied. we didn't have heater elements, but rarely somebody had c-4 or a can of sterno to heat the MRE up. most of the time, you ate it raw or if you had the time, you could place it on body and make it a little warm. we never had steel pot, the government decided kevlar helmets.
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Post by grasshopper on Aug 20, 2022 21:56:42 GMT -7
Unfortunately I’ve had the pleasure of eating all of the military meals available from C- rations, LRRP dehydrated meals, MREs, Artic rations and the newest version of the meals they have now. In my opinion the Artic meals were by far the best! They were even better than the newest meals troops have now. Today you can get an all veggie meal or even meals you must eat because of religion or ethnicity. Brother Mike, be extremely careful if you do try any of the c-rations still out there as the last “new” meals were made circa 1965 I read, but good luck for sure! I’d be willing to bet like most vets you have a P38 on your keychain ready to go!!
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Post by missionary on Aug 21, 2022 5:13:17 GMT -7
P-38's. My family is well equipped with those handy can openers.
C's... Our last time north as I was looking at a Nam display at the local Museum there sat a C-Rat can fully expanded and ready to blow the seam. Dated 1963.
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Post by Bullshop on Aug 23, 2022 13:19:11 GMT -7
I am not professionally acquainted with USGI war food but I do remember the old canned fruit cake that I really liked. When we first moved to Alaska they could be found in many of the old abandoned cabins.
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Post by grasshopper on Aug 23, 2022 16:32:57 GMT -7
You are a hard, hard man my friend!! Harder than I ever imagined even! If you like the fruitcake and can hold it down you never have to prove your bravery to me!!!!😁
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Post by Bullshop on Aug 23, 2022 17:36:38 GMT -7
You make me laugh!
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Post by todddoyka on Aug 23, 2022 23:32:52 GMT -7
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Post by sideswipe on Feb 22, 2023 11:42:41 GMT -7
Stirring up memories! Ate a lot of Cs on active duty. Sometimes when you were in for long walks for days/nights you took 2 meals a day cuz they made the little buttpack hvy. Later in the 80s we were still eating Cs in the Guard. Recall transitioning to both MREs & Kelvar. Recall if you were handing them out you learned to keep the line moving by handing them out. Luck of the draw none of that pawing thru the box for favorites...you can try to swap later. 😉
Spam! Oh My Gosh. You either love or hate it. My cardio says no 😳
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Post by missionary on Feb 22, 2023 13:50:09 GMT -7
That can of Lima Beans / Fat was the worse item I ever encountered. It was "verboten" even in the stew pot !
Any poor troop that got stuck with that can learned fast to just bury it.
Dehydrated peaches and chocolate pudding ! What a dream ! Never saw those. Our C's were always from the late 50's up to 63.
I ETS'd in July 74.
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Post by Bullshop on Feb 22, 2023 21:14:13 GMT -7
Aw heck you guys they gave you guns and ammo just kill something and eat good! Let me tell yall a little story. When I was a young fella each spring I headed off to SE Alaska to work the timber season. I would drive my PU with a small camper on it through Canada and catch the ferry from Prince Ruport Canada to Prince of Whales island Alaska. Once there I would just camp out until I got a logging job. Sometimes that took a couple weeks so in the mean time I had to feed myself. There were three things I did to keep myself fed. One was to dig clams until I tired of clams. Another was to jig off the ferry pier for small bottom fish like flounder and cod. When I tired of fish a third method of obtaining food was to park in a big lot in town and bait pigeons. I would stroll around the lot dropping bread or popcorn. Once the bait was laid I would sit in the camper about 25 yards away with the door open. When some pigeons would come to the bait I would pop a couple with the air gun I always brought for just that purpose. Then I would take a stroll across the lot with a sack in hand and when I got to the birds quickly scoop them into the sack then back to the camper for a meal of fresh squab.
One year when spring was late arriving and camping was extended for nearly a month there was a black tail deer involved but that is another story for another time.
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Post by missionary on Feb 23, 2023 1:24:38 GMT -7
Not quite Dan....
They let me "borrow" and sign out a M1911a1 Only when they thought it was to their benefit.
Ammo was also controlled and mis-used could cause a lengthy stay in a cage.
Although at Ft. Hood TX it was a practice of some to visit the nearby Gibson's General Store, buy a box of mil-surp 45 ACP Ball for the next great outdoor excursion and keep the 1943 Colt limbered up watching for long eared hopping varmits along some dusty tank trail. Just had to be sure the brass did not eject down an open hatch.
Popping pigeons with an air rifle conjures up some fond early morning memories of sitting under railroad bridges around Chattanooga. Still have that fine old Blue Streak. Added a barrel cocker caliber .25 couple years back for larger tasty visitors.
