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WRITE US! “Letters,” Guns & Ammo, 2 News Plaza, 3rd Floor, Peoria, IL 61614, or email us at gaeditor@outdoorsg.com.Please include your city and state of residence. Letters may be edited for brevity and clarity.February 2020 G&A 9READERBLOWBACKJanuary 23, 1946: President Harry Truman joined hands with fourservicemen he had decorated with the Medal of Honor including(left-to-right) then-Sgt. John McKinney, Lt. Daniel Lee, Lt. DonaldGray and Cdr. Joseph O’Callahan.AMERICAN PROFICIENCYPHOTO COURTESY OF NATIONAL ARCHIVESPrivate John R. McKinney was a soldier who received theMedal of Honor during the World War II campaign torecapture the Philippines from Japanese forces in 1945.In his single-digit years, he hunted rabbits to feed thefamily with a rented, single-shot .22 rifle that was eventuallysold to him. At Luzon, he faced combat for the firsttime as his company occupied a spit of land on the coast.The spit ended with a passage from the sea to the lagoonon the other side. He woke up in the morning hearingshooting and seeing a disposal-minded Japanese officerwith a Samurai sword enter his tent. The officer was killedinstead. Pvt. McKinney walked outside the tent with hisrifle and some ammo and started killing the enemy. Hisaudible signature presented no threat, so he continued towork and picked up rifles among the dead and woundedas he did not bring enough ammunition with him. TheBanzai attack was eventually over. It was difficult to saywhat Pvt. McKinney had done, but it was estimated that hedispatched between 50 and 100 of the enemy. He was theclassic firearm-proficient civilian that was thrust into livefire. He only suffered a cut from the Samurai sword.Rifle marksmanship isnot a skill; It is a bundle of geek with thick glasses inseparate skills, each one grades seven through 12, Irequiring a separate time to attended my school’s riflelearn including the mastery club, which was subsidizedof using sights and manipulatingthe trigger withshipProgram (CMP). I likedby the Civilian Marksmanoutdisturbing the sights. the challenge of makingProficient people will not small groups of holes onwillingly fire a miss.paper. I fired a box ofAs an underweight, .22 cartridges each weeksmall, pencil-necked purchased at a subsidizedprice. I could afford noequipment and had none.I was an extremely slowlearner, but was not discouragedas others passedby me in progress. I likedthe process of self-struggleeven though improvementwas glacial. By the age of15, I would not fire a miss.Let us consider theunasked question array:How many gun owners arethere? How many of thosepractice shooting? Howmany of those are proficient?How many of thosethat enter the military areproficient? If guns are gone,how long will it take for ournation’s proficiency withfirearms to vanish? How willthis absence of proficiencyaffect the military? Howwill the lack of proficiencyaffect the non-militarypopulation that constitutesthe militia? The interest inbanning black rifles such asthe AR-15, especially theuse among young studentsof proficient gun owners,will end up causing morecasualties when futuregenerations are called on todefend this nation.Darryl DavisShoreline, WashingtonTERRIFICTHOMPSONIt all started with yourJanuary 2013 issue of Guns& Ammo. Inside, I readGarry James’ feature on theAuto-Ordnance Thompson1927-A1 in .45 ACP andJANUARY ’13Author Garry James reviewedthe new Auto-OrdnanceThompson Model andrecounted the history of thenamesake’s original configurationsfrom the 1920s throughWorld War II. He concludedthat for those wanting to owna “Chicago Typewriter” asclose to the real thing withouthaving to purchase an “originalperiod piece worth fivefigures,” this was it. His conclusionremains true today.added it to my collection,which already contained a1927-A3 in .22LR. I contactedAuto-Ordnance topurchase another drummag and was told “lots ofluck” in finding one. Thecustomer service representativewas able to help meby selling a .45 ACP magwith a .22-caliber magazineinside of it. All I had to dowas to remove the adaptorused to hold the .22 magand slide the .45 in like in a1927-A1. My regret is thatI only purchased one andthey no longer produce thisitem. Still, I would enjoymore information on myAuto-Ordnance 1927-A3 inone of G&A’s issues.Bob CalgaroBridgeville, Pennsylvania
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