Bullet riddled clothes & gear?

[BrandonEnglish]

I have been curious to see if anyone has taken out some clothes, gear, blanket, etc to a range and put a couple .58 holes in them? I have read countless accounts of gear, blankets and clothing with bullet holes in it, a lot of near misses. I wish I could provide quotes but I am at work. I do recall reading a number of accounts of blankets in bed rolls being much heavier after engagements because of some lead that made its way inside.

I have thought about taking some older stuff that is near the end of its shelf life and shooting it up. Does anyone feel that this may be underrepresented in a campaign impression? I think if a soldier is on campaign and been in some hot fights he would more than likely have some article that would show some evidence of that fight.

[Stonewall_Greyfox]

Re: Bullet riddled clothes & gear?

I have thought about taking some older stuff that is near the end of its shelf life and shooting it up. Does anyone feel that this may be underrepresented in a campaign impression? I think if a soldier is on campaign and been in some hot fights he would more than likely have some article that would show some evidence of that fight.

No more under-represented than missing limbs/appendages, bloody gashes...etc...or proper disciplined and executed drill.:sarcastic

Paul B.

[FranklinGuardsNYSM]

Re: Bullet riddled clothes & gear?

I do know of one fellow who put a slug through the side of a fully packed knapsack from a distance. It put a couple holes through the folded blanket and journal within. The problem in doing that is that the particular piece of gear is forever relegated to use in "veteran, been-there" situations. It is, as you say, best done with something that has limited life remaining, anyway, and a good touch if not wholly overdone.

[Burpyturtle]

Re: Bullet riddled clothes & gear?

Didn't this sort of thing used to be overrepresented?

One would think that a damaged piece of equipment would be repaired as best possible and if unrepairable, replaced at earliest opportunity.

[Secesh]

Re: Bullet riddled clothes & gear?

I would think the difference is that the original bullet holes in period uniforms and gear was earned in battle, and not shot thru just to make a good impression....

[Hank Trent]

Re: Bullet riddled clothes & gear?

Here's an anecdote about adding a fake bullet hole to clothing. I'll leave it up to others to decide if it was in good or bad taste.

I don't get a chance to take a hit very often, so a few years ago, when I knew I'd be portraying home guard in combat, I decided to. I put fake blood on my drawers on the side of my knee before the event, and while we were running away under fire (didn't say we were brave home guard :) ), I took a hit from a spent ball, fell, and while alone for a minute, cut a hole in the side of my trousers with my pocket knife over the fake blood.

I got up limping, and another home guard member came over and asked what happened. I said I got hit, but could still walk, and further adventures ensued, with me continuing to portray the injury for the remainder of the event, later tying it with a rag over my drawers, etc.

At the end of the event, I found out that he actually thought it had been a real injury, since I'd fallen in a stubbled cornfield and he thought one of the cornstalks had cut me. He said that when he saw my trousers were torn, that was what convinced him. We'd spent the rest of the event together, him thinking it was real, and me thinking he knew it was fake.

I patched my trousers afterwards and now one can barely notice the hole. If appropriate for the current portrayal, I could tell a story about being wounded, though those circumstances have never arisen, or I can just ignore it like a regular patch from normal use, which is what I've done.

Hank Trent
hanktrent@voyager.net

[Curt Schmidt]

Re: Bullet riddled clothes & gear?

Hallo!

An interesting question indeed...

IMHO, yes, a bullet produced hole or tear could conceivable add to one's Believeable Image, and provide the basis for some interesting "Firper" opportunities.

However, as with "faked" holes, rips, tears, and campfire burns-scotchings, IMHO, an understanding of the "mechanics" and the skill to "self-inflict" a believable hole, rip, tear, or burn may be beyond the knowledge and skill of many of lad. (Or putting a "live bullet" hole in the wrong place.)
And some bullet holes are inconvenient such as through the bottom of a canteen... ;) :)

In the absence of "truth," I see the potential for farbery and failure looming stronger than the potential for the "real thing" (but I am haunted by the Era of Fake Patches). But, I do concede the potential for an "appropirate" unrepaired or catastrophic hole or tear in a none 'bleed zone." (Blood being another discussion).

But in the end, I am haunted by the memory of Jim "Popeye" G. who proudly showed up with a Yankee vest with a bullet hole over the heart, to the edges of which he had previously added bright flat red modelling paint (dried) for the vest he "got from a dead Yank."

Curt

[csabugler]

Re: Bullet riddled clothes & gear?

I got a good pair of federal pants with a real live authentic, unstaged hole in 'em if somebody wants to buy them....

[Bushrod Carter]

Re: Bullet riddled clothes & gear?

Brandon,

Be careful for what you wish for. I know a fellow that did that very thing to his knapsack about 15 years ago. He put ONE round from his Springfield through it. Well, after examining the content of his knapsack, the way the bullet had entered and exited, and the way his ALL HAND SEWN shelter half was folded and placed inside - well, when he opend his shelter half it had TWENTY-SEVEN holes through it! NO KIDDING! That one shot cost him the use of a $125.00 shelter half.

So, be careful what you wish for.

[Charles Heath]

Re: Bullet riddled clothes & gear?

Brandon,

To echo what Pat said about the shelter half, circa 1999 a well meaning fellow put over 20 holes in a nice County Cloth US 1851 blanket while shooting his knapsack in much the same manner. You might say that blanket "got religion" in a single pass-through shot.

[cprljohnivey]

Re: Bullet riddled clothes & gear?

When the Govt. starts issuing me the gear I use at events, then maybe I'll consider improving the authenticity with bullet holes. But as long as I have to shell out my own hard earned money for this stuff, I will keep it in good working order.

[BrandonEnglish]

Re: Bullet riddled clothes & gear?

Of course shooting the stuff up isn't a great idea if its your brand-new stuff, but stuff towards the very end of its career in the field, for a living history or a day event. Just thought I'd spark some discussion, and when it comes to being earned in battle, yes of course that they were, but so were those men that didn't make it home, but we still take hits to portray combat casualties.

[Jeremy Bevard]

Re: Bullet riddled clothes & gear?

Honestly, I sort of rolled my eyes when I first read this post. But it has been interesting to read and a little thought provoking. I guess I have to admit that I have thought about it in the past but decided against it for all the reasons stated so far.
However, back in May for a local event I brought a rabbit to cook for supper the first night for my mess. I almost took it out back and put a .58 cal hole in the side before the event just for good effect. But I decided against due to it being frozen before I left and being short on time. It still made a tasty rabbit soup that night:tounge_sm.

[Doc Arroyo]

Re: Bullet riddled clothes & gear?

I met a gentleman at an event a number of years ago. His musket had a rather unique scar and embeded "spent" ball in the stock. Some folks thought it was a bit over the top...until he rolled up his sleeve revealing the entrance and exit scars on his forearm. He had received the scars in Vietnam, changed very little about the story, and fixed the musket up. I always figured he earned the right on that one.