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Post by Bullshop on Feb 23, 2023 7:27:56 GMT -7
Back then I had two good air rifles a Beman barrel cocker and an RWS side lever both 22 caliber. My Dad told me stories about how things were in Germany when he was fighting his way to Berlin. He told me that people there were starving and he helped feed them and himself with an M-1 Garand shooting the small deer and big rabbits. He said he filed the points off the fmj spitzer bullets for added effect. Not ever having been in the service myself I assumed it was maybe still possible at least for some length of time after that war.
Dad told me that when they moved through open farm land he carried a BAR and everyone followed the BAR man because he could make holes in enemy lines. He said when they got into a town he traded for a Thompson for its effectiveness for street fighting. He said that a hit with the 45 Thompson just about anywhere pretty much took all the fight out of anyone.
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Post by lkydvl on Feb 23, 2023 13:13:48 GMT -7
Cooking MRS was easy if you had a vehicle. Stash them on the engine somewhere and they were good and hot when we stopped.
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Post by missionary on Feb 23, 2023 13:15:33 GMT -7
The added velocity (about 250 fps) turns that 235 grain "ball" into a heavy thumper.
We have a "carbine" 45 ACP that uses the 1911 frame for the "trigger". 18" Barrel. Shoot a 50 yd gong with a 1911 the with the carbine. Like comparing a 35# bow to a 50#.
In war situations ammo expenditure is not closely regulated. All sorts of shooting going on.
Even fire demonstracions at FT Hood for Senators, the ammo was not closely watched. One tank crew took a extra box of linked 7.62x51 which ended up hanging on a civilian wall.
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Post by Bullshop on Feb 23, 2023 14:10:34 GMT -7
I had a friend in Delta Junction Alaska that served under Charlie Askins Jr. My friends name was Roy Wike. Roy was Korean war vintage. He told me that after that conflict his job was destroying arms and ammo. Roy was a big fan of the M-1 carbine and consequently he had a good job related stash of both m-1 carbines and ammo. Roy got to be good friends with Charlie Askins and on one occasion they did a gun trade and Roy got the model 71 Winchester Charlie had converted to 450 Alaskan a pretty famous rifle that Charlie had written several articles about. After I got to be friends with Roy he showed me the rifle and told me how he got it. He even insisted I take it for awhile and work up some loads for it. I had it for about a year and after developing some loads brought it back. I told him I would like to be the new owner and offered him $1,000.00 for it which he seemed inclined to accept. Right then Roy's wife Catie came into the room and seemed to catch on to what was going on and she stopped and looked at Roy and with hands on hips in typical wife scolding style said to Roy, "" after all you went through to gat that "" Then Roy had a kind of scolded puppy look and said well I better not.
Roy was the first I knew of to do conversions on the M-1 carbine. He showed me two he had converted one in 35x39 and another in 45 Win mag. Roy was a lifer in the army and Katie some years later told me that after he retired he went into a dark place for a very long time but after he met me and had someone with like interests to talk guns with Roy finally came out of that depression and became his old self again.
While in the service Roy was like a radar Ohriley from mash he was the man to go to for anything needed weather issued or otherwise.
Roy told me the way he got to be friends with Askins was that they went quail hunting together and after the hunt Charlie wanted to know how many shots Roy fired and how many birds he got. Roy probably the best I have ever seen with a shot gun had one bird for ever empty that Charlie requested he save before they started. Roy was being gauged and Charlie found that he measured up and after that they were buds. Roy told me that Charlie was a for real man killer. He said that he was stationed with a fella that was a total looser that couldnt get anything right and Charlie asked if they wanted to get rid of him and some of the other guys said yes. After Charlie left Roy knowing Charlie well said you guys just signed that mans death warrant. After reading Charlie's book "" Un-repentant sinner"" some years later I came to believe it too because even Charlie admitted it in the book saying that if he was not killing legally in the army he would be in prison because he still would have been killing. I remember one chapter where he took a new Savage 99 in 358 Winchester to Vietnam with factory soft point ammo because he wanted to see just what kind of damage it would do to a human body.
