1943; NRA Was Looking for Reloaders

[tndrfttom]

I saw this in the January '43 issue of the American Rifleman magazine and thought it was interesting. They were looking for people to reload ammunition "for training and guard purposes". (You can bet finding components for recreational reloading was impossible for the duration of the war).

[Wyo]

Originally Posted by tndrfttom

I saw this in the January '43 issue of the American Rifleman magazine and thought it was interesting. They were looking for people to reload ammunition "for training and guard purposes". (You can bet finding components for recreational reloading was impossible for the duration of the war).

I remember my grandfather telling me how difficult it was to get hunting ammunition during World War II. Basically, it was nearly impossible. They were able to get hold of a few rounds of military ball ammo. They filed the tips down until some lead was exposed and these were what they used for deer and elk hunting. Not a good idea as it’s possible to shoot the core right out of the bullet when you fire it, but they did what they had to do.

[LoboGunLeather]

Even earlier, NRA was asking members to donate firearms (rifles, shotguns, pistols) for use by British Home Guard units in defending against the expected German invasion.

Thousands of Americans responded and the weapons were delivered to Great Britain. Although the deal was that the weapons would be returned to owners if possible, at the close of WW2 most were gathered up and dumped in the North Atlantic.

Interesting time in our history. Civil Defense wardens enforcing blackout orders in American cities. Alaska State Militia called up and federalized to stand against Japanese incursions in the Aleutian Islands. California State Militia members standing coast watch duties and manning anti-aircraft guns.

Just about all of the organized National Guard units had already been federalized and incorporated into the standing army. US Navy retirees were recalled to active duty. Local high schools sponsored draft registration events. Red Cross auxiliary units were federalized as nurses and hospital staff.

Scrap metal collection drives to support the war effort. Rubber also. Gasoline rationing. Food rationing. Alcohol restrictions (needed for torpedo propellant fuel). Old wool clothing gathered up for rendering into fabric for uniforms. Victory gardens.

I wonder how today's entitled folks would respond to general mobilization.

[reddog81]

Question 6: Do you have a Federal Explosives License to posses and purchase gunpowder and primers?

I wonder how that worked and when that ended?

[tndrfttom]

Originally Posted by LoboGunLeather

Even earlier, NRA was asking members to donate firearms (rifles, shotguns, pistols) for use by British Home Guard units in defending against the expected German invasion.

Thousands of Americans responded and the weapons were delivered to Great Britain. Although the deal was that the weapons would be returned to owners if possible, at the close of WW2 most were gathered up and dumped in the North Atlantic.

Apparently there was also a push on to purchase handguns to go to some undisclosed allies. There were a number of these advertisements in the "Rifleman".

[RM Vivas]

In the md 1980's I was a student at the University of Alaska-Fairbanks.

I spoke with one old timer who told me that after the aleutian island invasion by the Japanese, the US army called a meeting of all men who were not draft eligible and wanted to resist further Japanese incursion. He said that they were given a rifle, sixty rounds of ammo and a steel helmet and told that if the Japanese came, hide in the wood and kill anything not wearing a US uniform.

[DWalt]

Only tangential to the topic, but rather as a result of a previous discussion on another forum about the Ground Observer Corps. The GOC was organized during WWII using civilian volunteers to watch the skies from rooftops and hilltops all over the country for enemy aircraft, sort of like scouting for Messerschmidts over Broadway. I guess it seemed like a good idea at the time. The surprising thing to me was that the GOC lasted until 1958. I was vaguely aware that such a program existed during WWII but not during the Cold War.
Before decent radar, the U.S. enlisted 800,000 children, hobbyists, and other Americans as lookouts | by Stephanie Buck | Timeline

[Skeet 028]

I remember doing the ground observer thing for a couple of years till it was DC'd. In fact my MIL was one of the local leaders. So my future wife was one of the other kids who did it. And during the war her mother was driving ambulances and working as a nurse in military hospitals. It's where she met my future FIL. I grew up in an area where the gene pool was a damp spot on the side of a hill in a corn field. But my MIL WAS a NY/LI Yankee. I wasn't allowed to talk about her in po-lite company less'n I got smacked in the back of my head.

[RM Vivas]

While doing some Colt Commando research this evening in a newspaper archive I found a newspaper article where the US Coast Guard in NJ was asking NJ residents to donate .45 pistols, .38 revolvers of police-type and Springfield rifles for use for the duration.

This was 1942.

[sheppard]

Ground Observer Corps, that brings back memories as I was a member back in the mid-1950s, graduated high school in 1958. I still remember sighting a B-36. This was in Suffolk County, LI.

[Paul in Nevada]

A lot of those contributions people made served little to no purpose. The goal was to give people a sense of a common struggle.