Thread: .303 ammunition

Originally Posted by Cordite

Thanks @Carlsen Highway,

In deference to everyone else, we are by definition all nice people on NZHS. I know that because we are all government-certified "fit and proper" persons and as such good company, even @systolic who gets a lot of flak. And I must not take credit for defending someone I've never met, it's just that there appeared to be some merit to his (optimistic) statement.

Unfortunately your loyalty is somewhat misplaced in regards to Mr N Foster , the only reason the Canadian ( Eskimo ) Rangers carry a rifle is because of Polar bears is they don't like being eaten by them .And the no 4's work in the extreme cold .
His millitary knowledge is hung out to dry by this load of absolute drivel :
Military tactics also differ. To New Zealanders, it is strange to see a Marine shout or communicate openly. We cringe, we just want to get the hell away. It frays the nerves of NZ soldiers during joint training like nails down a chalk board. We struggle to even watch it on the television, turning our heads away and squinting. Silence and silent communication are a primary virtue of the NZ soldier. We have to turn the clock back to understand the differences.

During the Vietnam war, large numbers of U.S civilians were drafted to war, many did not want to go, many were extremely young and not ready for what they would encounter. The shout (commonly used in Karate - Kiai) can be used to overcome the freeze reflex and keep everyone moving forwards. The helicopter was also in use which ruined any silent advance.

I do not know if talking, shouting or the hooooarrrr (sorry, I do not know the current spelling) call was around during the second world war. This style of soldering may well have been around during the second world war as the conditions were the same- drafting, a need to get soldiers moving forwards and so forth.

We had a large number of Maori through the wars, genetically optimized (survivial of the fittest) to war conditions, thriving in the worst of conditions. I think this influence may have helped set the scene for us. We had drafting but a major proportion of our men were already in the bush living extremely harsh lives in total silence. We have also had limited air and ground support from the beginning through till now. We had to get as close as possible to our enemy in order to seize the element of surprise These days, our air support in the desert is a phone call to U.S forces.

The U.S army is now split into multiple factions which employ multiple tactics. We simply don't have the man power or coin for that so we have to make do.

Ironically, during the Vietnam war, although silence was about the only protection an NZ soldier had, both the Australian and NZ forces would use the loud report (noise) of the SLR to help shock the enemy when springing an ambush. The Aussies also had what they called the bitch- a cut down SLR with the semi function doctored so that the SLR would let rip on full auto with a deafening roar and deadly effect though it must have been very hard to control.

In contrast to these differences, although we place great pride in our quiet stalking skills, U.S hunters introduced the concept of still hunting (including from tree stands) to NZ hunters. A bow hunter could wait in silence without scenting his area by placing his tree stand up high. I once met a highly successful NZ culler who switched to this method (using a rifle out across clearings of up to 250 yards or so). It was interesting to see an already well accomplished hunter adopt this approach. Over the years, I have used a mix of both methods to optimize success during client hunts.

So like I say, we can learn from each other in different ways. Things that seem odd need to be investigated in order to obtain a greater understanding of cultural differences.