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Post by grasshopper on Mar 5, 2023 22:53:48 GMT -7
Howdy all, hope everyone is doing good and are happy and healthy. Reading the various post about creative ways to feed yourself reminded me of a story from the good ole Army days. The last phase of Ranger school is commonly referred too as the swamp phase. This takes place on camp Rudder which is close to Eglin AFB in Florida. It definitely doesn’t disappoint, plenty of water and swamps. During Ranger school you are only given one meal a day and it may be at 7 in the morning or it may be 7 at night before you eat. I lost 32 pounds in 62 days! While we were learning to patrol in swamp terrain we saw feral pigs several times. One thing about a soldier is he can be really creative at times and in this case most especially when you feel like you are starving! One of the guys in our squad came up with the idea of killing one of those wild hogs! We decided the most efficient way to go about it was to try and drive the hogs in a direction we wanted them to go. Our hunter decided to take a page out of Rambos playbook. He took one of the newer(back then) buck bayonets and tied it to a camo net pole with paracord, then he took 100mph tape and secured the blade even better. He found a pretty good tree to use as his stand, he was no more than 10 feet off the ground. We started trying to drive the hogs towards the hunter, we had moderate success trying to get them to go in that direction. Finally we had a group of three that would tolerate being driven. Our hunter heard and then saw us coming through all the palmetto and got ready. Once the hogs got close enough he jumped out of the tree and used his staph as a spear. He managed to get a really good stick on one of the smaller hogs and we finished him off once we got there, I would say that pig weighed no more than 85 pounds or so. We field dressed the pig and built a bigger fire once we were in our patrol base. Our Ranger instructor came by and had the biggest grin on his face! He said “well, I can’t have you put it back so you might as well eat it! Thankfully the MREs came with salt and pepper! It’s for sure not the best pork I’ve eaten but I also remember being so hungry and it tasted wonderful that night!!
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Post by missionary on Mar 6, 2023 3:53:12 GMT -7
Well done ! Resourcefulness is one of the leason goals of Ranger School.
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Post by Bullshop on Mar 6, 2023 9:35:24 GMT -7
Hey Rob its good to hear from you again! I have been wondering. You get an A+ grade for resourcefulness on the pork meal. When I was 16 YO I worked near those swamps in Florida. My job was sawing up big trees and burning them. They would knock them down with a D-8 Cat and I would chunk them up for burning. The cat skinner would push the chunks into a pile and set a huge fan next to the pile. With the fan blowing and pumping diesel onto the pile we could get the green wood burned up. This was clearing land for development. While I was there working I found that rattle snakes like to lay in the palmettoes and sun themselves. Having tried one also driven by hunger found them to be pretty good. I never ate gator but I guess like most other critters the young are the best. 32 pounds in 36 days is some serious weight loss. I told Tina about it and she is now interested in trying your diet for herself.
Your post cheered me up because it answers the question I have been wondering. Please dont stay away so long and you wont put an old guy to worrying.
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Post by grasshopper on Mar 6, 2023 14:03:50 GMT -7
You should know by now Dan that I’m always around even if I don’t post as often as I do at other times! I for sure don’t wanna worry an “old” guy like you. 😁 Your beard is darker than mine by the way, I’ve always said age is like a used car, it’s not the age that really counts it’s the miles and how well it’s been maintained. I’m the used car you don’t want, been wrecked several times, high miles and haven’t had the regular maintenance required to keep from replacing parts too early! It’s great to hear from you all, I went to a gun show in Louisville the last weekend in Feb, it’s supposedly only second in size to Tulsa. I know it was advertised as having over two miles of tables! We had a good time even if I don’t move quite as fast as I used too and don’t like that kinda crowd where you have to strain to see what’s on the table! I wasn’t really looking for anything but I managed to pick up a straight stocked marlin in 35 REM made in 1975 and a Browning Auto 5 in 20ga mag made in 1976. I’m no investment planner but if you have a few spare bucks invest in good quality guns and ammo and you will never lose a dime! I couldn’t believe the prices I saw on a lot of guns that are very common! Over $1000 bucks for just about any S&W stainless K frame I saw and the Colt revolvers were even more! Sorry Mike I didn’t see any Dan Wesson but I’m sure they are way up there too! That’s my report from the field, how are used gun prices where you all live??
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Post by Bullshop on Mar 6, 2023 17:12:52 GMT -7
There is a shop in Dillon about 45 miles from us which is the nearest town to us. It has good prices and I have bought guns there many times. Its kind of funny that the owner seems to admire my experience with gun and is the rare person that likes to listen when I talk guns. Most folks after about two minutes get a far away look in their eyes and at that point are far from me. The owner of the shop is the son of a good friend now passed on that had a shop in Hamilton that was his Dads before him. I knew and was friends with both of them. Bill the son back then was close to my age . When we moved here from Alaska and first went to the shop in Dillon we found out that JD the owner was Bills son. After telling him I was a long time friend of his Dads he checked it out and after that I am treated as family when at his shop. When Tina and I moved to Alaska JD was just a little kid maybe about 11 so when we met him at his own shop he was early 30's so we didnt recognize him nor he us. His Dad Bill passed about two years ago when the covid thing first started. Went onto the hospital with trouble breathing and in a couple days he was gone.
This coming weekend there is a show in Bozeman which is our big show but not big like you know but big for us with a couple hundred tables. Lord willing I will attend and I am anxious. We have had a long hard winter that still has not let up. We are still below freezing for our daytime highs and some nights dipping below zero. Its been conducive to production as I have been inside working for a long , too long a time so am feverishly wanting a change from that pace. Making lots of money but I seem to keep pulling levers even in my sleep. When the weather finally breaks I think I will take a whole week off and just shoot, shoot, shoot. Maybe it will even become a habit.
