Roger Fuller (fullerfamily@sprintmail.com)
Tue, 7 Dec 1999 11:02:13 -0500
-----Original Message-----
From: Tom May <tom.may@npl.co.uk>
>Roger,
>
>Are you sure there were that many jezails in use in '80?
Not many, but I do remember pictures and accounts of such in National
Geographic and Newsweek around that time. These long barrelled arms (some
with barrels as long as 7 feet) can be quite accurate and have a good range,
esp. if fired from behind rocks and cliffs, where the Afghans had the
advantage of natural cover, surprise and escape. Indeed, primitive arms such
as the jezail and bolt-actions (more primitive than their enemies' AK-47s,
at any rate) were all the tribesmen had at first. Certainly I should have
qualified that in my statement.
>I was under the impression that, until the Russian invasion, the favoured
weapon of the area was the locally made copies of the SMLE (until overtaken,
due to the kudos attatched to ownership, by the "liberated" AK47).
As an SMLE owner I can certainly vouch for its simplicity and ease of use
and maintenance. The range and accuracy, even of my old model from 1918, is,
for a standard military arm, astounding. Perfect for a tribesman operating
in rocky mountain passes as a sniper harassing the Soviets. In the same NG
article about Pakistan/Afghan border area, they showed various gunsmiths
squatting before small coal blacksmiths' fires filing and hammering away at
homemade copies of modern arms, such as pistols and rifles. They are still
around, and the quality of their work is sometimes so good that it's hard to
tell if it was homemade or the "real thing".
It should also be noted that a lot of the swords and BP muzzle-loading
muskets and rifles that are used by the reenacting community in Britain, the
USA and Australia are made by these same people!
>
>Regards
>
>Tom
>
>The secret is that we have got the maxim gun, and they have not.
What a great bumper sticker that would make, athough I'm sure it would make
a traffic cop quite nervous if he pulled you over on a dark country lane
late at night... :^)
Roger Fuller
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