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Post by missionary on Mar 6, 2023 17:38:53 GMT -7
Long, cold winters is the big "why" we are headed to east AZ.
Do not want the "oven" either so about 3000 feet where it a go below freezing a couple times and not go above 90 to often with little humidity.
I guess we like the desert. Not lots of rain but enough to enjoy that clean fresh smell off and on.
Thank you Rob for the DW report. Sure going to be good to head north again and see the Red, White and Blue floating in a breeze..
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Post by Bullshop on Mar 6, 2023 22:19:26 GMT -7
Mike when you get to AZ you wont be all that far from us. Big difference in our weather though. Every 50 miles or so farther north makes a difference. I would guess that we will be a couple hundred miles farther north than you. That and we are right at 6000 ft at my house. Just the near 50 miles to Dillon which is down river from us makes a difference. Dillon is down river so lower than us but I dont know by how much but the difference is striking where as we are under a substantial snow depth but Dillon has bare ground. Dillon is north of us but the drop in elevation seems to make the bigger difference.
Mike I am really happy for you and maybe even a little envious because I so enjoy exploring new places. I have been here about ten years now and have covered a lot of ground. It seems like when Tina and I go for a drive I am always pointing out places in the hills where I have been. There are some that are favorites and if it were possible for a guy to pic the place where he would leave this world I have it covered. There just seems to be something pleasantly peaceful about being found after the fact in a place you were known to love to be in. For me those places are void of roads and wires and not easy to get to but worth the effort.
When we first got here I was exploring one of those places and fell and cracked some ribs and thought at the time maybe punctured something inside because I started to swell up on that side. I was too far in for a quick escape for help so I just sat down and enjoyed the place until I thought it would slowly fade away. Well after a few hours I was still there waiting but the sun was going down and I started getting cold. I felt almost disappointed when I finally decided I had to walk out. For the next few weeks my ribs hurt with every breath and were still sore for a few months. It was hard sleeping and there was no way I could lay on that side for a few weeks. I guess the Lord had written another chapter for me and he didn't want to waste it. I do so hope that when he decides it is time he will allow me to be in one of those places. Tina thinks I am getting too old to be going out into the hills alone but I tell her I am never alone.
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Post by missionary on Mar 7, 2023 3:53:58 GMT -7
Yes His promise of "being with us till the ends of the world" is still True !
I know a couple of those places down here. All found by simply getting off some old mine roads and following the critter tracts.
I have told Vicky several times I hope I have enough left in me for the one last walk.
We will be in the southern east AZ area. 35 miles or so north of I-10. That is the basic plan. Find Duncan that may be the nearest town.
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Post by shootist---Gary on Mar 7, 2023 18:00:26 GMT -7
Daniel, Tina sounds like my wife Jeanne. Since I deer hunt by myself, probably only less than a half mile from the closest house, she doesn't like it that I still do it at age 80. I ride my John Deere yard mower tractor with the mower deck removed, put the tire chains on, hook to my little 2 wheel yard trailer, load my TeePee blind, guns, heater, food cooler, camp stool & anything else I might need while sitting in the blind, enjoying the peacefulness & solitude of God's handiwork. I now have a cell phone if I would need it. I love to watch the birds, squirrels, & even the deer that are too far away or the ones that I miss, like the 8 point Buck, 20 minutes before quitting time on the last day of ML season in January. With darkness approaching, he came out into the open winter wheat field on the far side of the field, about 175 or so yds. away, stopped, & looked straight across the field at me. I had the viewing slot open about 4", & I think he saw my face. He would walk towards me, a few steps, stop & look, then do it again. When he stopped & turned his right side towards me, I aimed for mid right front shoulder & pulled the set trigger on my .50 cal T/C Hawken. A loud boom, a long flash of fire, a cloud of smoke, & a white tail disappearing into the woods. I had sighted the rifle in for 100 yds., & when I paced off thye shot, approx. 75 yds., so I shot over him, as there was no evidence of hair or blood, & by how he ran. Hopefully this November, Dec. & Jan., I will still be here & healthy enough to try again. By the way, Sunday on the way home from my sister's in Cleveland, I stopped at Cabela's, & they had lots of powders & primers in stock. I bought a bottle of Hodgdon "Tite Group" powder to use in reloading my Uberti "Cimarron" .357 Mag. Single Action. I'm going to stay below max, but still above .38 spl.. I have about 150 158 gr. lead SWC bullets that I got in a trade last year. 5.0 gr. is max, so I'm going to find something around 4 to 4.5 gr, & use standard small pistol primers.
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